most disappointing Trek movie?
- Thread starter Khan 2.0
- Start date
Was "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" pure action?
I'd be curious to find out how people's expectations of a given film played in to the consideration of that film as underwhelming. I had high hopes for NEM, STID and TMP, for instance, but ultimately it was TMP and BEY that I had the highest expectations of, and they were my two contenders for the most disappointing because of this. I could kind of tell that INS wasn't going to amount to anything, so my expectation level was low, and even though it disappointed I was prepared for that.
I think fans were willing to forgive ST09 for being over-the-top action and for recycling the tired tropes of “earth under attack” and “villain obsessed with revenge” because they were excited for Star Trek to be back, they were excited for Star Trek to be cool, and if ST was going to be an action flick, it was competently done and was about as actioney as we were willing to tolerate. It set the stage for new Star Trek stories. I think maybe some of us were dismayed that STID took it up a notch rather than just telling a nice science fiction story.
Although BEY was a big final disappointment was kind of forewarned by the whole fiasco with Orci/Shatner announcement of Lin/Pegg and ultimately that Furious in Space trailer.. I guess TFF was another big one for me(and everyone!) ..but as was basically still a kid still liked it/wasn't too disappointed!. Like you I kind of knew INS wouldnt amount to much (same with NEM) and then theres GEN with those early trailers assumption wed see 2 crews/Enterprises .. so I think itd have to between GEN and BEY for the biggies.. maybe GEN(my choice on poll) but damn it BEY was a total let down especially when you consider the previous anniversary movies (20/25/30)spectacularly knocked it out the park.. and since I now consider GEN to be the Star Trek Christmas Movie I may have to change my vote to BEY!
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Honestly, the only one I can recall having real expectations for was 09 and ID. 09 started out as very sour due to casting reports and the design of the Enterprise. That quickly changed with watching the film. Kirk is one who just sold me all the way through along with Spock. Maybe my expectations were low but it surprised me. And it's one of my favorite Trek films of all time.
ID has warmed over the years. It started out as a surprise and then I found myself enjoying it more. I had heard a lot of shit talked about it on another forum and I was probably more down on it because of it. But, sitting in the theater the only time I really rolled my eyes was the space jump. The rest was enjoyable.
I think expectations are the only thing that can make something disappointing. If you don't have any expectations, something comes out and it's a "meh," it's just a "meh" but not a disappointment.
When the movies came out, was so long ago, it's hard to remember my expectations.
I knew nothing about the makers of 09. But I've always enjoyed the more cerebral, what-if, moral dilemma, humane-ness aspects of Trek. 09 disppointed me. Ppl know I'm a Trek a fan and would ask me with a smile, "So how did you like it?"
And I'd have to fake it quasi-positive, "Yeah, it was alright" kind of thing so as not to pee on their cornflakes.
So I've been re-thinking this thread.
That one might have been most disappointing. Except I remember HOPING ID would get more sci-fi/thoughtful . . . and ppl here have educated me there is the whole anti-drone msg in it. I could rewatch it someday, but probs not.
I simply can't really remember what my expectations were for TOS and TNG flicks. BEY I had none for, and was confirmed in that. Kind of a meh. That's the one where he's jaded about being captain, right? At like age 25? Was that meta? Were they commenting on making these Trek movies now that SW had reappeared?
Dunno
Thanks for prompting thought.
I was actually fairly pleasantly surprised with Beyond, especially as I had felt the Kelvin Timeline films were primarily meant to be appetizer to get a new generation interested in giving the TV shows a try (and more often than not finding they enjoy them, and becoming as much a Trekkie as the rest of us).
But not only did Beyond touch on a real-world-relevant subject I wasn't expecting, they even dropped the Enterprise/MACO callback on me, and I totally marked out for that.
The only things that disappointed me about Beyond were the redesign of the Enterprise (the nacelles were already awkwardly curved, WHY make them backswept as well? And WHY SHRINK THE NACELLES!?) and to an even greater degree the Enterprise-A at the end (the ONLY thing I like about that ship is the fact the pylons are not curved inward in the forward view... but everything else is just... borderline unsettling).
But not only did Beyond touch on a real-world-relevant subject I wasn't expecting, they even dropped the Enterprise/MACO callback on me, and I totally marked out for that.
The only things that disappointed me about Beyond were the redesign of the Enterprise (the nacelles were already awkwardly curved, WHY make them backswept as well? And WHY SHRINK THE NACELLES!?) and to an even greater degree the Enterprise-A at the end (the ONLY thing I like about that ship is the fact the pylons are not curved inward in the forward view... but everything else is just... borderline unsettling).
I wonder if the swept design was to flow with launching from Yorktown.
A small part of me was hoping the new Enterprise was going to be the refit Constitution-class straight out of TMP as a 50th anniversary nod, (kind of like how they brought the old Aston Martin back for Skyfall). I thought that would be awesome.
Unfortunately, they went with a design even less likable than the existing Kelvin Enterprise.
While I would not call BEY a major disappointment overall, it definitely came up woefully short as an anniversary celebration film.
Well... pretty much anything was going to be a disappointment. Certainly less of an anniversary disappointment than Die Another Day was,... ugh...
Not discussed in the film. Was really hoping we would see more of it.
Head canon theory is that it made it easier to launch from Yorktown base.
It's especially baffling as it got destroyed. If they wanted a new look, there was a built-in way to write it in as the new design for the A.
I just assumed it would be something much closer to the TOS Enterprise or at least with the red glowing tips on the engines and a copper satellite dish on the front.
I think is a great analysis. I am kind of softer on things where they were never going to be much good, like Star Trek V, so I don't take it too seriously about Deck 78 or other dumb stuff, but I think III or at least half of it should be much better so I'll bitch all day about the Genesis planet soundstage and why Uhura didn't help bust out the Enterprise more. My expectations on Into Darkness were down with dinosaur bones so it could only go up although wished it played a bit differently, whereas a lot of stuff I see in Beyond I wish was just in Into Darkness and Beyond was a completely different film and one that didn't cost $170 million dollars.
From what I recall, it was a conscious decision to make the neck and the pylons appear (relatively) weak, and therefore easy to snap off when the swarm starts crashing into them. And then of course to make the -A look more sturdy when we finally get to see it.
I do think this is a dumb reason, especially when we seek the non-A survive almost a constant half hour of beatdown before finally falling to her demise. She held on like a trooper, that's for damn sure (unlike the -D)
I assume it was "supposed" to be how it looked after the relaunch at the end of Into Darkness, since they have the same wider impulse deck.
As @K1productions said, the real-life reason was to make the ship's neck and pylons weaker (and more akin to the TOS ship) for the destruction sequence. The change was quite subtle and I'm sure most didn't notice.
I never knew there was a difference till reading here months or years ago.
It seems producers want to change looks so it is "their" look sometimes.
As opposed to SW which seems to this casual fan to keep its design ethos, which as someone who's been seeing it since '77, I do appreciate.
It seems producers want to change looks so it is "their" look sometimes.
As opposed to SW which seems to this casual fan to keep its design ethos, which as someone who's been seeing it since '77, I do appreciate.