Levar Burton aka Geordi La Forge criticizes Star Trek 2009 - Page 16

yousirname · March 13 2013, 11:06 AM

HaventGotALife wrote:

What does that mean? Honestly, because the movie is supposed to not only be dramatic, but a piece of art. Art is important to those that take it seriously. And the movie is dealing with big subject matters. Slavery and the worth of a human being. The politics of getting a bill passed and building consensus among people who differing views. This is a big moment in human history, why wouldn't that be important?

It's not that it wasn't an important moment in history; that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the movie has a sense of its own importance as a movie, not of the importance of the events it's depicting. The characters at times feel more like anthropomorphised ideas than like actual human beings. I still enjoyed, though I'm not in a big hurry to watch it again.

DarthTom · March 13 2013, 01:46 PM

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

But they were.

And to circle it back to the topic of this thread, Levar Burton should look back at some very shitty TNG episodes before he critizes the commercially successful new Trek.

Angel One - wanna talk about laughable sexism.

Sub Rosa - Dr. Crusher meets a ghost.

The Child - Troi gets knocked up.

Justice - Don't walk on the grass Wesley and everyone walks around in skin tight clothing and is about 25

Skin of Evil - the oil slick come a killing.

Where in any of the above - and I could name more - is the supposed 'high minded,' old Trek?

The Wormhole · March 13 2013, 01:58 PM

^^Hey, hey! Don't be dissing Skin of Evil. Armus is a complex villain and compelling character. He oozes with personality and charisma.

Well, you can't deny he oozes anyway.

The Mirrorball Man · March 13 2013, 02:04 PM

The Wormhole wrote:

^^Hey, hey! Don't be dissing Skin of Evil. Armus is a complex villain and compelling character. He oozes with personality and charisma.

Well, you can't deny he oozes anyway.

People hate him because he's black.

The Wormhole · March 13 2013, 02:40 PM

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

The Wormhole wrote:

^^Hey, hey! Don't be dissing Skin of Evil. Armus is a complex villain and compelling character. He oozes with personality and charisma.

Well, you can't deny he oozes anyway.

People hate him because he's black.

It shocks and saddens me that we live in a world where people can't overlook the colour of Armus to see his redeeming character traits.

The Mirrorball Man · March 13 2013, 02:46 PM

The Wormhole wrote:

It shocks and saddens me that we live in a world where people can't overlook the colour of Armus to see his redeeming character traits.

True. The man was deep.

KirkusOveractus · March 13 2013, 11:57 PM

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

The Wormhole wrote:

It shocks and saddens me that we live in a world where people can't overlook the colour of Armus to see his redeeming character traits.

True. The man was deep.

He was more slick than having any real conviction.

Eris · March 14 2013, 11:03 PM

Really doesn't matter about the timelines. Starting a new timeline was a decent idea.

Main problem is the massive pile of shite Abrams presented as his "movie". More the execution than the content. Which makes it ironic that Burton felt the need to lick Abrams' arse but quibble about the fact he sought to bring a little originality to the proceedings.

I so desperately wan to be able to simply sit down, watch and enjoy ID without being plagued by this horrible overriding sense of the supreme shitness of the film. I'm willing to make allowances. Just please, if he can't do characterisation, is it too much to ask that he not try? Or if he is incapable of cobbling together a coherent plot, can he not just forego any attempt and make a bog standard action bonanza about people being shot with phasors?

It seems there's hope, at least.

Nerys Myk · March 15 2013, 01:48 AM

I thought the characterization was spot on and the plot very coherent.

The Wormhole · March 15 2013, 02:57 AM

Characterization was pretty bad. Kirk is more like the exaggerated impression of him presented in pop culture and is very little like Shatner's take, Scotty is more of a buffoon that James Doohan was, Chekov's V/W reversal is way too overdone, and Sulu as a space samurai? Seriously?

Spock and Bones turned out pretty good, though they could have dialed Bones bieng a hypochondriac on the shuttle in his first scene and Uhura is an improvement over TOS.

The Mirrorball Man · March 15 2013, 03:30 AM

The Wormhole wrote:

Characterization was pretty bad. Kirk is more like the exaggerated impression of him presented in pop culture and is very little like Shatner's take, Scotty is more of a buffoon that James Doohan was, Chekov's V/W reversal is way too overdone, and Sulu as a space samurai? Seriously?

That's not "characterization was pretty bad", that's "oh my god they changed the recipe of my favorite ice cream"!

Nerys Myk · March 15 2013, 05:12 AM

The Wormhole wrote:

Characterization was pretty bad. Kirk is more like the exaggerated impression of him presented in pop culture and is very little like Shatner's take, Scotty is more of a buffoon that James Doohan was, Chekov's V/W reversal is way too overdone, and Sulu as a space samurai? Seriously?

Spock and Bones turned out pretty good, though they could have dialed Bones bieng a hypochondriac on the shuttle in his first scene and Uhura is an improvement over TOS.

Kirk was cocky and inclined to bend the rules. That's part of who Kirk was in TOS and the movies Shatner was in. No we didn't see every aspect of Kirk in ST09, but it didn't have 79 hours to explore those. Same for Scotty.

Asian guy whips out a sword and he's automatically a Samurai?

King Daniel Into Darkness · March 15 2013, 11:47 AM

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

That's not "characterization was pretty bad", that's "oh my god they changed the recipe of my favorite ice cream"!

Excellent analogy.

IMO the characters were all very good, modern re-interpretations of the originals. They made the parts their own rather than doing the godawful attempts at copying mannerisms and speech patterns seen in Trek fanfilms.

The Wormhole · March 15 2013, 02:11 PM

Nerys Myk wrote:

Asian guy whips out a sword and he's automatically a Samurai?

It's a folding sword similar to what Samurai used, and his armour seemed to be a bit Samurai inspired. To me anyway. Or maybe I'm seeing what I want to to support my argument, I am a Trek fan on the internet.

Also, did Prime Sulu have any actual fencing training? My understanding was The Naked Now made him act like the adventurer he always fantasized about being, not that he actually was trained in fencing or sword skills at all.

Opus · March 15 2013, 02:26 PM

^The Naked Time.

And it was never actually established as I recall. Just the sword.

Sulu did have an affinity for "ancient" weapons, as shown in the episode "Shore Leave".

March 13 2013, 01:58 PM	#228
The Wormhole Admiral	Re: Levar Burton aka Geordi La Forge criticizes Star Trek 2009 ^^Hey, hey! Don't be dissing Skin of Evil. Armus is a complex villain and compelling character. He oozes with personality and charisma. Well, you can't deny he oozes anyway. __________________ "Internet message boards aren't as funny today as they were ten years ago. I've stopped reading new posts." -The Simpsons 20th anniversary special.

March 14 2013, 11:03 PM	#233
Eris Ensign	Re: Levar Burton aka Geordi La Forge criticizes Star Trek 2009 Really doesn't matter about the timelines. Starting a new timeline was a decent idea. Main problem is the massive pile of shite Abrams presented as his "movie". More the execution than the content. Which makes it ironic that Burton felt the need to lick Abrams' arse but quibble about the fact he sought to bring a little originality to the proceedings. I so desperately wan to be able to simply sit down, watch and enjoy ID without being plagued by this horrible overriding sense of the supreme shitness of the film. I'm willing to make allowances. Just please, if he can't do characterisation, is it too much to ask that he not try? Or if he is incapable of cobbling together a coherent plot, can he not just forego any attempt and make a bog standard action bonanza about people being shot with phasors? It seems there's hope, at least.

March 15 2013, 01:48 AM	#234
Nerys Myk Admiral Location: House of Kang, now with ridges	Re: Levar Burton aka Geordi La Forge criticizes Star Trek 2009 I thought the characterization was spot on and the plot very coherent. __________________ Nerys Myk's Midnight In Never Land A novel of Dark Fantasy @ Amazon.com

March 15 2013, 02:57 AM	#235
The Wormhole Admiral	Re: Levar Burton aka Geordi La Forge criticizes Star Trek 2009 Characterization was pretty bad. Kirk is more like the exaggerated impression of him presented in pop culture and is very little like Shatner's take, Scotty is more of a buffoon that James Doohan was, Chekov's V/W reversal is way too overdone, and Sulu as a space samurai? Seriously? Spock and Bones turned out pretty good, though they could have dialed Bones bieng a hypochondriac on the shuttle in his first scene and Uhura is an improvement over TOS. __________________ "Internet message boards aren't as funny today as they were ten years ago. I've stopped reading new posts." -The Simpsons 20th anniversary special.

March 15 2013, 02:26 PM	#240
Opus Fleet Captain Location: Bloom County	Re: Levar Burton aka Geordi La Forge criticizes Star Trek 2009 ^The Naked Time. And it was never actually established as I recall. Just the sword. Sulu did have an affinity for "ancient" weapons, as shown in the episode "Shore Leave". __________________ ----------------------- Opus - Well, I mean... It's a space walrus with photon flippers or something. Portnoy - Let's beam Mr. Spock into a wall.

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