Star Trek

[Monde Luna]

I like the TV shows but I'm not a huge fan of the ST movies. However, the new one looks awesome and it appears to be getting good reviews. Have any of you watched it? Is it good?

[phyco126]

Haven't watched it, but I really plan on it. I have yet to hear anything bad come from it. I unfortunately stumbled into some of the plot, not enough to be a spoiler, but enough to make me say "wtf?!" I'm not sure if the plot will work for me, but I still will easily give it a chance, since I have yet to find a movie I truely despise. =P

[Werefrog]

Are there polar bears in it? (The director of this Star Trek movie is the creator of Lost... which has polar bears in it.)

[Kizyr]

I went with two other people. Of the three of us, one had no familiarity with Star Trek, one had a lot of familiarity, and the third was me (I've been a Trek fan for the majority of my life). All three of us really loved it.

There are some good and bad points. I made a full spoiler-lite and spoiler-heavy review on my Xanga, but here's the gist of the spoiler-lite version:

The good:

• Action sequences--in space (the first 10 minutes with the USS Kelvin), on-the-ground, and in between (orbital skydiving!)
• The casting--particularly Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Scotty
• How Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekhov retained the best parts of their original character
• How Kirk, Spock, and Uhura got a much-needed upgrade to their characters
• Occasional lines and events that called back to the series ("Are you out of your damn Vulcan mind?", Sulu's hand-to-hand combat, Chekhov's trouble with Vs, the redshirt on the orbital skydive)
• Leonard Nimoy

The bad:

• The main villain, Nero, for being a genocidal monster on the order of Khan Singh, has really lousy motivations
• The interaction between Spock and Uhura
• Angle-shots and shaky-cameras. I hate these two techniques, yet why do directors insist on using them? I thought Battlefield: Earth proved how completely awful angle-shots can be.

The confusing:

• "Did that just really happen?"

If you don't know a thing about Star Trek, you'll have no problem following it and enjoying the movie all the same (they also keep it very light on the technobabble, and have basically excised all the elements of The Original Series that were rather... irksome). If you've been a Trek fan all your life, there's still plenty to love about this movie. And in either case, the bad doesn't detract enough from the good to keep you from thoroughly enjoying it.

So, yeah, I'd recommend seeing it.

Are there polar bears in it? (The director of this Star Trek movie is the creator of Lost... which has polar bears in it.)

I assure you, it's nothing like just putting Lost in space. KF

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

I don't even like Star Trek and I want to see it.

[Sonic#]

I just got done seeing it a second time tonight. I still think it was excellent. I'm divided between this and First Contact for the best Star Trek movie. At the least, it's the most accessible without being dumbed down, moreso even than Star Trek IV.

When I was seeing it this time, the camera angles did get to me some, Kizyr. I'm most used to them from Battlestar Galactica. When used properly, the off-center shot can be good. On the other hand, there is a such thing as being too real. I think they could have managed better shots by not having the camera flutter in the wind/void so often.

I fell in love with all of the characters all over again, in one case twice over. I read an interview where the director said he wanted to make the Starfleet captains strong and masculine, and he certainly succeeded in that. The captain of the Kelvin at the start ramps it all up. On the other hand, while Star Trek is more gender-equal than most, the qualifications listed by the director do exclude women captains, at least in this case. I hadn't thought of it until just now.

Then the uniforms... I actually like the ones at the start the most. They're nice and sleek and a good color, better looking than the ones that pay an homage to the original series. They're not bad though, and a good upgrade, but... mueh.

But now I'm rambling, and I could ramble on and on about minor points.

[PrettyGirlJean]

I have to admit my first intro to Star Trek was TNG series. I'm not a trekkie (having seen the documentary on that it left no doubts in my mind heh), but I do really enjoy TNG. I haven't seen all of the ST movies, though I did really like Generations and First Contact. Having said that, I think I may have seen a handful of the original Star Trek episodes. Lately, I've seen funny clips on Youtube of the Star Trek Fighting History and the "Worst Fight Ever" between Kirk and that lizard monster.

Now that I've given you my unasked for back story :p I have to say I really liked the newest Star Trek movie. The more I think about it the more I like it. It had some really great one liners, and the action was great. I'm a sucker for romance, but I'm not quite sure I was diggin' a couple in particular... it just seemed kind of weird and out of place personally. I guess it's due to my prior (lack of?) knowledge of said couple. Eric Bana (was it Eric Bana?) as Nero, just wasn't very convincing, but he looked cool and menacing so it's okay... actually, the performance was a bit campy in a way but I think it gave it some of the original Star Trek charm in that way. Poor guy in red.... it's just fate LOL!

Also, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get past the fact that the actor who plays Sylar on Heroes was playing Spock... but after the first few minutes I wasn't thinking about it at all. He made a great Spock in my opinion. And I have to say I really like how they portrayed Kirk, I actually like the character a lot more now. Overall, the characters were great in my opinion.

Like I said, I really have no knowledge of the history of the original Star Trek so I wasn't too sure what to expect and honestly I wasn't sure if I'd like it but I was pleasantly surprised. I definitely enjoyed it a helluva lot more than Wolverine Origins.... *tear*

[Agawa]

[*]The main villain, Nero, for being a genocidal monster on the order of Khan Singh, has really lousy motivations
[*]The interaction between Spock and Uhura
[*]Angle-shots and shaky-cameras. I hate these two techniques, yet why do directors insist on using them? I thought Battlefield: Earth proved how completely awful angle-shots can be.[/list]

I agree with you on just about everything. Nero was terribly boring and I hated that "DUH DUH DUH I'M EVIL SO EVIL VERY BAD" music that played every time he was on the screen. Also, mining ship? I think he got it upgraded...

I didn't mind the angle shots but the lens glare was a little much and oh my goodness I hate shaky action shots!

[Kizyr]

I agree with you on just about everything. Nero was terribly boring and I hated that "DUH DUH DUH I'M EVIL SO EVIL VERY BAD" music that played every time he was on the screen. Also, mining ship? I think he got it upgraded...

I didn't mind the angle shots but the lens glare was a little much and oh my goodness I hate shaky action shots!

Oh I almost forgot about the lens flare. Just add that to the list.

Nero's ship was upgraded with Borg technology (FROM THE FUTURE!). I don't think they actually mentioned that in the final cut, but it's something either from the director's cut or the original script. (Really don't want to scour through TrekBBS to find out which at the moment...) KF

[Monde Luna]

So I watched Star Trek on Saturday, and I loved it. I went with my hubby and rents, and I'm glad I did because my parents had to explain the importance of the green girl. I was also confused at first because I thought that Nero's ship was going to be occupied by borg so when I saw the Romulens it threw me for a loop. I don't watch much TV so I never really saw to many trailers.

[Sonic#]

So I watched Star Trek on Saturday, and I loved it. I went with my hubby and rents, and I'm glad I did because my parents had to explain the importance of the green girl. I was also confused at first because I thought that Nero's ship was going to be occupied by borg so when I saw the Romulens it threw me for a loop. I don't watch much TV so I never really saw to many trailers.

Wait. Maybe I missed something. What was the importance of the green girl. ?

[Monde Luna]

Well apparently (this is all secondhand info) in the orig. series they had mentioned a few times that Cpt. Kirk had slept with a green chick. My S-dad told me that it was a service to the Trekkies.

[Kizyr]

Well apparently (this is all secondhand info) in the orig. series they had mentioned a few times that Cpt. Kirk had slept with a green chick. My S-dad told me that it was a service to the Trekkies.

It's not really spoiler-worthy. The green girl was an Orion. Kirk was known to sleep with every woman he possibly could--so, him shacking up with an Orion girl at one point, turning his head to say hello to every girl that passed by, etc., that was kind of a service to Trekkies. (It was one funny thing they kept about his character while still breaking away from the Shatner mold.)

ST: Enterprise did a lot better service to Orions anyway. Actually, nearly every race in Enterprise got a lot fairer and more realistic treatment (Andorians, Vulcans, Orions, even Klingons to some extent). It was one of the best things about the series, that every member of a particular race didn't behave the exact same way. KF

[dragonmaster-Ghaleon]

i enjoyed the movie... though admittedly I'm not a big star trek fan ... not that i can compare the two but I'm more a star wars guy personally though who doesn't like Spock XD I'm glad Leonard Nimoy made a cameo ..and that they kept the same feel of the show but made it feel newer and exciting for people who haven't really felt that way for the show or haven't seen it period all in all it was a good movie

[LunarRaptor]

I also liked this film. I went to see it twice. Never once saw a whole episode of any series, ever. Eh, Nero's motivations may have been weak, but then again, wasn't he supposed to be insane?

One thing I'm glad for is that the new Kirk lacks Shatner's voice patterns. Thank God for that.

[Werefrog]

One thing I'm glad for is that the new Kirk lacks Shatner's voice patterns. Thank God for that.

Don't you mean? "Thank. God. For that..." That's my best attempt to replicate Shatner's "acting." (I actually like Shatner a lot and wish he would have at been given a cameo.)

[LunarRaptor]

I don't not like Shatner, its just that I'm not a big fan of that kind of large ham that he is. I'm more of a fan of the BRIAN BLESSED! variety.

In any case, I can't think of any place in the film where they could have fit anyone in as a cameo. They fit Nimey in, but only because he was part of the plot. In one of Spock flashbacks, maybe?

[Theta]

Yeah, it would have been nice to seen Shatner and the others in a flashback. As for that being a mining ship, imagine what a warbird would do.

[LunarRaptor]

Very true, the original cast did deserve a bit of screentime because they were the ones who starred in and made the original Star Trek what it was. Perhaps they'll be in a deleted scene of an Extended cut or something.

Also, to be fair, that was a mining ship...OF THE FUTURE!!!!!!

[Aaron]

Part of me says that it would be neat to see a cameo of the old cast, and another part says it has not place.

I thought the new Star Trek movie was great. It was fun, but not very memorable. It was very action oriented. I felt that the sexual tension between Uhura and Kirk was misplaced. But not horrible. I think that placing Kirk as a hound-dog was a bit more a nod to people who have no idea what Star Trek is. I think Gene Roddenberry wouldn't be to happy with this new Star Trek movie. But then again Star Trek in general has lost a lot of its meaning and has turned into a sci-fi classic that doesn't really comment on current issues.

But back to the New Star Trek movie.

There were some plot holes. The biggest one I can think of, off the top of my head being. When Uhura tells Kirk that some Klingons were talking about how one ship destroyed everything and there was a storm (black hole). Well, I thought there was only 1 black hole and that one was over/in Romulous (Romulan homeworld). So....why did they get spit out way near Vulcan?

For some reason the Black holes follow the Romulan mining ship into warp. That makes no sense. It makes sense when the red matter is used, but not for transportation.

Other then that, all the new changes were great, especially the active battles, no more warship sitting and firing volley's at each other. One thing I do wish they would bring back are the laser beams and not laser bursts.