Bana's Make-up in Star Trek XI

[Locutus of Bored]

thing is - if he's hiding his Romulan nature - why would he alter his ears with a blunt knife rather than getting 24th century technology to do it?

Maybe because he'd be making a statement with it. Getting an unnoticeable surgical alteration doesn't make any statement about rejecting his true nature. People have to see it and know you did it yourself.

Plus it just makes him look hardcore (which is probably the true motivation behind the choice of his ear being mutilated in the film, but I just like to look for a deeper meaning).

 

[Jack Bauer]

Looks like he had a run in with Mike Tyson!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Sure Bana looks like a mean villain, but where are the forehead ridges and pointy ears?? I see the pointy eyebrows, but that is all. Maybe JJ Abrams got rid of the forehead ridges to make Bana look like a more TOS appropriate Romulan??

The exaggerated forehead ridges appear to have been done away with. It's been remarked-upon elsewhere that where you'd expect to see a point on the ear, there seems to be evidence of damage (from wounds sustained in a fight or some other injury or trauma? Who knows?)

That's my take on it, too. And it would be a clever way to avoid the canonista issue of Romulans not being known relatives of the Vulcans at this time.

My bet is that he deliberately mutilated himself for some reason - perhaps the Romulans have a reason to want to keep the connection unknown?

 

[Ro_Laren]

Looks like he had a run in with Mike Tyson!

Dangit- I was just about to post that!!

 

[ancient]

He's a Romulan. The ear scars would be pointless (so to speak) if he was klingon.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Counter point: Name one Romulan with a Roman name.

Decius, in "Balance Of Terror."

 

[datas_cat_spot]

That's funny, I hadn't even noticed how extreme his eyebrow was before.

 

[StarTrek1701]

Fuck continuity! Eric Bana looks absolutely fucking cool in his evil baddie makeup and that is what matters. His ears seem to be battle scars more than anything else. That makes it even more awesome! I am glad JJ isn't lobbying the fractured fanboys to watch this movie but the general audience. That's what I love the best about it.

 

[Franklin]

Fuck continuity! Eric Bana looks absolutely fucking cool in his evil baddie makeup and that is what matters. His ears seem to be battle scars more than anything else. That makes it even more awesome! I am glad JJ isn't lobbying the fractured fanboys to watch this movie but the general audience. That's what I love the best about it.

There are what, probably several billion Romulans? One can't look like him? Romulans (and Vulcans) generally look so elegant, that's the cool thing about Nero. This guy looks like someone whose face could pop through a door while shouting, "Here's Johnny!"

 

[Cary L. Brown]

Isn't it obvious? He's bald... he's got the right nose...

This is "Shinzon Mark II." Now with less weenieness!

 

[number6]

*smacks forehead*
Of course!

It's soooo obvious!

 

[Therin of Andor]

thing is - if he's hiding his Romulan nature - why would he alter his ears with a blunt knife rather than getting 24th century technology to do it?

We don't know that he's from the 24th century.

 

[JoeZhang]

thing is - if he's hiding his Romulan nature - why would he alter his ears with a blunt knife rather than getting 24th century technology to do it?

We don't know that he's from the 24th century.

That's true - however if Spock is going back in time to stop him - why would he stop a natural occurance?

 

[JoeZhang]

Isn't it obvious? He's bald... he's got the right nose...

This is "Shinzon Mark II." Now with less weenieness!

He starts in a "Mo wig" and then pulls it off!

 

[ralph]

Romulan or not?
Kurtzman answers this question or almost.
"Nero isn’t necessarily a Romulan. It’s all part of the plot"
I thought in Shinzon. Oh boy.

source http://trekmovie.com/2008/07/23/kurtzman-answer-question-what-is-up-with-neros-ear/

 

[Franklin]

Romulan or not?
Kurtzman answers this question or almost.
"Nero isn’t necessarily a Romulan. It’s all part of the plot"
I thought in Shinzon. Oh boy.

source http://trekmovie.com/2008/07/23/kurtzman-answer-question-what-is-up-with-neros-ear/

What kind of doublespeak is that by Kurtzman?
Unless Nero's a Romulan from a parallel universe or alternate timeline or something. So he's not one of "our" Romulans.

 

[Sharr Khan]

Romulan or not?
Kurtzman answers this question or almost.
"Nero isn’t necessarily a Romulan. It’s all part of the plot"
I thought in Shinzon. Oh boy.

source http://trekmovie.com/2008/07/23/kurtzman-answer-question-what-is-up-with-neros-ear/

He might not: "necessarily be a Romulan", but he sure does have an arched eyebrow, which is Vulcaniod-like so doubt he's a Shinzon so to say, the alternative of course is he could be a rogue-Vulcan...

As I remember there were/are rumors Vulcan gets all blown up.

Sharr

 

[ralph]

Romulan or not?
Kurtzman answers this question or almost.
"Nero isn’t necessarily a Romulan. It’s all part of the plot"
I thought in Shinzon. Oh boy.

source http://trekmovie.com/2008/07/23/kurtzman-answer-question-what-is-up-with-neros-ear/

What kind of doublespeak is that by Kurtzman?
Unless Nero's a Romulan from a parallel universe or alternate timeline or something. So he's not one of "our" Romulans.

He could be a romulan/human hybrid like Sela.

 

[STIntergalactic]

Maybe he's a Vulcan who's been living on Romulus and embracing Romulan ideals.

 

[M'Sharak]

Romulan or not?
Kurtzman answers this question or almost.
"Nero isn’t necessarily a Romulan. It’s all part of the plot"
I thought in Shinzon. Oh boy.

source http://trekmovie.com/2008/07/23/kurtzman-answer-question-what-is-up-with-neros-ear/

What kind of doublespeak is that by Kurtzman?
Unless Nero's a Romulan from a parallel universe or alternate timeline or something. So he's not one of "our" Romulans.

I seem to recall that they've been careful all along about that. There are Romulans, and the chief baddie is Nero, but no one connected with the movie has ever said that Nero is a Romulan. Or have they?