Barnes & Noble has comfy chairs.
What's keeping me out of the theatre....
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
Barnes & Noble has comfy chairs.
I didn't expect this to be TOS. I expected a different interpretation. What I would hope for was although different it could still appeal in a different way. I was gravely disappointed.
What I see going on throughout many threads and forums is: "I liked it and if you didn't then you're a blind, hating idiot." or "I didn't like it and if you did then you're a blind simplistic idiot."
Brutal Strudel and I seem to be more on a reasonable wavelength, here. He enjoyed the film although he can also see why folks like me could dislike it and that's okay with him. Conversely I didn't enjoy the film at all yet I can also see why it works for others and that's okay with me.
Is it a good film? The answer will be largely subjective because it's totally dependent on what you expect to get out of it and whether you perceive the elements you need to be entertained are there.
What I see going on throughout many threads and forums is: "I liked it and if you didn't then you're a blind, hating idiot." or "I didn't like it and if you did then you're a blind simplistic idiot."
Brutal Strudel and I seem to be more on a reasonable wavelength, here. He enjoyed the film although he can also see why folks like me could dislike it and that's okay with him. Conversely I didn't enjoy the film at all yet I can also see why it works for others and that's okay with me.
Is it a good film? The answer will be largely subjective because it's totally dependent on what you expect to get out of it and whether you perceive the elements you need to be entertained are there.
Damn straight.
Infraction for flaming. All comments or questions via PM please.
Starship Troopers is satire like Maximum Overdrive is a spoof.
Ouch!
But, as your signature line suggests, you've known this since ST II came out.
Even Trekkers who hate modern Trek hope that the next one will be better.
Just wanted to say I agree with almost all of Warped9's criticisms even though I've only actually seen 3 full TOS episodes, and a bit of every other series, particularly DS9 and Voyager. There's no denying the movie's plot and characterization suffer from rather crippling flaws that its frantic pace attempts to conceal. Right now I suspect most people are either satisfied by the action-oriented nature of the movie, or find a strong sense of nostalgic appeal in it. It remains to be seen if either will survive the test of time.
Your suspicions are mistaken.
Actually he may be partly right. He's not the first to say this. For some viewers I also think it's part nostalgia and partly the energy level of the film.
You can get a little gang together and repeat it as much as you want to, the subtext remains: "This movie is succeeding. It's necessary to move the goal posts for success - preferably, to insist upon an unquantifiable measure of 'success' - in order to avoid accepting that."
And you can't sell that for a dollar.
What is it, then, that appeals to to them? I know I was nostalgic--the movie made me nostagic for a time before I was a trekkie, when the stupidities of this film (which dwarf those of TFF, even, a movie I loathed from the moment I saw it) would have sailed over my head. Likewise, I dug the action set-pieces, which many have praised. Indeed, this movie is poised to be the hit of this summer, based on those set-pieces and the fondness a great many people had for TOS before it got bogged down in an accretion of canon from 10 movies and four spin-off series. Hell, Abrams has as much as said that that's the movie he set out to make.
If you're gonna take issue with the argument, it makes more sense to take issue with the part that seeks to dismiss the appeal of nostalgia and of well-constructed action. If not, then tell us what you think people are responding to. The buddy movie cliches? The re-hashing of Spock's mommy issues? The TOS easter eggs?
(And contending that a movie can be a financial success and a--subjective, of course--artistic failure is not moving the goal posts. Titanic was a horrible movie, The Bridges of Madison County a horrible book yet Vincent Van Gogh sold one painting in his lifetime.)
If you're gonna take issue with the argument, it makes more sense to take issue with the part that seeks to dismiss the appeal of nostalgia and of well-constructed action. If not, then tell us what you think people are responding to. The buddy movie cliches? The re-hashing of Spock's mommy issues? The TOS easter eggs?
(And contending that a movie can be a financial success and a--subjective, of course--artistic failure is not moving the goal posts. Titanic was a horrible movie, The Bridges of Madison County a horrible book yet Vincent Van Gogh sold one painting in his lifetime.)
Your's ARE NOT the only reasons people are responding to this film. There are different reasons as there are individual viewers.
If you ask me you're the one being stubborn and narrow viewed. I can see the varying reasons why people can like the film--even if I disagree--but I can see them.
That is the single most intelligent thing I have read in this entire thread.
and likewise I enjoyed the movie but understand why some people would not.
-frank
Absolutely Right™
Say what you will about the movie's success, I just tend to see a staggering amount of positive bias from the Trek fanbase around here towards the movie. The hype, the excitement of the big screen, the staggering pace of the movie, the nostalgic factor, it all seems to contribute to this overwhelming sense of adulation towards what was nothing more than a summer action blockbuster which in many ways carried the title of Star Trek in name alone.
In almost every review I read I see an unbelievable amount of forgiveness towards what are some pretty glaring flaws in the storyline and characterization. But what will we think of the movie as it receives more scrutiny, and as the charm of a new and revamped Trek begins to wear off? How much replay value do you think the comic relief of a good majority of the crew will hold up? Etc etc.
Bottom line, I just don't like the new direction of Trek, it's too casual, light-hearted and profit-oriented for my tastes. Maybe I've been disconnected from cinema too long, but the dialogue seems mediocre and dumbed down, the composure of the crew is cavalier and hard to believe, too many implausibilities are being thrown my way (Kirk the quintessential badass is supposed to be a genius? Please), and there's clearly too much effort being thrown into CGI and SFX. I'm not watching Trek to simply admire technical achievements, even though that does play some role in sci-fi, I also want something a little more sophisticated to gnaw my teeth into.
