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Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quinto?

The Borgified Corpse

Admiral
Admiral
Since Chris Pine's Kirk already has a thread like this, I thought it only fair that Zachary Quinto's Spock get one as well.

Personally, Quinto has been a much harder sell for me. There's so much gravitas that Nimoy brought to the character, I missed a lot of that. So for those who absolutely adore Quinto's Spock, tell me which moments are the ones that best sell him as being the same guy that Nimoy played.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

You know, I just don't get this line of questioning. If I attended a well-known play of a previous generation, I would expect it to have the roles it became known for -- but with different actors.

Real people simply do not live forever, but dramatic roles do. It happens all the time. Quinto was always Spock; he got the role. He was Spock. Same with Chris Pine and his role.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

For me the defining scene is after they've escaped the Narada the first time, and the bridge crew is discussing what to do. The way Quinto's Spock walks around the bridge analyzing the situation felt spot-on like the way Nimoy would do it.

I do think it would have been more helpful not to have Nimoy in the same movie though. At times it DID make Quinto feel like a bit of an imposter-- which is a shame, because he does such a great job making the character his own.

Hopefully in the sequel he can really take ownership of the character like Pine did.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I think part of the reason I liked Quinto's Spock so much was because he was so different from Nimoy's. Now don't get me wrong I loved Nimoy's Spock and always will, but young Spock was a pistol and extraordinarily sexy. Whodathunk Quinto would have pulled that off?

The moment when I thought he channeled Nimoy, though, was when he said, "Fascinating."
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I do think it would have been more helpful not to have Nimoy in the same movie though. At times it DID make Quinto feel like a bit of an imposter-- which is a shame, because he does such a great job making the character his own.
Yeah, tying the new movie into existing continuity was a mistake. Oh sure, it may have served to placate a few Star Trek fans but it ultimately hurt the movie (and by extension the characters) IMO.

The way it has been presented, we were basically watching an alternate universe. Why should we care about that? Because we're told to? Because they have a film? We may as well have had a Mirror Universe film.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I do think it would have been more helpful not to have Nimoy in the same movie though. At times it DID make Quinto feel like a bit of an imposter-- which is a shame, because he does such a great job making the character his own.
Yeah, tying the new movie into existing continuity was a mistake. Oh sure, it may have served to placate a few Star Trek fans but it ultimately hurt the movie (and by extension the characters) IMO.

The way it has been presented, we were basically watching an alternate universe. Why should we care about that? Because we're told to? Because they have a film? We may as well have had a Mirror Universe film.


Totally agree with both of you. I would have enjoyed a complete remake much more. The alternate reality thing was just an excuse to change everything. Why bring all the baggage of old Trek just to ignore it later????
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I do think it would have been more helpful not to have Nimoy in the same movie though.
Although my Vulcan half agrees with this, my human half says "YEAH BABY, GO NIMOY!!!"
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I had a slightly different problem. I was just coming off a Heroes high before I saw this movie so what I was seeing was Sylar, not Spock, for his first few scenes. Took awhile to adjust!

I know I'm gonna have the reverse problem once the new season of Heroes starts. I've grown so accustomed to seeing Quinto as Spock that its gonna throw me off a bit to see him as Sylar again.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I know I'm gonna have the reverse problem once the new season of Heroes starts. I've grown so accustomed to seeing Quinto as Spock that its gonna throw me off a bit to see him as Sylar again.


I have no problem seeing Zach again. :angel:
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I had a much easier time seeing Quinto as Spock, than Pine as Kirk. From the first time we *see* Quinto, I think he had the part down. (So did the kid playing young Spock, for that matter.)

At least Quinto acted like Spock is supposed to...
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I hadn't been able to sit through an entire episode of Heroes and had no problem with Quinto as Spock. Had a harder time with Pine as Kirk - used to a more thoughtful character with greater will to justice. Oh well, the only constant is change.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

I can't recall the lines... been a while since I saw the film... but the scene between Kirk and Spock in the Jellyfish cockpit just before they sperated. It involved Spock quoting the odds of their success... that interaction just dripped authenticity for me.

That said, I think Quinto did a fine job across the board. This was a younger Spock whose emotions, particularly anger, were closer to the surface, and Quinto did a great job portraying that inner conflict. Then, as the film progressed, I saw more and more of the Spock I've always known. Quinto was a very nice bit of inspired casting.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

For me, Quinto as Spock was the harder sell. I enjoyed his portrayal, but his character is also the most changed because of the death of his mother and Vulcan's destruction. Spock Prime was never shown to be so emotionally compromised (IMO) as Quinto's character.
As for the moment when I saw the parallel between the two Spocks: when he told Pike that 'the cadet's' logic made sense. This was our Spock yielding to logic despite his dislike of Kirk.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

Never. The presence of Leonard Nimoy always reminded me of how much Quinto IS NOT Spock.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

Since Chris Pine's Kirk already has a thread like this, I thought it only fair that Zachary Quinto's Spock get one as well.

Personally, Quinto has been a much harder sell for me. There's so much gravitas that Nimoy brought to the character, I missed a lot of that. So for those who absolutely adore Quinto's Spock, tell me which moments are the ones that best sell him as being the same guy that Nimoy played.

Quinto sold me when he first came onscreen. (Matter of fact, I think both Pine and Quinto did a cool job)...
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

The way it has been presented, we were basically watching an alternate universe. Why should we care about that? Because we're told to? Because they have a film? We may as well have had a Mirror Universe film.

By that logic, why should you care about any story? Or TV series? Or set of characters?

You either care about them because you enjoy the story and bond with the characters, or you don't. It's not like it's a matter of should or ought to. The creators make a work of art and hope that you bond with its characters, and you either do or you don't. There's no "should" about it.
 
Re: Moments where you knew you were seeing Spock and not Zachary Quint

For my money, I completely bought Quinto as Spock from his first moment on screen and then every instant thereafter.

I don't know what the hell people are talking about when they say they had trouble buying him as Spock. I never did.
 
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