I'm with Rich Evans. ST:TMP is the best Star Trek movie. Here's my brief review.

[SatrianiRules]

Who has info on the lore that suggested that V-Ger was in some way responsible for the inception of the Borg?

I vaguely remember reading something about a potential script involving this?

 

[Tallguy]

It's part of the Shatner-verse novels.

 

[SatrianiRules]

It's part of the Shatner-verse novels.

Shatner-verse...very good! I thought the entire universe WAS the Shatner-verse!!!

 

[mb22]

Yeah that doesn't surprise me. It was a different time wherein entertainment options were far more limited than they are today and you didn't have the internet to get instant feedback, of course. You might see a review in a Newspaper or Magazine, but it was mostly word of mouth...

Reviews were lukewarm at best. Paramount didn't even have a screening for critics, so reviews were published on Saturday instead of the Friday release day. That TMP made the money it did is testimony to the decade long buildup of anticipation for new (live action) Trek.

 

[Maurice]

TMP opened on Dec 7th but didn't go into wider release until Dec. 20th. The mediocre were out before that wider release, but people still saw it though it didn't get the sort of repeat business that Star Wars did. Trekkies may have watched it multiple times, but average audiences not so much.

 

[Tallguy]

TMP opened on Dec 7th but didn't go into wider release until Dec. 20th. The mediocre were out before that wider release, but people still saw it though it didn't get the sort of repeat business that Star Wars did. Trekkies may have watched it multiple times, but average audiences not so much.

Then just for a change of pace, Trekkies were enough. But presumably all the same Trekkies went to the later films just as many times with a wider audience and they made less money. ???

 

[Maurice]

Lots of non-fans probably went to see it once. It was also heavily advertised in a way the later films weren't. Several factors affected the box office of all the films.

 

[mb22]

I don't think TMP faced the kind of competition the later films had. The number one film that season was the drama Kramer vs. Kramer. TMP's competition was The Black Hole and 1941 both of which had poor reviews (and did poorly at the box office). TWOK, TSFS and the poorly reviewed TFF faced a whole slew of popular summer blockbusters. TVH was a Thanksgiving release, and did extremely well, both critically and at the box office.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Lots of non-fans probably went to see it once. It was also heavily advertised in a way the later films weren't. Several factors affected the box office of all the films.

I believe it achieved box-office rankings in the top all-time 20 sometime during 1980. Not quite STAR WARS, but 2001-like levels. Not very many live-action films went with G-ratings after that time. And TMP outgrossed ALIEN financially (if not visually) that year, as it wasn't R-rated.*

No doubt the ten years of TREK drought increased general interest.

(*Yet?)

 

[BillJ]

And TMP outgrossed ALIEN financially (if not visually) that year, as it wasn't R-rated.*

Films with R ratings tended to have more trouble bringing in ticket buyers.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Films with R ratings tended to have more trouble bringing in ticket buyers.

Unless they involve Regan MacNeil, Axel Foley, Jesus Christ or Deadpool.

 

[Takeru]

The show had been cancelled about a decade ago, and so when they finally settled on the idea of making a film, they had to figure how they were going to bring all the characters back together.

They didn't have to, the crew never went their separate ways on screen, they could have started the movie with everyone still being on the Enterprise if they wanted to.

And no, I don't agree that TMP is the best movie. There's a decent story in there but the movie is too bloated, there was no need for it to be over 2 hours long. This could have easily been a 90 minute movie.

 

[somebuddyX]

I like the look of the universe in this film and I like the backstory and the behind the scenes. I think it's great imagining what's going off on the sides of the film, like with Revere, or what Sonak would have been like, or Commander Branch, or what happened next with the Enterprise arguably at the most powerful she would ever be going up against a K'Tinga battlecruiser, like what would a TMP landing party look like or a phaser fight. But I can't stand watching this film past the Klingon battle. I never feel like they're moving anywhere and I just don't find the story that interesting.

 

[Pauln6]

I like the look of the universe in this film and I like the backstory and the behind the scenes. I think it's great imagining what's going off on the sides of the film, like with Revere, or what Sonak would have been like, or Commander Branch, or what happened next with the Enterprise arguably at the most powerful she would ever be going up against a K'Tinga battlecruiser, like what would a TMP landing party look like or a phaser fight. But I can't stand watching this film past the Klingon battle. I never feel like they're moving anywhere and I just don't find the story that interesting.

It is really interesting how tastes differ. One of my friends is the same. He loves action and pew pew but finds anything else dull. A bunch of us loved the detective noir vibe of the Batman and he just found it boring.

On the flip side, I find the Refit to be the perfect ship for me. I fell in love with the attention to detail. I actually find the characters to be very nuanced, which is perhaps why some people think nothing is happening. My one beef is that I would have liked to see the supporting cast exchange more conversation and opinions so that they come alive more. Chekov gets a couple of crumbs, Sulu gets to act incredulous a couple of times and Uhura get a couple of tame one-liners. Chapel doesn't actually speak directly to McCoy at all in the movie, which is weird, and Rand doesn't have a conversation with anyone, and disappears after the first third, when she could have been in engineering or even Ilia's replacement on the bridge.

It might have ramped up some tension if a landing party had pursued Spock in a shuttle but I appreciate that was probably tough to pull off at the time.

The only part that really drags for me is the scene at V'Ger's brain. There is a lot of standing around that could have been trimmed.

 

[CoveTom]

Reviews were lukewarm at best. Paramount didn't even have a screening for critics, so reviews were published on Saturday instead of the Friday release day. That TMP made the money it did is testimony to the decade long buildup of anticipation for new (live action) Trek.

Or that people just, y'know, liked the film in spite of reviews which does often happen.

 

[fireproof78]

They didn't have to, the crew never went their separate ways on screen, they could have started the movie with everyone still being on the Enterprise if they wanted to.

And no, I don't agree that TMP is the best movie. There's a decent story in there but the movie is too bloated, there was no need for it to be over 2 hours long. This could have easily been a 90 minute movie.

Indeed.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

A comment from somebody that TMP is the best Trek film—something I've said on more than one occasion—could simply mean that, in their opinion, the other films suffer to a greater degree from the issues they have. It doesn't mean that TMP doesn't also have its own issues. How pluses and minuses add up to some net measure of merit depends upon the critic, a.k.a. the individual.

 

[CoveTom]

So, it so happens that I turn 50 tomorrow. And in honor of me getting old, my wife and friends surprised me last night by having rented a theater for a private screening of the 4K director's edition of TMP. It was actually my first time getting to see TMP on the big screen.

And, damn, that just made me even more devoted to the film. I will continue to argue that it is the best of the Trek movies. I loved every minute of it.

 

[Tallguy]

So, it so happens that I turn 50 tomorrow. And in honor of me getting old, my wife and friends surprised me last night by having rented a theater for a private screening of the 4K director's edition of TMP. It was actually my first time getting to see TMP on the big screen.

And, damn, that just made me even more devoted to the film. I will continue to argue that it is the best of the Trek movies. I loved every minute of it.

HOW does one DO this?!?

Now if you could really see (hear) it with the Atmos mix I would be signing up today!

 

[Pauln6]

HOW does one DO this?!?

Now if you could really see (hear) it with the Atmos mix I would be signing up today!

We have a little private cinema near us that you can book for up to 10 people.