Since When Is The Motion Picture A Good Trek Film?

[Grant]

"Beeelaaaaay thaaaaaaaaaaaat phaaaaaser ordeeeeer!"

Even the dialogue is slow. People fell asleep during the flybys

It was always considered slow. The fact that it was called slow in 1979 when almost all movies had a slower pace is especially telling.
I happen to like slower movies, but trek isn't the corect franchise for this type of pretentous message movie.
Roddenberry bragged how proud he was that they solved the problem 'with no shooting' ala' star wars.


As if the simple fact that there were no phaser blasts at the climax made it a good movie.
Devil in the dark solved the problem without killing the adversary, but it was compelling and had great character bits and suspense. Maybe they should have sent a remote cam into the tunnels and had Kirk & Spock stare amazed at their monitor for 15 minutes. Oooh spooky.


Saw the damn thing 7 times in the theater so i can verify it's not a great movie.

 

[BriGuy]

The only things TMP "made me think" were "good lord, when is this scene going to end?" or "YES. IT'S THE ENTERPRISE. I GET IT ALREADY" or other such things. I thought it was dull, plodding, and on par with "Threshold" for how much entertainment value it presented.

The first TOS movies I saw were IV and VI, both of which I loved.

That explains why you didn't have patience for the Enterprise reveal. While the film does have pacing issues, you have to realize the context of this picture. It came after 10 years of desperately wanting new Trek. The fan interest and success of trek was at its peak in the 70's and when the film FINALLY appeared, it was after an eternity of waiting, hoping, rumors and wishful thinking.

So each element of the show had to be revealed importantly. The Enterprise was a MAJOR draw for fans and a huge target for admiration. While I agree that 5 minutes of sightseeing through V'Ger was pretty dull, even back then as a kid, I LOVED the tour of the Enterprise. It was as if we were feeling the same thing as Kirk, getting a chance to see our beloved ship for the first time in 10 years and for the first time on the big screen. The effects, music and Shatner's expression encapsulated what many of us were feeling at the moment.

At the time, it was appropriate. Now, it' seen as dull and a "get on with it" moment by many fans who just didn't come from that era. That's what happens with films and TV shows, time dilutes the context and the purpose behind the shots is gone or forgotten.

When watching an old film or TV show, context is vital in appreciating the result.

TMP is a film I always enjoyed. It brought back the cast and the concept after a long period of nothing but promises, plus the cast looked great. Some trimming was needed, but in all, a decent film.

Conversely, I don't feel like I got a good enough look at the new ship in Trek XI. That movie could've used a flyby scene to show off the new ship. As it is, I've seen the movie twice, and still don't feel I've gotten a good look at the ship.

I like the new movie - I've liked all of Trek from TOS to ENT and from TMP to Trek XI - but I agree the new film is geared to the AD/HD generation.

 

[ManaByte]

"Beeelaaaaay thaaaaaaaaaaaat phaaaaaser ordeeeeer!"

Even the dialogue is slow. People fell asleep during the flybys

It was always considered slow. The fact that it was called slow in 1979 when almost all movies had a slower pace is especially telling.
I happen to like slower movies, but trek isn't the corect franchise for this type of pretentous message movie.
Roddenberry bragged how proud he was that they solved the problem 'with no shooting' ala' star wars.


As if the simple fact that there were no phaser blasts at the climax made it a good movie.
Devil in the dark solved the problem without killing the adversary, but it was compelling and had great character bits and suspense. Maybe they should have sent a remote cam into the tunnels and had Kirk & Spock stare amazed at their monitor for 15 minutes. Oooh spooky.


Saw the damn thing 7 times in the theater so i can verify it's not a great movie.

If you didn't like it, why did you see it seven times in the theater?

 

[RyuRoots]

"Beeelaaaaay thaaaaaaaaaaaat phaaaaaser ordeeeeer!"

Even the dialogue is slow. People fell asleep during the flybys

It was always considered slow. The fact that it was called slow in 1979 when almost all movies had a slower pace is especially telling.
I happen to like slower movies, but trek isn't the corect franchise for this type of pretentous message movie.
Roddenberry bragged how proud he was that they solved the problem 'with no shooting' ala' star wars.


As if the simple fact that there were no phaser blasts at the climax made it a good movie.
Devil in the dark solved the problem without killing the adversary, but it was compelling and had great character bits and suspense. Maybe they should have sent a remote cam into the tunnels and had Kirk & Spock stare amazed at their monitor for 15 minutes. Oooh spooky.


Saw the damn thing 7 times in the theater so i can verify it's not a great movie.

If you didn't like it, why did you see it seven times in the theater?

I agree with the other points Grant made, but...yeah. Why in the world would you see a movie you thought was dull and not fun 6 more times in a theater...?

 

[Brutal Strudel]

TMP is still my favorite Trek movie. I don't feel like expalining why yet again. Maybe when I have more time.

 

[Amaris]

^ Simply put: For people looking for a spartan, more contemplative Trek, The Motion Picture delivers.

J.

 

[Gepard]

The Motion Picture delivers.

After approximately 4 -6 weeks.

 

[Amaris]

The Motion Picture delivers.

After approximately 4 -6 weeks.

Unmarked for your privacy.


J.

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

You are absolute right ManaByte. Some of the flacks are getting to Beavis and Butthead mentality f.e. costumes showing penis outlines and Decker penis .

You didn't notice that shot?

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

I consider it a good movie since I first saw the Director's Cut. Prior to that I thought it was boring and lame.

TMP also stands out as one of the few Trek movies which defies the standard formula of having lots of actions scenes and space battles and an evil villain who has to be stopped at all costs. Not that there's something wrong with space battles and villains, the Trek movies have just followed this formula a bit too often (especially since the TNG movie era). A little more variation would be nice.

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

I consider it a good movie since I first saw the Director's Cut. Prior to that I thought it was boring and lame.

TMP also stands out as one of the few Trek movies which defies the standard formula of having lots of actions scenes and space battles and an evil villain who has to be stopped at all costs. Not that there's something wrong with space battles and villains, the Trek movies have just followed this formula a bit too often (especially since the TNG movie era). A little more variation would be nice.

That's a good point, though V'Ger was also something that had to be stopped at all costs - TMP doesn't really provide any tension there though. The Earth is threatened, but it isn't really worrying.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

I consider it a good movie since I first saw the Director's Cut. Prior to that I thought it was boring and lame.

TMP also stands out as one of the few Trek movies which defies the standard formula of having lots of actions scenes and space battles and an evil villain who has to be stopped at all costs. Not that there's something wrong with space battles and villains, the Trek movies have just followed this formula a bit too often (especially since the TNG movie era). A little more variation would be nice.

That's a good point, though V'Ger was also something that had to be stopped at all costs - TMP doesn't really provide any tension there though. The Earth is threatened, but it isn't really worrying.

I think V'Ger resembles more of a force of nature than an actual villain.

 

[Stardate]

You are absolute right ManaByte. Some of the flacks are getting to Beavis and Butthead mentality f.e. costumes showing penis outlines and Decker penis .

You didn't notice that shot?

No Liberace of Darkness, I wasn't noticing Decker penis outlines(plus infinity). I was too busy watching Lt. Illia tits outlines and her legs

 

[Nerys Myk]

The script for TMP probably needed at leat one more re-write. (or chucked all together) Past and future installments of Trek have handled the themes presented with more success. Nomad, M-5, the Whale Probe and HAL were much more interesting machine intelligences than V'ger. TWOK's Admiral Kirk was closer to TOS than TMPs Admiral Kirk. I enjoyed Spock's "awakening" in TSFS and TVH more than the one in TMP. McCoy was probably the best written character and Kelley's performance was spot on. Though I never seen a McCoy performance by Kelley that wasn't good. Even in TFF he rose above the material.

At best TMP was a 2001 wannabe in a world redefined by Star Wars.

 

[Newski]

I appreciate what they were trying to do. They obviously wanted to do two things:

1. Give the large, big budget, on screen spectacle fans wanted
2. Make a smart, thought provoking film as opposed to an action story.

It's like they wanted to put a big banner on the screen that says THIS IS STAR TREK. Ultimately, though, I ended up saying "No... It isn't. This is Star Trek pretending it's 2001 a Space Odyssey."


It was too eager to distance itself from Star Wars, being more thoughtful and less action packed, that they accidentally gave us blandness.... They really got ahead of themselves.

I don't need an explosion a reel, or blatant sexuality, but even the dialog in this movie seemed bland. Even though there is this spectacular, terrifying theme happening they talked as if simply going through the motions. Well, maybe you get used to this sort of thing on a star ship. But still.....

I often look at the title and go "The Motion picture? What else would it be? A comic book?" But that's a different issue all together.

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

You are absolute right ManaByte. Some of the flacks are getting to Beavis and Butthead mentality f.e. costumes showing penis outlines and Decker penis .

You didn't notice that shot?

No Liberace of Darkness, I wasn't noticing Decker penis outlines(plus infinity). I was too busy watching Lt. Illia tits outlines and her legs

And you complain about "Beavis and Buthead" aspects of my post? You really need to pay attention - it's where Kirk doesn't find turbo shaft 8, but finds Decker instead. Illia isn't in the scene, so let your attention wander...

I appreciate what they were trying to do. They obviously wanted to do two things:

1. Give the large, big budget, on screen spectacle fans wanted
2. Make a smart, thought provoking film as opposed to an action story.

It's like they wanted to put a big banner on the screen that says THIS IS STAR TREK. Ultimately, though, I ended up saying "No... It isn't. This is Star Trek pretending it's 2001 a Space Odyssey."


It was too eager to distance itself from Star Wars, being more thoughtful and less action packed, that they accidentally gave us blandness.... They really got ahead of themselves.

Indeed - it is almost as if they are ashamed of TOS.

 

[Myasishchev]

If Star Trek pretended to be something written by Arthur C. Clarke more often, it'd be a better franchise.

 

[Hober Mallow]

I'm a pretty darn big Trek fan, grew up on The II-IV Trilogy and grew into TNG Era from there--

This may be your problem right there.

If Star Trek pretended to be something written by Arthur C. Clarke more often, it'd be a better franchise.

QFT. I'll add that if it stopped being a "franchise," it would be even better.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

The script for TMP probably needed at leat one more re-write. (or chucked all together) Past and future installments of Trek have handled the themes presented with more success. Nomad, M-5, the Whale Probe and HAL were much more interesting machine intelligences than V'ger. TWOK's Admiral Kirk was closer to TOS than TMPs Admiral Kirk. I enjoyed Spock's "awakening" in TSFS and TVH more than the one in TMP. McCoy was probably the best written character and Kelley's performance was spot on. Though I never seen a McCoy performance by Kelley that wasn't good. Even in TFF he rose above the material.

At best TMP was a 2001 wannabe in a world redefined by Star Wars.

The whale probe? Really?

If Star Trek pretended to be something written by Arthur C. Clarke more often, it'd be a better franchise.

Yep.

 

[Amaris]

I prefer Star Trek as Star Trek. If I wanted "2001", I'd watch "2001".


J.