Second Viewing

[Shikarnov]

Courtesy of an impulse buy on iTunes, I'm now watching Star Trek for the second time to see if I feel any differently about the film than I did the first time (which wasn't very positive).

So far, I'm a little over 11 minutes into the film, and the Kelvin was just destroyed... My feeling right now mirror what I remember. This was a kick ass sequence, and if the rest of the movie is like this, then there's no way I won't love it...

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"Iowa" in the Futura font ... What an awful design choice.

A police officer calling Kirk "citizen" ... Ridiculous. Did the Soviet Union survive, and take over the world? "Kohmred, vat ees yoor nem?" I'm laughing at the idea, but that scene is a little ridiculous.

I was never a fan of delinquent young-Kirk stories, and this one is no exception. Delinquents and trouble-makers end up in jail. It would have been to design Kirk as a hard worker -- driven, in part, by his father's sacrifice.

It might've been somewhat truer to Trek's history if they tried to show the world a better way. This scene sets the stage to teach kids that screwing around and causing trouble is "normal" and that they, too, could be captain of a starship... All they need to do is slack off, usurp authority, buck the system, and revel in their emotional disturbances.

Vulcan's next...

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On a positive note, I'm liking Giacchino's score (found the new theme stuck in my head while I went to grab a snack)... At first I thought it was too soft. Maybe it still is, but I've acquired a taste for it?

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Loving the Vulcan classroom scene... Very reminiscent of The Voyage Home. Young Spock is very well cast. He even looks like Zachary Quinto.

"I presume you've prepared new insults for today." Nice...

I love the dynamic between Spock and the other vulcans, including his father. It seems like they did a lot of research to get this character just right. I think the creative team is doing a phenomenal job so far with Spock. Especially accentuating and deepening the conflict in him between his Human and Vulcan halves.

Back to Iowa...

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Liking Uhura's strength, and her wit. She's very quick.

Kirk as a drunk is, again, a disappointing choice, but as a foil for Uhura's introduction, works.

"It means you have a talented tongue" is crude, but amusing. Even better is Uhura's followup. "For a moment, I thought you were just a dumb hick..."

Four versus one seems"Kirkian" but not the cocky attitude. Still not digging this guy. It doesn't seem very realistic that an untrained "townie" from the middle of nowhere in Iowa would fare so well against four cadets enrolled in a military academy.

Maybe they were slackers too, though.

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Pike just whistles... I like this character. *He* is who I hope Kirk actually becomes. Somebody who commands respect, but not because of his rank. He has a cool serenity, a sense of honor, nobility. Maybe he wasn't quite as refined in his own youth, but I just can't imagine he was anything like the drunk kid sitting across from him with the bruised cheek and bleeding nose. Greenwood was another great casting.

"Enlist in Starfleet..." -- a writer asleep at the wheel...

"Your father was captain of a starship for 12 minutes..." --and the writer wakes up. Great close.

Next up, the shipyard.

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There's the music again... Can't complain at all. I don't think I'd buy the soundtrack, but I do think I might have been unduly harsh toward it originally. It definitely works with this film.

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What are a bunch of cadets doing at a shipyard? Pike is Captain of the Enterprise, so that explains him. Kirk was raised in Iowa, so that explains him. But everybody else? They aren't engineers. They aren't workers. Uhura, given her fluency in Swahili, is likely to be from East Africa, and so is unlikely to have ties to this place...

What are they doing there? Helping recruit? Riverside is quite a distance from the Academy in San Francisco. It seems unlikely they're in Iowa, of all places, for a good time on a Saturday night away from the barracks...

Oh yeah... Abrams hates this kind of thinking... Time to turn off the brain...

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If you're going to be so anal about editing posts together, at least put some kind of marker in there (nevermind, I did it) to denote where the originals ended. It's not all a random string of thoughts, contrary to whatever you may have thought. Time between posts matters, it sets up context, introduces separation, helps control flow, etc.

 

[Tom Servo]

What are a bunch of cadets doing at a shipyard? Pike is Captain of the Enterprise, so that explains him. Kirk was raised in Iowa, so that explains him. But everybody else? They aren't engineers. They aren't workers. Uhura, given her fluency in Swahili, is likely to be from East Africa, and so is unlikely to have ties to this place...

What are they doing there? Helping recruit? Riverside is quite a distance from the Academy in San Francisco. It seems unlikely they're in Iowa, of all places, for a good time on a Saturday night away from the barracks...

Oh yeah... Abrams hates this kind of thinking... Time to turn off the brain...

Academy field trip perhaps. Im sure the academy has courses in starship design and construction. They are out in the field viewing the real thing.

 

[Shikarnov]

Enter Karl Urban... Instantly in character as McCoy... A little more abrasive than the McCoy we know, but it's all good considering his freshly reacquired bachelorhood.

"Disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence..." -- nice. A bit of "linguistic legerdemain" from the writing staff..

Tying "Bones" to his divorce... I like it better than the sawbones references people assumed the original nickname came from. And it seems unlikely that this Kirk would even have known about or understood that reference anyway.

"Nothing left but my bones..." Fitting.

What are a bunch of cadets doing at a shipyard? Pike is Captain of the Enterprise, so that explains him. Kirk was raised in Iowa, so that explains him. But everybody else? They aren't engineers. They aren't workers. Uhura, given her fluency in Swahili, is likely to be from East Africa, and so is unlikely to have ties to this place...

What are they doing there? Helping recruit? Riverside is quite a distance from the Academy in San Francisco. It seems unlikely they're in Iowa, of all places, for a good time on a Saturday night away from the barracks...

Oh yeah... Abrams hates this kind of thinking... Time to turn off the brain...

Academy field trip perhaps. Im sure the academy has courses in starship design and construction. They are out in the field viewing the real thing.

Works for me. Good catch.

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Parts of this Nero scene (when Spock-Prime's ship emerges) seems new. I don't remember seeing much of any kind of performance from Bana in the theater... But this scene seems quite memorable... Did they add any material to the recent releases -- especially the iTunes cut?

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Back to the Academy... Loving the miniskirts... I could spend all day at the bottom of that staircase looking up...

"Hello Ladies.." lol. Seems Kirk could too.

Who did the makeup on the Orion chick? I mean, seriously, can't they keep the green paint on? Kids at Halloween manage to do a better job.

Uhura in her undies... Such a tease... I really wish they went for an R Rating with this flick... PG13 is such a let down. lol.

Kobayshi Maru next...

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I notice this time, that even Uhura seems to be taking the test a little lackadaisically. I would have expected better from her... Not sure why though.

"That's okay. Don't worry about it"...

This scene just sucks. At least make the cheating a little less obvious. This is most definitely not worth a commendation.

Moreover, it was hardly a no-win situation. Kirk still violated treaty terms, and maybe caused a war by destroying the Klingons who were defending the Zone. Doesn't sound like much of a victory to me.

And Klingon Warbirds? Okay, I understand not wanting to confuse newbie audiences with technobabble and obscure plot points from 40 years ago. But, seriously, would it have been so hard do a little vocabulary research?

Thumbs up for the SFX team. Those Klingon ships -- which look suspiciously similar to the older K7 (maybe Ktinga) designs -- are amazing under modern lighting and flying at full speed. Just goes to show that classic designs can still work well.

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"How the Hell did that kid beat your test?!"... Could it be any more obvious that Kirk didn't beat anything? No logical hole was inserted or exploited. And that power-drain in the simulator room wasn't a dead giveaway.

Stupid to look to Spock for an explanation when it's overly clear that the program wasn't flawed - but rather was manipulated.

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The Court Martial scene was good... As awful as the test scene was, I would have enjoyed seeing how Kirk justified his actions. Surely "I don't believe in no-win situations" isn't his whole argument.

I really wish this scene wouldn't have been interrupted by the whole Vulcan sideshow, the point of which was simply to to reinforce the sad notion that this is a reboot and say "F*** you" to the loyalists that kept the franchise alive for 40 years.

 

[Amaris]

I notice this time, that even Uhura seems to be taking the test a little lackadaisically. I would have expected better from her... Not sure why though.

"That's okay. Don't worry about it"...

This scene just sucks. At least make the cheating a little less obvious. This is most definitely not worth a commendation.

Moreover, it was hardly a no-win situation. Kirk still violated treaty terms, and maybe caused a war by destroying the Klingons who were defending the Zone. Doesn't sound like much of a victory to me.

And Klingon Warbirds? Okay, I understand not wanting to confuse newbie audiences with technobabble and obscure plot points from 40 years ago. But, seriously, would it have been so hard do a little vocabulary research?

Thumbs up for the SFX team. Those Klingon ships -- which look suspiciously similar to the older K7 (maybe Ktinga) designs -- are amazing under modern lighting and flying at full speed. Just goes to show that classic designs can still work well.

Kirk in the Genesis cave, munching on an apple in TWOK: "I don't like to lose".

"How the Hell did that kid beat your test?!"... Could it be any more obvious that Kirk didn't beat anything? No logical hole was inserted or exploited. And that power-drain in the simulator room wasn't a dead giveaway.

Stupid to look to Spock for an explanation when it's overly clear that the program wasn't flawed - but rather was manipulated.

I saw that as less of a "Amazing!" and more of a "how the hell did he change your program?!" And Spock's response isn't so much of a "how he beat the test" but "how did he get around the security protocols to beat the test".

J

 

[Shikarnov]

I quite like the assignment scene... Uhura continues her take-no-shit attitude. And McCoy's loyalty is heartening. It would have been nice if there was another way to get Kirk onboard without making him sick though.

Spacedock - awesome.

Enterprise - what a terrible angle they chose to introduce this ship. I'll grant, it's not the best Enterprise design by a long shot, but this angle is horrendous.

Music, once again, continues to work.

Shuttlebay - it's like flying into the Doomsday Machine's maul.

Nice to see the TOS uniforms reincarnated. Great job from the costuming department.

The bridge looks so much better in live action than it ever did in photos. Good job to the set designers.

Are Sulu and Chekov already graduates? Or are they students as well? Do we see them at the Academy? If so, that might explain Sulu's incompetence at driving the ship.

Nonetheless, it's a great dramatic scene as the fleet launches.

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Kirk in the Genesis cave, munching on an apple in TWOK: "I don't like to lose".

I recall the scene vividly, and recognize the homage. I just think it was poorly done.

I saw that as less of a "Amazing!" and more of a "how the hell did he change your program?!" And Spock's response isn't so much of a "how he beat the test" but "how did he get around the security protocols to beat the test".

J

Could be...

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The Journey to Vulcan...

Checkov's accent is way overdone, but a nice homage.

Kirk with giant hands and Jar-Jar tongue is just the kind of comedy that's not Trek. This isn't Clowns in Space. Moreover, it's hard to imagine Leonard McCoy being so incompetent...

What is it with the incompetence in this film? Kirk's a juvenile delinquent, slacker, and cheater, Sulu can't fly the ship without having Spock explaining how the clutch works, McCoy can't cure a disease that he infected Kirk with... And these are the people who are supposed to rescue the vulcans? No wonder the planet ends up destroyed...

 

[startrekrcks]

Did you like the new uniforms

 

[urbandk]

Skikarnov, just wanted to let you know I'm really enjoying this live-blogging.

 

[Tom Servo]

Now see, I love the Kobyashi Maru scene BECAUSE of the fact that Kirk was so cocky about it. I think to him, the limitations of it being a simulation were something for him to exploit. He fucked with the computer that ran the simulation. He didn't confront the problem presented in the simulation, because there was no way to win, so he changed the situation to his favor. Thats why I think it works so well. He decided to think outside the box enough to use the simulator against itself.

In real starship combat, out on the front lines, there would be no academy instructor telling you what to do and what not to do, there would be no simulator limitations. You could do whatever you wanted to win that particular situation, and thats what Kirk did.

 

[Shikarnov]

Vulcan... Nice to see the Vasquez Rocks again.

Convincing the Captain of a trap... Nicely done. Uhura being caught off guard when asked to verify Kirk's story is a little strange. Is she nervous because he's right and attack is imminent? Because she's on the bridge with a real Captain looking at waiting for answers? Or because she's stuck in the untenable position of vouching for somebody she doesn't trust? In any case, I like it. It shows her relative youth...

What's with Nero's interest in the Enterprise? Okay -- we know from Countdown -- but isn't this the sort of backstory bologna that Abrams and Co wanted to avoid?

What's with Nero and demanding that starship captains visit him?

"Prepare the red matter..." Not even going to go there...

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Did you like the new uniforms

Love 'em. Perfect job, and mega-Kudos to the costume designers. Two Thumbs Up!

Skikarnov, just wanted to let you know I'm really enjoying this live-blogging.

Thanks much! I had to break briefly to take a call from my aunt, but I'm back watching.

Now see, I love the Kobyashi Maru scene BECAUSE of the fact that Kirk was so cocky about it. I think to him, the limitations of it being a simulation were something for him to exploit. He fucked with the computer that ran the simulation. He didn't confront the problem presented in the simulation, because there was no way to win, so he changed the situation to his favor. Thats why I think it works so well. He decided to think outside the box enough to use the simulator against itself.

In real starship combat, out on the front lines, there would be no academy instructor telling you what to do and what not to do, there would be no simulator limitations. You could do whatever you wanted to win that particular situation, and thats what Kirk did.

My beef was never about his having changed the conditions of the test, so much as his attitude toward it. But, different strokes for different folks. I'm glad you liked the scene.

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I get the "plot point" of Kirk wearing the black tunic initially, but now that Pike promoted him to first officer ("I apologize. The complexities of human pranks escape me." LOL), shouldn't he get to wear something gold?

"Careful with the ship, Spock. It's brand new..." That makes me wonder what Spock and Pike have been up to for all these years together... Did they have another ship? I just can't see Spock loitering around the Academy programming impossible tests for all this time. What ship went to Talos?

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Orbital skydiving -- love the silence in space... You'd think it would be dramatically flat, but Abrams manages the exact opposite. The silence is enticing.

It really sucks to be the redshirt in this scene. Of all the ways to go this that had to suck. Did the guy crack up? Did the G-Forces take his mind? I mean, seriously, you're holding the bomb. Being instrumental to the mission (speaking of which, in such a dangerous situation -- and one that requires extreme precision, no less -- wouldn't you think that equipping everybody with a bomb would be a good idea? Heellooo... backup plan anybody?), I can't imagine he'd just laugh the whole way down and tempt fate by delaying his parachute...

Is Kirk wearing a blue flight suit? The security guy had red. Sulu's in gold... I know... I'm not supposed to pay attention to those details.

Sulu's sword is sweet. It's nice to know that the 23rd Century's tech isn't all related to electronics and ray guns. Metamorphic metal is a nice advance.

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So they destroy the platform.. And the jamming signal's gone, letting transporters and communications work. Why would they house it on that platform instead of using the Narada with all it's advanced defenses and power systems? I know, I know... Suspend your disbelief...

The navigator's station can do scientific analysis... So much for specialization. Who's navigating the ship while Chekov scans? Are they doing so from the Science Station?

"Chekov, you have the conn" ?? He's the lowest of the low -- or at least he was. And why does he "have the conn" when others have become "captain" when the previous captain leaves the ship?

"Kirk to Enterprise..." third time I've heard it during this movie, and it doesn't get old.

So, just so I'm understanding correctly, Checkov is the new Wesley Crusher. He can navigate space, act as Science Officer, command the ship, and manipulate the transporter with greater finesse than the person assigned to that station.

"Spock? You're going down there? What are you nuts?" -- Even this version of James Kirk should understand why he's going. What an ass.

Liking the new transporter effect, btw. Great retention of the old sound effects.

 

[urbandk]

It really sucks to be the redshirt in this scene. Of all the ways to go this that had to suck. Did the guy crack up? Did the G-Forces take his mind? I mean, seriously, you're holding the bomb. Beinginstrumental to the mission (speaking of which, in such a dangerous situation -- and one that requires extreme precision, no less -- wouldn't you think that equipping everybody with a bomb would be a good idea? Heellooo... backup plan anybody?), I can't imagine he'd just laugh the whole way down and tempt fate by delaying his parachute...

That was a stupid move and not very chief-engineer-like, but the Enterprise did need to manufacture a job vacancy, didn't it?

 

[M'Sharak]

Skikarnov, just wanted to let you know I'm really enjoying this live-blogging.

Blocks of seven posts in a row is really not what we're about here, though, nor are the forums intended as a substitute for a personal blog. I've merged such blocks of consecutive posts into single posts.

 

[urbandk]

Skikarnov, just wanted to let you know I'm really enjoying this live-blogging.

Blocks of seven posts in a row is really not what we're about here, though, nor are the forums intended as a substitute for a personal blog. I've merged such blocks of consecutive posts into single posts.

Maybe he could just continue to edit the same post as he goes...

 

[Shikarnov]

Evacuating Vulcan... A sad moment, but I have to wonder why Sarek, a diplomat, and his wife (an offworlder), are posted in a role that involves direct and ongoing interaction with Vulcan's cultural heritage (maybe where the Katras are kept).

It's a credit to the writers that they had the Vulcans react without question to Spock's directive to leave now. Arguing would have been illogical.

Spock's face after beam-up after watching his mother fall... Well played Zachary...

That was a stupid move and not very chief-engineer-like, but the Enterprise did need to manufacture a job vacancy, didn't it?

That guy was the Chief Engineer? I had no idea. I thought he was just some random redshirt. Oh well. He's roadkill now anyway.

Skikarnov, just wanted to let you know I'm really enjoying this live-blogging.

Blocks of seven posts in a row is really not what we're about here, though, nor are the forums intended as a substitute for a personal blog. I've merged such blocks of consecutive posts into single posts.

My apologies. I'll consolidate my posts in the future, and will cease "blogging" immediately. I just thought folks might be interested in ongoing reactions.

You can lock the thread, since its entire premise (expressing an opinion, generating discussion, participating in the community, etc) isn't what this board is intended for.

 

[Kpnuts]

If you're going to be so anal about editing posts together, at least put some kind of marker in there (nevermind, I did it) to denote where the originals ended. It's not all a random string of thoughts, contrary to whatever you may have thought. Time between posts matters, it sets up context, introduces separation, helps control flow, etc.

My apologies. I'll consolidate my posts in the future, and will cease "blogging" immediately. I just thought folks might be interested in ongoing reactions.

You can lock the thread, since its entire premise (expressing an opinion, generating discussion, participating in the community, etc) isn't what this board is intended for.

You really are quite egotistical/self-important/full of yourself aren't you? Why not just start a blog.

 

[Shikarnov]

If you're going to be so anal about editing posts together, at least put some kind of marker in there (nevermind, I did it) to denote where the originals ended. It's not all a random string of thoughts, contrary to whatever you may have thought. Time between posts matters, it sets up context, introduces separation, helps control flow, etc.

My apologies. I'll consolidate my posts in the future, and will cease "blogging" immediately. I just thought folks might be interested in ongoing reactions.

You can lock the thread, since its entire premise (expressing an opinion, generating discussion, participating in the community, etc) isn't what this board is intended for.

You really are quite egotistical/self-important/full of yourself aren't you? Why not just start a blog.

If you're not interested in the thread, you don't have to read it. Nobody's twisting your arm. I was simply under the mistaken impression - after, oh 8 years on this board - that it was meant for expression and discussion of various Trek related topics.

I've seen many reviews / play-by-play reactions / posts of this type in the past -- of this very movie, and in this very forum, in fact. I guess I'm just late to the party and didn't realize the rules changed.

I apologize if I offended you. Enjoy the rest of your evening.

 

[Kelso]

What's with Nero's interest in the Enterprise? Okay -- we know from Countdown -- but isn't this the sort of backstory bologna that Abrams and Co wanted to avoid?

Spock serves on the Enterprise.