I'm curious to hear from people how their reactions to the Kelvinverse movies were when they premiered vs. how we feel about them now, with the passage of time. I know opinions and perceptions nearly always change with the passage of time...I figured it would be interesting to poll everyone and see where we stand!
For me personally.......
Star Trek
In 2009, I was a huge supporter of this movie. As a TOS fan, it was amazing to see the characters and setting I love the most back in the spotlight, particularly after the flat-soda fizz-out that occurred with the TNG films. I thought the movie was fantastic. It was wildly entertaining, extremely well-cast, hit the right emotional marks, and had extraordinary visual appeal. It was great to see Leonard Nimoy involved as well, and back up on the silver screen. Some of the "big deal" stuff (destruction of Vulcan and Romulus for example) did not bother me at all. It was also such a rush to see how much popularity the movie gained with general audiences.
I was disappointed in the production and art designs (props and starship designs in particular) and I thought some of the plot elements were silly and poorly executed, but this didn't bother me from my overall enjoyment of the picture, and I sort of gave them a pass because it was very entertaining and it was their first time up at bat with a Trek film.
Now, this is still one of my more favorite Star Trek films. I think it's a light, fun adventure movie. It's not worth a whole lot of discussion or debate in terms of its content...but it's definitely worth a re-visit quite frequently. I look at this movie as an interesting but not extremely engaging "what if" scenario, and don't take it too seriously. It's almost like watching "The Orville..." I like it a lot, but am not particularly passionate about it. I also find stuff like "transwarp beaming" and "red matter" to be a little ridiculous, but hey, so is the Genesis Device and the slingshot time warp....so whatever.
Star Trek Into Darkness
In 2013, when I first saw this in IMAX 3D, I thought it was better than the 2009 film. It had a deeper meaning to the plot, I liked the emotional moments very much, and I thought the action was fun and engaging. It also addressed / acknowledged a number of the silly elements of the first film (like Kirk's rapid ascension to the captaincy). It was massively satisfying visual eye candy as well. I thought the "turnaround" scene of Kirk's death was heartfelt and well-executed.
Now, I feel this is one of the weakest movies of the franchise. Almost nothing in the film stands up as logical or as "making sense" to me, and it seems a lot more juvenile than I originally thought. I can't get my head wrapped around what Khan is doing, why he is doing it, or what he actually was hoping to accomplish. Marcus's plan is similarly incomprehensible. The movie is FILLED with throw-away plot devices and contrivances, and it just feels very sloppy and over-cooked, almost like they were trying to write something really complex and clever, but just spent too much damn time on it.
I also can't get past the final 15 mins of the film, starting with Spock yelling "KHAAAANNN!" in a completely unwelcome and inappropriate parody, the magic blood cure, and more jumping / crashing / punching than any of the other films combined (seemingly). It actually gives me a headache it's so frantic and frenetic. It feels like they had 3-4 action set pieces they wanted to film, and then they built a movie around it (same goes for Nimoy's appearance) rather than writing a cohesive story.
On a positive note, I think the cast absolutely hits it out of the park, and I think some of the smaller, quieter character moments (few as they are) work great. Ultimately, I liken STID to a really crazy carnival ride: It's fun to be on for a while, but you start to feel really crappy at the end, and then you're just begging to get off. And, when you do, you might vomit.
Star Trek Beyond
In 2016, sadly, I was underwhelmed by this one almost right out of the gate. I tried (I mean, really put an effort) to convince myself that it was even better than the 2009 film. It handled some of the nostalgia stuff nicely. It had a wonderful homage to Nimoy / Prime Spock, Jayla was a cool character, etc. I liked the idea that they were on a planet in deep space, and not fighting to save Earth again. I also really enjoyed that this film was a little more introspective and invested in the character relationships more. I struggled to understand why Krall and his people didn't leave the plant earlier. It seems they are bitter for having been left on Altemed, but they had the means to escape at nearly any time (seemingly?...IDK, man...)
I haven't changed my mind much on this one. I appreciate that the humor and writing are a little more mature than the other 2 films, and I like that a lot. The soundtrack is also excellent. I find myself completely ambivalent to the destruction of the Enterprise. It just feels way too much like the last act of Into Darkness "let's trash the ship..." so I don't care at all for that scene. In many ways, my issue with this one is very similar to my issue with INS....it is just kind of a non-event movie. There's very little here to care much about. I already don't have a ton of invested passion in the Kelvin timeline (that doesn't mean I don't like it....BTW), and this film kind of went nowhere and did nothing. I also feel that Krall was one of the biggest "missed opportunities" in Trek. I also disliked that there was no redeeming quality in the man whatsoever. I still, to this day, after several re-watches, don't know why the Franklin crew didn't leave the planet earlier. He's bullshit about having been left behind, but didn't do anything to repair the damaged Franklin nor utilize the swarm ships. Drives me nuts.....but I still rewatch because I love the cast and there are some excellent, truly heartfelt moments, sprinkled throughout.
For me personally.......
Star Trek
In 2009, I was a huge supporter of this movie. As a TOS fan, it was amazing to see the characters and setting I love the most back in the spotlight, particularly after the flat-soda fizz-out that occurred with the TNG films. I thought the movie was fantastic. It was wildly entertaining, extremely well-cast, hit the right emotional marks, and had extraordinary visual appeal. It was great to see Leonard Nimoy involved as well, and back up on the silver screen. Some of the "big deal" stuff (destruction of Vulcan and Romulus for example) did not bother me at all. It was also such a rush to see how much popularity the movie gained with general audiences.
I was disappointed in the production and art designs (props and starship designs in particular) and I thought some of the plot elements were silly and poorly executed, but this didn't bother me from my overall enjoyment of the picture, and I sort of gave them a pass because it was very entertaining and it was their first time up at bat with a Trek film.
Now, this is still one of my more favorite Star Trek films. I think it's a light, fun adventure movie. It's not worth a whole lot of discussion or debate in terms of its content...but it's definitely worth a re-visit quite frequently. I look at this movie as an interesting but not extremely engaging "what if" scenario, and don't take it too seriously. It's almost like watching "The Orville..." I like it a lot, but am not particularly passionate about it. I also find stuff like "transwarp beaming" and "red matter" to be a little ridiculous, but hey, so is the Genesis Device and the slingshot time warp....so whatever.
Star Trek Into Darkness
In 2013, when I first saw this in IMAX 3D, I thought it was better than the 2009 film. It had a deeper meaning to the plot, I liked the emotional moments very much, and I thought the action was fun and engaging. It also addressed / acknowledged a number of the silly elements of the first film (like Kirk's rapid ascension to the captaincy). It was massively satisfying visual eye candy as well. I thought the "turnaround" scene of Kirk's death was heartfelt and well-executed.
Now, I feel this is one of the weakest movies of the franchise. Almost nothing in the film stands up as logical or as "making sense" to me, and it seems a lot more juvenile than I originally thought. I can't get my head wrapped around what Khan is doing, why he is doing it, or what he actually was hoping to accomplish. Marcus's plan is similarly incomprehensible. The movie is FILLED with throw-away plot devices and contrivances, and it just feels very sloppy and over-cooked, almost like they were trying to write something really complex and clever, but just spent too much damn time on it.
I also can't get past the final 15 mins of the film, starting with Spock yelling "KHAAAANNN!" in a completely unwelcome and inappropriate parody, the magic blood cure, and more jumping / crashing / punching than any of the other films combined (seemingly). It actually gives me a headache it's so frantic and frenetic. It feels like they had 3-4 action set pieces they wanted to film, and then they built a movie around it (same goes for Nimoy's appearance) rather than writing a cohesive story.
On a positive note, I think the cast absolutely hits it out of the park, and I think some of the smaller, quieter character moments (few as they are) work great. Ultimately, I liken STID to a really crazy carnival ride: It's fun to be on for a while, but you start to feel really crappy at the end, and then you're just begging to get off. And, when you do, you might vomit.
Star Trek Beyond
In 2016, sadly, I was underwhelmed by this one almost right out of the gate. I tried (I mean, really put an effort) to convince myself that it was even better than the 2009 film. It handled some of the nostalgia stuff nicely. It had a wonderful homage to Nimoy / Prime Spock, Jayla was a cool character, etc. I liked the idea that they were on a planet in deep space, and not fighting to save Earth again. I also really enjoyed that this film was a little more introspective and invested in the character relationships more. I struggled to understand why Krall and his people didn't leave the plant earlier. It seems they are bitter for having been left on Altemed, but they had the means to escape at nearly any time (seemingly?...IDK, man...)
I haven't changed my mind much on this one. I appreciate that the humor and writing are a little more mature than the other 2 films, and I like that a lot. The soundtrack is also excellent. I find myself completely ambivalent to the destruction of the Enterprise. It just feels way too much like the last act of Into Darkness "let's trash the ship..." so I don't care at all for that scene. In many ways, my issue with this one is very similar to my issue with INS....it is just kind of a non-event movie. There's very little here to care much about. I already don't have a ton of invested passion in the Kelvin timeline (that doesn't mean I don't like it....BTW), and this film kind of went nowhere and did nothing. I also feel that Krall was one of the biggest "missed opportunities" in Trek. I also disliked that there was no redeeming quality in the man whatsoever. I still, to this day, after several re-watches, don't know why the Franklin crew didn't leave the planet earlier. He's bullshit about having been left behind, but didn't do anything to repair the damaged Franklin nor utilize the swarm ships. Drives me nuts.....but I still rewatch because I love the cast and there are some excellent, truly heartfelt moments, sprinkled throughout.
Last edited:
). So it was up and down.
