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. Jim Steele

    Jim Steele Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Going after the one man who tried to do something about it on some ridiculous misplaced vengeance quest certainly would be pretty shallow.

    I don't buy his motivation. At all. Plus, he suffered from terminal BadMovieVillain syndrome and was played by Eric f'ing Bana. I keep saying it, but yeah, in the same league as Shinzon in the ol' "Shitty Trek Villains" category.
     
  2. indranee

    indranee Vice Admiral Admiral

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    that's okay, I don't buy your act either.
     
  3. Jim Steele

    Jim Steele Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Um, what? :vulcan:
     
  4. indranee

    indranee Vice Admiral Admiral

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    you're the genius, figure it out.
     
  5. Jim Steele

    Jim Steele Vice Admiral Admiral

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    What the hell are you talking about? Seriously, enlighten me.
     
  6. Bob The Skutter

    Bob The Skutter Complete Arse Cleft In Memoriam

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    I assume she thinks your resident joyless cunt status is an act...
     
  7. ST-One

    ST-One Vice Admiral

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    What?
    Now.
    This didn't annoy you, did it?
     
  8. Jim Steele

    Jim Steele Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It pretty much is. Although I'm only playing up to the banter (ie from you and associated Doctor Who subforum regulars...).

    But that really doesn't mean I'm being dishonest every time I express a negative view about a film. :wtf: Quite the contrary, actually.
     
  9. Bob The Skutter

    Bob The Skutter Complete Arse Cleft In Memoriam

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    I get that. I think our attitudes are close enough that even if we disagree I can see your point.
     
  10. indranee

    indranee Vice Admiral Admiral

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    bullshit.

    EDIT: dammit, Bob!!

    :p
     
  11. Bob The Skutter

    Bob The Skutter Complete Arse Cleft In Memoriam

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    I'm here to annoy. :techman:
     
  12. Ryan S

    Ryan S Ensign Red Shirt

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    Not great or good, it was terrible... and here is why in detail.

    I know I am in the minority. My intent is not to just 'stir the pot'. I've enjoyed Star Trek as much as anyone, which is why I have such a strong opinion about this movie. So give me a chance and hear me out.

    This post is an extension of a thread I started at Rotten Tomatoes ST XI forum, which to my surprise has some viewers agreeing with me. In response to recent feedback I'll do my best to balance this post but make no mistake about it, I believe this is one of the worst Start Trek films ever produced.

    I understand and agree with the need for a 'reboot", but certainly not at the expense of everything the classic Start Trek meant. One poster on RT responded that I should not look at what was but what the new ST is and cited some examples. Frankly I don't care what it is because so much of what made this an enduring series has been stripped away.

    Ask yourself this question: If they were trying to establish a Star Trek franchise today, not just another summer sequel, using this film as a base, would it last? I think the answer is clearly... NO!

    No one will remember this film.

    This is at best a visually appealing romp that unfortunately fails to capture (in fact it seems to purposely neglect) the essence of Gene Roddenberry's original themes. This movie is less of a reboot than an excuse to lure a built in Trekkie fan base into another over produced CGI fest that sacrifices substance for visual appeal.

    I'll admit in some scenes it's beautifully rendered and it's something past ST films needed.JJ Abrams' cast (via the vehicles of the screenplay and script) for the most part fails to carry the weight of this story and, to this reviewer at least, certainly doesn't seem capable of shouldering Star Trek's long legacy.

    The scenes are clipped and disjointed sacrificing continuity and pace. Instead the actors' conflicted and somewhat manic (and supposedly humorous) performances only seem to serve as a painful respite between each overproduced action sequence. I've always considered such cinematography as was used in this film as a lazy way to build suspense and drama where none clearly exists. I can't think of a better example in recent history.

    I do not fault the actors as I'm of the opinion that several are truly talented. Feature films are a director's medium. The characters as they are portrayed in this film are mostly a joke.

    Leonard Nimoy's performance, through no fault of his own, seems out of place. As the only actor who would have been capable of grounding this farce by lending his considerable on screen weight, it really is a shame that his character was not properly developed, but then again none of them really had a chance.

    The characters seem lost between a the roles of comedians and vulnerable heroes. Really, a 'flagship' crewed almost solely by teenagers? Ok, Kirk, Spock and some of the other crew are in their mid to late twenties, but let's face it, in context they are almost completely unbelievable . In the past ST universe pitch battles were often fought strategically. The weight of the event powered through. Now it's a slugfest with all guns blazing until something blows up beautifully, more work for ILM I guess.

    In a vain attempt to recapture the wit and humor of the classic series they've instead filled the feature mostly with cheap slapstick hammy jokes delivered at the most inappropriate times. The dialogue is lacking and under developed, enough said there.

    The story delivers little in terms science fiction believability and therefore lacks the chance to provide the escapist experience that most great sci-fi easily conveys. This was a franchise that always prided itself on developing its' sci fi tech to weave the story together.

    The use of tech in STXI to fill in for the lazy writing is shameful. In a attempt to match the current trend of creating a gritty and urgent feel at every turn JJ Abrams has instead taken a step away from giving this movie and the future of the franchise any sense of identity. Only viewers who haven't had the opportunity to view the best of Star Trek's previous features will be taken in by the illusion.

    Yes, I know that Star Trek needs to move on. That Shatner, Nimoy and the rest of the original cast will never be seen on screen again. That TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and the TNG films weren't perfect. But it was always STAR TREK and for the most part you always knew it.

    Overall this latest rendition of Star Trek disappoints and doesn't deserve the title of space epic or even a reboot. It should be forgotten. Give the franchise a rest and begin again with a properly themed screenplay and script. One can only hope that this is not the direction that this venerable franchise will take moving forward.
     
  13. KirkusOveractus

    KirkusOveractus Commodore Commodore

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    Ryan-

    Very well-written. However, I must disagree with you on one point: this film will be remembered. Remembered as what brought a dead property back to life.

    And to address your last paragraph: this movie is well on its way to making $100 Million domestically. Unfortunately, this will be the direction the Trek movies from this point forward will take.
     
  14. Squiggy

    Squiggy FrozenToad Admiral

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    Here's a thought.

    Maybe Porthos was stuffed and put in a museum and that's the "prize winning beagle" Scotty beamed into nothingness.

    He never said that the dog was alive. I WIN AGAIN! I HAVE RESTORED ORDER TO CHAOS!

    Return to your petty bickering.
     
  15. indranee

    indranee Vice Admiral Admiral

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    it'll be making $100 million by tomorrow (Thursday). I'd say it's more than well on its way :p
     
  16. KirkusOveractus

    KirkusOveractus Commodore Commodore

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    Well, the original text written for "In A Mirror, Darkly" on ENT had on Archer's record that he died the day after the NCC-1701 launched (which he attended).

    He could have been a Beagle breeder, and had several purebred prize-winners.
     
  17. CommanderRaytas

    CommanderRaytas DISCO QUEEEEEEN Rear Admiral

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    Stop winning. I'm already busy worshipping Abrams. *sheesh*

    :D
     
  18. trampledamage

    trampledamage Clone Admiral

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    Thanks for posting this - I hadn't thought about it from that point of view. I'm so used to the whole "divergent time-lines" concept that I forgot that Nero might well think he can change the past and still have his future.

    That makes his actions a lot more understandable.
     
  19. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The fine line between continuity and fanwank.
    I finally saw it last night and I have to say, overall I did like it.

    I can usually turn my brain off with most things and let myself enjoy them, which was what I went in trying to do. I had already had my expectations lowered based on what a few close friends had said. After I'd learned the movie was being made, I was already wary of the idea of a prequel - ENT having soured me on the subject - but was a little happier when I realized it was a reboot in prequel's clothing. Then, I was a little annoyed that the production seemed to be trying to maintain ties to "old" Trek while still rebooting.

    As the movie began, I was really awed by the majesty of the Kelvin streaking into the scene and I got (surprisingly) appropriately misty when Jim Kirk was born and the Kelvin exploded. I liked seeing the juxtaposition of Kirk and Spock's two different "paths" even if Kirk's path felt cliched. Anyway, I was hooked at the beginning, but from there it seemed to become really predictable, even cliched, even ignoring the surprisingly few things that red-flagged as gaffes/mistakes.

    Generally, the characters felt to me like they could indeed be alternate versions of themselves. Kirk's meeting of Uhura, Pike, and McCoy worked okay for me. The way Kirk beat the Kobayashi Maru seemed... off, somehow. I think this was a missed opportunity to show us that nuKirk is more old Kirk than we might have expected, by having him beat it in a specifically Kirk-like way. (Have him reprogram to be able to bluff corbomite, for example.) But having Spock be the one who programmed the simulator was pretty interesting, even if it felt like an excuse to have Kirk and Spock hate each other. I'm not saying they should have liked each other from the start, however I'm not convinced a "mechanism" was really necessary to achieve this. Simply both being strong-willed individuals from two different cultures might have been enough.

    From there on, it felt mostly like rehash for me. Everyone meeting everyone (even "Cupcake" coming back as a redshirt), the Enterprise being the ship on-scene, the mostly-cadet crew being recruited to pilot the new ships because the fleet was elsewhere, Prime Spock conveniently being on Delta Vega where Kirk was ejected... Scotty conveniently being there... Scotty's alien sidekick... having to go over to the Narada to actually physically fight Nero. This has all been done before in Trek. I'm not saying that's automatically a bad thing, but I guess I was expecting more "not your father's Trek." Some of the repeated lines were cringe-worthy.

    The ending felt the most ridiculously contrived of all to me. Kirk being promoted to captain didn't bother me at the time, but the tone felt very tongue-in-cheek. I couldn't help but think of the ending of "Galaxy Quest" where the cast has a new TV show and they have their introductions. That's what the end of the film felt like to me, until the TOS music started playing. That saved it a bit. But the tone of this scene just felt way off.

    Just watching it and not thinking about it, I did enjoy it. But thinking about it now, it feels like a nostalgic rehash of all the previous movies rolled up into one and dressed in TOS window dressing. So much of it felt just unnecessary and self-indulgent. In many ways, the dialog, sets, and production overall felt very generic. The bridge seemed like some actors in well-made Starfleet uniforms had gathered on a set left over from one of the Star Wars prequels. And while I'm not as upset as some about the production redesign, the design choices themselves in many areas felt off. The designs I liked the most came from the Kelvin and its interiors. I still dislike the Enterprise bridge interior. However, the remained of the interior of the Enterprise felt very real, like the inside of a real modern-day ship. In that regard, it's something of a double-edged sword... Trek has often walked the line between "recognizably believable" and sci-fi technology, but here the former seemed emphasized over the latter, appearance-wise, which was fine, just different.

    I know that the franchise was due for a reboot, and Orci and Kurtzman did a relatively good job (at least as good a job as they were capable of) with what they were trying to do - I can't help but feel much of it was purposefully tongue-in-cheek, playing off our expectations of what the "Prime" crew was like compared to the cliches that were the nu-crew, while using those cliches (which might not appear as cliches to new viewers) to make the franchise broadly accessible for a new generation.

    Overall, if this was the intent, I think it was a mistake. I think that trying to reboot the franchise while saying that this was just an altered timeline was a mistake. (As most know, I'm not a fan of "having your cake and eating it too." ;)) I'd have, in many ways, preferred a reboot with a critical eye to all the things that made classic Star Trek what it was, that in no way acknowledged TOS, beyond being a reboot of it. As it was, I think a few rewrites could have strongly helped this movie, though. I'm not sure how many it went through, but I don't think it was quite enough. Even a few revisions of simple details would have made me happier. A character writer should have been brought in to help flesh out the characters and dialog, in particular.

    I'm reasonably sure that the franchise is no longer on life support thanks to this movie, but I've not yet decided if that's a good thing. For me, the movie was enjoyable, even above average, but not excellent. I'll rewatch it, and I'll still enjoy it. But it was far from perfect.
     
  20. Jim Steele

    Jim Steele Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ok. :)