Star Trek: Axanar

they are in the process of sending them out as i type.. takes a while.
from what i read they have done the 200 dollar perks and are working down the list .
whats slowing it down apart from the numbers of donors is that facebook only allows a certain amount to be done per day.

 

Hmm...good to know, really. Having that many donors is a "good problem" to have, I expect.

 

Axanar behind the scenes. This is well done and I'm looking forward to more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa5vS9k2Sfk&list=UUxRrQIpejUXUi8i4mAbzSlg

 

I always like these Behind-the-scenes Hollywood bits. On the Walking Dead DVDs there's a slew of great ones.

Hopefully, they'll do one (many?) focusing on the Starfleet uniforms, both the Cage-era ones shown in Prelude and the modified versions they've shown in their character designs...

 

Behind the scenes footage from May, 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXCXziORVT0 (1:18)

 

Rob Burnet, who produces the Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu Rays and all the VAM (Value Added Material) on those disks, produces the Axanar behind the scenes as well. So again, Axanar is using top industry professionals. Rob said there will be lots more.

 

this is looking sooooooo good!

 

A rendom thought. President Archer is still alive ("In the Mirror Darkly" says he died a day after the commissioning of the NCC-1701, Enterprise). What would he think about this new Enterprise and what it is likely to do for its first mission. The old man was there for the commissioning, and, as seem in the preview for Prelude to Axanar, the old man was there when the Admiral gave his big speech on maintaining the dream of the Federation and not fearing the Klingon Empire. Would he see Captain April off? Wha would he say? The ship named after his own is going off to finish a war with the Klingons he has the pleasure of dealing with a number of times. What about Archer?

 

Interesting. Now that makes me wonder if they're going to ask Scott Bakula to do a cameo.

 

Actually, the screen that mentions Archer's death was never shown on the finished episode, although it was created. It also said his captaincy of Enterprise ended in 2160, rather than 2161 as depicted in "These Are The Voyages".

But personally, I like the idea of Archer dying after he got to visit the 1701. And a Bakula cameo in Axanar would be welcome too!

 

Alec said that a President Archer cameo was a possibility, noting the non-canon mention of him being at the Big E launch.

 

I realized today that I never shared this review here. At least, I don't remember doing so. Anyway, I wrote this shortly after "Prelude to Axanar" premiered.

Spoiler: My review of "Prelude to Axanar"

STAR TREK: AXANAR - PRELUDE TO AXANAR

Written by
Alec Peters
Christian Gossett

Directed by
Christian Gossett

Starring
Richard Hatch as Commander Kharn
Tony Todd as Admiral Ramirez
Kate Vernon as Captain Alexander
J.G. Hertzler as Admiral Travis
Gary Graham as Ambassador Soval
Alec Peters as Captain Garth

Narrated by
Orion Acaba​

[LEFT]On its own, this is nothing more than an extended trailer, therefore I can't (and won't) attempt to critique this as if it were its own film but instead do so for what it is.

Those of us paying attention have known for some time that Star Trek: Axanar was going to be Alec Peters' vanity project and he is to be commended for not trying to put himself front and center here. The production team and writers wisely chose to recognize the top brass talent they had access to (Todd, Hatch, Vernon, Hertzler, Graham) and let the spotlight be shared by them instead of focusing entirely on Peters as Garth of Izar.

Unfortunately, the down side is of course that by getting professional actors to contribute and perform in the piece, and by placing a single acting novice alongside them, it only further highlights Peters' relative inexperience and clumsiness as an actor. Certainly, he's not terrible, but the parts of his performance where the cracks are showing are all the more evident because of how much those he's playing against actually shine with what they have to work with.

I find myself mostly agreeing with the assessments of Maurice and Harvey but I also think it fair and proper to point out that this episode, while visually quite polished and pretty to look at, and while it works brilliantly as a tease for the film itself (however good or bad it turns out to be), on its own, this "prelude" is nothing more than fancy window dressing.

Writing and story-wise, we hear a lot about how great Garth is from all of the characters interviewed. We hear about how Ramirez gives this incredibly powerful speech that inspires hope. We hear a lot about how great Kharn is from a lot of the characters interviewed. We hear a lot about how horrible the Klingon advance was. We hear about how badass the Ares is supposed to be. We hear about how daring and brilliant Garth is.

But we don't see any of it.

Well, we get part of Ramirez' speech but is it any different from any other speech we've seen before? Not really.

All the loudmouthing about greatness and brilliant military strategy ... and none of it shines through here. It's all just talk. Are these things we'll see in the final film? I hope so. But here, just referring to these events and elements of the story ring hollow.

Indeed, when Alexander and Travis recount Garth's signature battle maneuver, all we get is a simple (if pretty) cut to more visual effects work by the extraordinarily talented Tobias Richter of one ship moving out of the way and the Ares just cruising by and attacking.

Are we to believe from this then that Garth is considered a brilliant military commander simply because he knows how to point his guns in the right direction and pull a trigger? That he's so cunning because he knows enough not to shoot while his friendly ally ship is in the line of sight?

Again, it's hard to criticize without seeing the full film and I certainly am open to recanting this point after I do see the whole film in context, but here, out of context, it's awfully difficult to accept that this is part of the great mythos surrounding the brilliant military commander James Kirk studies during his academy days.

I'm not a fan of modern vernacular "Queen Bitch-Whore of the Federation" or the exceedingly stupid "pinkskin" reference, which I freely admit, I've never liked. Each feels out of place in this particular era of Star Trek, and while I fully offer that this is my own opinion on the matter, I just didn't care for how either were presented.

More important however is this project's narrative flip-flopping of its mission statement. The contradictory intent -- Garth's line that "Starfleet isn't about that [battle]." only to see him turn that right around, drooling over the Ares as the newest, best battleship makes me question what kind of cohesivity (if any) we'll get with the full film, as though the producers want to stop just long enough to acknowledge that Star Trek is more than just being about pew pew pew spaceship battles...before giving us a 20 minute short film/extended trailer of mostly, exactly that -- gorgeous starship fly-bys, to be sure, but nonetheless mostly fly-bys and pew pew pew spaceship battles.

Sound design, lighting, color correction, and editing are all fine. The super-widescreen presentation was nice too. But I don't see the 'bottom" of the story here and am at a loss as to who I should be caring about, story-wise, as it's clear from this piece that every single character portrayed obviously survives the Battle of Axanar. (Sorry, Michael Hogan!)

Regardless of these quibbles, I remain hopeful that the finished film will deliver what it and its producers have been promising, if only for the untold number of contributors on Kickstarter's sake. I laughed when I heard the narrator's voice because it sounded an awful lot like Richard Hatch, and I, like others, appreciated the nod to John Gill.

In conclusion: I appreciate the approach to this piece with the gimmick of mimicking The History Channel-style retrospective, and in many ways the production gets a lot of important things right and wrong. It's obviously too soon to praise or condemn the actual film itself and certainly not based on this piece alone, but I look forward to what Alec and his team are going to present when they're finally ready to release the full film.
[/LEFT]

* * *​

 

I guess I shouldn't be shocked that you would write a negative review, considering your hatred for Alec Peters. I mean the fact that you go to other forums you never post on just to attack him tells us you opinion will be biased and therefore invalid.

And considering that just about every Star Trek fan around hails "Prelude to Axanar" as the best Star Trek in years, it makes your typically pretentious attacks just about the only negative feedback anywhere. I have yet to read a legitimate review that wasn't effusive in its praise.

http://www.blastr.com/2014-8-15/sta...short-online-and-better-anything-abrams-doing

So forgive us if we ignore your typically over-wrought attacks on Axanar and Alec Peters. "Prelude to Axanar" is as good as anything to come out of Paramount in teh last 10 years, as just about every Star Trek fan has said.

 

I'm not sure I know how to reply to such a reaction that deals in vague ambiguities and assumptive exaggeration. Who, exactly, is this "we" you have taken it upon yourself to speak for?

I think if you take the time to read this thread -- particularly posts made after the release of "Prelude to Axanar" at the end of July -- you will, yes, find people praising it but also you will see that there are some who share my opinion and others who offer critiques of their own.

As for that Blastr article, it's from one fan on one blog. That hardly, to me, declares anything beyond the opinions of one person.

No film is perfect. And even a film as allegedly universally praised by "just about every Star Trek fan" as you purport, is not free from critique. My comments here have been germane and deliberately considered. Kindly desist from dragging past arguments (whether they be from this site or others) into the discussion if you can't respond with same.

 

005 sure likes to write reviews just for the purpose of writing reviews.

Since the Axanar seem to know very well what they are doing, knowing their limits and boundaries and made some really spectacular yet moving short film around - most of your critical remarks seem very pointless.

Is Peters a good actor? Hard to tell from these bits, he might not be on par with the rest of the established actors, but he certainly did not make a fool out of himself. Did we see the great tactics that Garth supposedly had? Of course not, we only get a tiny glimpse of the action - I strongly suspect we will see that in the final movie.

I applaud them for the idea, the execution and the determination they are showing- and of course I am looking forward to the movie.

 

I do, actually. It allows me to stretch my writing skills and draw upon my professional experience in film theory, history, cinema and television production.

After collecting ~$650,000.00 from fans in their Kickstarter, I sure as hell hope the Axanar team know what they're doing!

A "spectacular yet moving short film" ...about five or six people sitting... and talking... in the same location... in front of a green screen... intercut with beautiful visual effects shots of starships in combat. There's not much else here. As I said.

I'm not concerned with how pointless you might find my opinions. I've expressed them within the limitations and boundaries of the rules of this message board. That you are too clouded by your allegiance to the production to see these comments for what they are is not really my problem.

A point I made myself in my review, which had you taken the time to finish reading, you'd have noticed before making my point for me.

As am I.

 

Lots of other people have posted their opinions of the production in the thread, too, including me. So, what's your point? Why single out 005?

 

I have no allegiance to the production. If I like a production then I also like to applaud people for their achievements and encourage them instead of nitpicking every little bit.

 

Well, of course you don't bother to read anything good about Axanar, so here are a few more reviews that think Prelude to Axanar kicks ass to disprove your point.


Prelude to Axanar: The kick ass independent Star Trek short film you must see.

http://the7thmatrix.com/blog/2014/10/11/prelude-to-axanar


Fans make a Star Trek Prequel that we didn't Even Know We Wanted With "Prelude to Axanar"

http://sciencefiction.com/2014/08/18/fans-make-star-trek-prequel-prelude-to-axanar/


Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar Warps onto the Interwebs

http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/scifi/star-trek-prelude-axanar-short-film-warps-interwebs.html


"Axanar": The "Star Trek" Movie Nobody Knew They Were Waiting For.

http://www.free-times.com/blogs/axanar-the-star-trek-movie-nobody-knew-they-were-waiting-for


Star Trek: Axanar Will Blow Your Mind.

http://iwbag.com/movies-tv/star-trek-axanar-will-blow-mind/3251/


Strangers in a Cinema:

http://strangersinacinema.com/2014/09/07/prelude-to-axanar-pauls-review/



Plus an 8.8 rating on IMDB, which most successful Hollywood movies don't even get.


So yeah, forgive me if I find your biased view nothing more than the opinion of a hater. And yes, your past disagreements with Alec and your attacks on him on other forums, are important to understand you are not unbiased, as a legitimate critic should be.

 

I do find it rather interesting that the only part of my response to you that you could muster any will to acknowledge was the bit that you could then only back up with more links to other people's opinions.

And now I have to eat crow, I suppose, because you've linked to a half dozen other blogs and websites that all loved the film. That's great!

I'm not saying people can't like or love the film. What is it you expect or want from me?

You've completely failed to account for anything else I've said thus far (likely because you have no response for it because you know and I know that I'm just as right as anyone else with an informed opinon on the matter) so instead you trot out the links links links! An 8.8 member rating from IMDB! My goodness! Someone tell the pros to pack it in. The interwebz has spoken!

I don't need to read anything about how good or bad Prelude to Axanar may or may not be to form my own opinion on the short tease that it is.

I don't see how you can possibly say with any certainty what my biases may or may not be, anymore than I would be able to proclaim yours. And much like Alec's blowhard approach to anyone who disagrees with him, you're forsaking just about everything else I've said in order to try to take me down and discredit me solely because all you see is a negative review.

Too, I'm not sure what constitutes a "legitimate critic" in your mind. Care to elaborate? Because if this particular laurel of yours is resting on that rating from IMDB, whose membership is clearly bastion of cinematic criticism and good taste, I'm going to be sorely disppointed.

I've made my opinon known and I've done so according to the rules of conduct here. I'm not really seeing what your problem is besides the fact that you (and northstar, too, apparently) can't seem to be able to handle a little bit of dissenting opinion on these kinds of things, nor the fact that you just plain have an axe to grind with me.

I'm not going to belabor any of this though. I didn't post this review here to start another page-long war of words. I posted it because I hadn't done so yet and because reviewing fan films is something I enjoy doing. Somehow I don't see us reaching much of a compromise on any of this so why don't we just agree to disagree and let it be?