Since When Is The Motion Picture A Good Trek Film?

[Therin of Andor]

Watch TMP from the perspective of someone who had never really seen any of the episodes and you'll see how I came at it.

That was me, but I loved every second of TMP. Most of my ST knowledge, prior to TMP, came from a week of newspaper articles about the making of the film, and random b/w episodes of TAS.

I didn't even think about how long the tour-of-the-refitted-Enterprise was till I had to start defending the film to certain angry diehard TOS fans!

 

[Navigator_NCC2120]

Well, in my previous post I listed some Science Fiction Films off the top of my head. I did not mean to imply that you must enjoy all the Science Fiction Films I listed in order to enjoy TMP.

My point was that TMP appeals to some "Old-School Trekkers" and to some Science Fiction Fans as well, not just "Old-School Trekkers".

Additionally, there seemed to be a lot of "Old-School Trekkers" that prefer TWOK and don't like TMP at all.

This was all in response to Similitude's post:

Just like I thought, It seems that the vast majority of those who loved/love it Are Old-School Trekkers who saw it in theaters way back when. Makes sense I suppose.

Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
/\

 

[Penhall99]

I've always liked TMP, but I think the Director's Edition really made it better.

With just some tweaks here and there, a few new effects shots, and some new sound effects, a great movie really comes through.

It just feels epic and huge. And the effects and production values are amazing, even 30 years later.

I do understand those that do not care for it, but I've always liked it. Even as a kid, I always found it to be a solid movie. And no, this is not based on feelings of nostalgia for seeing the movie in theaters. It was released before I was born, so I wasnt around to witness the hype or anything.

 

[dan_bevan]

TMP was one of the most boring films I've ever seen. And I am a big Trek fan, having watched all of the series. Watching TMP was like watching paint dry in my opinion. Sorry if that offends people, I know this film is all about discovering a new form of life but nothing happened in the film and Decker and that woman were really annoying.

 

[QuasarVM]

I've always liked TMP, but I think the Director's Edition really made it better.

With just some tweaks here and there, a few new effects shots, and some new sound effects, a great movie really comes through.

It just feels epic and huge. And the effects and production values are amazing, even 30 years later.

I do understand those that do not care for it, but I've always liked it. Even as a kid, I always found it to be a solid movie. And no, this is not based on feelings of nostalgia for seeing the movie in theaters. It was released before I was born, so I wasnt around to witness the hype or anything.

I was around for the hype and remember going to see it opening day.
I'll grant you that some nostalgia does play into it's appeal to me...but I agree, the Director's Cut is a much better film.

 

[ncc-1017-e]

TMP is true classic science fiction in every sense of the words!

 

[Jax]

I don't even like TOS tv show but TMP is good solid TREK and I never understood the hate it gets. TMP has one of the greatest TREK scenes ever if not best ever with the long drawn out tour of the Refit ENTERPRISE. On my list TMP is here...

1. STAR TREK
2. TUC
3. TWOK
4. FC
5. TVH
6. TMP
7. TSFS
8. GENS
9. INS
10. TFF
11. NEM

Don't think I have ever seen the directors edition, would love to see it.

 

[Too Much Fun]

All right, I've had enough of this forum's endless praise of this movie. I can't just ignore it anymore. I tried to watch this movie years ago, gave up halfway through (maybe earlier) out of boredom and decided I would never waste another minute of my life on such a dull slog again. It's been a long time, and now your comments have just got me too curious. I'm going to give it another chance and consider the possibility that since I'm a little older and more patient when it comes to movies now, I might see it in a new light. But if ends up being just as painful as it was last time, I'm coming back here a very angry Trekker and you better prepare yourselves for a very harsh being yelled...er, I mean, typed at!

Wow, Jax, that's not a very generous ranking, despite your compliments towards the movie. You've got it ranked right under all the good Star Trek movies and right above all the weaker/mediocre/bad ones (well, arguably "The Search for Spock" is decent). The very definition of 'middle of the road'.

 

[RyanKCR]

My ranking of the Trek films is like this:

1. TMP
2. TWOK
3. TSFS
4. TUC
5. NEM
6. TVH
7. FC
8. GEN
9. ST
10. TFF
11. INS

 

[Brady]

Why? Because it's a science fiction film about some big ideas, even if it's reach exceeded the filmmaker's grasp. The rest are space soap operas with lots of suds.

It's nice to have big ideas but the trick is turning those big ideas into a movie that people enjoy watching. Sometimes that trick is achieved by shrinking the ideas a little. It's not that TMP is that bad, it's just that 4 out of the next five are so AWESOME, TMP pales in comparison. I would put it above Insurrection, Generations, Final Frontier, and each of those three are far and away above Nemesis, in my opinion, but II - IV and then VI are just so much fun that TMP seems out of place.

I was not yet a twinkle in my father's eye when the original series aired and have only caught a few episodes that air early in the morning, so I understand completely if some of you feel that TMP remains truer to the original series, and is therefore more palatable than the others. But I was raised on Next Gen and there was actually a time when I was about 9 years old when I had seen all of the original series movies (renting them from the local library) and did not even KNOW there was an original series. I thought it was just the movies and then Next Gen. From that perspective, it puzzled me how TMP could ever have spawned so many sequels and an offshoot tv program. I guess what I'm saying is that it doesn't really stand on its own. The few original series episodes I have seen are lacking something, perhaps only superficial things, but growing up on Next Gen, it is hard for me to appreciate the original series the way I'm sure many of you do. But the movies, beginning with WOK... well, that's more like it.

 

[Brady]

My movie rankings:

1. First Contact
2. The Undiscovered Country
3. The Search for Spock- terribly underrated by most in my opinion- I have a good old time seeing Kirk and the boys bust Bones out of jail, sabotage Excelsior, and then hijack the Enterprise. I guess the ending is kind of weak, but I have always had the advantage of instantly popping in the Voyage Home!
4. The Wrath of Khan
5. The Voyage Home
6. The Motion Picture
7. Insurrection
8. Generations
9. Final Frontier
10. Nemesis

I really loved the new Star Trek, but I'm going to have to see it a few more times before I find its place on this list.

 

[Brady]

My ranking of the Trek films is like this:

1. TMP
2. TWOK
3. TSFS
4. TUC
5. NEM
6. TVH
7. FC
8. GEN
9. ST
10. TFF
11. INS

Whoa... you've got Nemesis above First Contact? I respect your opinion, but could you PLEASE tell me what you liked about Nemesis? I have tried very hard to like that movie and I just can't. I mean, I like it, because it's the Enterprise, it's the crew- we find out that Riker is finally getting his command, the wedding and whatever. I like it, but I still have to admit that it sucks. I watch it and just pretend that what I am seeing/hearing is not really happening and I just make up something different in my head that makes sense. What's your trick to enjoying it?

 

[RyanKCR]

My ranking of the Trek films is like this:

1. TMP
2. TWOK
3. TSFS
4. TUC
5. NEM
6. TVH
7. FC
8. GEN
9. ST
10. TFF
11. INS

Whoa... you've got Nemesis above First Contact? I respect your opinion, but could you PLEASE tell me what you liked about Nemesis? I have tried very hard to like that movie and I just can't. I mean, I like it, because it's the Enterprise, it's the crew- we find out that Riker is finally getting his command, the wedding and whatever. I like it, but I still have to admit that it sucks. I watch it and just pretend that what I am seeing/hearing is not really happening and I just make up something different in my head that makes sense. What's your trick to enjoying it?

It was everything that TNG wasn't and should have been.

 

[Brady]

My ranking of the Trek films is like this:

1. TMP
2. TWOK
3. TSFS
4. TUC
5. NEM
6. TVH
7. FC
8. GEN
9. ST
10. TFF
11. INS

Whoa... you've got Nemesis above First Contact? I respect your opinion, but could you PLEASE tell me what you liked about Nemesis? I have tried very hard to like that movie and I just can't. I mean, I like it, because it's the Enterprise, it's the crew- we find out that Riker is finally getting his command, the wedding and whatever. I like it, but I still have to admit that it sucks. I watch it and just pretend that what I am seeing/hearing is not really happening and I just make up something different in my head that makes sense. What's your trick to enjoying it?

It was everything that TNG wasn't and should have been.

Well I'm glad you like it but I am also glad that most of TNG was nothing like that monstrosity. Still a shame they went out on such a low note.

 

[RyanKCR]

Whoa... you've got Nemesis above First Contact? I respect your opinion, but could you PLEASE tell me what you liked about Nemesis? I have tried very hard to like that movie and I just can't. I mean, I like it, because it's the Enterprise, it's the crew- we find out that Riker is finally getting his command, the wedding and whatever. I like it, but I still have to admit that it sucks. I watch it and just pretend that what I am seeing/hearing is not really happening and I just make up something different in my head that makes sense. What's your trick to enjoying it?

It was everything that TNG wasn't and should have been.

Well I'm glad you like it but I am also glad that most of TNG was nothing like that monstrosity. Still a shame they went out on such a low note.

Most of TNG was bland soap opera.

 

[JustKate]

TNG might be "bland" - I disagree, but I can understand why some people see it that way. But it was not a "soap opera." In fact, TNG might have been a bit less bland if it had confronted emotions more often and more realistically and forced its characters to deal with more consequences. But no Trek (as far as I know, but I didn't watch much ENT) has ever been particularly good at that.

 

[Therin of Andor]

It's not that TMP is that bad, it's just that 4 out of the next five are so AWESOME, TMP pales in comparison.

Depends on what you're looking for in a movie. TMP appeals to me on so many levels as a full-on cinema experience - while most of the other ST movies are simply interesting stories. The new movie has come closest to equaling my TMP experience.

 

[Brady]

It's not that TMP is that bad, it's just that 4 out of the next five are so AWESOME, TMP pales in comparison.

Depends on what you're looking for in a movie. TMP appeals to me on so many levels as a full-on cinema experience - while most of the other ST movies are simply interesting stories. The new movie has come closest to equaling my TMP experience.

It's been a while since I've watched TMP. You guys may have given me a new respect for it. I always remembered it as just not fitting in with the rest- the one I could skip and still feel like I had gotten the whole story. I love 2001 and I like that style of cinema, I just like the style used in II and beyond better. If I were to rank 2001 in among my favorite Trek movies it would only land one spot better than TMP.

2001 is what it is. As for as TMP goes, I know there are better things that could be done with these characters and I'd rather just see that!

 

[barnaclelapse]

The Director's Cut of TMP is fantastic, has better pacing, and is far more enjoyable to me.

J.

Agreed.

I've always thought it to be a good Trek film and a fairly underrated movie overall.

 

[Hambone]

None of the Star Trek movies are "great films", but as Star Trek movies go, TMP is pretty good. It's like a Strauss tone poem; it requires a certain level of maturity to enjoy. Like paying $1,500.00 for a bottle of vintage wine when all you really want is to get hammered, it's not to everyone's tastes.