Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movie?

[Lance]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

(what's with these stupid add-on bumpers on the Enterprise-B?)

Why, it's just in case they rear-end a Romulan while cruising down the freeway, of course.

Although it certainly wouldn't rank in my top five Trek movies, I actually like Generations a lot. The opening feels like an extended "cherry on the cake" appendix to TUC, love the saucer crash, Lursa and B'Etor are a bonus, enjoy the "emoting" Picard/Troi scene, Soran was pretty good, really like the whole Nexus sequence from Christmas to ravine jumping.


The cinematography and lighting is first rate, and McCarthy's underrated score is often sublime and quite beautiful in places. Other than Kirk's lacklustre demise, and the often bemoaned plot holes, there's a lot to enjoy in the film from my perspective.

I don't agree about Lursa and B'Etor (it was kind of cool to see some familiar faces as the baddies, but in context of their TNG appearances it made for a really lousy end to the whole Duras vs Worf saga that had been built up over five years or so); but I do agree about the cinematography and lighting. John A. Alonzo was an accomplished cinematographer who was nominated for academy awards for films like "Chinatown", a man who really knew his stuff. In lesser hands, "Generations" would have looked just like the television series but on the big screen... Alonzo is the man who made those old TNG sets look like a movie. He did some amazing work.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

I didn't like the opening of GENERATIONS (what's with these stupid add-on bumpers on the Enterprise-B?)

They did that so they could show battle damage without permanently ruining the model of the ship. Notice how most of the damage to the Ent-B occurred right around those 'bumpers'? That's why they're there. They were made to be easily damageable (and removeable) but leaving very little damage on the actual ship model.

 

[Lance]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

^ Also the production team wondered if the Excelsior design was already "too familiar", and while everybody had long assumed that the Ent-B was an Excelsior Class ship, they still wanted to offer the audience something new. So they tweaked the design a little, just enough to make it look different, but not enough that it wasn't immediately recognisable as an offshoot of the Excelsior.

 

[BillJ]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

^ Also the production team wondered if the Excelsior design was already "too familiar", and while everybody had long assumed that the Ent-B was an Excelsior Class ship, they still wanted to offer the audience something new. So they tweaked the design a little, just enough to make it look different, but not enough that it wasn't immediately recognisable as an offshoot of the Excelsior.

They should've left the Excelsior model alone. It ended up looking silly.

 

[Mage]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

Generations has some ups and downs, certainly. One of the biggest ups is indeed the entire E-B part of the movie, it works and has nice momentum. After that, it just goes up and down. Soran made no sense to me, Guinan I still can't stand. The Nexus, please....

But Lursa and B'Etor are fun to watch, the action was nicely done, the crash scene pretty intense.

But like the OP said, the beginning of the movie is certainly the best part.

 

[DavidLeeRoth]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

I really liked Generations.

For those who don't, you might get a kick out of Confused Matthew's review:
http://confusedmatthew.com/Star-Trek-Generations.php

 

[JWD75]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

My problem with the Generations prologue is that whenever Scotty starts spewing TNG style technobabble, it jars me right out of the movie.

 

[Squiggy]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

It's a fun cosy nostagia trip but nothing special.

Sadly, it probably is the best part of Generations. Which shall hopefully forever remain the shittiest Star Trek movie.

Not including 5 or Nemesis or Insurrection.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

Count me as one of the guys who really likes Generations a lot. I used to say I loved it, but I wouldn't go that far nowadays. Thinking about it, yes, the opening sequence is at least one of the better parts of the movie.

 

[DavidLeeRoth]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

I'd take Generations over the 2009 film.

 

[spaceballone]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

Generations has some issues but I still enjoy it alot
It's kind of in the middle of the pack for all of the movies to me.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

My problem with the Generations prologue is that whenever Scotty starts spewing TNG style technobabble, it jars me right out of the movie.

Maybe because all of Scotty's dialogue in this film is supposed to be Spock. Leonard Nimoy declined to appear, so they used Scotty instead.

(Same goes for Chekov. He wasn't supposed to be there, McCoy was. But DeForest Kelley also declined to do the film. So all of his lines were given to Walter Koenig)

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

I'd take Generations over the 2009 film.

Off topic - but nice to see a fellow Van Halen fan on the boards!

 

[Dukhat]

Re: Is the opening section of GENS basically the best part of the movi

At the time I thought it was cool to see Kirk, Scotty and Chekov, and the Enterprise-B.

Now, I don't quite feel the same. It was painfully obvious to me that Scotty was reading Spock's lines, and Chekov was reading McCoy's. Harriman was made to look utterly imbecilic, which of course was the point (did I really need to be hit over the head with the reminder that this guy isn't Kirk?)

And the introduction of Demora was kind of pointless. Yes, I get that it was supposed to remind Kirk that other people once under his command actually had lives that he didn't know about, but...after the beginning of the film, she's gone forever! I would have loved to have learned more about her, but apparently she was just a plot device.