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

[Lance Warren Baylis]

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?

 

[Smellmet]

The Motion Picture has probably gone up in my estimation the most, it's the first film I saw at the cinema at the age of 5, and I've always liked it a lot but appreciate the craft that went into it a lot more as I've got older, to the point it's right up there with TWOK as my favourite Trek film.

The one that's gone down the most for me is First Contact, again, I don't dislike it by any stretch - it's an entertaining film, no question, but the TV-standard cinematography and sets, some ho-hum FX work and gaping plot holes means I don't find it to be near the top of the Trek movie pile like my 22 year old self used to rank it as. All three of the reboots are far superior in my view, along with TMP and TWOK, relegating FC to the middle of the pack. I even prefer Nemesis over it.

Oddly enough given you started talking about it, Generations I thought was great when I first saw it, then it dipped down and in the last few years I've really come to appreciate the excellent FX and cinematography work it contains. I think right up to the Nexus scenes it's a great movie, then it all falls apart.

 

[Nyotarules]

Star Trek The search for Spock bored me when it first came out, I was a teenager back then. Now I enjoy watching it due to nostalgia.
Star Trek 2009 I was glad to have Star Trek back. I went to see it twice. Now whenever I watch it my suspension of disbelief decreases. I rate it 9/10 on first watch and give it 6.5-7/10 on repeat viewings.

 

[F. King Daniel]

When i was a kid I didn't love Star Trek V, citing weak effects, dodgy humour and a lame instant-fail plot to find God (because obviously, you never can)

Now I love it for the chemistry between the characters, Sybok's charisma and an attempt to do something epic.

 

[Lance Warren Baylis]

The Motion Picture has probably gone up in my estimation the most, it's the first film I saw at the cinema at the age of 5, and I've always liked it a lot but appreciate the craft that went into it a lot more as I've got older, to the point it's right up there with TWOK as my favourite Trek film.

The one that's gone down the most for me is First Contact, again, I don't dislike it by any stretch - it's an entertaining film, no question, but the TV-standard cinematography and sets, some ho-hum FX work and gaping plot holes means I don't find it to be near the top of the Trek movie pile like my 22 year old self used to rank it as. All three of the reboots are far superior in my view, along with TMP and TWOK, relegate FC to the middle of the pack. I even prefer Nemesis over it.

Oddly enough given you started talking about it, Generations I thought was great when I first saw it, then it dipped down and in the last few years I've really come to appreciate the excellent FX and cinematography work it contains. I think right up to the Nexus scenes it's a great movie, then it all falls apart.

I will pay out on the cinematography. Gens is a beautiful, cinematic looking film maybe despite itself, thanks to the work of John Alonzo, whereas in a lot of ways I agree both First Contact and Insurrection feel flatly lit and simply shot. Nemesis does at the very least manage to feel cinematic too.

 

[JaxsBrokenHeart]

First Contact has become somehow better and worse for me with time. I've really grown to enjoy the story of Zefram Cochrane, an element I wasn't as big on when I was young. Maybe its because he's great metaphorical representation of the idealization vs. reality of Roddenberry himself, perhaps its that the idea of the more "enlightened" 24th century humans contrasting with a past Earth figure plays far better here than it did in something like The Neutral zone.

The stuff on the Enterprise has lost some luster however. Stewart and Woodward are still fantastic, and Picard's emotional intensity does carry a lot of otherwise eh scenes. But the stronger zombie like emphasis with the Borg, the diluting presence of the Queen, and a plot with Data that feels like it amounts to little for his character; it all adds up to an A Plot that's more sizzle than steak.

I still really enjoy Undiscovered Country, but the rushed nature of the production has become a bit more obvious over time and while most of the themes resonate fairly well there are more than a few scenes which reek of script that needed another draft. Some of the character bits in general feel like Meyer overcompensating a bit too much against Roddenberry's utopian ethos about Trek.

 

[Tribble puncher]

Like others here ST:III and V have gotten better over the years for me. Esp. III, sure it's got some massive plot holes, even for a Star Trek film, It's got a great villain, good emotional heft, Horners amazing score (I mean, you have a five minute scene of what is essence backing a car out of the garage and the music alone makes it one of the most epic scenes in all of Trek.), V has some good character moments, and a decent villain (who's not really a villain at all), and you can see the potential there if they'd had better effects and maybe more time to work on the script.

VI I used to love, it's still good but some scenes are pretty cringy now (the Klingon translation scene, the galley scene, the whole subplot to nab Valeris) and I just don't like the tone quite as much, and they were really going for the Nuclear submarine theme that just doesn't feel right for Federation Starships. First Contact gave us the Borg Queen, which, I loved back in the 1990's when I saw it, but now.....eh. I liked most of the Zephram Cochrane stuff though.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I used to LOVE Voyage Home, First Contact and The Wrath of Khan. Now, the humor is just dated in TVH, FC is just "okay" with really pedestrian direction and Wrath of Khan is still good, just not the be all end all of cinema that Trek fans seem to think it is. The Motion Picture and The Final Frontier are now two of my faves after Into Darkness.

 

[suarezguy]

Not a lot of big changes; I have gone from positive to pretty negative to most recently mildly positive about The Final Frontier and from negative to just ambivalent about Generations (in both cases I think the improvement was mostly from minding the humor and the simple-story less, also with the latter being less bothered by the techbabble).

 

[BigDaveX]

The only one my opinion's really changed significantly on is The Voyage Home. Back when I was younger I really didn't get the film's humour, but as time has gone on it's resonated with me much more.

Aside from that, while I still very much like First Contact, in retrospect I can see that the producers' attempts to recapture what made it successful ended up playing a major role in driving the franchise into the ground over the next decade. While I personally don't blame First Contact itself for that, I can understand why some people's opinion on the film might have soured over the years.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I've grown to appreciate TMP more as the years have gone by whilst TVH I used to like but I've gone off as I've gotten older.

 

[Herbert]

TMP is probably the one for me also. I like it far more now.

I didn't care much for Generations when it was released and since. Something about the way they handled Kirk being stuck in that "limbo" never sat right with me.

 

[Patrick S]

As I've gotten older I've found that I like some movies less and other more than I did years ago.

I don't like the Motion Picture as a piece of entertainment, since I don't find it entertaining. I remember how bored my parents were when I drug them to see it. I remember trying to convince them - and myself - that it was good. It wasn't. But I've come to appreciate some aspects of it. I think it's well acted, the effects are well done, and I appreciate the cinematography and the score. It's the story and, primarily, the pacing that keep me from actually enjoying the movie, I think.

Wrath of Khan I loved instantly and still consider it one of my favorite movies. Period. I watch several times a year.

Search for Spock I probably like more now than I did years ago.

Voyage Home I like but it doesn't feel like a Trek film to me. Perhaps it's the setting. I don't know. It's entertaining but I consider it somehow outside the other movies.

Final Frontier I hated when it came out but have come to enjoy it more these days. I think it's focus on the Kirk, Spock, McCoy dynamic works on some level, helps flesh out how close these three are. There are some memorable lines. Overall not a great movie, I know. But, I'll watch it and have fun.

Undiscovered Country is, I think, the best looking original crew movie. I liked it when I saw it and I like it still. I think Nimoy is great in this one.

Generations I've never been able to get into. I like the scenes with Picard and Kirk and, frankly, that's about it. I like Malcom McDowell but I don't think he's used well.

First Contact looks great and the story is good. The Cochrane stuff is great. Cromwell and Woodard are excellent. Stewart is fantastic. Liked it then. Like it now.

Insurrection I HATED when it came out. Didn't watch it for years. In fact, just watched it last week and I've radically changed. Having re-watched NextGen I found this movie to be back-to-basics Star Trek. I realize I went in with big, tent-pole movie expectations because of First Contact and overlooked all things that make Star Trek good sci-fi.

Nemesis. I hated it then. With a passion. Now? I HATE IT. With a passion. Its a turd.

Star Trek '09 I loved back then but not so much now. I'll watch it and I can appreciate it. Just doesn't really do it for me like it could have if Into Darkness hadn't happened.

Into Darkness left me stunned. Not in a good way. I couldn't get past the fact that the entire universe was open to tell whatever story......and.......Abrams came up with.....what he came up with. I was baffled then...I'm baffled now.
Beyond was good if unremarkable. I liked it fine. Still like it fine.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I hated Nemesis so much when I first saw it, but not for the usual reasons other TNG fans hate it ...

The cinematography favours the sets and environments, rather than flattering the cast, for one thing. I realise that Gates & Marina were going through hot flashes and whatnot, but they were really made to look like shite in this one, regardless. Everything to do with B-4 was hateful. This movie has its parts send out signals so powerful, our crew picks them up light years away. The origins of B-4 are lazily unexplained and the convenience of Data's unknown twin being discovered first by Picard's unknown twin was just too twee. I found Dee's getting mind-raped particularly hateful. John Logan's lack of talent is right down there with screenwriter David Koepp. And I hate the continued use of the rubber heads and cheap wigs on the Romulans ... especially Donatra, who -- especially -- needed to get dolled up. But my need for more TNG has encouraged me to overlook its flaws so that now? I simply accept it as such. I'm particularly grateful that the deleted scenes did not make it into the final thing. The last thing NEM needed was any more bovine excrement ...

 

[Vger23]

TMP has gone up in value significantly for me. Probably being older and less ADD has helped with that...hahaha!

TWOK hasn't changed. Awesome in 1982 and still awesome today.

TSFS is the same as well, although I think I appreciate the friendship themes even more now. It's probably gone up a little from "pretty awesome" to "solidly awesome"

TVH no change. I was meh on it then, and am still meh on it now.

TFF no change. Loved it then, love it now.

TUC almost as big a change as TMP, but in the other direction. Thought it was really good in 1991. See nothing but cheap, rushed production with a fairly nonsense plot now.

GEN hasn't changed much. I probably like it a little less now.

FC no change. Solid but not awesome.

INS I didn't really care for when it came out. Now I can't stand it.

NEM no change. I like it fine I guess. No hate, no love.

2009 I thought was the awesomest thing EVAR when it came out. Now, I see it as a fun action romp with a good cast and great production values. Like a superhero movie I guess. Nothing more, nothing less.

ID I loved when it came out...now I can't even finish it. The final act is horrific. I've said previously- it's like the craziest, flashiest, fastest ride in the park...exciting to experience, until it ends and you get off and throw up everywhere in a fit of nausea and vertigo.

BEY no change yet.

 

[STEPhon IT]

TUC almost as big a change as TMP, but in the other direction. Thought it was really good in 1991. See nothing but cheap, rushed production with a fairly nonsense plot now.

Sad to admit this, but very true. I don't hate the film, but I've finally taken off my rose colored glasses looking at it. It doesn't hold up, and I doubt something as catastrophic as the assassination of a nation's leader by an enemies top brass would have such tame blow back. I'd imagined something worse in a galactic scale which would create a mind numbing predicament for our heroes to find the culprits.

As much as I loved TNG, those sets were not made for a motion picture. I wonder why TMP corridors were not used which TNG used from time to time, and whatever happened to the ones used on TFF? I know the bridge was repainted, which didn't make much sense, but there were cool looking interior sets from TFF which could've been reused for TUC.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

The Motion Picture is the Brussels sprouts of Star Trek movies. Did not like it when I was a kid but I fucking love it now.

I also didn't used to like the Kelvin movies, but after a few years I gave them another shot and found that I really enjoyed them, particularly STID.

 

[SimpleLogic]

The Motion Picture has come way up for me, as a kid I found it long and boring. Now that I understand what it was trying to do I find it to be a superior hard sci-fi film. This is a Spock movie and Nimoy has the most to do, and he does it well. He begins the movie wanting to purge all emotion then realizes (through his encounter with V'Ger) he needs them and that they make him whole. The human adventure is just beginning...

"It knows only that it needs, Commander. But, like so many of us... it does not know what." - Spock

"Each of us... at some time in our lives, turns to someone - a father, a brother, a God... and asks..."Why am I here? What was I meant to be?" -Spock

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uMuEkr05MLGAYuWi1

 

[F. King Daniel]

As much as I loved TNG, those sets were not made for a motion picture. I wonder why TMP corridors were not used which TNG used from time to time, and whatever happened to the ones used on TFF? I know the bridge was repainted, which didn't make much sense, but there were cool looking interior sets from TFF which could've been reused for TUC.

It was the TMP sets that were modified to become the TNG sets, then modified slightly to become sets in STV and VI.

The unique STV service corridor which Scotty bangs his head on had been first reused in "The Hunted" and then was repainted to become a Klingon corridor and then kept showing up in every other episode of Voyager as an alien-corridor-of-the-week.

 

[Garth Rockett]

TMP - like most everyone else, this bored me to death as a kid. There were little bits here and there that were okay, but this was one I didn't like revisiting often. Now, my appreciation has risen considerably. I still don't like it as much as the three that follow, but I appreciate the type of story they tried to tell, even if I don't think the pacing is there (not to mention the drab colors suck all the life out of it). Absolutely love the score and the visual effects, and Spock's character arc.

TWOK - always loved it.

TSFS - thought it was meh as a kid. In high school, I had a friend who really liked it and I revisited it for the first time in a long time and I started to appreciate it more. Today, I'd rank it as my second favorite behind TWOK. The characters are perfect, the score is great and it has some of the funniest lines in all of Trek. Plus, Shatner's best acting in the scene where David is killed.

TVH - my introduction to Trek. I always liked this one, although over the years it has diminished slightly from my second favorite to my third favorite (partly due to my increased appreciation of TSFS).

TFF - I saw this one in the theater on opening night, my first for a Trek movie. I thought it was solid but not spectacular up until they went through the barrier, and then it went completely down the tubes. I still feel the same way. There are good character bits, I find Sybok interesting, and as I've gotten older I appreciate the cinematic scope Shatner gave some of the shots early in the film (before he ran out of money). Still near the bottom of the list, though.

TUC - probably like this one a little less than I did in 1991, but it's still a really good movie.

GEN - I saw this in the theater three times, I was so excited to see Kirk and Picard together. Even then I wouldn't have rated it as one of the best, but I really liked it. My feelings are more mixed now, but I do still like parts of the movie.

FC - always liked this one. I may appreciate it slightly more now, actually.

INS - always liked this one. I loved that they were returning TNG to its roots.

NEM - never cared for this one, still don't.

09 - liked it but didn't love it when I first saw it. Probably like it a little more now than I did then just because ID made me appreciate it more. I was mainly excited about the future possibilities after this one, now in retrospect it feels like wasted potential, but I don't take that out on this one.

ID - I take it out on this one. I actually liked most of the movie on first viewing and the parts I like still hold up for me. It's the whole death of Kirk sequence and everything that follows that's a problem. Sucked me right out of the movie in 2013 and still does. I think if they had not tried to reference TWOK so heavily it could have been decent. In fact, leave Khan as just John Harrison and I think you've got a really good movie.

BEY - liked it in the theater, still like it, although maybe not as much. At the time I was mainly excited they weren't rehashing any previous stories. That feeling has worn off some, leaving BEY as a solid if unremarkable Trek movie. I'd say it hangs with INS somewhere in the middle of the pack for me.