Movies your opinion changed on from 'then' to 'now'

[JonnyQuest037]

Let's see...

TMP - I found it really boring at age 7. I like it better now and I appreciate what it was trying to do, but I still hate that it doesn't have any of the zest and excitement of TOS. Everyone is taking themselves SO damn seriously and I feel like the movie is trying to be 2001: A Space Odyssey rather than Star Trek.

TWOK - I never saw this one in its original release. I figured "Well, the first one wasn't any good, why should the second one be any better?" (What can I say, I was a cynical 10-year-old.) I first saw it on VHS when I got it as a present for my birthday or Christmas, probably around 1985 or so. Oddly enough, I didn't see it until after I'd seen TSFS. I immediately loved it, and I still love it today.

TSFS - This and DC's Star Trek comic reignited my love for Trek at age 12. I don't remember having any trouble following the plot even though I hadn't seen TWOK yet. Today, I have some problems with it. It looks cheesy in spots and I dislike how it makes other characters into boobs to make our heroes look better, but it's still fun.

TVH - This one has aged pretty badly for me. I thought it was great fun in 1986, but today I'm kind of "ehh" on it. Probably because I'm so familiar with it that a lot of its jokes just aren't very funny anymore.

TFF - Thought it was lame then as a 17-year-old in 1989. Today I like it more, even though it has a severely flawed story and some lame special effects. Shatner has some really striking shots in the film, though. I now basically look at it as a big screen episode from the third season.

TUC - Absolutely loved it then. Neck and neck with TWOK for my favorite and a grand sendoff for the original crew. Today, it loses a few notches because its reach exceeds its grasp, but I still love the story and the look of it.

GEN - HATED it when it came out. So much so that I was angry when I left the theater and got into an argument with my friend Derrick who really liked it. And the movie theater we went to had technical difficulties (the film stalled and the print got a hole burned into it onscreen), so we all got refunds and my friends and I had to go find another theater that was playing it that night. I'm sure that didn't help my mood when I saw it. Now... I like moments of it, and its a beautifully shot film, but I still think it's a pretty lame story.

FC - Enjoyed it then, enjoy it now the rare times I watch it.

INS - Thought it was pretty mediocre then. I've barely watched it since then, as I never bought it on DVD.

NEM - Pretty bad and a thoroughly disappointing sendoff for the TNG crew. Again, I haven't really watched this one since it came out.

ST09 - Really liked it then, with a few caveats. I still like it now, although I think it emulates Star Wars more than Star Trek, and the lens flares are way over the top. It's a fun, solid popcorn flick. I bought this one on DVD after skipping purchasing the last two TNG films.

STID - HATED it then. Lame story that regurgitated either ST09 or TWOK. Total waste of Cumberbatch. I still feel pretty much the same today. I refused to buy this one, although I've watched bits of it on TV.

STB - I really enjoyed this one and I think I saw it twice in the theaters. I still think it's probably the most underrated ST film. It deserved better box office than it got. I hope they make a 4th movie with the 09 cast.

 

[tomalak301]

Search For Spock would probably be mine. I didn’t like the Vulcan scenes at the end originally and was bored because of it. Now they aren’t all bad (Still devalues the movie some, along with the weird way the Klingons were portrayed) and TSFS is squarely in the middle of my rankings.

 

[Butters]

Insurrection. When I first watched it, it was an outing for the whole house, all seven of us living in a terrace, and instead of going for beer, I’d convinced them all to pay to watch a not particularly good episode of Star Trek. I hung my head in shame all the way home.

Years later, I think about the Baku, and that 300 year apprenticeship. What a way to live! Still massive issues with the script, but I can see what they were trying to do.

 

[Jonesy]

I use to have a much higher opinion of The Undiscovered Country. I still think the movie has a lot of good merits to it, but I find some of the lines such as , "That Klingon bitch killed your father!", to be jarring. I really hate to use the term overrated, but I sometimes feel this way. However, I think it was looked upon as a success, especially coming after what we experienced with Trek 5.

The movie that I think I appreciate more as time has gone on is TMP. I had been subject to the standard version for so many years, which I found unnecessarily slow and plodding, but the directors cut made me rethink my perspective on it in a whole new light.

The one Trek movie that never quits on me at all is TWOK.

The other movies I haven't really changed my opinion on much over the years.

 

[Khan 2.0]

Insurrection. When I first watched it, it was an outing for the whole house, all seven of us living in a terrace, and instead of going for beer, I’d convinced them all to pay to watch a not particularly good episode of Star Trek. I hung my head in shame all the way home.

Did they ever speak to you again?

 

[Butters]

Did they ever speak to you again?

They did, but something changed that day.

 

[Khan 2.0]

They did, but something changed that day.

Had something similar with Prometheus. Saw it first opening day on my own as huge fan of Alien and this was RScott coming back to it and was quite blown away by the visuals and that it was Scott directing again etc even though in hindsight it was disappointing (in fact at time remember thinking the story was similar to Star Trek V, and as unsatisfying). Anyway told some 'kewl' chums that I used to hang out with to drink etc to check it out as it was great like the kewl Aliens movie, and RScott was directing etc (was already abit strained with them as they were all on FB and I decided not to be on it and they all having kids etc becoming real adults and me just still into SciFi geek stuff which had always been abit of a bone of contention for them anyway). they saw it and then after they were texting/emailing me saying it was terrible and were blaming me for making them see it almost like they wanted me to refund them! lol. anyway things not been same since really and never recommend any other geeky SciFi movies to them again! (e.g. I was noticeably silent on Trek Beyond even though they know im a major trekkie and i knew theyd seen and liked ST09/ID)

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I use to have a much higher opinion of The Undiscovered Country. I still think the movie has a lot of good merits to it, but I find some of the lines such as , "That Klingon bitch killed your father!", to be jarring. I really hate to use the term overrated, but I sometimes feel this way. However, I think it was looked upon as a success, especially coming after what we experienced with Trek 5.

Scotty's line is "I bet that Klingon bitch killed her father!" not "your father." And that scene is only in the director's cut on the Special Edition DVD. It's easy to see why it was cut, too - It's one of the more overt scenes of the Enterprise crew openly displaying prejudice towards the Klingons (one of our beloved regulars, no less!), it doesn't really tell us anything that isn't established elsewhere in the movie, and there's a moment where the set actually shakes after Valeris slides down the fireman's pole. Despite establishing the torpedo bay Spock and McCoy go to later in the movie, it was a good call to cut it.

 

[Khan 2.0]

I got thinking about this the other day vis a vis Generations.

I was 11 in 1994. I loved Generations. I loved how it gave us TNG on the big screen, with the Enterprise D looking cooler than ever. I loved the new bridge with the additional side stations. I loved seeing the crew wearing DS9 uniforms. I loved how hot Troi looked in a duty uniform (this living in a country where seasons 6 and 7 hadn't been seen on TV yet when the movie came out, I hadn't experienced duty uniform Troi yet and of course being 11 my hormones were pretty much in that place ). I loved the destruction of the ship. I loved the fight with the BOP. I loved Kirk meeting Picard. I loved the fight on the top of those mountains. I loved Data and his emotion chip and things like the Lifeforms song were the funniest thing ever. I loved everything about the movie

Ironically, 34 year old 2018 me would pretty much say everything on that list is a reason I find it so meh. TNG on the big screen doesn't live up to the best of their TV adventures. The new bridge and the crew walking around in those uniforms just irritates me now. Troi in duty uniform... ok I'll still pay that one But the destruction of the Enterprise now feels crass and unnecessary (and I hate her replacement), Kirk being shoehorned into the plot arguably detracts from rather than improves the flow of the story, the character's death feels cynical and pointless, and Data being this laughter machine with "mister tricorder" and "I hate this, it's revolting!" and "lifeforms" and the whole jazz feels like exactly what it is, indulging the whims of an actor whose agent has convinced the producers he's the second fiddle lead. Basically everything about that movie I used to like I now see as reasons the movie needed more pre-prod time to iron out the script.

Conversely, something like STV, which is very very easy to pick apart and which I hated back in the VHS era, I now find bizarrely charming.

What say you? Which movies have your opinions done a complete coin-flip on?

Generations:
Then - at the time it felt bit like V to me.. something wasn't quite right. but unlike V the FX were amazing. cant remember exactly if was disappointed it wasn't 'Yesterdays Enterprise The Movie' like the way everyone now says it should've been but mustve been expecting something that involved the 2 crew/enterprises. esp those early trailer that made it look like Kirk was on the Ent D fighting alongside the crew.. and yes Troi did look great in this movie! (in fact I can clearly recall 2 guys sat behind me going 'phwor that's that Troi is it?'..'yeah she lovely isnt she' when she first appeared on screen in the old navy uniform lol)

Now - yeah its ok but like most cant help wishing it was Yesterdays Enterprise The Movie (hoping QT finally does it for ST4).

might do a brief run down of the all the other movies when have time..

 

[Lord Garth]

My opinions of all the movies are the same, for the most part:

Before, I couldn't see why TFF was hated so much. I still like TFF but now I can see where others wouldn't.

I used to rank the TNG movies: FC, INS, GEN, and NEM. Now, I'd flip the order of INS and GEN.

When I saw STB in the theater, I immediately thought it was the best of the three Kelvin films. Now, I put 2009 above it.

The most significant change: I don't agree with half of what I thought of STID anymore. I re-read everything I thought and, in light of DSC, I've re-evaluated a lot of it. A lot of it but not all of it. Let's get the negative out of the way first: I still think Kirk getting revived with Khan blood is ridiculous. I still don't like white-washing (in general, not just with this movie) though I think Benedict Cumberbatch is a wonderful actor, Kirk and Spock's portrayals are not exactly my favorite here (let's just leave it at that), and the Death Scene just can't match the one in TWOK.

Now for the positive: Here are the things I changed my mind about that I didn't like before: Section 31 consulting Khan (if not going out of their way to revive him), Khan not being as black-hatted as he was in TWOK (why did I find this to be an issue?), and Noel Clark's character being manipulated into blowing up a hospital to protect his family, which I thought was horrific and would be for all involved (if I were a family member, I'd hate to think about how my being alive came at the cost of so many being killed) but that's the point.

 

[pfontaine2]

My opinions of nearly all the films hasn't changed much over the years. I strangely seemed to like the films that nearly everyone despised like STV:TFF (though it seems that some people are coming around) and ST:Nemesis, which I still enjoy quite a lot.

I've always disliked STVI:TUC but won't go into the details here because it's too off-topic.

Ultimately, ST:TMP has risen to become my all-time favorite Trek film. In 1979, all I wanted was a two hour episode with the same ship, the same uniforms and the same music. Instead everything changed and my 16 year old brain couldn't understand why. It wasn't until the Blu-Ray came out before I could watch the film objectively. Yes, it's got its problems but I really like the overall tone and story. I rewatch it regularly, certainly much more often than most any other Trek film.

 

[Damian]

TMP is and always be my favorite. I know, crazy. But I saw it just before TVH came out. I had seen TWOK and TSFS and thought they were good, but didn't make me a Trekkie. I decided to rent TMP out and I loved it. It was the purest of the Star Trek films IMO. Yes, there were some drawn out scenes, but I still loved it. The Directors Cut was even better--it fixed some of the drawn out scenes and the flow.

TWOK is my 2nd favorite of the films. What more needs to be said. Everything was done right, though it lacked some of the new civilizations and discovery that was a big part of the first film.

TSFS was good, maybe my 4th favorite of the first 6. I hated seeing the Enterprise destroyed. It also seemed a bit premature to mothball the Enterprise.

TVH is my 5th favorite of the first 6. It was obviously more lighthearted, but a nice counterbalance to 2 and 3. It's hasn't aged as well since much of it took place in 1986, but that's ok.

TFF is number 13 on my list. I don't hate it. I bought the Special Edition DVD. It does have some of the best Kirk-Spock-McCoy scenes of all the films, Luckinbill was a good actor (even if I didn't care for the character as much) and who can complain about Goldsmith's score. The special effects were the worse--I always wished Paramount had allowed Shatner to at least fix that for the Special Edition. It wouldn't fix the story flaws, but at least it would look like a proper Trek film.

TUC is probably my 3rd favorite of the first 6. Another great story, good characterizations, special effects, and it was a mystery story to boot.

Star Trek (2009) had a great story line, I liked the actors mostly. Loved that it was a prequel-sequel-reboot all wrapped up in one. Production design is a point of contention though.

STID had good and bad moments. I would have liked it better if Cumberbatch was just John Harrison and not a whitewashed Khan. He's a great actor and didn't need to do Khan. He would have been fine as new villain Harrison. And don't get me started on magic blood. But there was an effort to fix some of the flaws of Star Trek (2009) with better production design and answering the rapid fire promotions of Kirk and company.

STB is an underappreciated film. Finally a film that has nothing to do with Earth. It also had some great McCoy and Scotty moments too. It was more respectful of canon and the Franklin felt like it belonged in Enterprise's era of the mid 22nd century.

Generations is my least favorite TNG film, and 12 of 13 overall. It had it's moments. I thought the Nexus was an interesting plot device. The Enterprise-B scenes could have been better (thankfully the novels made Captain Harriman a more worthwhile captain then he appeared here). Kirks first 'death' saving the Enterprise B was fitting, IMHO. But his death on Veridian 3 should have been much better. I never had a problem with him dying, and dying to save a civilization he never knew is exactly the kind of hero's death I would expect. But there are better ways to kill a great character. In between the story was fine mostly.

FC is my favorite TNG film and probably my 3rd favorite of the 13. The Borg are great villains and they are well done here. Everything except maybe some of the humor was very well done.

Insurrection is my 3rd favorite TNG film. It was more akin to an episode of TNG, and I always thought it was missed opportunity since the Dominion War was going on at the time. I thought the Enterprise should have been on a mission involving the war. But it was ok, if not great, and it did have some beautiful cinematography.

Nemesis is my 2nd favorite TNG film. I know it gets a lot of flack. I always say I'm one of the 10 people that actually liked it. Yes, the clone thing is a bit ridiculous, but I liked the Remans, the Scimitar was a great ship, a 'predator' and it had an extended battle sequence many fans have clamored for years for. This and FC were the only 2 TNG films that actually had a movie feel to it (Insurrection and Generations feeling more like TV episodes).

 

[Galileo7]

In 1982, I was disappointed by WOK because the death of Spock. I considered it to be the most like TOS episodes, except for the "permanent" loss of Spock. It would have been a perfect TOS episode film if the events of SFS had instead been in the WOK. However, in 1984 with SFS and the "return" of Spock, I then loved WOK. If SFS had not been made and Spock's death was permanent, then I still would be disappointed by WOK.

Generations still disappoints me because the cheap death of Kirk and destruction 1701-D. So no change regarding Generations.

 

[Damian]

In 1982, I was disappointed by WOK because the death of Spock. I considered it to be the most like TOS episodes, except for the "permanent" loss of Spock. It would have been a perfect TOS episode film if the events of SFS had instead been in the WOK. However, in 1984 with SFS and the "return" of Spock, I then loved WOK. If SFS had not been made and Spock's death was permanent, then I still would be disappointed by WOK.

Generations still disappoints me because the cheap death of Kirk and destruction 1701-D. So no change regarding Generations.

Yeah, in between I thought Generations was ok. Like an extended TV episode, but the TV series was good so that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't even mind Kirk dying on Veridian III. It's the way he died. He should have died with all phasers blazing, as it were. This is William Shatner--you can't do it small like they did.

I also hated the destruction of the 1701-D. I hated the ship at first, but came to appreciate it more over time, and it died before it's time. Nothing wrong with the -E-, but I still missed the -D-.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

I still hold a good opinion of the TOS movies. My appreciation for V has increased most over the years as a Big 3 adventure, as well as for Laurence Luckinbill's performance. I hated it when it came out in '89 (quite the letdown from IV), but I chalk that up to being somewhat immature in expectations (fresh out of high school).

My opinion for EVERY TNG movie has nosedived, however. Generations has gone from being bad in '94, to unwatchable today. First Contact is an OK film if you ignore all the times they overtly changed the time continuum by telling everyone about the future. But as a Trek film, it's pretty bad. Then I don't even care about the last two. As I've said on many other threads, as far as my head canon is concerned, All Good Things was the last time we saw our TNG heroes (at least until Stewie reunites them with his homemade transporter -- THAT was infinitely more enjoyable than most of the films!).

The new trilogy hasn't had enough time to age either way. I still enjoy popping in the discs and playing key scenes from ST'09 and STiD. I thought STB was boring in the theaters, and was even more boring when I watched it on BluRay. I haven't watched it since.

 

[PureCrimson]

While I still think it's very poorly paced, I at least now appreciate the concepts and even some implied meaning of what The Motion Picture was trying to do.

Back when I was a kid, the few times I sat through this film, literally, it was like a fever dream, and I would regularly even have nightmares about "the bald chick" and such. Just very unpleasant and I couldn't force myself to check it out again until waaaay later on in my life.

 

[Vger23]

My opinions of nearly all the films hasn't changed much over the years. I strangely seemed to like the films that nearly everyone despised like STV:TFF (though it seems that some people are coming around) and ST:Nemesis, which I still enjoy quite a lot.

I've always disliked STVI:TUC but won't go into the details here because it's too off-topic.

Ultimately, ST:TMP has risen to become my all-time favorite Trek film. In 1979, all I wanted was a two hour episode with the same ship, the same uniforms and the same music. Instead everything changed and my 16 year old brain couldn't understand why. It wasn't until the Blu-Ray came out before I could watch the film objectively. Yes, it's got its problems but I really like the overall tone and story. I rewatch it regularly, certainly much more often than most any other Trek film.

Id actually be interested to hear your thoughts on TUC. I am in the vast minority who think it is woefully overrated...so your thoughts would probably interest me.

 

[pfontaine2]

Id actually be interested to hear your thoughts on TUC. I am in the vast minority who think it is woefully overrated...so your thoughts would probably interest me.

I created a very lengthy post elsewhere regarding my criticisms of Star Trek VI. I didn't want to derail this thread even if it seemed to be pretty quiet at the moment. The link is:

Some points about Star Trek VI:The Undiscovered Country

Looking forward to anything you'd like to add!

 

[maneth]

TMP is definitely one that's changed for the better for me. But then, as an adult I've even learned to appreciate 2001: A Space Odyssey. If TMP is slow, 2001 is glacial.

TWOK has probably the best script out of all the Trek movies, but I still rate it at only just above STID because I can't get past Khan's character. He's vile, a totally worthless being. That said, the original Khan is less one-dimensional than his copy in STID is, or other one-note villains like Shinzon, Nero or even Krall. I enjoy the movie even less if I watch Space Seed just before it. Did it once, that's not a mistake I'm going to make again.

ST:2009 I enjoy more now than I did when I saw it in theater. At home, even on a 55 inch TV at a viewing distance of two meters/6 ft, the excessive use of lens flare bothers me less than it did in theater. And I just love Prime Spock...

I enjoyed the story of Insurrection, but the story would have worked better, IMO, as a two-parter on TNG rather than a movie. I just wish they had made a feature film out of Yesterday's Enterprise.

For the longest time, FC was my favorite Trek movie. I'm not so sure now, because I'm more aware of its flaws. Still, the Borgized Enterprise is pretty cool, especially as the characters are obviously sweating in the hotter Borg environment (39 C IIRC). And I get a kick out of the AE35 component visible on the side of one of the deflector attachments.

I never liked STID much in the first place, but it gets more tedious with every rewatch. I'm not sure if I can sit through it again. I would have enjoyed the story just fine if it hadn't been such a blatant copy of TWOK. If Harrison had been just another augment, I would have been fine with it. But it had to be Khan...

STB I loved on first viewing and it just keeps getting better and better. Now the crew's solid and I love the banter between them. Reminds me of the best of TOS.

 

[Galileo7]

TMP is definitely one that's changed for the better for me. But then, as an adult I've even learned to appreciate 2001: A Space Odyssey. If TMP is slow, 2001 is glacial.
....

As a fan of both TMP and 2OO1, your comment is so very true regarding 2OO1.