The Official STAR TREK Grading & Discussion Thread [SPOILERS]
- Thread starter Agent Richard07
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The only thing that keeps it from excellent for me is that it deviates from the Star Trek I know and love from watching it for years. I love classic Star Trek too much. But this is a different Star Trek. I do think it could go somewhere else and improve itself and have it's own future. That is the good thing.
Here's my full review
The characters were pretty on point outside of a few key differences.
Kirk was a rebel not the pretty disciplined well polished officer that only bent rules when he knew it was right to. This was a rebel Kirk.
The young Spock was a perfect Spock. Almost haunting how much Quinto is like Nimoy was 40+ years ago. And Nimoy himself knows how to play Spock.
Uhura was a lot spicier than the Uhura we all know. Especially in the show. She has a lot of spunk.
Scotty was more humor he didn't really show the professional he was in the show. He seemed to be there for comedy only.
The guy that played Chekov was good for the role. He was a good choice and the moments where his accent got in the way were really good comedic moments.
The guy playing Pike was also solid, But there really isn't much to go on with Jeff Hunter's role because he only did one episode.
Bones was a perfect Bones. Urban really channelled his inner De Kelly, he played the role just like I imagined Bones to always be.
There were some plothole mistakes but that's Sci Fi for you. It's not even sure if faster than warp speed travel or teleporter technology is even possible at this point so technically all of Star Trek has a big plot hole there since every show uses both of those.
The Romulans all having tatoos was kind of unnecessary. But the time travel thing was done well and it rarely is. Star Trek has been able to make time travel work in it's past and other than changing the TOS canon stuff we all love this one worked.
I didn't like that they put both McCoy and Kirk in the academy at the same time since it was always inferred that McCoy was older, and I didn't like that Vulcan was destroyed, and that everyone of the stars goes from being cadets to being commisioned officers for some reason, but everything about this reality is different. This was not about expanding on past Star Trek it was about creating a new future for Star Trek and it did that job real well. Yes it hurts the cannon of Trek. But it's creating it's own cannon and hopefully new series and movies will come from it.
Here's my full review
The characters were pretty on point outside of a few key differences.
Kirk was a rebel not the pretty disciplined well polished officer that only bent rules when he knew it was right to. This was a rebel Kirk.
The young Spock was a perfect Spock. Almost haunting how much Quinto is like Nimoy was 40+ years ago. And Nimoy himself knows how to play Spock.
Uhura was a lot spicier than the Uhura we all know. Especially in the show. She has a lot of spunk.
Scotty was more humor he didn't really show the professional he was in the show. He seemed to be there for comedy only.
The guy that played Chekov was good for the role. He was a good choice and the moments where his accent got in the way were really good comedic moments.
The guy playing Pike was also solid, But there really isn't much to go on with Jeff Hunter's role because he only did one episode.
Bones was a perfect Bones. Urban really channelled his inner De Kelly, he played the role just like I imagined Bones to always be.
There were some plothole mistakes but that's Sci Fi for you. It's not even sure if faster than warp speed travel or teleporter technology is even possible at this point so technically all of Star Trek has a big plot hole there since every show uses both of those.
The Romulans all having tatoos was kind of unnecessary. But the time travel thing was done well and it rarely is. Star Trek has been able to make time travel work in it's past and other than changing the TOS canon stuff we all love this one worked.
I didn't like that they put both McCoy and Kirk in the academy at the same time since it was always inferred that McCoy was older, and I didn't like that Vulcan was destroyed, and that everyone of the stars goes from being cadets to being commisioned officers for some reason, but everything about this reality is different. This was not about expanding on past Star Trek it was about creating a new future for Star Trek and it did that job real well. Yes it hurts the cannon of Trek. But it's creating it's own cannon and hopefully new series and movies will come from it.
It's about time somebody made a movie out of that Star Trek show from the 60s.
Absolutely Right™.
Holy Fuck. I don't feel like I've waited three years for this movie - feels more like forty.
I'm going to see it again tomorrow and maybe again over the weekend.
A couple of the young adults I was with this evening were in tears by the opening title.
I have no complaints, no nitpicks, no criticisms to make right now. I'm sure that over time a few will occur to me. Maybe.
That was one thing that made perfect sense to me. McCoy was a civilian doctor before he entered starfleet after his divorce as explained in the movie. Hence him being in the same class as Kirk but older.
EXCELLENT
A+
10/10
****stars
I mean really I found nothing to not like about this movie. I was fully prepared to nitpick it to death but really this movie, or series of movies with this timeline, is ripe for possibilities. I was fully prepared for Nimoy's Spock to die and when he not only didn't die but had a larger than just cameo role I was jazzed.
The divergence aside I have my own geek ideas of how this series can bring in new viewers/fans to Trek and then one day(maybe for Treks 50th Anniversary) they can "put right what once went wrong" and realign with Trek lore.
At any rate I'm going to need to see this again. I saw the 7pm opening IMAX showing tonight. It sold out and so did the 10pm. The clerk told me the midnight show was near selling out and I wouldn't be surprised if between 6pm(when i got to the theater) and midnight that it doesn't sell out.
The Quinto Spock/Uhuara love element caught me off guard. All those promos were cleverly edited to make it appear it was a Kirk/Uhuara make out session.
I do believe the USS Kelvin gave us a nod to the TAS by giving us an Arex type crewmember on the bridge of the Kelvin. At least thats what it looked like to me, anyone else(I'll read thru the thread in a sec).
Thats just for starters will comment more later.
Thank you JJAbrams & Co. for such a great film!!
P.S. - This is a true Valentine to the fans!
A+
10/10
****stars
I mean really I found nothing to not like about this movie. I was fully prepared to nitpick it to death but really this movie, or series of movies with this timeline, is ripe for possibilities. I was fully prepared for Nimoy's Spock to die and when he not only didn't die but had a larger than just cameo role I was jazzed.
The divergence aside I have my own geek ideas of how this series can bring in new viewers/fans to Trek and then one day(maybe for Treks 50th Anniversary) they can "put right what once went wrong" and realign with Trek lore.
At any rate I'm going to need to see this again. I saw the 7pm opening IMAX showing tonight. It sold out and so did the 10pm. The clerk told me the midnight show was near selling out and I wouldn't be surprised if between 6pm(when i got to the theater) and midnight that it doesn't sell out.
The Quinto Spock/Uhuara love element caught me off guard. All those promos were cleverly edited to make it appear it was a Kirk/Uhuara make out session.
I do believe the USS Kelvin gave us a nod to the TAS by giving us an Arex type crewmember on the bridge of the Kelvin. At least thats what it looked like to me, anyone else(I'll read thru the thread in a sec).
Thats just for starters will comment more later.
Thank you JJAbrams & Co. for such a great film!!
P.S. - This is a true Valentine to the fans!
I smiled every time I even caught sight of Urban on screen. He was marvelous.
Here is my quick review.
1) It is like no other Trek to date.
2) I laughed more in this film than any other to date.
3) I thought they did an EXCELLENT job explaining that the Star TRek we know today is fine and alive, and that this timeline, the jj timeline, is going to play itself out differently. Sets them up for some awesome novels and future films.
4) It was the first Star Trek film that my wife enjoyed as much as I did.
5) The characters were all fantastic.
6) I'll be going to watch it a second time in theaters.
7) It isn't all positive. I wish it would have named a new race or a new world of sorts. There really was no exploring...
8) Product placement should stay out of Trek films.
1) It is like no other Trek to date.
2) I laughed more in this film than any other to date.
3) I thought they did an EXCELLENT job explaining that the Star TRek we know today is fine and alive, and that this timeline, the jj timeline, is going to play itself out differently. Sets them up for some awesome novels and future films.
4) It was the first Star Trek film that my wife enjoyed as much as I did.
5) The characters were all fantastic.
6) I'll be going to watch it a second time in theaters.
7) It isn't all positive. I wish it would have named a new race or a new world of sorts. There really was no exploring...
8) Product placement should stay out of Trek films.
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I agree he's the real McCoy.
I got to be honest with you guys.
I have mixed feelings about this film. In other words...why Vulcan?! There’s a lot of things on my mind right now: a few things that I love about this film, and a few things that really upsets me. I’ll formulate a review as soon as I can. Overall, I think this film has to be among the top 3 greatest Trek films along with STII and STVI.
Grade: 3 out of 4.
I have mixed feelings about this film. In other words...why Vulcan?! There’s a lot of things on my mind right now: a few things that I love about this film, and a few things that really upsets me. I’ll formulate a review as soon as I can. Overall, I think this film has to be among the top 3 greatest Trek films along with STII and STVI.
Grade: 3 out of 4.
My GOODNESS!
That movie was amazing! Both starships really had the look and feel of the future! I also thought that I would hate the engineering sets, but I didn't! :-) I loved them! I also loved the Enterprise, the actors, and that wierd three nacelled starship! And the WARP EFFECT!
And the KELVIN: LOVED the overlays of the viewscreen onto the windows, and POOR CAPTAIN ROBAU! TERMINATED! OOH! VICIOUS!!!
But, is anyone else mourning the destruction of VULCAN?!?!? I'm still trying to soak it all IN!!!!
MY HEART CANNOT TAKE ALL THIS! This is SO MUCH to soak IN!
I just saw the movie at 7; going back to the 12 am latenight showing to take it all in again!
That movie was amazing! Both starships really had the look and feel of the future! I also thought that I would hate the engineering sets, but I didn't! :-) I loved them! I also loved the Enterprise, the actors, and that wierd three nacelled starship! And the WARP EFFECT!
And the KELVIN: LOVED the overlays of the viewscreen onto the windows, and POOR CAPTAIN ROBAU! TERMINATED! OOH! VICIOUS!!!
But, is anyone else mourning the destruction of VULCAN?!?!? I'm still trying to soak it all IN!!!!
MY HEART CANNOT TAKE ALL THIS! This is SO MUCH to soak IN!
I just saw the movie at 7; going back to the 12 am latenight showing to take it all in again!
you guys suck lol. I can't see it till saturday 
All amazing. Yeah, the Engineering set turned out not to bother me at all - okay, there was one moment where a hand-turn valve was rather prominent on the right-hand side of the screen that took me out for a moment. I just chuckled; call it "Finney's wrench."
Excellent.
One of my beefs is that there wasn't enough of everything! My other beef is that the science (both real and Trek-based) is bullshit. I didn't expect to agree with Roger Ebert on that one.
That said, everything else was fucking phenomenal. Chris Pine is going to be too big to do a sequel in a couple years, I fear. The dude is a born movie star. He didn't do Shatner but there were enough nods in there that I could see who he was. I first noticed it in the scene with Scotty in the pipes in Engineering. The way he said "Mista Scott" made me realize he did his fucking research. Also, by the end of the film when he's sprawled out over the chair, he's channelling Shatner slightly more than he was during the bulk of the film. Don't care. Shatner's my Kirk, but you know what? So is Chris Pine.
Zachary Quinto was the standout, though. He played what we always suspected what was happening with Spock. When he smashed that terminal in "Amok Time" we had an inkling that Spock wasn't as together as he claimed. Quinto shows it. But he still manages to be our old, logical Spock. My one beef with the Spock storyline was that it could have used one or two more scenes with Winona Ryder's Amanda. She acquitted herself well with what she had but the crux of Spock's dilemma is the death of his mother (and his planet) and 5 minutes more of that would have been wicked.
Karl Urban was perfect as Bones. I rolled my eyes when I heard he was cast but I'll eat a smorgasbord of crow over it. Once again my complaint is that there should have been more of him. But he was freaking amazing.
The rest of the cast was really good too. And they all got their moments. Although I found Yelchin's accent distracting. Koenig was never unintelligible like he was at times.
Also, points for the Spock/Uhura business. It seems like sacrilege, sure but it makes total sense. Especially given Sarek's reasoning for marrying Amanda.
What pissed me off? Not much. But Black Holes are death machines, not portals. Why did Nero die in one at the end but was transported by one at the beginning? That was pretty much the only element of hard science touched on so my complaints end there.
My Trek-science-and-universe complaints are similarly few. Isn't the warp core supposed to be a single thing as opposed to several? The Federation is more government than armada. Delta Vega in orbit around Vulcan's star? Three or four minutes from Earth to Vulcan?
But this is all nitpicky shit. I went to see the characters I love and I got them in spades. I loved JJ Abrams anyway because of Lost. That love is now unconditional. Show me Star Trek XII!
Buckle up.
One of my beefs is that there wasn't enough of everything! My other beef is that the science (both real and Trek-based) is bullshit. I didn't expect to agree with Roger Ebert on that one.
That said, everything else was fucking phenomenal. Chris Pine is going to be too big to do a sequel in a couple years, I fear. The dude is a born movie star. He didn't do Shatner but there were enough nods in there that I could see who he was. I first noticed it in the scene with Scotty in the pipes in Engineering. The way he said "Mista Scott" made me realize he did his fucking research. Also, by the end of the film when he's sprawled out over the chair, he's channelling Shatner slightly more than he was during the bulk of the film. Don't care. Shatner's my Kirk, but you know what? So is Chris Pine.
Zachary Quinto was the standout, though. He played what we always suspected what was happening with Spock. When he smashed that terminal in "Amok Time" we had an inkling that Spock wasn't as together as he claimed. Quinto shows it. But he still manages to be our old, logical Spock. My one beef with the Spock storyline was that it could have used one or two more scenes with Winona Ryder's Amanda. She acquitted herself well with what she had but the crux of Spock's dilemma is the death of his mother (and his planet) and 5 minutes more of that would have been wicked.
Karl Urban was perfect as Bones. I rolled my eyes when I heard he was cast but I'll eat a smorgasbord of crow over it. Once again my complaint is that there should have been more of him. But he was freaking amazing.
The rest of the cast was really good too. And they all got their moments. Although I found Yelchin's accent distracting. Koenig was never unintelligible like he was at times.
Also, points for the Spock/Uhura business. It seems like sacrilege, sure but it makes total sense. Especially given Sarek's reasoning for marrying Amanda.
What pissed me off? Not much. But Black Holes are death machines, not portals. Why did Nero die in one at the end but was transported by one at the beginning? That was pretty much the only element of hard science touched on so my complaints end there.
My Trek-science-and-universe complaints are similarly few. Isn't the warp core supposed to be a single thing as opposed to several? The Federation is more government than armada. Delta Vega in orbit around Vulcan's star? Three or four minutes from Earth to Vulcan?
But this is all nitpicky shit. I went to see the characters I love and I got them in spades. I loved JJ Abrams anyway because of Lost. That love is now unconditional. Show me Star Trek XII!
Buckle up.
I'd heard so much about Yelchin's accent in advance that I was surprised to not be bothered by it. It's really only very silly during the "Victor" gag; I thought it was generally better than Koenig's, though laid on just as thickly.
OK.. I've sat and thought about it for a bit...
It really is THE BEST TREK MOVIE MADE SO FAR...
The opening was very, Very emotional...
I have to agree with Capt April's (I think) assessment about it's obvious that somehow the time line got changed BEFORE we first see the Kelvin...
I know it's artistic license, but that ship IS way too advanced (on the inside) for the time period We are supposed to believe it's from...
(my guess would be that the Black hole/Wormhole somehow changes things just by it's existence in both timelines... don't ya jest luv Ret-connin')
I love the Window/View screen in both ships... and it's obvious that the new Enterprises' Bridge is much lower in the primary hull...
(they do a long pan directly from the E's bridge out one of those lower bright light spaces and then up over the upside-down primary hull...)
I brought the Prequel comic with me to read before the movie...
There is No Doubt in my mind that It Is Canon... Old Spock (and man he Really Looks OLD) quotes passages from it almost word for word to Kirk, (and in the mind-meld) when describing how events have led Old Spock, to Delta Vega...
I found it especially disconcerting that he could actually see Vulcan imploding from that vantage point...
(though I'm gonna pay more attention next viewing, cause I'm not sure if he is actually seeing it or just visualizing it for Kirk...)
The characters themselves I have to admit, are pretty much spot-on...
Pine does an incredible job... there are a couple of times when if I had had my eyes closed, I would have thought that Shatner was saying the line...
My only problem with Zach's Spock is that he seems Too Cute on several occasions...
Other than that, I liked his portrayal of the character...
The Spock/Uhura relationship is interesting, but if the Spock character stays true to form, then She's got nothing but heart-ache ahead and I can't see it panning out to be any more interesting than the episode with Leila Kalomi.
The space-actions scenes were really good, I just wish they had not been so jumpy. (guess I'm gettin' to old for these new-fangled-fast-as-you-can SP-FX's.)
There is a very large Feel of Star Wars in this movie, again, it's one of the things that I'm not sure I like or not...
(I like all the SW movies, I'm just not sure if I like having that Feel in Star Trek...)
I have to agree that Urban has brought De Kellys', Dr. McCoy back to life.
He is amazing in the role no doubt about it.
I don't think that I can honestly say whether Zoe IS Uhura or not...
There is just not enough for her to do in this movie for me to judge satisfactorily.
Cho does a very good job as Sulu, I like that he's not an Expert at Everything he thinks he is...
The first 5 minutes of Yelchin's accent, were very grating... but after a while he does tone it down quite a bit and I like his portrayal by the end of the movie.
Pegg as Scotty is classic... He too manages with ease, to bring Jimmy Doohans' Scotty back to life...
I even felt sorry for his RockEwok (another one of those SW references that probably could have been a lot less obvious), when he left him behind with old Spock on Delta-Vega.
I Don't like that Vulcan is Destroyed and Amanda is dead... nuff said...
I guess I tried to hard too see a bit of Mark Leonard in Ben Cross cause I don't think he got it...
Same with Winona, though I think She was closer to the original character. (I may change my mind on this with future viewings, only time will tell...)
The New Enterprise... Welll.... I'm a Purist-at-Heart, I guess...
It's really cool, there's no denying that...
... but it's not the Lovely 'ol Gray Lady that I truly Love...
I don't expect a really deep plot when I go to see a Trek Movie, it's just not my thing... so the story for me was interesting and entertaining...
I guess most of my reservations, now that I've seen the movie and have thought about for a while, are that JJ & Company have used Too Much Artistic License for my tastes...
But, like He's said on several occaisions... He didn't make this movie for the likes of me...
...and though I feel as though an Era that I have lived though, has come to an end...
...I can also see that a new one is beginging...
It really is THE BEST TREK MOVIE MADE SO FAR...
The opening was very, Very emotional...
I have to agree with Capt April's (I think) assessment about it's obvious that somehow the time line got changed BEFORE we first see the Kelvin...
I know it's artistic license, but that ship IS way too advanced (on the inside) for the time period We are supposed to believe it's from...
(my guess would be that the Black hole/Wormhole somehow changes things just by it's existence in both timelines... don't ya jest luv Ret-connin')
I love the Window/View screen in both ships... and it's obvious that the new Enterprises' Bridge is much lower in the primary hull...
(they do a long pan directly from the E's bridge out one of those lower bright light spaces and then up over the upside-down primary hull...)
I brought the Prequel comic with me to read before the movie...
There is No Doubt in my mind that It Is Canon... Old Spock (and man he Really Looks OLD) quotes passages from it almost word for word to Kirk, (and in the mind-meld) when describing how events have led Old Spock, to Delta Vega...
I found it especially disconcerting that he could actually see Vulcan imploding from that vantage point...
(though I'm gonna pay more attention next viewing, cause I'm not sure if he is actually seeing it or just visualizing it for Kirk...)
The characters themselves I have to admit, are pretty much spot-on...
Pine does an incredible job... there are a couple of times when if I had had my eyes closed, I would have thought that Shatner was saying the line...
My only problem with Zach's Spock is that he seems Too Cute on several occasions...
Other than that, I liked his portrayal of the character...
The Spock/Uhura relationship is interesting, but if the Spock character stays true to form, then She's got nothing but heart-ache ahead and I can't see it panning out to be any more interesting than the episode with Leila Kalomi.
The space-actions scenes were really good, I just wish they had not been so jumpy. (guess I'm gettin' to old for these new-fangled-fast-as-you-can SP-FX's.)
There is a very large Feel of Star Wars in this movie, again, it's one of the things that I'm not sure I like or not...
(I like all the SW movies, I'm just not sure if I like having that Feel in Star Trek...)
I have to agree that Urban has brought De Kellys', Dr. McCoy back to life.
He is amazing in the role no doubt about it.
I don't think that I can honestly say whether Zoe IS Uhura or not...
There is just not enough for her to do in this movie for me to judge satisfactorily.
Cho does a very good job as Sulu, I like that he's not an Expert at Everything he thinks he is...
The first 5 minutes of Yelchin's accent, were very grating... but after a while he does tone it down quite a bit and I like his portrayal by the end of the movie.
Pegg as Scotty is classic... He too manages with ease, to bring Jimmy Doohans' Scotty back to life...
I even felt sorry for his RockEwok (another one of those SW references that probably could have been a lot less obvious), when he left him behind with old Spock on Delta-Vega.
I Don't like that Vulcan is Destroyed and Amanda is dead... nuff said...
I guess I tried to hard too see a bit of Mark Leonard in Ben Cross cause I don't think he got it...
Same with Winona, though I think She was closer to the original character. (I may change my mind on this with future viewings, only time will tell...)
The New Enterprise... Welll.... I'm a Purist-at-Heart, I guess...
It's really cool, there's no denying that...
... but it's not the Lovely 'ol Gray Lady that I truly Love...
I don't expect a really deep plot when I go to see a Trek Movie, it's just not my thing... so the story for me was interesting and entertaining...
I guess most of my reservations, now that I've seen the movie and have thought about for a while, are that JJ & Company have used Too Much Artistic License for my tastes...
But, like He's said on several occaisions... He didn't make this movie for the likes of me...
...and though I feel as though an Era that I have lived though, has come to an end...
...I can also see that a new one is beginging...
And since I can't do anything about it...
...I can live with that...
PS:
I know I'll have a lot more to add to this after another viewing, but I just wanted to get my initial feelings down so I can compare it all later...
(please forgive my spelling of names and such, I've been up since 5 this morning and I also think my spell-check is screwed up.)
...I can live with that...
PS:
I know I'll have a lot more to add to this after another viewing, but I just wanted to get my initial feelings down so I can compare it all later...
(please forgive my spelling of names and such, I've been up since 5 this morning and I also think my spell-check is screwed up.)
This is not your father's Star Trek.
It's true, this is not your father's Star Trek. The film has humor, drama, action and powerful character moments. It has all the elements that make up Star Trek, but they are just a little different.
The only sad part is, I have to say goodbye to what I've become used to seeing from Star Trek. It's like saying goodbye to an old friend.
The only complaint I have, is some of the action is just too fast paced. They throw so
much at you at once, it's difficult to take it all in.
So, congratualtions, to everyone involved. They've made a great film Star Trek film which will appeal to Trekkers and non Trekkers.
It's true, this is not your father's Star Trek. The film has humor, drama, action and powerful character moments. It has all the elements that make up Star Trek, but they are just a little different.
The only sad part is, I have to say goodbye to what I've become used to seeing from Star Trek. It's like saying goodbye to an old friend.
The only complaint I have, is some of the action is just too fast paced. They throw so
much at you at once, it's difficult to take it all in.
So, congratualtions, to everyone involved. They've made a great film Star Trek film which will appeal to Trekkers and non Trekkers.
Its the Doc Emmet Brown explanation from Back to the Future 2!!
But it's right here as well.
I may go see it again because I can't wait for the DVD. I enjoyed watching it but I didn't walk out with that glow i.e., after sex buzz like I had with some other Star Trek films, Star Wars films, and other great sci-fi movies. On an opening night in a busy metro area my theatre was not close to full and there was no waiting around for buying the tickets, although there was a showing every 30 to 45 minutes. So I guess since there was no buzz at the theatre it took away from my eager anticipation. Afterwards I went to Burger King and bought the collector glasses.
I didn't like the Uhura and Spock intimacy... it didn't seem real for the characters. The promotions happen way too quick. Blowing up Vulcan - that's a no no. I loved young Kirk, McCoy, and Spock. The others were ok. It's not the best of the series but its in the top 3. Maybe the next one will sink in better.
I didn't like the Uhura and Spock intimacy... it didn't seem real for the characters. The promotions happen way too quick. Blowing up Vulcan - that's a no no. I loved young Kirk, McCoy, and Spock. The others were ok. It's not the best of the series but its in the top 3. Maybe the next one will sink in better.
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