Star Trek XI

[Tyrant]

I'd be more specific about what I thought, but I've been ranting and raving online all over the place all week and now I'm tired and lazy and don't feel like typing anything lengthy.

So c&p.  I saw it again today because I needed to get the taste of Angels & Demons out of my mouth.  From another forum:

Except that I was ranting and raving about things not related to this movie.    However:

As I said, I liked it quite a bit. It was chock full of both nerd moments and awesome moments. Now that I don't feel lazy anymore, some thoughts:

As a quasi-Trekkie, I can see why some of the Trekkies are complaining. Namely, it doesn't FEEL like a Trek movie because the pacing is so vastly different than its predacessors. Instead of 80% of the movie consisting of people talking and throwing around techy-Trek lingo, you've got more down-to-Earth fisticuffs type action sequences and very little lingo that's over-the-head. Also some truly incredible space battle sequences. This may also be the first movie I've ever seen that employed the "shaky camera" fighting/ action scene technique where you can actually *gasp* follow the action instead of everything blurring together (Michael Bay, I'm talking to you). Yet despite the different feel of the movie compared to the other Trek movies, you've got Enterprise. You've got phasers. You've got the renovated, nod-to-the-classic Trek uniforms. You've even got the themesong at the end (YAY!). Your head tells you it's Star Trek. Your eyes try to tell you different. I don't know about anyone else, but my eyes and head had a discussion, unlearned what they had learned from TOS and OS movies, and finally compromised on the issue. I suspect people who don't like the movie couldn't reach this harmonious balance. Or they're uber-Trekkies who dislike the hefty dose of updating and bringing the universe down a few notches so people who are more casual about their sci-fi can actually relate to it.

The characters were awesome. I can relate a bit more to Pine's Kirk than Shatner's (although I'll always love the ham-fest that is Shatner). I did note that he does seem a bit more rough about the edges. Maybe because his dad wasn't around thanks to Nero screwing things up. Shatner's Kirk seems a little more refined, but then that Kirk is also a bit older and we're still seeing Kirk in his green days here. Pegg......F-ing awesome as Scotty. I'm with everyone else. He needed more screen time. Urban's McCoy was spot on. I could tell he was trying to channel Kelley minus some of the grouchiness (younger, slightly less cynical). Everyone else was alright. I was a bit more sold on Yelchin's Chekov than most, but I suspect it's because Koenig's portrayal of the character has always kind of annoyed me for some reason (he was never my favorite crewmember). This movie has booted me from "Chekov annoys the hell out of me please get him off the screen" to "I can tolerate him for short periods of time now".

My achilles heel, though, is Spock. Like I stated earlier, though I'm a casual Trek fan, I'm a total Spock whore. For my entire life. Literally. I hated setting whether I liked the movie or not up on how it portrayed Spock, but there it is. It can't be helped. You know how some characters can worm their way into your psyche so deeply that they actually help shape and define who you are? Spock's one of mine. I blame my Mom. She had me watching Trek before I could even talk. I was a certified nerd from day one. She also had me watching Twilight Zone, but we won't get into how that messed me up. Anyway, I was nervous about Spock. Very nervous. This may have been the underlying reason I was initially not going to see the movie. Quinto....pulled it off. I don't know if he sat down with Nimoy or had Nimoy coach him or what. But there it is. He even had the mannerisms down. Of course, it didn't hurt that Nimoy himself was in it too. As my Spock, no less. He pulls off a totally believable young Spock. I was thrilled.

Characters aside, the movie did a nice job setting everything up by conviniently explaining everything with time travel. Man, that's the most sell-out explination for anything in sci-fi, but it actually works and works well in this movie. It's a very well-defined, organized plot that I've not enjoyed in the Trek universe since First Contact (yes, I liked that movie). Having had my head in the Terminator universe for some time now, having an alternate whats-its isn't too hard and this one actually makes sense. That it sets itself up nicely for a sequel doesn't hurt either (but they have to get Quinto in for Spock again, dammit). I was nervous about the Trek franchise getting a reboot after the last few movies and was highly doubtful it would work. Especially since they were going in and rebooting TOS aspect of it, which could have potentially been a disaster for countless reasons. This movie is actually prompting me to start collecting the DVD sets of the enhanced TOS seasons, which is something I didn't think would happen.

Things I didn't like:

Okay, what the hell was up with the Enterprise engine room? Did they film it entirely on another movie set? Did they run out the budget for the rest of the movie so they rented out a water treatment plant for a week to film in? What? It didn't "match" with the rest of the ship at all. I'm not usually picky about sets but, in a starship setting, I think there needs to be some artistic uniformity. I didn't expect it to be clean and pristine like the rest of the ship or anything (something that always annoyed me about ST:TNG actually), but I do think it needed more elements that said,"Yes this is an engine room, but it's the engine room for an ass-kicking, iconic warp-speed capable star ship!".  Instead we got a bunch of Super Mario Bros pipes.

The whole dorm room scene with Kirk, Orion green girl and Uhura. What was the point?

Bana as Nero. That was some pretty wooden acting there.

What I especially liked:

The riff I came up with when Kirk sees that creature emerging from the snowy mists on the ice planet. It had something to do with a Taun Taun and it was brilliant and now for the of me I can't remember it.

Good show!  9.5 out of 10. Sorry for such a long review, but I think the movie calls for it.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Things I didn't like:

The whole dorm room scene with Kirk, Orion green girl and Uhura. What was the point?

So that Kirk could hear about Uhura monitoring the attack on the Klingons (even though he was thinking about other things at the time she said it and it meant nothing to anyone at the time) and he can put the two things together and save the ship (even though he was messed up on all sorts of drugs at the time Pike mentions the lightning storm in space).

Because Kirk is brilliant!!!!  Kirk is the next coming of Christ! (According to this version of Trek.)

BTW, can someone tell me what the theme of this film was?  TWoK was about sacrifice, Undiscovered Country was about resistance to change and the lengths some people will go to to keep the status quo, Search For Spock was about friendship, even the awful Generations was about choices in life and Insurrection was about the state deciding who has rights over another.....

In this film I see a lot of sound and fury.....but what were we supposed to take away from this?

Other than a Cadet can go from graduation day to Captain in one day....even though someone who already outranks him (Spock) did just as much in the same crisis?

[Rude]

...

Finally got my tickets for tonight. And the theater actually serves alcohol... i'm sure that will help greatly with my opinion of the movie!

-Rude

[Tyrant]

BTW, can someone tell me what the theme of this film was? 

If I had to guess, I would say healthy vs unhealthy ways of dealing with grief. It's the only real theme used throughout that I noticed.

[Tripe]

And the theater actually serves alcohol... i'm sure that will help greatly with my opinion of the movie!

Really, is it one of those swish comfy chair auditorium ones?

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

BTW, can someone tell me what the theme of this film was? 

If I had to guess, I would say healthy vs unhealthy ways of dealing with grief. It's the only real theme used throughout that I noticed.

Who handled grief in a healthy manner?

Kirk? He became a delinquent and an insufferable asshole.

Spock? He repressed it until Kirk goaded him into beating on him and choking him (while the whole bridge stood by and watched - that strike anyone as odd?).

Spock Prime?  Until Kirk showed up, he appears to have given up and was content to just sit in that cave and....? What...die?

Sarek, maybe. But he's not a main character.

Someone suggested to me that it was "destiny". But what about the destiny of all those Vulcans on the planet? The ones that were already alive when this all started - they're so long-lived? What about Sarek? He had one destiny before Nero traveled back in time and another one after?

Or, again, is it that the only person who has a "destiny" written in stone is James T. Kirk - the only person in the universe that matters? Everyone else's can be changed by the breeze....

[Rude]

Really, is it one of those swish comfy chair auditorium ones?

Ya' know, i haven't actually been to this theater since it converted to a Sundance Cinema. Supposedly it's pretty plush, and I actually had to reserve my seats online like an airplane. So that was kind of unusual. I chose seats in the balcony/bar area of the upper level. Looking at the map, there are only two seats before each aisle row... so that looks nice and roomy to me.

If this theater is as nice as it sounds, it could redeem the entire movie theater experience for me. Here's hoping...

-Rude

[Tyrant]

BTW, can someone tell me what the theme of this film was? 

If I had to guess, I would say healthy vs unhealthy ways of dealing with grief. It's the only real theme used throughout that I noticed.

Who handled grief in a healthy manner?

I would say anyone in the movie that actually went through its various stages without attempting to destroy entire planets in the process. So I guess Nero is the one who screwed up. Everyone else went through the denial/anger/grief/acceptance/becoming an asshole stuff in their own ways. Mass murdering is undeniably unhealthy.

Or, again, is it that the only person who has a "destiny" written in stone is James T. Kirk - the only person in the universe that matters? Everyone else's can be changed by the breeze....

Though I agree the focus is on Kirk most of the time (and Spock, really, hence the equivilent scenes of them growing up), I got more that it was the Enterprise's core crew's destiny being written in stone. They all still wound up together on the bridge despite everything Nero was doing.

[Doctor Who?]

BTW, can someone tell me what the theme of this film was? 

If I had to guess, I would say healthy vs unhealthy ways of dealing with grief. It's the only real theme used throughout that I noticed.

Who handled grief in a healthy manner?

Kirk? He became a delinquent and an insufferable asshole.

Spock? He repressed it until Kirk goaded him into beating on him and choking him (while the whole bridge stood by and watched - that strike anyone as odd?).

Spock Prime?  Until Kirk showed up, he appears to have given up and was content to just sit in that cave and....? What...die?

Sarek, maybe. But he's not a main character.

Someone suggested to me that it was "destiny". But what about the destiny of all those Vulcans on the planet? The ones that were already alive when this all started - they're so long-lived? What about Sarek? He had one destiny before Nero traveled back in time and another one after?

Or, again, is it that the only person who has a "destiny" written in stone is James T. Kirk - the only person in the universe that matters? Everyone else's can be changed by the breeze....

I can see where you are coming from and the same thing does bother me but it doesn't bother me enough not to enjoy the movie because 1)this is the first piece of star Trek in about 10 years that was fun to watch and 2)the cast was so good so i can over look that this movie didn't have a theme and just enjoy it.

It was still a fun adventure unlike Star trek's 5,1,9,and 10.

[bettertomorrowamy]

Star Trek 5 is underrated in my opinion.  It's like a movie version of one of the goofier tv episodes.

[Doctor Who?]

I have never been able to get over the fact that everyone betrayed Kirk for no reason in that movie,it seems so much like Shatner was on Hollywood's biggest ego trip.

[Tripe]

Really, is it one of those swish comfy chair auditorium ones?

Ya' know, i haven't actually been to this theater since it converted to a Sundance Cinema. Supposedly it's pretty plush, and I actually had to reserve my seats online like an airplane. So that was kind of unusual. I chose seats in the balcony/bar area of the upper level. Looking at the map, there are only two seats before each aisle row... so that looks nice and roomy to me.

If this theater is as nice as it sounds, it could redeem the entire movie theater experience for me. Here's hoping...

-Rude

Looks pretty good, this is the one along those  Iines near me.  I really should go and see a movie there at some point.

[Zandrax]

Star Trek 5 is underrated in my opinion.  It's like a movie version of one of the goofier tv episodes.

If you do a search for Star Trek "In Thy Image" you'll find a re-edit that makes it a lot less goofy nd more Trek-like. I think it was done by the same guy that did the Star Wars "Phantom Edit" that removed Jar Jar Binks.

[Rude]

...

Completely unimpressed by the movie. The theater itself was really cool, though!

-Rude

[Nekrose]

I didn't think it was that great.