The Official STAR TREK Grading & Discussion Thread [SPOILERS]

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe' started by Agent Richard07, Apr 30, 2009.

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Grade the movie...

  1. Excellent

    711 vote(s)
    62.9%
  2. Above Average

    213 vote(s)
    18.8%
  3. Average

    84 vote(s)
    7.4%
  4. Below Average

    46 vote(s)
    4.1%
  5. Poor

    77 vote(s)
    6.8%
  1. xan82

    xan82 Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    So... with Vulcan now destroyed, who will stop the "supernovava" in the future?
     
  2. new_mercury

    new_mercury Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I did. My wife and mother left and waited for me outside once the credits started but I had to wait until the tos theme finished with the excellent CG shots. awesome.
     
  3. Brent

    Brent Admiral Admiral

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    I guess the Federation will eventually stop it

    But would it really affect anyone? I mean, its in the Beta quadrant and all, who would it really affect?
     
  4. Colmino

    Colmino Cadet Newbie

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2006
    No way am I going to peruse this whole thread. I'm just glad I've found a place where I can voice my five nitpicks with this otherwise very good movie.

    1: The dialogue after Kirk's bar room brawl. Abrams used a highly disorienting earthquake camera technique (a-la the Bourne movies). Not subtle. Just about gave me a headache. Mercifully, I did not see this approach repeated with such severity.

    2: Kirk's countless moments when he is inebriated, incapacitated, etc. Seriously, next time you watch the movie, count them. The problem with this is that the movie is pretty much always trying to use the scenario to comedic effect. Just how funny can it be for the star to be in a near perpetual daze?

    3: Nero. "Hello. I'm Nero." I don't know what's worse: That this line of dialogue was uttered by the movie's villain (who is meant to be taken seriously, or so I gathered), or that the audience laughed at it. I mean.. this throwaway badguy destroyed Vulcan. Something like that demands - DEMANDS - more gravitas, with regard to the perpetrator, than this movie gave it. It really hurt that Nero felt and looked like a disgruntled college dropout.

    4: The entire escape-the-black-hole sequence at the end did not feel justified, specifically because the only reason there was a close call to begin with was because Kirk decided to volley a few rounds at Nero's already doomed ship. This was a sloppy moment in the screenplay.

    5: Was it ever explained why nobody on Vulcan or Earth possessed any means of attacking the drill? (While Spock was able to shoot it down quickly and easily with a small ambassador's ship.) For that matter, I think I also missed the exact reasoning behind drilling at all; it seems to me that a singularity would be adequately devestating to a planet, regardless of its point of initiation.
     
  5. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

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    [​IMG]

    Holy shit. :D
     
  6. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2005
    I really enjoyed it, though my movie going experience was the worst ever. The screen went out four times and there was this black dust blocking portions of the screen. I'm glad they compensated me with a free pass.

    For years I had feared the idea of rebooting or reimagining the TOS characters because I thought it would just turn Trek into an action-adventure series without the heart or the social conscience of TOS and many of its predecessors. It's too early to tell if Abrams' Trek will just be a popcorn series, but I'm somewhat mollified by the idea that its an alternate universe. I've always been curious to see how TOS would be rendered today so we're getting that. I'm not sure if its Trek as I consider Trek, but at least the franchise survives in some fashion.

    I really think this is the first Trek film that felt epic to me. It felt like a movie. I also loved the new grittier, organic look of the ships. The transporter effects, the phaser effects, and the uniforms were all cool too. I really liked the Kelvin uniforms. The new cast felt like relatable characters for the most part, something I can't say for VOY and ENT, and the cast overall was pretty likable.

    I'm glad that Uhura finally got a canon first name. I had been spoiled about the Spock relationship so it didn't throw me off too much. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, though it does add a new dimension to the character that I enjoy. I also liked her interaction with Kirk. Saldana can't fill out a miniskirt like Nichelle Nichols, but I think her Uhura got to more of a part of the crew than I had expected.

    Not sure about Chekov being a genius though. I don't know what made him a transporter whiz or why he had to run all the way to the transporter room when there appeared a transporter control on the bridge. He's got the accent though, though it appears he was having trouble with his dialogue.

    Quinto was great as Spock. The emotions boiled just beneath the surface more with his Spock, but I think that was fine. I had wished that Cross's Sarek had been a little more cold towards his son though like Lenard's portrayal. I guess in the altered universe, Sarek is more accepting of Spock.

    Kirk was pretty good too. I think he captured Kirk's cockiness and brashness pretty well. He also handled the comedic scenes pretty well too. I just loved the bit about the farm animals, it felt like he was channeling William Shatner.

    Scotty didn't annoy me as much as he did in the trailers. Same with McCoy. Sulu was all right too and I liked the sword fighting scene.

    Destroying Romulus in the future and Vulcan in the past was pretty gutsy. I liked the unpredictability of the new Trek.

    I didn't catch a lot of references to the other shows, except for Admiral Archer. Also, the Ceti Alpha eels, a couple quotes from the Trek films. Could someone enlighten me about the references I missed?

    That being said, the movie wasn't perfect:

    -Nero. Outside of his opening attack on Robau, which I thought was bad ass, Bana played him too blandly. There wasn't enough edge to him. I wanted the man to be seething with rage, hatred, and pain.

    -I don't remember Nero announcing himself as a Romulan to the Kelvin crew so how would they know, and how would Pike know? No one seemed to be shocked at Nero's appearance when he confronted the Enterprise, and young Spock made mention of the shared heritage between Vulcans and Romulans. I'm guessing that "Balance of Terror" has been thrown out the window or occurred with another ship perhaps and at an earlier date? Or maybe it never happened at all in the altered timeline. I don't know, but I didn't like that change.

    -What happened to the Ceti eel? And why was Pike in a wheelchair at the end? I was half expecting Pike to do a Captain Terrell, but alas.

    -As others mentioned, I didn't like that Nero was sitting around for 25 years waiting for Spock. He could've found a wife and had another child in that time period. He could've given that technology to the Romulans. He could've perhaps destroyed the star that destroyed Romulus or alerted Romulan scientists to the danger the Hobus star presented.
    Heck, he could've conquered Romulus himself.

    -Why did he leave Spock on that planet? How long had Spock been there? And why hadn't he contacted that station with Scotty on it before?

    -Spock marooning Kirk felt drastic, petty, and really out of character.

    -Kirk mentioning Klingon warbirds, but I guess ENT's "Broken Bow" flubbed that one first.

    -Uhura ordered a Cardassian drink in the bar. Though I guess it's never been established in canon, I had always liked the idea of first contact with the Cardassians taking place in the 24th century.

    -Orion makeup could've been better. Perhaps it was an homage to TOS, but ENT did a much better job with the makeup.

    I had hoped that Number One and some of the other Cage characters would be featured or at least mentioned. I had been leery about Kirk taking command as a cadet, but the way it was done, I was cool with it. Though I'm surprised that Spock or someone in Command wouldn't want someone else for the position. I think that could be an interesting thing to play up in the next film, or the comic/novel prequel to the next film.
     
  7. JoeD80

    JoeD80 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Some terrorists are like that.

    No the ship wasn't already doomed. I got the feeling that it would travel through time again if they let it slip through the black hole so they had to fire on it to make sure it was destroyed. That's the impression I got from that scene.

    The drill and Spock's ship were from the future so Spock's ship could be the only thing with the power to destroy the drill.

    For whatever reason the red matter had to go in to the planet's core to form the black hole, so that's why they needed the drill.
     
  8. MNM

    MNM Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 23, 2007
    Overall I liked it, I thought Quinto did very well, easily the best performance in the film, the visuals were good and overall an enjoyable story. 8-9/10.

    That said, I had a couple of negatives, there were a few jaring cuts from one scene to another throughout the movie, which I thought could have been done more smoothly.

    And my main complaint I suppose, is that to me, so very rarely in the film did anyone look like any kind of actual organised crew on a ship. Most of the time it seemed like a bunch of people just hanging out in a high tech coffe house.
     
  9. Brent

    Brent Admiral Admiral

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    I'm going right now to see it for the 3rd time
     
  10. pookha

    pookha Admiral Admiral

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    darKush..
    there is a reference to a carrdasian poet on vulcan close to the "enterprise " time period in deep space nine.
     
  11. JayTheTrekkie

    JayTheTrekkie Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2005
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    Nova Scotia, Canada
    Been ages I have been here lol


    Just saw the movie this afternoon and its awesome!
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2009
  12. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Good acting, some great character moments, and it was great to see Leonard Nimoy as Spock again, but otherwise it was a dud for me. If I had to use one word to describe it, that word would be "corny." The story didn't engage me, the Spock/Uhuru relationship came out of nowhere (but I don't really care one way or the other that they were together, so don't jump down my throat), and there far too many silly little moments in the film that made me think "Really? Was that really necessary?"
     
  13. Jon1701

    Jon1701 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
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    Manchester, UK
    I thought it was great.

    Only odd bit was the Star Trek theme at the end. Felt really jarring in compared with the rest of the soundtrack for some reason.

    I would have let the kid do the "Space, the final frontier" bit too.

    Minor concerns though.

    Trek is back baby, Trek is back.

    :techman:
     
  14. Zeppster

    Zeppster Commodore Commodore

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    That happened in Star Trek V. Scotty refers to here as Nyota
     
  15. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Real Gone
    Actually, you can...as Mythbusters demonstrated. ;)
     
  16. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
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    Thanks.
     
  17. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2005
    I didn't remember that. Thanks.
     
  18. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Location:
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    I still don't remember that (and it's my second favorite Trek movie!). What scene did that take place in, if I may ask?

    J.
     
  19. Zeppster

    Zeppster Commodore Commodore

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    Near the beginning when they kiss.
     
  20. Dar70

    Dar70 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I have to agree with everything you have stated.:techman: I was someone who was willing to give this film a chance. I wasnt to concerned about strict continuity adhersion, especially concerning visuals, but this film just felt wrong. I knew the timeline would be altered, but it just didnt work for me. I gave it a chance and was very unimpressed. I went in with the notion that I was going to view this as a standalone movie and not make comparisons, which is hard to do, but it was just MEH for me.:( Shatner shouldnt feel to bad about not being in the film.:lol:

    I dont know why we even needed a time altering movie, especially if the altered timeline remains. Why not just start from scratch????? Just a complete reboot without this excuse of a film.

    This film just seemed rushed and the visuals were absoulutely to quick and blurry. The new Enterprise is still a bad design for me and has none of the majestic feel the original has.(Yes Im comparing but I didnt like the design to start with)Scotty, Uhura, Chekov, and Young Spock were horribly scripted. All the rest of the Principles were fine in that respect.

    So I have to give this an Average. Probably better than it deserves. Im am surprised that many think this is an excellent film. I will definitely not be to quick to see the second installment.