Look, we all know TFF has the disadvantage in SFX and clearly the concept was never completely realized (no rock monsters). But, it does a real, beating heart to it, and Shatner is clearly engaged with the material. Performance-wise, he's the most TOS-invoking of all the films, and directorially its a fine effort.
I recently resaw GEN and I enjoyed it a lot more this time. I used to hate it, and I still do consider it a weakling for those reason, but its not as bad as I remembered it (maybe because The Return as a sequel book really softened its edges for me). And it does have more themes to deal with than the TFF as in aging, death, legacy, the meaning of existence and family, the passage of time, etc. Problem is, for me, the movie feel haphazard and like I'm watching a checklist of things rather than an organic story unfolding. And David Carson, who is excellent of TV, nevertheless doesn't perform very well on the big-screen. As such, I find the effort slight, despite the best of intentions.
TFF and GEN certainly feel alike, as both films are most like the show they came from (INS is also that for TNG, arguably, but this looks like the show also). But GEN doesn't achieve its goals, I feel, though it does have ambition about itself (then again, so did TFF didn't it?) but ultimately it collapses on the weight of that aforementioned checklist, whereas TFF feels like its ingredients don't sink it, but rather the execution of the recipe. Not to mention individual elements going against GEN, such as score (Goldsmith), characters (tie I guess) and villain (while MacDowell is more energetic here than in other '90's trash, he's still underwhelming whereas Luckinbill's Sybok is a hoot). But really, I choose The Final Frontier because, for all its flaws, it does feel like a TOS film made from that show more than GEN does from TNG, because the latter was a definitively ensemble show and the movie barely has the time to focus on two of those characters, let alone any time sparred if any for Kirk and his demise. But TOS was always about those three - Kirk, Spock, McCoy - and its completely suceeds in being a story that engages that dynamic and meaningfully. Does the humor dillute it? Absolutely. Did it need much more money than it got? Yes. Should Shatner had likely taken a more conservative concept for that budget? Probably. But I never hated watching TFF, whereas I did GEN for many, many years.
And I never even mentioned just how bad Kirk's death was handled. Still, they're both perfectly serviceable entries in the movie series. Unlike, you know, Int(r)o (to) the Darkness.
I recently resaw GEN and I enjoyed it a lot more this time. I used to hate it, and I still do consider it a weakling for those reason, but its not as bad as I remembered it (maybe because The Return as a sequel book really softened its edges for me). And it does have more themes to deal with than the TFF as in aging, death, legacy, the meaning of existence and family, the passage of time, etc. Problem is, for me, the movie feel haphazard and like I'm watching a checklist of things rather than an organic story unfolding. And David Carson, who is excellent of TV, nevertheless doesn't perform very well on the big-screen. As such, I find the effort slight, despite the best of intentions.
TFF and GEN certainly feel alike, as both films are most like the show they came from (INS is also that for TNG, arguably, but this looks like the show also). But GEN doesn't achieve its goals, I feel, though it does have ambition about itself (then again, so did TFF didn't it?) but ultimately it collapses on the weight of that aforementioned checklist, whereas TFF feels like its ingredients don't sink it, but rather the execution of the recipe. Not to mention individual elements going against GEN, such as score (Goldsmith), characters (tie I guess) and villain (while MacDowell is more energetic here than in other '90's trash, he's still underwhelming whereas Luckinbill's Sybok is a hoot). But really, I choose The Final Frontier because, for all its flaws, it does feel like a TOS film made from that show more than GEN does from TNG, because the latter was a definitively ensemble show and the movie barely has the time to focus on two of those characters, let alone any time sparred if any for Kirk and his demise. But TOS was always about those three - Kirk, Spock, McCoy - and its completely suceeds in being a story that engages that dynamic and meaningfully. Does the humor dillute it? Absolutely. Did it need much more money than it got? Yes. Should Shatner had likely taken a more conservative concept for that budget? Probably. But I never hated watching TFF, whereas I did GEN for many, many years.
And I never even mentioned just how bad Kirk's death was handled. Still, they're both perfectly serviceable entries in the movie series. Unlike, you know, Int(r)o (to) the Darkness.
