Do People Under 30 Like This Movie Better Than Older Folks?

[Hyperspace05]

I'm 35 and loving it...

From reading the reviews, though, it seems like my age group in general likes the movie the least. The older 40+ who grew up on TOS seems to enjoy it more than my TNG/DS9/VOY generation. And then we have the younger crowd who seem to be getting their first taste of Trek through this movie, and they seem to be pretty excited about it too.

This movies *IS* pulling a lot of older viewers - make no mistake about it. I saw it on a monday matinee, and the 1/3rd full room probably had an average age of 50+... But they did seem to enjoy it too.

That's why 99% of Paramount's marketing have been towards young viewers (25 and less), they are eager to make Trekkies out of a new generation.

 

[I am not Spock]

I'm 26, been watching Trek since i was about five years old, and I thought Trek XI was pretty good, but certainly by no means the best Trek production ever made. Very stylish and exciting, yes, but a bit lacking in the plot department.

For the record, I enjoyed the original TOS and TWOK more than this film, so the 'generation divide' can't be generalised.

 

[Nebula1400]

I'm 27 and I loved it, even though it seemed to be geared more toward those "ADHD kids". I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 50, it was just too fast.

Do you want to try that one again?

 

[Dale]

I'm 44 and totally dug it. The crowds have been mixed at my four screenings. The opening night IMAX crowd skewed older... a lot of long-time Trekkies in very old t-shirts in that crowd... but some of the others have had a lot of young people in them.

I haven't heard any complaints from anyone so far. Applause, laughs and general approval from each crowd. I think this Trek is a cross-market hit.

 

[Awesome Possum]

24 and I loved it. Also my dad is 54 and he loved it as well.

 

[Bad Atom]

I'm 27 and I loved it, even though it seemed to be geared more toward those "ADHD kids". I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 50, it was just too fast.

Do you want to try that one again?

I think the movie was unnecessarily fast-paced. My brother, who is 19, agrees with me. That doesn't mean that older people might not enjoy it - in fact the crowd we saw it with was fairly diverse.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'm 27 and I loved it, even though it seemed to be geared more toward those "ADHD kids". I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 50, it was just too fast.

Do you want to try that one again?

I think the movie was unnecessarily fast-paced. My brother, who is 19, agrees with me. That doesn't mean that older people might not enjoy it - in fact the crowd we saw it with was fairly diverse.

Despite my terrible dodderiness and impending death I did not find it fast paced at all.

Of course if you compare it to the TNG era it was, but they were on drugs.

 

[Bad Atom]

Despite my terrible dodderiness and impending death I did not find it fast paced at all.

Of course if you compare it to the TNG era it was, but they were on drugs.

I'm actually in the middle of a TNG marathon right now and at times I want to gouge my eyeballs out because the show can be mind-numbingly boring. There has to be a happy medium between old Trek and new...

 

[indranee]

Do you want to try that one again?

I think the movie was unnecessarily fast-paced. My brother, who is 19, agrees with me. That doesn't mean that older people might not enjoy it - in fact the crowd we saw it with was fairly diverse.

Despite my terrible dodderiness and impending death I did not find it fast paced at all.

Of course if you compare it to the TNG era it was, but they were on drugs.

 

[Trekwatcher]

It was definitely made with a young audience in mind. I do not think this is really a point to argue. Both Kirk and Spock were written in a manner I suspect the writers felt would appeal to a young viewers. The heavy use of "smash cuts" and the frenetic camera were also very modern. I suspect these will serve to date the movie in time, but all movies suffer from that problem to some extent. I.e. TMP feels like the 70's with the Halston-esque uniforms and 1970's hair, TWOK/TSFS/TVH all feel like 80's movies in terms of hair and makeup etc. I am in my late 30's and am mixed on the movie. It was not great, and I am still thinking about it a lot which has to say something good about it!

 

[jim hadar]

I'm 47 and grew up watching TOS during the first run as a kid and have been a fan ever since and I loved the movie of course, much to the chagrin of some around here, but the telling thing to me is that my 13 year old actually wanted to go with me on opening night, went again on Sunday, and since then I've noticed he's searched several things about Trek, explored the sites I have bookmarked and downloaded some movie wallpapers - and the punchline is that this is a kid who has NEVER liked Trek and has even made fun of dear old dad, calling me a nerd or geek, for liking Trek in the past. I'd say that this new movie has made Trek acceptable to him and that is an accomplishment I'm thankful for.

 

[scottydog]

The story itself is timeless (a hero origin story) and thus should appeal to people of all ages. As noted above, the style of the movie -- camera work, pacing, editing -- has the potential to polarize people by age. But given everyone's posts on this thread, that doesn't seem to be the case. As Spock would say: Curious.

 

[Captain Zog]

I'm 24 going 25. Didn't like the movie. Thought it was little more than a generic summer blockbuster dressed in Star Trek clothing.

 

[arasam22]

here's how it goes in my family--

grandma -- 70. loved it.
grandpa -- 68. loved it.
dad -- 45. loved it.
me -- 18. loved it.
sister -- 17. loved it.
brother --12. loved it.
sister -- 10. loved it.

maybe it's just cause we're all huge trekkies, but it looks like there was no generation gap in my family

 

[Rackon]

I'm 27 and I loved it, even though it seemed to be geared more toward those "ADHD kids". I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 50, it was just too fast.

BWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ummmm...over 50, my friends are mostly over 50, and we all loved it.

We like 'em fast.

 

[Prometheus]

42 and loved it, and the friends I went with loved it as well, they are in their mid 30's and mid 20's ...it was great and I think the sequel will be even better

 

[Tribbles]

I'm 24, and I enjoyed it enough to begin watching the original series and researching Star Trek even though I was previously not interested in it. I went in knowing little about it aside from common pop culture knowledge, and I left the theater with a glorious new obsession.

My husband is 32, and he wasn't quite as impressed. However, he was a Trek fan before. (I'm pretty sure he has a video of himself and his friends acting out something on a faux bridge. I've never seen it, and I'm not sure I want to.) He seemed concerned by some of the plot contrivances.

I think for us, it was less about age, and perhaps more about previous experience with the series.

 

[FailedLurker]

here's how it goes in my family--

grandma -- 70. loved it.
grandpa -- 68. loved it.
dad -- 45. loved it.
me -- 18. loved it.
sister -- 17. loved it.
brother --12. loved it.
sister -- 10. loved it.

Yeah, that's basically how it went in my family.

Mom - 65 - loved it.
Me - 30 - loved it.
Brother - 24 - loved it.

 

[mattyhugh]

Mom 48-loved it

Dad 49-Loved it, was a TOS fan back in the day and enjoyed the return of those characters

Me-23-loved it, took it for what it was. Being the resident trekkie sure I could get hung up on a few things, but I chose not too. But I still think I might like some of the 'original' films (TWOK and TUC) more, but that could be nostalgia.

Sister-21-it was alright.

 

[mredom]

I would suggest that this board is probably not a representative cross-section. I teach teen-agers, and have two teenage daughters. Every one of my students who saw the movie loved it, but none of them would ever come in here. This is where only the real Trekkers/kies come. "Abandon hope all ye who enter here" You know what I mean.