I have a G4 eMac and I've grown so accustomed to the fan that I don't hear it anymore. And I don't watch TV or the computer without lights on. Too hard on the eyes.
What do you diehard TOS fans think of the new movie?
- Thread starter treklover
- Start date
I was very disapponted. I felt like it was a slap in the face to TOS fans. The whole alternate universe thing seems awful to me, but I guess that is just how things are. It felt very juvenile to me, like a big budget action film. Budweiser and Nokia ads, profanity, motorcycles and muscle cars. Sigh...Most people I know felt similarly, but this board is full of people who loved it so I guess there were many opinions on it. Honestly, I was stunned by what I was seeing on screen.
I saw it for the first time this afternoon. I had resigned myself to many of those elements being necessary for a new audience, before I headed out. But even with the shock divergences, it felt strangely formulaic at the same time. Potted moments from the other films, expensively redone when they were perfect to begin with... Had the Kirk promotion scene had a Wookie growling in the background, it would've been pure Star Wars. I was disturbed to hear Christopher Pike say "Punch it" Han Solo-style instead of "Engage". I need more time to gather my thoughts. While entertaining, it felt utterly souless and even Leonard Nimoy's performance was strangely off... His part in the movie, was supposed to be main attraction for me.
Very much agreed.
I did not even notice the Budweiser ad but do not mind the advertising, the motorcycle or the classic sports car. Kirk would be a guy who acts like he did in the movie. But would have preferred to see a movie from the Enterprise series. Since I have seen TOS (too) many times this movie felt strange.
The pace was a bit too fast to my liking too. Were this not Trek, with different characters I probably would have enjoyed it more since there are some things one expects from Trek. Of course scifi movies are not done that often so it is better not to complain too much. It was good to have some humor although beaming to the bridge was too obvious.
You can only really paint Kirk as being "a guy who acts like he did in the movie" if you accept the alternate universe premise. I.e. I always imagined young Kirk as a mix of studious ("a walking stack of books"), adventurous, and a little bit sad after his experiences with Kodos. As portrayed, he was just a simplistic rebel.
I'll agree with the punch it line...I felt it was completely out of character for a Star Ship Captain to say that...I also didn't think it was funny which I think was the intended mark....
What is it with people bashing "Insurrection" !!?? it was a good, entertaining movie and it was classic TNG.
What's that?
Criminal?
Never thought of him as studious. Picard maybe but not Kirk.
Not true - there was the one scene where Chekov techno-babled about hiding behing Titan (and ALL the other characters looked at him with a "WTF are you saying?' look too)
I really, really, REALLY liked the movie. A lot.
Kirk is a character who evolved. As happens in long term forms like TV. Kirk as seen in WNMHGB is different than the Kirk we see by "Turnabout Intruder". And that Kirk is different than the one we see in the films. Part of that is the writers and part if that in the actor. In this case Shatner. The Kirk Shatner developed would be hard to believe as a "Walking Stack of books" or even the grim, somewhat burdened Kirk from the early first season. OTOH, the Kirk we see in the new movie seems very much like the Kirk Shatner played in later episodes and the movies. (Except for TMP, in which the character is more like the early Kirk)
I know I am in the minority. My intent is not to just 'stir the pot'. I've enjoyed Star Trek as much as anyone, which is why I have such a strong opinion about this movie. So give me a chance and hear me out.
This post is an extension of a thread I started at Rotten Tomatoes ST XI forum, which to my surprise has some viewers agreeing with me. In response to recent feedback I'll do my best to balance this post but make no mistake about it, I believe this is one of the worst Start Trek films ever produced.
I understand and agree with the need for a 'reboot", but certainly not at the expense of everything the classic Start Trek meant. One poster on RT responded that I should not look at what was but what the new ST is and cited some examples. Frankly I don't care what it is because so much of what made this an enduring series has been stripped away.
Ask yourself this question: If they were trying to establish a Star Trek franchise today, not just another summer sequel, using this film as a base, would it last? I think the answer is clearly... NO!
No one will remember this film.
This is at best a visually appealing romp that unfortunately fails to capture (in fact it seems to purposely neglect) the essence of Gene Roddenberry's original themes. This movie is less of a reboot than an excuse to lure a built in Trekkie fan base into another over produced CGI fest that sacrifices substance for visual appeal.
I'll admit in some scenes it's beautifully rendered and it's something past ST films needed.JJ Abrams' cast (via the vehicles of the screenplay and script) for the most part fails to carry the weight of this story and, to this reviewer at least, certainly doesn't seem capable of shouldering Star Trek's long legacy.
The scenes are clipped and disjointed sacrificing continuity and pace. Instead the actors' conflicted and somewhat manic (and supposedly humorous) performances only seem to serve as a painful respite between each overproduced action sequence. I've always considered such cinematography as was used in this film as a lazy way to build suspense and drama where none clearly exists. I can't think of a better example in recent history.
I do not fault the actors as I'm of the opinion that several are truly talented. Feature films are a director's medium. The characters as they are portrayed in this film are mostly a joke.
Leonard Nimoy's performance, through no fault of his own, seems out of place. As the only actor who would have been capable of grounding this farce by lending his considerable on screen weight, it really is a shame that his character was not properly developed, but then again none of them really had a chance.
The characters seem lost between a the roles of comedians and vulnerable heroes. Really, a 'flagship' crewed almost solely by teenagers? Ok, Kirk, Spock and some of the other crew are in their mid to late twenties, but let's face it, in context they are almost completely unbelievable . In the past ST universe pitch battles were often fought strategically. The weight of the event powered through. Now it's a slugfest with all guns blazing until something blows up beautifully, more work for ILM I guess.
In a vain attempt to recapture the wit and humor of the classic series they've instead filled the feature mostly with cheap slapstick hammy jokes delivered at the most inappropriate times. The dialogue is lacking and under developed, enough said there.
The story delivers little in terms science fiction believability and therefore lacks the chance to provide the escapist experience that most great sci-fi easily conveys. This was a franchise that always prided itself on developing its' sci fi tech to weave the story together.
The use of tech in STXI to fill in for the lazy writing is shameful. In a attempt to match the current trend of creating a gritty and urgent feel at every turn JJ Abrams has instead taken a step away from giving this movie and the future of the franchise any sense of identity. Only viewers who haven't had the opportunity to view the best of Star Trek's previous features will be taken in by the illusion.
Yes, I know that Star Trek needs to move on. That Shatner, Nimoy and the rest of the original cast will never be seen on screen again. That TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and the TNG films weren't perfect. But it was always STAR TREK and for the most part you always knew it.
Overall this latest rendition of Star Trek disappoints and doesn't deserve the title of space epic or even a reboot. It should be forgotten. Give the franchise a rest and begin again with a properly themed screenplay and script. One can only hope that this is not the direction that this venerable franchise will take moving forward.
This post is an extension of a thread I started at Rotten Tomatoes ST XI forum, which to my surprise has some viewers agreeing with me. In response to recent feedback I'll do my best to balance this post but make no mistake about it, I believe this is one of the worst Start Trek films ever produced.
I understand and agree with the need for a 'reboot", but certainly not at the expense of everything the classic Start Trek meant. One poster on RT responded that I should not look at what was but what the new ST is and cited some examples. Frankly I don't care what it is because so much of what made this an enduring series has been stripped away.
Ask yourself this question: If they were trying to establish a Star Trek franchise today, not just another summer sequel, using this film as a base, would it last? I think the answer is clearly... NO!
No one will remember this film.
This is at best a visually appealing romp that unfortunately fails to capture (in fact it seems to purposely neglect) the essence of Gene Roddenberry's original themes. This movie is less of a reboot than an excuse to lure a built in Trekkie fan base into another over produced CGI fest that sacrifices substance for visual appeal.
I'll admit in some scenes it's beautifully rendered and it's something past ST films needed.JJ Abrams' cast (via the vehicles of the screenplay and script) for the most part fails to carry the weight of this story and, to this reviewer at least, certainly doesn't seem capable of shouldering Star Trek's long legacy.
The scenes are clipped and disjointed sacrificing continuity and pace. Instead the actors' conflicted and somewhat manic (and supposedly humorous) performances only seem to serve as a painful respite between each overproduced action sequence. I've always considered such cinematography as was used in this film as a lazy way to build suspense and drama where none clearly exists. I can't think of a better example in recent history.
I do not fault the actors as I'm of the opinion that several are truly talented. Feature films are a director's medium. The characters as they are portrayed in this film are mostly a joke.
Leonard Nimoy's performance, through no fault of his own, seems out of place. As the only actor who would have been capable of grounding this farce by lending his considerable on screen weight, it really is a shame that his character was not properly developed, but then again none of them really had a chance.
The characters seem lost between a the roles of comedians and vulnerable heroes. Really, a 'flagship' crewed almost solely by teenagers? Ok, Kirk, Spock and some of the other crew are in their mid to late twenties, but let's face it, in context they are almost completely unbelievable . In the past ST universe pitch battles were often fought strategically. The weight of the event powered through. Now it's a slugfest with all guns blazing until something blows up beautifully, more work for ILM I guess.
In a vain attempt to recapture the wit and humor of the classic series they've instead filled the feature mostly with cheap slapstick hammy jokes delivered at the most inappropriate times. The dialogue is lacking and under developed, enough said there.
The story delivers little in terms science fiction believability and therefore lacks the chance to provide the escapist experience that most great sci-fi easily conveys. This was a franchise that always prided itself on developing its' sci fi tech to weave the story together.
The use of tech in STXI to fill in for the lazy writing is shameful. In a attempt to match the current trend of creating a gritty and urgent feel at every turn JJ Abrams has instead taken a step away from giving this movie and the future of the franchise any sense of identity. Only viewers who haven't had the opportunity to view the best of Star Trek's previous features will be taken in by the illusion.
Yes, I know that Star Trek needs to move on. That Shatner, Nimoy and the rest of the original cast will never be seen on screen again. That TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and the TNG films weren't perfect. But it was always STAR TREK and for the most part you always knew it.
Overall this latest rendition of Star Trek disappoints and doesn't deserve the title of space epic or even a reboot. It should be forgotten. Give the franchise a rest and begin again with a properly themed screenplay and script. One can only hope that this is not the direction that this venerable franchise will take moving forward.
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