This Thursday is the showing I am going to. I am curently at DragonCon (just about to enter my 4th TREK TRACK panel in a row today), but am heading back home in the morning. But I am excited that I have TWOK to look forward to!
STAR TREK II In Theaters!!!
- Thread starter Farscape One
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Just got back from seeing it here in Houston... Yep, still holds up extremely well for a 40 year old film.
And yes, the physical miniature work looks more convincing on screen than the over the top CGI used these days.
And yes, the physical miniature work looks more convincing on screen than the over the top CGI used these days.
Saw it today too, and I stand by my controversial opinion that TMP is best enjoyed at home and TWOK is better on the big screen.
Maybe the thing is, to me TMP is a philosophical film, dealing with heavy existential subject matter that begs to be discussed by a group of people who have already seen the film and are watching it together on someone's couch. The big screen spectacle of TMP is lost on me, because the film moves at a pace that, theatrically speaking, is boring as all get out (believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone that I would ever in a million years consider TMP to be "Boring") but just after hearing the magnificent opening titles in theaters, I was struggling to pay attention to what the hell was going on, and zoned out for like, 90% of the film. That rarely happens during home video viewings, which I enjoy more also because I can stop the film if I get bored and come back later, something I can't do at the theaters.
On the complete flipside, I found TWOK to be thematically all over the place on home media (my introduction to the film) as it starts out almost campy, with super cheesy dialogue and characters, which tonally changed completely when Khan attacks the Enterprise, after which the film becomes a depressing slog as we see people dying left and right. At the cinemas, it makes sense suddenly: those cheesy moments are once in a lifetime glimpses into the lives of a group of people audiences had fallen in love with during TOS. It was a family reunion of sorts, and the opening felt so much less cheesy and a lot more flat out fun. Then Khan's rampage begins, and instead of looking at it as a depressing shift in tone, somehow it becomes an exciting moment as you realize that, just like the characters on screen, you do NOT have time to grieve. You feel like you're running on adrenaline, much like Kirk and crew probably were, and just like the crew, by the end of the film in spite of all the bad that has happened, you realize that this was quality time spent with these fictional people you love, and upon seeing Spock's casket you realize there is another chance to meet these characters again, next time.
TL;DR I suppose, when you compare TMP and TWOK, it depends entirely on a lot of circumstances what decides your favorite. I am more intimately familiar with TMP as it is a film I can watch over and over on home media, but TWOK is a film I rarely watch because I can't enjoy it as much on home video as I can at the big screen, so I reserve those rewatches for theatrical releases.
Maybe the thing is, to me TMP is a philosophical film, dealing with heavy existential subject matter that begs to be discussed by a group of people who have already seen the film and are watching it together on someone's couch. The big screen spectacle of TMP is lost on me, because the film moves at a pace that, theatrically speaking, is boring as all get out (believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone that I would ever in a million years consider TMP to be "Boring") but just after hearing the magnificent opening titles in theaters, I was struggling to pay attention to what the hell was going on, and zoned out for like, 90% of the film. That rarely happens during home video viewings, which I enjoy more also because I can stop the film if I get bored and come back later, something I can't do at the theaters.
On the complete flipside, I found TWOK to be thematically all over the place on home media (my introduction to the film) as it starts out almost campy, with super cheesy dialogue and characters, which tonally changed completely when Khan attacks the Enterprise, after which the film becomes a depressing slog as we see people dying left and right. At the cinemas, it makes sense suddenly: those cheesy moments are once in a lifetime glimpses into the lives of a group of people audiences had fallen in love with during TOS. It was a family reunion of sorts, and the opening felt so much less cheesy and a lot more flat out fun. Then Khan's rampage begins, and instead of looking at it as a depressing shift in tone, somehow it becomes an exciting moment as you realize that, just like the characters on screen, you do NOT have time to grieve. You feel like you're running on adrenaline, much like Kirk and crew probably were, and just like the crew, by the end of the film in spite of all the bad that has happened, you realize that this was quality time spent with these fictional people you love, and upon seeing Spock's casket you realize there is another chance to meet these characters again, next time.
TL;DR I suppose, when you compare TMP and TWOK, it depends entirely on a lot of circumstances what decides your favorite. I am more intimately familiar with TMP as it is a film I can watch over and over on home media, but TWOK is a film I rarely watch because I can't enjoy it as much on home video as I can at the big screen, so I reserve those rewatches for theatrical releases.
Saw it and loved it! Big screen is definitely better and the sound was way better than home theater for sure. The “his was the most…human” line was unexpectedly more emotional than watching at home. The vfx held up pretty well and I am in love with the monster maroon all over again. Such great uniforms! My first first run ST movie in a theater was ST:VI
This is how the film has appeared every time I've caught it in theater. And all I've seen is the 2016 remaster in Director's Cut form, since this is what they keep putting back in theaters (first Cinemark in 2016, then Fathom, Flashback Cinema in 2018 and now TMC/Fathom).There was the extended Peter Preston bits in the engine room and sickbay. No comment on Kirk saying to Spock “that’s my son” whilst going up the ladders. I think they fixed the blood on Kirk’s jacket appearing/disappearing at the death scene?
the movie looked very dark in the cinema compared to TMP and the film more grainy, like the graphics on the Kobayashi Maru sequence. I’ll ask a stupid question, as one of you will know, why is this?
I assume the "grainy" Kobayashi Maru reuse of TMP effects footage is meant to look like ILM's 1982 perception of interactive video in the 23rd century - if you imagine the Academy simulator constructing those images on the spot with really large pixels. The Genesis Tape similarly looks like they're still using interlaced video in the 23rd century. While Carol Marcus' failed phone call and the Mutara viewscreen shots are meant to appear as analog TV reception going on the fritz (whereas similar sequences in The Voyage Home and Undiscovered Country seem like an analog generation's idea of TV reception failure in a digital age).
Peter Preston's third-degree burn handmark on Kirk's jacket has always been a mistake; I'm not aware that anything's ever been done nor could be done to fix it.
I just got back from seeing it. I've never seen the extended version before so the stuff with Preston was entirely new to me. I think I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I did (I ranked it 4th in my Trek rankings, but I think it's gone up to 2, behind Star Trek VI). One thing that struck me this time around was the lack of Scotty in this movie. I get he was grieving Preston, but he didn't really have that much to do. I'm glad the writers in the next trek films did give him more to do, especially in 3 and 4. In 2, he came across as a tertiary character, even behind Preston. It's a minor thing and didn't detract from the movie, but it surprised me that Scotty had much less to do than I originally thought.
The picture quality wasn't bad, but during the Kobyashi Muru scene, it did seem incredibly grainy. Also, seeing this movie in the theater is a very different experience. There's a lot of levity in this movie, and the theater, which was about half full, laughed quite a few times.
Star Trek II holds up really well, I did get a little teary eyed over Spock's death (Even though they did a lot to set up the third movie) and it was a very enjoyable experience.
The picture quality wasn't bad, but during the Kobyashi Muru scene, it did seem incredibly grainy. Also, seeing this movie in the theater is a very different experience. There's a lot of levity in this movie, and the theater, which was about half full, laughed quite a few times.
Star Trek II holds up really well, I did get a little teary eyed over Spock's death (Even though they did a lot to set up the third movie) and it was a very enjoyable experience.
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I grew up watching a version of TWOK taped off broadcast, which included some of the scenes omitted from the theatrical version like the ones involving Peter being Scotty's nephew. I admit, I was surprised some years later to learn that these scenes were not part of the original cut because of the extra weight they add to his character, and they flowed so naturally with the rest of the film it seemed like an odd cut to me.
I'm less interested in the cut dialogue establishing Saavik being half-Romulan, but that's me. I've never minded the omission of that aspect because I don't feel like it adds anything to her character, but YMMV.
I'm less interested in the cut dialogue establishing Saavik being half-Romulan, but that's me. I've never minded the omission of that aspect because I don't feel like it adds anything to her character, but YMMV.
I thought that was a given, and it was a way to explain why she was crying at the funeral.
I do have a tiny confession to make. I almost fell asleep twice watching the TMP DE in the theater earlier this year, but I totally didn’t fall asleep at all watching this TWOK DE in the theater LOL.
My auditorium was pretty full as well. It was so great so see such a turnout for this film, especially considering it was only 4 or 5 years since the last time Fathom showed it.Just watched this amazing film in the cinema with my friends. It was a pretty packed cinema showing too which was surprising. I didn’t expect an old Star Trek movie to be so popular still.
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I would say that TWOK is one of the Trek movies that is known as a generally 'good movie' amongst casual movie viewers and movie enthusiasts who aren't necessarily big Trek fans, though likely skewing toward Gen-X and above as they have memories of seeing it in theaters on original run. Probably TWOK and TVH are the only ones.
Kor
Kor
Same experience for me, it was an Odeon with reclining seats. The sfx ship shots look way more realistic than the Avarar trailer and dragons flying around from Dungeons and Dragons trailers! Not bad for 40 years old!
There is such a thing as "too much of a good thing" - whether it be quantity of items on screen, or how they were made... or acting, actors, and/or plot or plotting... Some CGI is impressive, but it's way too easy just to puke up way too much to litter on the screen with. "Star Wars" from 1977 was borderline guilty of that as well, but at least they had a tangible look of ships that didn't require sunglasses and SPF8675310 sunscreen because of how bright and shiny the ships were...
That's okay. It's been claimed some of the movie's actors also took a nice snooze in the theater in 1979...
I saw it! I was blown away at how fantastic the movie was on the big screen.
I got unexpectedly emotional watching the beginning credits. I really felt like I was going back in time to being a kid, wide eyed at watching STAR TREK in a theater.
It was a fantastic experience! Even my wife, who really only went to keep me company, was fully engrossed and loved the movie! (She will not watch TOS because she feels it is too campy and looks too dated, so she went in knowing only the basics of this crew.) She was very surprised at how much she loved it.
I honestly feel like this was my Christmas gift. An excellent cherry on top after a fantastic DragonCon.
I'm happy to share this experience with you all, and glad you all had similar ones and shared them on this thread.
I got unexpectedly emotional watching the beginning credits. I really felt like I was going back in time to being a kid, wide eyed at watching STAR TREK in a theater.
It was a fantastic experience! Even my wife, who really only went to keep me company, was fully engrossed and loved the movie! (She will not watch TOS because she feels it is too campy and looks too dated, so she went in knowing only the basics of this crew.) She was very surprised at how much she loved it.
I honestly feel like this was my Christmas gift. An excellent cherry on top after a fantastic DragonCon.
I'm happy to share this experience with you all, and glad you all had similar ones and shared them on this thread.
I don't know what kind of comment you're referring to here or why you insist it's coming from the back.
They letterboxed your movie for you (didn't want to put it on a screen appropriate to the movie in question).Just watched this amazing film in the cinema with my friends. It was a pretty packed cinema showing too which was surprising. I didn’t expect an old Star Trek movie to be so popular still.
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