Star Trek
WARNING: Potential movie spoiler!!
Enough of my friends have watched it I can now talk about this movie. If you haven't please don't keep reading unless you don't mind having the movie spoiled for you.
I walked out of the movie quite happy. I think it was mostly because I really enjoyed hearing the original theme song in a movie theater. This was the first Star Trek movie I ever saw in a movie theater. I know, I'm pretty pathetic as a Trekkie. But I do have a comm badge pin.
Upon reflection, I think there were aspects of the movie I didn't like but all in all, it was a nice way to spend the evening.
It was an entertaining yarn they spun. I was impressed with how the different actors were able to take up the mannerisms of TOS's original actors and yet still give it enough new flavor to make the characters their own. It was reasonable the way they were able to bring in Leonard Nimoy into this movie. It also provided an interesting context in which Spock and Kirk's friendship developed. There were updates in the technological look of everything- the ship and everything look quite spiffy and more "modern". But they also kept enough of the campy-ness that it still felt like Star Trek (the blob of red matter looked so like a blob of bright red nail polish that I couldn't really take it seriously). Though Kirk doesn't walk around without his shirt every 30 minutes, he is seen in his underwear at least once.
I didn't like the romantic subplot between Spock and Uhura (why would Spock be dating anyone if he isn't in his mating season? Do Vulcans date?), the disappearance of an entire (very important!) world, and the disappearance of TWO parents of important characters from the history of the universe (though it is supposed to be in the future and it is fictitious, i know). Okay, so neither Kirk's dad nor Spock's mom makes many appearances in future episodes, I still think they shouldn't be off'ed like that! I was mildly irritated at the story line in which the future Spock gives the "present-day" Scotty some very useful formulas that Scotty was supposed to have created in the future that would allow for some major advances to their matter transport system. Somehow this seems like they took away some of Scotty's intelligence or something. It would have been cooler for Scotty if he came up with it all by himself rather than having someone give him the answer a head of time and he just works backyards to figure out all the explanations. ALSO, they didn't apply the appropriate signals of red shirt = mark of death. People, regardless of shirt color were dying left right and center!
I have to admit my problems with all these changes (well, except for Scotty getting the formulas from the future-Spock) may just reflect my inability to deal well with change. On the plus side, this means they have just re-opened this franchise because they were able to "rewrite history". Now new adventures and stories can occur.
Enough of my friends have watched it I can now talk about this movie. If you haven't please don't keep reading unless you don't mind having the movie spoiled for you.
I walked out of the movie quite happy. I think it was mostly because I really enjoyed hearing the original theme song in a movie theater. This was the first Star Trek movie I ever saw in a movie theater. I know, I'm pretty pathetic as a Trekkie. But I do have a comm badge pin.
Upon reflection, I think there were aspects of the movie I didn't like but all in all, it was a nice way to spend the evening.
It was an entertaining yarn they spun. I was impressed with how the different actors were able to take up the mannerisms of TOS's original actors and yet still give it enough new flavor to make the characters their own. It was reasonable the way they were able to bring in Leonard Nimoy into this movie. It also provided an interesting context in which Spock and Kirk's friendship developed. There were updates in the technological look of everything- the ship and everything look quite spiffy and more "modern". But they also kept enough of the campy-ness that it still felt like Star Trek (the blob of red matter looked so like a blob of bright red nail polish that I couldn't really take it seriously). Though Kirk doesn't walk around without his shirt every 30 minutes, he is seen in his underwear at least once.
I didn't like the romantic subplot between Spock and Uhura (why would Spock be dating anyone if he isn't in his mating season? Do Vulcans date?), the disappearance of an entire (very important!) world, and the disappearance of TWO parents of important characters from the history of the universe (though it is supposed to be in the future and it is fictitious, i know). Okay, so neither Kirk's dad nor Spock's mom makes many appearances in future episodes, I still think they shouldn't be off'ed like that! I was mildly irritated at the story line in which the future Spock gives the "present-day" Scotty some very useful formulas that Scotty was supposed to have created in the future that would allow for some major advances to their matter transport system. Somehow this seems like they took away some of Scotty's intelligence or something. It would have been cooler for Scotty if he came up with it all by himself rather than having someone give him the answer a head of time and he just works backyards to figure out all the explanations. ALSO, they didn't apply the appropriate signals of red shirt = mark of death. People, regardless of shirt color were dying left right and center!
I have to admit my problems with all these changes (well, except for Scotty getting the formulas from the future-Spock) may just reflect my inability to deal well with change. On the plus side, this means they have just re-opened this franchise because they were able to "rewrite history". Now new adventures and stories can occur.
posted by Matty Lau at
6:43 PM
1 Comments:
I must defend the movie -it's my duty as a Trekkie, even if I agree with you sometimes :)
1. The idea of a formula/invention being given to someone in the past who "discovered" it has already been done - by Scotty to someone in the 20th century in the whale movie.
2. The romantic subplot was weird, I agree. But we might be able to fudge a bit by pointing out that even though Spock doesn't like to admit it, he is half human. Also, his father married a human, so there is precedent for such a thing.
3. Unfortunately, Spock's mother does make an appearance in episodes of TOS. So that firmly places this movie as leading to an alternate reality, not the exact one leading up to the shows as we know them.
4. We can discuss this more this weekend; everyone around us will have seen it.
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Anonymous, at 5/27/2009 7:42 AM
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