ST09 fans, why did you like it?
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
I liked it for many reasons, but I've come to like it more for the enemies it makes. 
That was surprisingly charming, and also proved that Orci really knew and understood early TOS - he didn't pull that out of thin air.
Mostly I liked it because I had good time when watching it, first in the theatre and then at home when I got the DVD. And I am/was a TOS fan of the first magnitude. Saw it first run as a kid and then the reruns as a teenager. I was at the head of the line for TMP and most of the TOS movies, often seeing the "preview" before the actual release. So I like to think I know a good Trek film when I see it. Or a least what's a good Trek film for me. (And that’s different from a good Trek TV show!)
Kelvin: Started off with a bang. The Kelvin sequence is probably among the most moving and emotional 12 minutes ever seen in a Trek film. "The needs of the may outweigh the needs of the one." Right there on screen. The film grabbed me right then and there.
The Young Ones: I liked the fast and furious Jimmy Kirk. It was a nice preview of guy who will buck authority and takes risks. Young Spock and the bullies: right out of Journey to Babel and Yesteryear My continuity sense was tingling in the positive. Adult Spock the Science Academy was well done. Who knew that "Live long and prosper" could convey such a sentiment?Fussy mom Amanda was cute touch.
Rebel without a cause Kirk: An illustration of how, if unchecked, Kirk’s baser emotions and attitudes would lead him down the road of self destructive behavior. Pike is there to give him a better path. Uhura gets a good intro as someone who can stand up to and hold her own against Kirk’s cocky, self assured and somewhat arrogant attitude. Lucky for Kirk “Cupcake” stepped in, Jim was losing that battle.
Cadet Kirk: Kirk goes for his third try at the unbeatable Kobayashi Maru and beats it. (as alluded to in TWOK, apple and all) Once again my continuity sense tingles positive. The Bones-Kirk relationship is well handled as McCoy goes to bat for Jim. And in a nice twist, Spock and Kirk do not hit it off.
Enterprise: We meet Sulu and Chekov, (who don’t make a good impression on Pike, but I liked the humor). Some funny slapstick with McCoy and Kirk, too. (think A Piece of the Action)And Kirk gathers another clue.
Vulcan: Action time. Some cool SFX as the E drops into a field of debris. Orbital sky diving (fascinating how they did that “old school”). Kirk and Sulu kick some Romulan ass and a red shirt kicks the bucket. (tradition must be observed) Continuity tingle: Sulu is a fencer.
And some non action as Spock deals with loss and Uhura deals with Spock. Pike hangs tough as Nero monologues . Some exposition as Spock and Kirk discuss and disagree on the best course of action. Kirk loses. Some people don’t like Spock and Uhura (Spokura?
D’l Tah V’Gah: More Action and Exposition. Intro Spock Prime and Scotty. Loved Pegg as Scotty. Always good to see Nimoy as Spock. Nice continuity wink as Spock plays Scotty to Scotty’s Dr Nichols in a callback to STIV. I liked the CGI monster chase as it ramped up the action again. Thought it was more Indiana Jones than Star Wars. Old Spock’s mind meld with Kirk gave us a “classic moment” that isa touch stone of the franchise. Have we ever seen the “inside” of a mind meld before?
On the Enterprise Spock and McCoy have fight. Again Urban channels just enough Kelley to make it work. “Green Blooded Hobgoblin.”
Enterprise Again: Scotty and Kirk return to the Enterprise and Kirk takes command. Spock and Kirk brawl in a fashion that recalls their classic fights in the past ( This Side of Paradise, Amok Time ) with Kirk pushing all the right buttons to piss off Spock. Nice moment between Spock and Sarek as the elder Vulcan admits to marrying Amanda because he loved her.
Sol System: Nero Attacks Earth. The crew has a plan. Love the SFX of the E rising up from Titan. Bonding moment between Kirk and Spock as Spock calls him “Jim.” is well played. And my favorite Kirk line: “I got your gun.” Pike has a great moment while being rescued. Spock orders Nero to surrender and then does a George Kirk impersonation. ( Which calls back to his comments at Jim Kirks hearing )
Nero dies, spurning any help as all good villains do.
Earth: Liked the exchange between the Spocks and Old Spock farewell of “Good Luck”. ( Immunity Syndrome? .) The gangs all here ending worked for me.
Is it "Star Trek"? I dont see why not. It had action. but Star Trek never shied away from a fight scene or a ship blowing up. It had some quiet moments too. Science? Yes, some good and some bad, but thats Star Trek too. The humor mostly worked and wasn't out of place. Deep thoughts on pressing issues of the day? Not this time around. It was more about the characters.
Casting. I'm more than pleased. Urban, as I mentioned, was the only question mark for me and he was playing by favorite character. Quinto's Spock needs a little work in the voice department. No complaints otherwise
The Ship. I wouldn't mind a little nacelle reduction surgery and some light shades. But overall a workable update.
as someone who grew up watching tos in first run i agree with so much of the above.
i might have gotten rid of some of the over whelming white on the bridge..
and given some more background to what kirk has been doing since he joined the academy(very possibly something special to get through with one less year)..
but over all the film was fun and yes made me feel young.
one of the great scenes not mentioned is when spock, kirk, and pine all beam back together.
the sense of joy and relief.. of them all acting together in concert. with the star trek theme that until then you alone heard hints of breaks through.
you have a feeling then that this crew is very special and can do many impossible things.
Certainly this cast is more of an ensemble so far than the TOS group was.
Nardpuncher
Rear Admiral
I hear ya.Mostly I liked it because I had good time when watching it, first in the theatre and then at home when I got the DVD. And I am/was a TOS fan of the first magnitude. Saw it first run as a kid and then the reruns as a teenager. I was at the head of the line for TMP and most of the TOS movies, often seeing the "preview" before the actual release. So I like to think I know a good Trek film when I see it. Or a least what's a good Trek film for me. (And that’s different from a good Trek TV show!)
Kelvin: Started off with a bang. The Kelvin sequence is probably among the most moving and emotional 12 minutes ever seen in a Trek film. "The needs of the may outweigh the needs of the one." Right there on screen. The film grabbed me right then and there.
The Young Ones: I liked the fast and furious Jimmy Kirk. It was a nice preview of guy who will buck authority and takes risks. Young Spock and the bullies: right out of Journey to Babel and Yesteryear My continuity sense was tingling in the positive. Adult Spock the Science Academy was well done. Who knew that "Live long and prosper" could convey such a sentiment?
Rebel without a cause Kirk: An illustration of how, if unchecked, Kirk’s baser emotions and attitudes would lead him down the road of self destructive behavior. Pike is there to give him a better path. Uhura gets a good intro as someone who can stand up to and hold her own against Kirk’s cocky, self assured and somewhat arrogant attitude. Lucky for Kirk “Cupcake” stepped in, Jim was losing that battle.
Cadet Kirk: Kirk goes for his third try at the unbeatable Kobayashi Maru and beats it. (as alluded to in TWOK, apple and all) Once again my continuity sense tingles positive. The Bones-Kirk relationship is well handled as McCoy goes to bat for Jim. And in a nice twist, Spock and Kirk do not hit it off.
Enterprise: We meet Sulu and Chekov, (who don’t make a good impression on Pike, but I liked the humor). Some funny slapstick with McCoy and Kirk, too. (think A Piece of the Action)And Kirk gathers another clue.
Vulcan: Action time. Some cool SFX as the E drops into a field of debris. Orbital sky diving (fascinating how they did that “old school”). Kirk and Sulu kick some Romulan ass and a red shirt kicks the bucket. (tradition must be observed) Continuity tingle: Sulu is a fencer.
And some non action as Spock deals with loss and Uhura deals with Spock. Pike hangs tough as Nero monologues . Some exposition as Spock and Kirk discuss and disagree on the best course of action. Kirk loses. Some people don’t like Spock and Uhura (Spokura?
D’l Tah V’Gah: More Action and Exposition. Intro Spock Prime and Scotty. Loved Pegg as Scotty. Always good to see Nimoy as Spock. Nice continuity wink as Spock plays Scotty to Scotty’s Dr Nichols in a callback to STIV. I liked the CGI monster chase as it ramped up the action again. Thought it was more Indiana Jones than Star Wars. Old Spock’s mind meld with Kirk gave us a “classic moment” that isa touch stone of the franchise. Have we ever seen the “inside” of a mind meld before?
On the Enterprise Spock and McCoy have fight. Again Urban channels just enough Kelley to make it work. “Green Blooded Hobgoblin.”
Enterprise Again: Scotty and Kirk return to the Enterprise and Kirk takes command. Spock and Kirk brawl in a fashion that recalls their classic fights in the past ( This Side of Paradise, Amok Time ) with Kirk pushing all the right buttons to piss off Spock. Nice moment between Spock and Sarek as the elder Vulcan admits to marrying Amanda because he loved her.
Sol System: Nero Attacks Earth. The crew has a plan. Love the SFX of the E rising up from Titan. Bonding moment between Kirk and Spock as Spock calls him “Jim.” is well played. And my favorite Kirk line: “I got your gun.” Pike has a great moment while being rescued. Spock orders Nero to surrender and then does a George Kirk impersonation. ( Which calls back to his comments at Jim Kirks hearing )
Nero dies, spurning any help as all good villains do.
Earth: Liked the exchange between the Spocks and Old Spock farewell of “Good Luck”. ( Immunity Syndrome? .) The gangs all here ending worked for me.
Is it "Star Trek"? I dont see why not. It had action. but Star Trek never shied away from a fight scene or a ship blowing up. It had some quiet moments too. Science? Yes, some good and some bad, but thats Star Trek too. The humor mostly worked and wasn't out of place. Deep thoughts on pressing issues of the day? Not this time around. It was more about the characters.
Casting. I'm more than pleased. Urban, as I mentioned, was the only question mark for me and he was playing by favorite character. Quinto's Spock needs a little work in the voice department. No complaints otherwise
The Ship. I wouldn't mind a little nacelle reduction surgery and some light shades. But overall a workable update.
as someone who grew up watching tos in first run i agree with so much of the above.
i might have gotten rid of some of the over whelming white on the bridge..
and given some more background to what kirk has been doing since he joined the academy(very possibly something special to get through with one less year)..
but over all the film was fun and yes made me feel young.
one of the great scenes not mentioned is when spock, kirk, and pine all beam back together.
the sense of joy and relief.. of them all acting together in concert. with the star trek theme that until then you alone heard hints of breaks through.
you have a feeling then that this crew is very special and can do many impossible things.
I'm 36 but yeah, this film made me feel like an eighteen year-old in the theater.
Well casted, with the original characters perfectly captured, and the FEEL of TOS intact. Plethora nods to Trek gone before.
The Eight Main Reasons I Like Trek XI:
1. Zachary Quinto was so damn perfect as Spock, it's like they ordered him from the Spock Factory. Frak everything else, I'd watch movies just about him.
2. They accurately recaptured the tone of Star Trek - the sense of adventure, optimism and epic scope, and the depiction of humanity as futuristic but not off-puttingly distant or unrelatable.
3. In addition to Spock, they did a nice job casting and writing Kirk and McCoy; improved Uhura; and did okay on Chekov and Sulu. I think they botched Scotty, but no big deal in context. The major characters were my main concern, since bad casting there could have torpedoed everything.
4. By setting the action in a very similar but different universe, they hit upon an ingenious solution to the central problem of how to do a TOS prequel where there is still a sense that anything can happen.
5. Bold moves like destroying Vulcan and the Spock-Uhura romance proves they are not too timid to forge a plotline with its own identity.
6. Bringing back Leonard Nimoy one last time was a classy move.
7. The main deficiency of the movie - the villain - applies only to this one movie while the strengths will continue.
8. It made a boatload of money and brought Trek back to mainstream popularity!
1. Zachary Quinto was so damn perfect as Spock, it's like they ordered him from the Spock Factory. Frak everything else, I'd watch movies just about him.
2. They accurately recaptured the tone of Star Trek - the sense of adventure, optimism and epic scope, and the depiction of humanity as futuristic but not off-puttingly distant or unrelatable.
3. In addition to Spock, they did a nice job casting and writing Kirk and McCoy; improved Uhura; and did okay on Chekov and Sulu. I think they botched Scotty, but no big deal in context. The major characters were my main concern, since bad casting there could have torpedoed everything.
4. By setting the action in a very similar but different universe, they hit upon an ingenious solution to the central problem of how to do a TOS prequel where there is still a sense that anything can happen.
5. Bold moves like destroying Vulcan and the Spock-Uhura romance proves they are not too timid to forge a plotline with its own identity.
6. Bringing back Leonard Nimoy one last time was a classy move.
7. The main deficiency of the movie - the villain - applies only to this one movie while the strengths will continue.
8. It made a boatload of money and brought Trek back to mainstream popularity!
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