Pine modeled his Kirk after Han Solo?

[Nowhere Man]

"What Harrison Ford is so great at doing is bringing that quality to his characters that if they could be anywhere else in the world they would be there, but he is not, he just is in the middle of s*** and he has to figure out a way of dealing with it so that he can go back to doing whatever the hell he was doing before the film started…"

No, no, no--that is the antithesis of Kirk (NOT Shatner). Kirk wants to be there, does not consider the situation he's in as "shit", and relishes figuring out a way of dealing with it.

He lives and breathes Enterprise, and does NOT want to go back to "whatever the hell he was doing".

Getting Kirk right has nothing to do with avoiding Shatnerisms, but everything to do with getting into the right character. Indy is not Kirk by Pine's very description.

Kirk didn't seek out the confrontation with Khan. He didn't relish the idea of going back in time to find humpback whales, but he knew he had to do it. He wasn't thrilled about being the olive branch to the Klingons in TUC, but it was forced upon him and he did it.

Kirk was an explorer and he had plenty of adventures. But he didn't seek out the conflict. He didn't relish it. But once in it, he threw himself into the task the same way Jones did. He was good at it, and he did it with humor.

I never saw Kirk as a swashbuckler or a warrior. Kirk had an intellect that drove his curiosity the same way Jones did. And like Jones, that curiosity often threw him into situations that required him to be an action hero. He didn't want a career mapping star charts, but adventure did find him more than he found adventure.

exactly KIrk had a mission of exploration and making first contact, he didn't wanna fight off space Nazi's, but he did it, so he could get back to doing what he's suposed to do, much like Han didn't want to fight the Empire he was on his way to pay off Jaba, but got cought up. I'd say Indy would be the one that sorta looks for adventure, maybe not trouble, but adventure

 

[Akiraprise]

Han Solo and Jim Kirk meet in space.

Solo: This is Captain Han Solo of the Millenium Falcon.
Kirk: This is...Captain...James T. Kirk...of the...Federation starship...Enterprise...
Solo: I've got a protocol droid you can have for free, it can give you some pointers with that speech impediment.

Millennium Falcon jumps to hyperspace at ludicrous speed.

 

[Borgminister]

My point is one was/is an archaeologist, the other a Starfleet captain. Logically, the latter will be far more likely to encounter dangerous situations and combat than the former.

Kirk was right where he wanted to be--Captain of the Enterprise--no matter what the situation.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

Well, we are talking about young, twenty something Kirk, so I could see it. Assuming any of it makes it to the screen in any way other than in Pine's head.

 

[Franklin]

My point is one was/is an archaeologist, the other a Starfleet captain. Logically, the latter will be far more likely to encounter dangerous situations and combat than the former.

Kirk was right where he wanted to be--Captain of the Enterprise--no matter what the situation.

You are correct. Kirk certainly had a more dangerous job, but I didn't see him as a daredevil fighting Mugatus and Gorn by choice. He didn't itch for that kind of action any more than Indy did. I don't think he saw that as his prime reason for being in space. It wasn't where the real joy came from in his job. (That came from the women -- well, that and the thrill of discovery.)
Kirk certainly wanted to be where the action was. But for him it was the call of duty, which of course didn't apply to Indy.
If anything, Indy may have more in common with Picard. But I avoid geeky Picard-Kirk comparisons like the plague.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Kick the little fucker's ass.

That came to my mind, too. Much as I hate that movie, I love that line.

Just so I can hear the cheerleaders howl, I'll tell you why I think this is a bad creative choice on the part of Pine: Kirk--young Kirk especially--had none of those Solo-esque qualities Pine is talking about. He was, from all accounts, a tightly wound, laser focused wunderkind who, even when he broke the rules (Kobayashi Maru), it was only after exhausting the possibilties within the framework of the rules and even then, it really didn't matter. He has little in common with a cold-blooded drug smuggler who reluctantly joins the Rebellion, the "grumpy, accidental hero" aspect.

But whatever. Maybe he can make it work. Don't really care, just bored.

 

[donners22]

*orders effigy of Pine for purposes of burning*

 

[Captain Fine]

*orders effigy of Pine for purposes of burning*

Burning? Surely you could come up with slightly more, shall we say, interesting things to do with an effigy of Chris Pine. Or better yet, a hologram.

 

[Tralah]

I could find some interesting things to do with a Pine hologram.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

My point is one was/is an archaeologist, the other a Starfleet captain. Logically, the latter will be far more likely to encounter dangerous situations and combat than the former.

Kirk was right where he wanted to be--Captain of the Enterprise--no matter what the situation.

You are correct. Kirk certainly had a more dangerous job, but I didn't see him as a daredevil fighting Mugatus and Gorn by choice. He didn't itch for that kind of action any more than Indy did. I don't think he saw that as his prime reason for being in space. It wasn't where the real joy came from in his job. (That came from the women -- well, that and the thrill of discovery.)
Kirk certainly wanted to be where the action was. But for him it was the call of duty, which of course didn't apply to Indy.

Why duty? Kirk was always kicking hippies out of paradise. Hell, he wasn't even affected by the spores because he liked a challenge and kicking ass more than some soporific lovey-dovey happiness.

 

[zenophite]

Interesting, but is it:

A) the Han that shot first,
b) the Han with superhuman speed that dodged a blaster and then shot Greedo
C) the Han with psychic ability that knew exactly when greedo would fire


hmmm....

 

[Nowhere Man]

Interesting, but is it:

A) the Han that shot first,
b) the Han with superhuman speed that dodged a blaster and then shot Greedo
C) the Han with psychic ability that knew exactly when greedo would fire


hmmm....

OMG you just blew my mind man theres no hippie smiley , so I had to use that one

 

[Good Will Riker]

Interesting, but is it:

A) the Han that shot first,
b) the Han with superhuman speed that dodged a blaster and then shot Greedo
C) the Han with psychic ability that knew exactly when greedo would fire


hmmm....

I would not be surprised if it was all of the above.

 

[Snaploud]

Pine is completely off-base with the Kirk character. There's really no way around it.

The question, though, is whether it's the actor's fault or the writer/director.

 

[Pioneer]

If anything, I think Kirk wanted to be a hero.

Yes. And even if he didn't want to be a hero he certainly wanted to be in space, not somewhere else. So, we'll see.
I'm -- just glad -- he -- isn't -- going to -- channel -- Shatner.

 

[ChristopherPike]

Well, maybe he shouldn't do Shatner's slightly.... halting.... way-of-speaking... with the emphasis... on... the-wrong-words. Unless the pressure of a dangerous moment in the film calls for it.

But he could stand to study Kirk's hand movements and emphatic gestures.

As for Han Solo comparisons, Kirk may occasionally disobey orders but with good reasons. He certainly isn't a roguish bad boy, more a boy scout.

Maybe this thought went through Pine's head while reading the script: "You can type this shit, but you sure as hell can't say it."

 

[Franklin]

Kick the little fucker's ass.

That came to my mind, too. Much as I hate that movie, I love that line.

Just so I can hear the cheerleaders howl, I'll tell you why I think this is a bad creative choice on the part of Pine: Kirk--young Kirk especially--had none of those Solo-esque qualities Pine is talking about. He was, from all accounts, a tightly wound, laser focused wunderkind who, even when he broke the rules (Kobayashi Maru), it was only after exhausting the possibilties within the framework of the rules and even then, it really didn't matter. He has little in common with a cold-blooded drug smuggler who reluctantly joins the Rebellion, the "grumpy, accidental hero" aspect.

But whatever. Maybe he can make it work. Don't really care, just bored.

Maybe just the reluctant (or accidental?) part. Not really going in the action/adventure hero direction as a vocation, but once thrown into it, realizing he's damn good at it and it's thrilling.
The problem is we don't know WHY Kirk joined Starfleet. He was the stack of books on legs and a tough teacher. So does that mean he joined for the adventure? The romance? To be a swashbuckler? Those reasons do seem contradictory to what we know about Kirk at the Academy. We don't know.
Perhaps what Kirk has in common with Solo/Indy is the reluctant hero part. Young Kirk wasn't a cold-blooded drug smuggler, but maybe he initially didn't seek the hero's chair, either. Maybe those qualities were discovered in him. Perhaps he didn't even realize himself how strong they were.
I'd like to think that he discovered his destiny at the Academy, and maybe the choice wasn't an obvious one. A "stack of books on legs" does not seem to be the type who ends up making his career out of feats of daring.

 

[Garth Rockett]

As for Han Solo comparisons, Kirk may occasionally disobey orders but with good reasons. He certainly isn't a roguish bad boy, more a boy scout.

Listen, kiddo, Jim Kirk is many things, but he was never a boy scout.

 

[ChristopherPike]

^ Girl Guides it is then.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Just so I can hear the cheerleaders howl...

The "cheerleaders" aren't that easily baited.