LOLwhut?
Disclaimer: The following review is MY OPINION. Please dont get your panties in a bunch if you dont agree with it, nor feel I am starting trouble by expressing MY OPINION.
OK, I dont usually catch movies as soon as they come out and often wait for DVD releases. So I just got done with JJ Abram's rendition of Star Trek yesterday and...
I didn't really know what to make of it. I can sum it up like this: it's like finding a diamond in a pile of shit.
1. Acting: outstanding (by some). Portrayals of Scotty, Chekhov, Sulu, Bones and Spock where right on.
2. Direction/Production/Special Effects: another win. We finally get to appreciate the internal size of the Enterprise among other things.
3. Character development: Sucked!!!
Romulans came across like greasy humans with pointy ears and tattooed faces. Didn't come across as another alien species at all.
Vulcans came across, again as just humans with pointy ears. Their stoic disposition compromised by subtle emotional attitudes and demeanor. However, Spock came across as more Vulcan than the pure-blood Vulcans...and he's half human. Maybe that was intentional...I dont know.
Gratuitous sex: a sign of an adolescent mind eager to prove "that there is nothing wrong with sex so I'll just show it to prove my point." I felt like I was watching a 1970s flick. A mature mind will say the same but also realize that sex has it's place in society and in film making as well. If it doesnt add to the film then it's just fapping material.
The whole Spock/Uhura love affair was just bizarre.Granted this movie is an alternate reality version of Star Trek (given you can have an old Spock and a young Spock living in the same universe together) but Spock and Uhura? C'mon guys. Next you'll be telling me Darth Vader built C-3PO.
Oh, wait...
Moving along...
Zaldana's portrayal of Uhura was lacking and unconvincing. She did not add to the dignified disposition nor the intellectual demeanor that Nichelle Nichols did to the character. The only thing they had in common was that they are both black, female, and wore 1960s min-skirts.
Kirk in bed with the green chick: Again, just gratuitous soft porn. The green chick came across as some cerebrally vacant white chick in green dye. Nothing more. If you are going to do this, make her exotic (you're getting it on with a freaking alien for crying out loud). Show us why Orion women are know as master's of seduction. Otherwise you just have a fetish for green skin. Shrek, never turn your back on Kirk, so Watch out!!
In short, this movie could have been renamed "Beverly Hills 90210 in Space."
Lastly: Kirk.
Boy I had trouble with his character. I know this is science fiction but as with all fiction, there has to be an element of reality to it, otherwise it's labeled "fantasy."
Since TOP GUN, we were led to beleive that rebels without a cause and those that buck against the system (especially in military like organizations) somehow win in the end for being, well...assholes.
It doesn't work that way in the real world.
Kirk came across as some punk kid that got extremely lucky and was advanced solely on the basis of that luck alone. Furthermore I failed to undertand how Spock, a Starfleet officer suddenly came under the command of this punk kid, or how Capt Pike decided to make him (Kirk) first officer in the first place.
I come from a military background so I have some concept of "chain of command." But this is fiction, so some logic was naturally thrown out the window to make the movie work, I guess.
The Future:
From what I've picked up on line there will be sequels. One thing I read in particular kept focusing on the Pon Farr scenes between Spock and Uhura. Pon Farr is just a fancy term for Vulcan sex.
That alone turned me off so I doubt I will be catching any sequels. No doubt Abrams wants to push the edge, so dont be surprised if Sulu's character comes out as gay in honor of George Takei. When it comes to homosexuality in science fiction I always say there are two possibilities:
1. It has become universally accepted and it doesn't even draw attention.
or
2. It doesn't exist anymore because a cure has been found for it.
#2 always gets people chomping at the bit, but that's another topic altogether.
Overall, StarTrek 2009 would have been a great movie but it fell short IMO.
1. Acting: outstanding (by some). Portrayals of Scotty, Chekhov, Sulu, Bones and Spock where right on.
2. Direction/Production/Special Effects: another win. We finally get to appreciate the internal size of the Enterprise among other things.
3. Character development: Sucked!!!
Romulans came across like greasy humans with pointy ears and tattooed faces. Didn't come across as another alien species at all.
Vulcans came across, again as just humans with pointy ears. Their stoic disposition compromised by subtle emotional attitudes and demeanor. However, Spock came across as more Vulcan than the pure-blood Vulcans...and he's half human. Maybe that was intentional...I dont know.
Gratuitous sex: a sign of an adolescent mind eager to prove "that there is nothing wrong with sex so I'll just show it to prove my point." I felt like I was watching a 1970s flick. A mature mind will say the same but also realize that sex has it's place in society and in film making as well. If it doesnt add to the film then it's just fapping material.
The whole Spock/Uhura love affair was just bizarre.
Oh, wait...
Moving along...
Zaldana's portrayal of Uhura was lacking and unconvincing. She did not add to the dignified disposition nor the intellectual demeanor that Nichelle Nichols did to the character. The only thing they had in common was that they are both black, female, and wore 1960s min-skirts.
Kirk in bed with the green chick: Again, just gratuitous soft porn. The green chick came across as some cerebrally vacant white chick in green dye. Nothing more. If you are going to do this, make her exotic (you're getting it on with a freaking alien for crying out loud). Show us why Orion women are know as master's of seduction. Otherwise you just have a fetish for green skin. Shrek, never turn your back on Kirk, so Watch out!!
In short, this movie could have been renamed "Beverly Hills 90210 in Space."
Lastly: Kirk.
Boy I had trouble with his character. I know this is science fiction but as with all fiction, there has to be an element of reality to it, otherwise it's labeled "fantasy."
Since TOP GUN, we were led to beleive that rebels without a cause and those that buck against the system (especially in military like organizations) somehow win in the end for being, well...assholes.
It doesn't work that way in the real world.
Kirk came across as some punk kid that got extremely lucky and was advanced solely on the basis of that luck alone. Furthermore I failed to undertand how Spock, a Starfleet officer suddenly came under the command of this punk kid, or how Capt Pike decided to make him (Kirk) first officer in the first place.
I come from a military background so I have some concept of "chain of command." But this is fiction, so some logic was naturally thrown out the window to make the movie work, I guess.
1. Acting: outstanding (by some). Portrayals of Scotty, Chekhov, Sulu, Bones and Spock where right on.
2. Direction/Production/Special Effects: another win. We finally get to appreciate the internal size of the Enterprise among other things.
3. Character development: Sucked!!!
Romulans came across like greasy humans with pointy ears and tattooed faces. Didn't come across as another alien species at all.
Vulcans came across, again as just humans with pointy ears. Their stoic disposition compromised by subtle emotional attitudes and demeanor. However, Spock came across as more Vulcan than the pure-blood Vulcans...and he's half human. Maybe that was intentional...I dont know.
Gratuitous sex: a sign of an adolescent mind eager to prove "that there is nothing wrong with sex so I'll just show it to prove my point." I felt like I was watching a 1970s flick. A mature mind will say the same but also realize that sex has it's place in society and in film making as well. If it doesnt add to the film then it's just fapping material.
The whole Spock/Uhura love affair was just bizarre.
Oh, wait...
Moving along...
Zaldana's portrayal of Uhura was lacking and unconvincing. She did not add to the dignified disposition nor the intellectual demeanor that Nichelle Nichols did to the character. The only thing they had in common was that they are both black, female, and wore 1960s min-skirts.
Kirk in bed with the green chick: Again, just gratuitous soft porn. The green chick came across as some cerebrally vacant white chick in green dye. Nothing more. If you are going to do this, make her exotic (you're getting it on with a freaking alien for crying out loud). Show us why Orion women are know as master's of seduction. Otherwise you just have a fetish for green skin. Shrek, never turn your back on Kirk, so Watch out!!
In short, this movie could have been renamed "Beverly Hills 90210 in Space."
Lastly: Kirk.
Boy I had trouble with his character. I know this is science fiction but as with all fiction, there has to be an element of reality to it, otherwise it's labeled "fantasy."
Since TOP GUN, we were led to beleive that rebels without a cause and those that buck against the system (especially in military like organizations) somehow win in the end for being, well...assholes.
It doesn't work that way in the real world.
Kirk came across as some punk kid that got extremely lucky and was advanced solely on the basis of that luck alone. Furthermore I failed to undertand how Spock, a Starfleet officer suddenly came under the command of this punk kid, or how Capt Pike decided to make him (Kirk) first officer in the first place.
I come from a military background so I have some concept of "chain of command." But this is fiction, so some logic was naturally thrown out the window to make the movie work, I guess.
I agree with some of your observations. I don't agree that Scotty was a good characterisation - too much of a buffoon for my tastes. I agree that Uhura's characterisation lacked the magnetism of the original although I did think Saldana's performance was fine. I didn't have a problem with the Spock/Uhura relationship personally, although I loathe the transporter scene where they were snogging while on duty. Replace the overt kiss with a brief bit of finger rubbing that doesn't escape Kirk's notice and I would be far happier. I liked Chekov but I would have been happier if they had used Rand to even up the women a bit more instead of rejiggering his age just so they could include him.
I was mightily annoyed at the massive and baffling power leap given to transporters. They're telling a 2-hour story and I can't believe there wasn't a better way to resolve that plot point than removing one of the best limiting factors on the technology (i.e. very limited range). Bonkers.
I agree that common sense was thrown out of the window once too often for the sake of expediency (stumbling across Spock in a cave - wtf) and I didn't like the fact that Kirk's attitude was considered to be a good thing. Let's not forget that his decision to pursue Nero before being sent to Delta Vega WAS WRONG and would have led to the Enterprise being destroyed. It was only after gaining additional information from Spock Prime about the Jellyfish that he was able to save the day and yet he is commended for his judgment - the same judgment that led him to decide to beam only two crewmen across to an enemy ship during their window of opportunity. If either one of them had been injured or killed (and Kirk was almost killed 3 times) that part of the mission would have failed.
I didn't have a major problem with the jokey sex scenes per se but I'm concerned that those scenes represented a large portion of the screen time given to any of the women (apart from the mothers). When the few women in the movie are primarily sex objects, moms, and girlfriends, they need to reconsider their 21st century sci fi credentials.
Overall the movie was a lot of fun but it was also quite dumb.
Disclaimer: The following review is MY OPINION. Please dont get your panties in a bunch if you dont agree with it, nor feel I am starting trouble by expressing MY OPINION.
OK, I dont usually catch movies as soon as they come out and often wait for DVD releases. So I just got done with JJ Abram's rendition of Star Trek yesterday and...
I didn't really know what to make of it. I can sum it up like this: it's like finding a diamond in a pile of shit.
1. Acting: outstanding (by some). Portrayals of Scotty, Chekhov, Sulu, Bones and Spock where right on.
2. Direction/Production/Special Effects: another win. We finally get to appreciate the internal size of the Enterprise among other things.
3. Character development: Sucked!!!
Romulans came across like greasy humans with pointy ears and tattooed faces. Didn't come across as another alien species at all.
Vulcans came across, again as just humans with pointy ears. Their stoic disposition compromised by subtle emotional attitudes and demeanor. However, Spock came across as more Vulcan than the pure-blood Vulcans...and he's half human. Maybe that was intentional...I dont know.
Gratuitous sex: a sign of an adolescent mind eager to prove "that there is nothing wrong with sex so I'll just show it to prove my point." I felt like I was watching a 1970s flick. A mature mind will say the same but also realize that sex has it's place in society and in film making as well. If it doesnt add to the film then it's just fapping material.
The whole Spock/Uhura love affair was just bizarre.
Oh, wait...
Moving along...
Zaldana's portrayal of Uhura was lacking and unconvincing. She did not add to the dignified disposition nor the intellectual demeanor that Nichelle Nichols did to the character. The only thing they had in common was that they are both black, female, and wore 1960s min-skirts.
Kirk in bed with the green chick: Again, just gratuitous soft porn. The green chick came across as some cerebrally vacant white chick in green dye. Nothing more. If you are going to do this, make her exotic (you're getting it on with a freaking alien for crying out loud). Show us why Orion women are know as master's of seduction. Otherwise you just have a fetish for green skin. Shrek, never turn your back on Kirk, so Watch out!!
In short, this movie could have been renamed "Beverly Hills 90210 in Space."
Lastly: Kirk.
Boy I had trouble with his character. I know this is science fiction but as with all fiction, there has to be an element of reality to it, otherwise it's labeled "fantasy."
Since TOP GUN, we were led to beleive that rebels without a cause and those that buck against the system (especially in military like organizations) somehow win in the end for being, well...assholes.
It doesn't work that way in the real world.
Kirk came across as some punk kid that got extremely lucky and was advanced solely on the basis of that luck alone. Furthermore I failed to undertand how Spock, a Starfleet officer suddenly came under the command of this punk kid, or how Capt Pike decided to make him (Kirk) first officer in the first place.
I come from a military background so I have some concept of "chain of command." But this is fiction, so some logic was naturally thrown out the window to make the movie work, I guess.
The Future:
From what I've picked up on line there will be sequels. One thing I read in particular kept focusing on the Pon Farr scenes between Spock and Uhura. Pon Farr is just a fancy term for Vulcan sex.
That alone turned me off so I doubt I will be catching any sequels. No doubt Abrams wants to push the edge, so dont be surprised if Sulu's character comes out as gay in honor of George Takei. When it comes to homosexuality in science fiction I always say there are two possibilities:
1. It has become universally accepted and it doesn't even draw attention.
or
2. It doesn't exist anymore because a cure has been found for it.
#2 always gets people chomping at the bit, but that's another topic altogether.
Overall, StarTrek 2009 would have been a great movie but it fell short IMO.
