Nero: "It happened! I saw it happen..."

[trevanian]

Couldn't it simply be that Orci & Kurtzman write worse dialogue than George Lucas at times?

If you see them as the current generation's answer to Cash&Epps [LEGAL EAGLES, TOP GUN, DICK TRACY, TURNER & HOOCH, VIVA ROCK VEGAS, ANACONDA 1 & 2], then that HAS to be the answer.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Also, Nero's accent sounded to me closer to a Southerner than a Romulan.

How would you suggest a Romulan sound? There is no such thing as an "authentic" Romulan voice.

FWIW, I don't know why they didn't simply have Eric Bana use his real (Australian) accent.

Because everyone would wonder when Romulans decided to start talking like Australians.

 

[JarodRussell]

I seem to remember that they made some fuzz about creating Romulan and Vulcan language for the movie. Where did that end up? Or did they mean they needed a consultant for Australian language?

 

[VulcanVixen]

Clearly Nero had some obsessive tendencies (waiting for Spock for 20 years for example), not surprising it should creep into his speech patterns.

LMAO seriously! that made me crack up.

 

[VulcanVixen]

I seem to remember that they made some fuzz about creating Romulan and Vulcan language for the movie. Where did that end up? Or did they mean they needed a consultant for Australian language?

Don't they already have a Vulcan language? I remember it being spoking in the trilogy movie, Wrath of Khan. I could be mistaken...

 

[M'Sharak]

I seem to remember that they made some fuzz about creating Romulan and Vulcan language for the movie. Where did that end up? Or did they mean they needed a consultant for Australian language?

The only thing I can recall in the movie which involved Vulcan and Romulan languages took place just after Kirk, McCoy and Uhura have barged onto the bridge to talk to Pike. The communications officer is listening to a transmission which he says sounds like Vulcan but can't understand. Uhura recognizes it as being Romulan (she's fluent in "all three dialects", remember?) and is ordered to take over the communications station and translate it. Perhaps they needed to "invent" some Romulan language for that?

Also, they mostly speak English in Australia (aboriginal languages and those spoken by recent immigrants aside, naturally.)

 

[Rackon]

"...I watched it happen! Don't tell me it didn't happen!"

The overuse of the word "happen" in this sequence of dialogue makes me laugh like nothing else.

A friend of mine suggested that this was a pattern in the film, things being repeated in different ways for emphasis for the slow and stupid among the viewers...(cf. the sequence about the "alternate universe" between nuSpock etc. later).
.

Not having seen the movie, is there any chance that the repeating of the wording is supposed to convey a severe emotional state...

Yes, there is every chance that the rhythmic repetition was there on purpose to convey Nero's emotional state and his fixation on his revenge - Nero shouted the lines after Pike attempted to convince him that Romulus was still there. It's not over-use , it's alliterative. The original poster obviously should star away from David Mamet!! (Nero BTW doesn't cut the good captian any slack and doesn't explain he's talking about a future Romulus.)

I thought the dialogue in XI was actually pretty snappy, with almost no cringe worthy moments. In fact, it was rather touching in places.

George Lucas only wishes he could write lines this good.

 

[trevanian]

The original poster obviously should star away from David Mamet!!

You thinking GLENGARRY with Spacey's infinite variations on 'would you leave?'

 

[Lindley]

"Timeline? This is no time to be arguing about time! We don't have the time!... what was I saying?"

"Time...line? Time is not made out of lines! Time is made out of circles. That is why clocks are round!"

 

[trevanian]

"Timeline? This is no time to be arguing about time! We don't have the time!... what was I saying?"

"Time...line? Time is not made out of lines! Time is made out of circles. That is why clocks are round!"

Or Mamet by Way of Coon via Freiberger, w/ a 90s twist:

Time and Time, what is Time?

time is the fire ...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There was at least one member of Nero's crew who spoke with a British accent, so I don't see why it would have been a problem for Bana to use his real Aussie one.

Heck, have we even heard one real Australian accent in the whole of Trek onscreen? (Don't anyone mention Lt. Kyle; John Winston is from England, not Australia. )

 

[Devon]

I seem to remember that they made some fuzz about creating Romulan and Vulcan language for the movie. Where did that end up? Or did they mean they needed a consultant for Australian language?

The only thing I can recall in the movie which involved Vulcan and Romulan languages took place just after Kirk, McCoy and Uhura have barged onto the bridge to talk to Pike. The communications officer is listening to a transmission which he says sounds like Vulcan but can't understand. Uhura recognizes it as being Romulan (she's fluent in "all three dialects", remember?) and is ordered to take over the communications station and translate it. Perhaps they needed to "invent" some Romulan language for that?

Something I've meant to mention for a while... but we do hear Romulan dialect at the very beginning of the film when Robau is escorted on the bridge and we see the other Romulans at their stations. I noticed that in my third theatrical viewing!

There was at least one member of Nero's crew who spoke with a British accent, so I don't see why it would have been a problem for Bana to use his real Aussie one.

Heck, have we even heard one real Australian accent in the whole of Trek onscreen? (Don't anyone mention Lt. Kyle; John Winston is from England, not Australia. )

Apologies if this was mentioned already, but speaking of his Australian accent, in the first theatrical trailer it seems as though his delivery of "The Wait Is Over" is clearly with a non-North American/Australian accent. Then in the rest of the film it seems to be gone obviously.

I thought the dialogue in XI was actually pretty snappy, with almost no cringe worthy moments. In fact, it was rather touching in places.

I agree. I caught some of Nemesis on AMC the other afternoon and that whole speech from Picard to Shinzon in his living room about being someone better and then Shinzon retorting with that "Voice of the echo" crap was like listening to nails on the board. They really tried to get too emotional and too "deep" and too "powerful" and it just ended up being uncomfortable more than anything. To me at least.

 

[trevanian]

There was at least one member of Nero's crew who spoke with a British accent, so I don't see why it would have been a problem for Bana to use his real Aussie one.

Heck, have we even heard one real Australian accent in the whole of Trek onscreen? (Don't anyone mention Lt. Kyle; John Winston is from England, not Australia. )

Nick whatsisname, 1999 guy, TNG's FINAL MISSION ep

 

[M'Sharak]

^ Nick Tate -- also appeared as Bilby in the DS9 ep "Honor Among Thieves".

I seem to remember that they made some fuzz about creating Romulan and Vulcan language for the movie. Where did that end up? Or did they mean they needed a consultant for Australian language?

The only thing I can recall in the movie which involved Vulcan and Romulan languages took place just after Kirk, McCoy and Uhura have barged onto the bridge to talk to Pike. The communications officer is listening to a transmission which he says sounds like Vulcan but can't understand. Uhura recognizes it as being Romulan (she's fluent in "all three dialects", remember?) and is ordered to take over the communications station and translate it. Perhaps they needed to "invent" some Romulan language for that?

Something I've meant to mention for a while... but we do hear Romulan dialect at the very beginning of the film when Robau is escorted on the bridge and we see the other Romulans at their stations. I noticed that in my third theatrical viewing!

Aha. I'd forgotten about that.

There was at least one member of Nero's crew who spoke with a British accent, so I don't see why it would have been a problem for Bana to use his real Aussie one.

Heck, have we even heard one real Australian accent in the whole of Trek onscreen? (Don't anyone mention Lt. Kyle; John Winston is from England, not Australia. )

Apologies if this was mentioned already, but speaking of his Australian accent, in the first theatrical trailer it seems as though his delivery of "The Wait Is Over" is clearly with a non-North American/Australian accent. Then in the rest of the film it seems to be gone obviously.

I remember commenting on that when the trailer was first released -- it sounded similar to the sort of mid-Atlantic accent used by Robert Shaw in Jaws, with the hard 'R' sound.

 

[Rackon]

You can hear Romulan being spoken in the background on several occassions when the film cuts to the Narada - the stations and intercoms are all in that language.

 

[God Magnus]

I would only be really concerned about Nero's speech pattern if he happened to be talking about events that did not happen to have happened...or something...

 

[EnsignRicky]

That's funny because I was actually distracted near the end when Nero went "I would rather watch Romulus burn... I would rather see my wife... I would rather... I would rather... I would rather..." Shit, I would have blown his ass up too.

And rather enjoyed it.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

And then Nero said "What's the frequency, Kenneth?"

(See what I did there?)

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

And then Nero said "What's the frequency, Kenneth?"

(See what I did there?)

Yes. Yes, I did.

 

[donners22]

Because everyone would wonder when Romulans decided to start talking like Australians.

Hey, Klingons are allowed to have English accents.

Also, they mostly speak English in Australia (aboriginal languages and those spoken by recent immigrants aside, naturally.)

Depends on which train you catch. I think I'm in the minority as an English-speaker some days.