Star Trek takes rebooting a franchise to new extremes with a time travel twist that lays the groundwork for unfettered expansion. It’s an interesting move for a franchise now riddled with history, and one that lets us play with beginnings in a way that answers potential conflicts.
Star Trek opens by laying the frame for our villain, establishing where we are in time, and confusing the hell out of Star Trek fans. It’s an opening the enlists investment to a surprising degree, but it’s followed by a movie that doesn’t quite live up to the pathos it predicts.
We jump to establishing scenes of James T. Kirk as young scamp, and though the scenes move outrageously toward the truly goofy side of things, they exist very purposefully. They could have been better, and we might have looked for a more provocative form of “being little rebel dude,” but the establishment of this James T. Kirk as the one altered by not having dad around is important, and well-played throughout the film.
The film plays out the backstories of our characters for a while, focusing mainly on Kirk and Spock, but also throwing in “Bones” McCoy as Kirk’s best friend. Here is where the theory of rebooting the franchise finds its footing, and shows itself a fine move. Much of what made the original series into a cult icon was its bold and crass flavor, which seeped out from Captain Kirk. A little bit Joey and a little bit James Bond, Kirk was a bit suave, in control, and could handle himself in a fight, but with a little, “How you doin?” thrown in as well. Whether the actors aged or not (we could recast for a new film without starting from scratch), the sensibility had long gone out of the franchise. Even the spin-off shows moved well into the realm of the thoroughly serious.
Chris Pine gives the best Kirk you could hope for, and considering the effort required to fill the shoes of any iconic role, that’s pretty high praise. Zachary Quinto makes a passable Spock, but to a degree falls for the popular view that acting like someone being logical and acting like an ass are more or less interchangeable. Nevertheless, the movie again goes back to its roots by truly utilizing the Spock character and his inner turmoil, rather than letting him rest as a mere gag with a neck pinch.
Soon the game is afoot, and we turn our attention back to the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) and his apparent attempt to destroy everything with a Federation marking. Somewhat new to the franchise (with the exception of the Borg, I suppose) is the dizzying one-sidedness of the situation. If we change the perspective when the two vessels meet, you would hardly be able to notice the speck that is the Enterprise. Performing under impossible odds becomes a theme of the film, as does the discrepancy of viewpoints when confronting those odds. Much of the philosophical underpinnings are buried under admittedly cool space battles and/or completely unnecessary snow monsters, but it is there. There is an interesting dynamic presented when Spock nails himself to logic come what may for the entire film, but throws reason out the window when it comes time to rescue his parents. Whether that act proves or discredits his theory about performance under impossible odds is unclear and unexplored.
In the end, the movie is quite solid. What failings and nitpicks there may be are countered by a superior effort, a solidly “summer” script, and a legitimate attempt at infusing some character back into things. While a great deal of credit has to go to J.J. Abrams for a fine directing showpiece, I suspect that what keeps this film from going that one notch further rests on his shoulders as well. Abrams does a lot of things quite well, but as witnessed in his other efforts, he doesn’t fully understand character analysis. While character analysis rather necessarily involves looking at characters, it doesn’t end there. Nor (witness Lost in general and several key scenes here) does doing some really traumatic and/or just plain weird shit to a character and then staring at them for over a minute while they run through expressions suddenly become character study. I have the impression that when it comes to digging into a character, Abrams tries to do what great directors have done, without being very clear on the thought process behind doing it. The result is that the audience understands what they’re supposed to learn or feel, but they don’t actually learn or feel it.
Still, it’s a near miss, and it is one hell of a good time. The supporting crew members we know and love all show up with fine results, and the overall arc works, even if it does move us a little toward the odd and shlocky. Our misguidedly evil villain is only a half-shot of menacing, because we almost feel for him a bit, and it’s trickier to wrap your dislike around crazy evil, but it all functions. There are certain reservations, but if you can’t suspend disbelief to a pretty heavy degree upon entering something called “Star Trek,” it isn’t the movie’s problem.
Rating: 
Are You Screening?
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Everything about this new Star Trek was great as far as i'm concerned, except at the theater the reel kept jumping and the sound went out a couple of times… why are movie theaters still using film i wonder?
Everything about this new Star Trek was great as far as i'm concerned, except at the theater the reel kept jumping and the sound went out a couple of times… why are movie theaters still using film i wonder?
When will hollywood learn that the quickest way to make a crappy movie is to use “Time Travel” as a plot device, and so it is that we come to the polished turd that is “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (no not that one, the new one).
While were on the subject lets throw the canon in a corner and take a massive crap on it. Then take the pieces that didn't get any shit on them and throw them back in to the movie willy nilly.
I almost didn't go to see this movie when I heard it involved time travel. I mean the instant you bring TT into a movie it is nearly impossible to reconcile the paradoxes thus created. Seriously…. Deranged miner blames Spock for the destruction of Romulus so he “ends up” going back in time and once there decides to exact revenge on Spock by destroying Vulcan and Earth. Oh yeah Spock also “ends up” going back in time 25 years after that, and mean ol' Romulan guy is waiting for him, captures him and then proceeds to destroy Vulcan (and kills Spock's mom too the big meanie), and now we have 2 Spock's in one time and some junk that makes “Black holes” called “Red Matter” (imaginative name ay! cause it's matter, and it's red… get it?), and all the history of who, how, and what is thrown out the windows (the canon). So if Romulus is destroyed what would be the point of attempting to make peace with a race who's planet will be destroyed in a supernova some time in the future? You figure out the logic (or lack thereof) behind it all.
Next up lets change some of the characters…. Like making Spock and Uhura hot for each other (what, Ohhhh!, Huh?). Wasn't it Nurse Chapel who was hot for Spock, Oh… Right she's not in this one. Oh and Uhura rooms with a green Orion slave girl with a bad body paint job (cause Starfleet needs horny oversexed controlling women in it's ranks). Well make Scotty an eccentric guy with a little alien comic relief dude for an assistant. Then there's the reckless, yet some how always right Kirk. Except Kirk was never reckless. Spock is played as a brooding know it all (broderline EMO) douche bag who flies off the handle over the slightest insult, and don't even say “yo mama” to him. Then for good measure toss in a little bit of Sulu and Chekov (just a little cause we don't know how to develop their characters). Though we will make Chekov an over reactive spaz. Then there are the Vulcan's who have suddenly become snotty eugenics types who conveniently have emotions whenever they feel like it.
Now the ships and equipment… The inside of the ships vary from hospital like sterility with a touch of art deco discotheque thrown in, to what looks like a large chemical plant , sewer plant, or maybe a brewery. The hand phasers did a silly mechanical switching from stun to kill. The giant mining ship looked like it escaped from an episode of Babylon 5. For a utilitarian device it has alot of un-necessary nasty/evil looking spikes and protrusions all over it. I could just see some Romulan ship designer having his design rejected for not being SCARY enough “damn the cost! I want my mining ship to scare the piss out of an asteroid before I strip it of minerals”. The Enterprise looked like Chihuly had a hand in it's design.
Okay… Enough Bashing, now to the things I did like about the movie.
The CG and special effects are top notch. The battle scenes are nice and messy, and sometimes when we are outside the ship there is no sound (just like in real space). We get to see the Enterprise maneuver more like a fighter jet then wallow around going only left and right like they did in most of the TV series.
There were some quite funny, but mostly irrelevant moments throughout the movie. There is even the gratuitous red shirt who gets killed. Doctor McCoys Character is nearly spot on, and he spouts a few of TOS cliches. We actually get to see Captain Christopher Pike do something more that go “beep” or even “beep…. Beep….”. The original communicator even makes a couple of cameos.
For the most part though they might as well have made the movie about a completely different set of characters that had nothing to do with the original.
Wow. Too much to cover there my friend.
There are a great many points that could be picked apart, mostly especially I'll give you the ludicrous design of the Romulan ship, but you could do as much with the original series and/or just about anything sci-fi.
Warp speed will work if you've got nothing else.
The game assumes a sort of contract to suspend some amount of disbelief.
You've got to play along to some degree, or at some point you're misgivings become uninteresting. You may not like time travel, and fair enough frankly, but, “there's time travel in it, and there's no such thing as time travel,” is hardly a workable detraction.
You have to draw the line somewhere with respect to the scrutiny you can legitimately aim at a movie. After all, it's got time in it too, and there's no such thing as that either.
Appreciate the comment.
When will hollywood learn that the quickest way to make a crappy movie is to use “Time Travel” as a plot device, and so it is that we come to the polished turd that is “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (no not that one, the new one).
While were on the subject lets throw the canon in a corner and take a massive crap on it. Then take the pieces that didn't get any shit on them and throw them back in to the movie willy nilly.
I almost didn't go to see this movie when I heard it involved time travel. I mean the instant you bring TT into a movie it is nearly impossible to reconcile the paradoxes thus created. Seriously…. Deranged miner blames Spock for the destruction of Romulus so he “ends up” going back in time and once there decides to exact revenge on Spock by destroying Vulcan and Earth. Oh yeah Spock also “ends up” going back in time 25 years after that, and mean ol' Romulan guy is waiting for him, captures him and then proceeds to destroy Vulcan (and kills Spock's mom too the big meanie), and now we have 2 Spock's in one time and some junk that makes “Black holes” called “Red Matter” (imaginative name ay! cause it's matter, and it's red… get it?), and all the history of who, how, and what is thrown out the windows (the canon). So if Romulus is destroyed what would be the point of attempting to make peace with a race who's planet will be destroyed in a supernova some time in the future? You figure out the logic (or lack thereof) behind it all.
Next up lets change some of the characters…. Like making Spock and Uhura hot for each other (what, Ohhhh!, Huh?). Wasn't it Nurse Chapel who was hot for Spock, Oh… Right she's not in this one. Oh and Uhura rooms with a green Orion slave girl with a bad body paint job (cause Starfleet needs horny oversexed controlling women in it's ranks). Well make Scotty an eccentric guy with a little alien comic relief dude for an assistant. Then there's the reckless, yet some how always right Kirk. Except Kirk was never reckless. Spock is played as a brooding know it all (broderline EMO) douche bag who flies off the handle over the slightest insult, and don't even say “yo mama” to him. Then for good measure toss in a little bit of Sulu and Chekov (just a little cause we don't know how to develop their characters). Though we will make Chekov an over reactive spaz. Then there are the Vulcan's who have suddenly become snotty eugenics types who conveniently have emotions whenever they feel like it.
Now the ships and equipment… The inside of the ships vary from hospital like sterility with a touch of art deco discotheque thrown in, to what looks like a large chemical plant , sewer plant, or maybe a brewery. The hand phasers did a silly mechanical switching from stun to kill. The giant mining ship looked like it escaped from an episode of Babylon 5. For a utilitarian device it has alot of un-necessary nasty/evil looking spikes and protrusions all over it. I could just see some Romulan ship designer having his design rejected for not being SCARY enough “damn the cost! I want my mining ship to scare the piss out of an asteroid before I strip it of minerals”. The Enterprise looked like Chihuly had a hand in it's design.
Okay… Enough Bashing, now to the things I did like about the movie.
The CG and special effects are top notch. The battle scenes are nice and messy, and sometimes when we are outside the ship there is no sound (just like in real space). We get to see the Enterprise maneuver more like a fighter jet then wallow around going only left and right like they did in most of the TV series.
There were some quite funny, but mostly irrelevant moments throughout the movie. There is even the gratuitous red shirt who gets killed. Doctor McCoys Character is nearly spot on, and he spouts a few of TOS cliches. We actually get to see Captain Christopher Pike do something more that go “beep” or even “beep…. Beep….”. The original communicator even makes a couple of cameos.
For the most part though they might as well have made the movie about a completely different set of characters that had nothing to do with the original.
Wow. Too much to cover there my friend.
There are a great many points that could be picked apart, mostly especially I'll give you the ludicrous design of the Romulan ship, but you could do as much with the original series and/or just about anything sci-fi.
Warp speed will work if you've got nothing else.
The game assumes a sort of contract to suspend some amount of disbelief.
You've got to play along to some degree, or at some point you're misgivings become uninteresting. You may not like time travel, and fair enough frankly, but, “there's time travel in it, and there's no such thing as time travel,” is hardly a workable detraction.
You have to draw the line somewhere with respect to the scrutiny you can legitimately aim at a movie. After all, it's got time in it too, and there's no such thing as that either.
Appreciate the comment.
Great review. I love your description of Kirk as Bond/Joey, that is so spot on…heh. I really feel that what held us all to the original series with its styrofoam rocks and spaceships on strings was the relationships between the characters. We grew to love the spiky doctor and rash captain and his logical science officer with the cool pointy ears. That's what I so loved about the new Star Trek–they recaptured that sense of joy of camaraderie, and we all felt like we'd been reunited with old friends we've loved and missed.
I also like your assessment of Abrams' failing with character study–making all the right noises w/o really understanding the process. I think that's something that Wolverine really suffered from–by comparison Star Trek looks so much better. I did feel Nero got shorted in this, though–he inspired enough interest and I think the picture would have resonated more if we'd delved into his timeline a bit more. I realize he was just a plot point in this introductory film, but he was too complex and intriguing to be reduced to cardboard villian.
Over all a ridiculously enjoyable film, and if I can forgive the styrofoam rocks and the red shirt=death scenarios, I can forgive this film a few modern day flaws as well. *G*
Great review. I love your description of Kirk as Bond/Joey, that is so spot on…heh. I really feel that what held us all to the original series with its styrofoam rocks and spaceships on strings was the relationships between the characters. We grew to love the spiky doctor and rash captain and his logical science officer with the cool pointy ears. That's what I so loved about the new Star Trek–they recaptured that sense of joy of camaraderie, and we all felt like we'd been reunited with old friends we've loved and missed.
I also like your assessment of Abrams' failing with character study–making all the right noises w/o really understanding the process. I think that's something that Wolverine really suffered from–by comparison Star Trek looks so much better. I did feel Nero got shorted in this, though–he inspired enough interest and I think the picture would have resonated more if we'd delved into his timeline a bit more. I realize he was just a plot point in this introductory film, but he was too complex and intriguing to be reduced to cardboard villian.
Over all a ridiculously enjoyable film, and if I can forgive the styrofoam rocks and the red shirt=death scenarios, I can forgive this film a few modern day flaws as well. *G*
I meant to catch this on mother's day, but I was under the weather (seriously under). I loved the old show, nonsense and all and always felt that the interaction of characters was the key, the perfect interplay of unlikely compatriots.
I never thought they quite caught that in the later incarnations.
Even imperfect, I'm planning to go and enjoy. As a scientist, I've long ago learned to check my science hat at the door with damn near every science fiction movie (one, maybe two exceptions come to mind, three if you count Apollo 13 as science fiction).
I'll be tickled to death if they do a credible job of bringing my favorites together.
I meant to catch this on mother's day, but I was under the weather (seriously under). I loved the old show, nonsense and all and always felt that the interaction of characters was the key, the perfect interplay of unlikely compatriots.
I never thought they quite caught that in the later incarnations.
Even imperfect, I'm planning to go and enjoy. As a scientist, I've long ago learned to check my science hat at the door with damn near every science fiction movie (one, maybe two exceptions come to mind, three if you count Apollo 13 as science fiction).
I'll be tickled to death if they do a credible job of bringing my favorites together.
I meant to catch this on mother's day, but I was under the weather (seriously under). I loved the old show, nonsense and all and always felt that the interaction of characters was the key, the perfect interplay of unlikely compatriots.
I never thought they quite caught that in the later incarnations.
Even imperfect, I'm planning to go and enjoy. As a scientist, I've long ago learned to check my science hat at the door with damn near every science fiction movie (one, maybe two exceptions come to mind, three if you count Apollo 13 as science fiction).
I'll be tickled to death if they do a credible job of bringing my favorites together.
Exactly, and thanks for the comment. If you give the original series grief about science, you might as well go to a stageplay and worry about the sets not really being trees or whatever.
I think Nero got shortchanged, sort of, because he almost had to be. The more you look at him, the less you have a villain. Or something.
That's SO what I said.
My guess is that you'll like it pretty well, as I did, but it's only a guess.
Cheers.
Exactly, and thanks for the comment. If you give the original series grief about science, you might as well go to a stageplay and worry about the sets not really being trees or whatever.
I think Nero got shortchanged, sort of, because he almost had to be. The more you look at him, the less you have a villain. Or something.
That's SO what I said.
My guess is that you'll like it pretty well, as I did, but it's only a guess.
Cheers.
No digital format can come close to the projection/resolution of a good 16:9 35mm print and a 70mm projection on a 60 foot screen… not even in the same galaxy (as it were)… digital is improving every year, and for 8×10 photos you can easily argue digital is as good as film… (close)… but at these projection sizes there is no digital equivalent that can match film. The projector technology alone for digital film projection is still years from coming close to the tonal range and latitude of projected motion picture film.
It will get there one day, but it will be years still… perhaps a decade or more…
No digital format can come close to the projection/resolution of a good 16:9 35mm print and a 70mm projection on a 60 foot screen… not even in the same galaxy (as it were)… digital is improving every year, and for 8×10 photos you can easily argue digital is as good as film… (close)… but at these projection sizes there is no digital equivalent that can match film. The projector technology alone for digital film projection is still years from coming close to the tonal range and latitude of projected motion picture film.
It will get there one day, but it will be years still… perhaps a decade or more…
I did indeed like it very well.
I did indeed like it very well.
I did indeed like it very well.
I did enjoy the movie a lot. Some of my friends who also saw the movies have no knowledge of Star Trek. They enjoyed the movie a lot and they have become more interested in getting to know Star Trek
Thanks a lot for coming back and letting me know. Very glad you did.
Cheers.