Nostalgia is good. And you don't go to a Trek film in expectation of Oscar-caliber quality.
Why Star Trek MOVs are hit and miss...
- Thread starter Vulcanian
- Start date
TMP should have won for special effects.
And the shat should have won for the Eulogy of Spock :thumbsup:
The first Star Trek movie was the only thing new in Trek and was big because of that. You can say the same for the next 3 but they were also well written in a sequenced. You lived those characters life in that timeline for the year if you watch them back to back. You didn't get that feel in 5 and 6(although I like 6) and Generations isn't a good movie. FC and Ins are good movies IMO. And I liked Nem too but it would have been better if it was cut right.
I disagree with the concept that playing to the fans is the way to go. Any artistic endeavor, especially film, is best when the filmmakers just concentrate on making a good film. Star Trek fans will go see a *good* Star Trek movie if it's exciting even if it doesn't pander to in-jokes and pre-established villains and plots.
One reason the original Star Wars worked so well is that Lucas threw out the opening exposition and just tossed the audience into the action as it was going, and let them figure it out. They did. If done right, it works.
One reason the original Star Wars worked so well is that Lucas threw out the opening exposition and just tossed the audience into the action as it was going, and let them figure it out. They did. If done right, it works.
Diehard ST fans are estimated to be 10% of cinema audiences.
There's a great quote from an interview Nick Meyer did with The New York Times back when TWOK came out:
^The Borg were!
^I was fourteen. And Soran was a pretty good villain. It's Malcolm McDowell, after all, and he pulled the madman thing off quite convincingly.
I seem to be in the minority here, but I was fine with the movies being two-part episodes with bigger budgets. When I went to see, or rented in the case of Nemesis, the TNG movies all I wanted to see was the gang reunited for a fun adventure. Nemesis is the only Star Trek film I have a problem with, the rest are all solid movies of varying quality.
Am I the only one who doesn't think Soran is a mad man in Generations?
Soran? I just watched Generations two nights ago. It definetly feels like a movie, and the story of it overall is pretty classic Trek.
Soran isn't a "madman" in the sense of being insane. I get the impression that part of the metaphor of the Nexus is hard drug addiction. When Guinan tells Picard, "you won't care about anything, and you won't want to come back", the only thing in our world that parallels it that I can think of is something like crack cocaine or heroin. Soran I think of as the junkie that's completely given over to it. In every scene he's in, he also looks mostly pale, sweaty, unhealthy. Although it must be mentioned it was 100 degrees + on that scaffold set where the Kirk death scenes were done. Run around in a black suit in scorching desert heat, there's show biz for you.
Soran isn't a "madman" in the sense of being insane. I get the impression that part of the metaphor of the Nexus is hard drug addiction. When Guinan tells Picard, "you won't care about anything, and you won't want to come back", the only thing in our world that parallels it that I can think of is something like crack cocaine or heroin. Soran I think of as the junkie that's completely given over to it. In every scene he's in, he also looks mostly pale, sweaty, unhealthy. Although it must be mentioned it was 100 degrees + on that scaffold set where the Kirk death scenes were done. Run around in a black suit in scorching desert heat, there's show biz for you.
I think another reason the movies are hit and miss is because they are essentially stripped down and ramped up versions of Star Trek episodes. There is little room in a motion picture for the nuances that a television series allows for, you have more time to tell a story, explore various characters, etc. In a movie...in this case a science fiction adventure movie...you have under two hours (I wonder how long Trek XI will be?) to tell your story and pace it appriately with enough action to entertain and satisify your audience. Not only this...but you have to tell it in a way that people who have never seen your product before will be able to enjoy it. This was one of the problems that Joss Whedeon had with "Serenity" it was set up to be a continuation of the television series but also constructed to be a stand alone movie. I think this is a big reason why film adaptions of movies and you could say the same for novels are hit and misses. You have to modify so much.
Some modifications of Trek, other TV and books have been pretty good.
You could suggest that Soran is simply a very driven man with an agenda if you wanted to avoid calling him a mad man. I think the reason for calling him such in the first place is because he's willing to sacrifice billions of people in order to get back in the Nexus...that's pretty crazy if you ask me.
