TUC: Overrated?

[Simon Goldfarb]

For me, this one is a mixed bag of good things and banality.

The Good: The camaraderie between the big three, the sets, the make up and score.

The Bad: It's dull. It gets by on a sort of 'This is the last one so be nice to us for old times sake' mentality. It expects us to overlook the misplaced and basic detective plot and give them a pass just for being on screen again.

I wanted to like it more than I do - I really did - but this one just doesn't do it for me. It lacks spark. I guess I expected something bigger and more engaging for a farewell.


How do you feel about it?

 

[BillJ]

I like it.

 

[urbandefault]

I like it.

Yeah, me too.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I didn't much care for it.

 

[Melakon]

It works for me, but a lot depends if one is willing to accept Nicholas Meyer's interpretation of Star Trek. The detective story influence is nothing new for Meyer, because he first gained fame for his Sherlock Holmes novel, The Seven Percent Solution.

 

[RoJoHen]

It's my favorite one.

 

[TheSubCommander]

For me, this one is a mixed bag of good things and banality.

The Good: The camaraderie between the big three, the sets, the make up and score.

The Bad: It's dull. It gets by on a sort of 'This is the last one so be nice to us for old times sake' mentality. It expects us to overlook the misplaced and basic detective plot and give them a pass just for being on screen again.

I wanted to like it more than I do - I really did - but this one just doesn't do it for me. It lacks spark. I guess I expected something bigger and more engaging for a farewell.


How do you feel about it?

Don't necessarily disagree with some of your points, but I thought it was alright. It's not as good as TWOK, TSFS, and is about on the same level as TVH for me, and makes a good bookend for TMP. TUC made up for TFF, and was a decent enough sendoff for the TOS crew. It was a better sendoff treatment than Nemesis was.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

It's my second favourite TOS movie.

There are a few little bits in there that are annoying or don't feel quite right, but overall its a film I happily go back to. The E-A bridge in this film is possibly my favourite bridge design.

 

[Smellmet]

I think it's a good film and a great Star Trek movie. It's not perfect, but the whole film has a dose of quality that was so lacking from the previous entry, the sets and visual effects were all first rate, the humor was mostly well judged - they wisely strayed away from us laughing at what bumbling geriatrics they all seemed to be in TFF.

I just enjoyed the more serious tone of it over it's predecessor, to be honest I find very little to criticise The Undiscovered Country. I don't think they could have done much better with the technology of the time and the money they had. One of the top 3 TOS movies for me.

 

[Bisz]

I'm with the majority, I like it and would put it near the top of the TOS film list.

 

[Memory Alpha]

When I was a kid it was my favorite movie, and I still like it a lot. I can mention a few things about the plot and the "whodunnit" part that don't hold water for me, but otherwise, I love it. It was a major rebound from ST V, and I think at the time that was the main goal, and to give the original crew a big sendoff. It achieved all that.

 

[urbandefault]

I remember an interview with Nimoy from way back when, and he seemed excited that they'd got Meyer back for this one.

The other day I came across an old GMA segment before the release of VI, featuring short interviews with the actors. Doohan assured us there would be a VII, and Takei agreed. Sure enough, we got #7, but poor George didn't make the cut.

 

[Warped9]

TUC overrated?

Yes.


It's okay in a just watchable kind of way, but there is a lot of ridiculousness in it that keeps it from being more. And we also have Meyer's stamp on Trek that I've never much cared for.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

TUC overrated?

Yes.


It's okay in a just watchable kind of way, but there is a lot of ridiculousness in it that keeps it from being more. And we also have Meyer's stamp on Trek that I've never much cared for.

As T'Pring would say: "Specify."

For me, I didn't like the uniforms or militarism...although, TWOK is a legendary film even as a non-Trek film.

EDIT: I see you explained a bit in the 'other' Meyer thread in this area.

 

[Warped9]

TUC overrated?

Yes.


It's okay in a just watchable kind of way, but there is a lot of ridiculousness in it that keeps it from being more. And we also have Meyer's stamp on Trek that I've never much cared for.

As T'Pring would say: "Specify."

For me, I didn't like the uniforms or militarism...although, TWOK is a legendary film even as a non-Trek film.

You've touched on some of it. I don't like Meyer's "submarine in space" take on the Enterprise and the Buckingham Palace uniforms.

 

[Mudd]

Yep. Cheap and unimaginative, as well as too obviously derivative of The Hunt For Red October.

 

[fireproof78]

TUC is my favorite Trek film, and has been since I was 10.

Personally, I liked Meyer's take on Trek, and appreciate his more grounded feel. However, I get why people don't like Meyer and the militarism of Starfleet.

Still an interesting film. Enjoyed the novel too

 

[Galileo7]

I like it.

Yeah, me too.

Agree. One production design question I had was why they did not replicate the photon torpedo bay rooms from WOK for TUC. It would have been a nice continuity, albeit I know this was the 1701-A, not the 1701-refit.

 

[Captrek]

I consider it to be overrated, as it is widely considered one of the top two or three TOS films, and I place it fifth out of six. There's too much of the plot that just doesn't make sense.

It also contains my least favorite scene in all of the TOS films: Kirk ordering impulse drive in spacedock. It shows that he didn't learn his lesson from TWOK, which was all about him learning life lessons. It is even worse now than when it was made in '91, because it now reminds me of Captain Schettino's foolishness and the Costa Concordia disaster every time I see it.

 

[Smellmet]

It also contains my least favorite scene in all of the TOS films: Kirk ordering impulse drive in spacedock. It shows that he didn't learn his lesson from TWOK, which was all about him learning life lessons. It is even worse now than when it was made in '91, because it now reminds me of Captain Schettino's foolishness and the Costa Concordia disaster every time I see it.

I think that's a bit nitpicky IMO, surely it's not a deal breaker for the movie, it was Kirk's last outing in the big E, I think the scene is actually quite poignant, along with that shot of a proud scotty folding his arms watching the engines light up for one last time. It gives me a lump in my throat.

Amazing how people see things the opposite to yourself.