Madame Butterfly's Review

[Madame Butterfly 0]

May 10

Star Trek

 

 

 

I do not define myself as a Trekkie or Trekker or any of those titles that apply to those who love Trek.

 

I do not read the novels, I do not own the DVD's and I especially do not watch the reruns.

 

Why? Because Trek became something it was not intended to be, in my opinion, when Voyager took to the airways, and especially when Enterprise did. The movies were more often than not "flat", no matter what beloved character was up there on the big screen.

 

Now, I'm not saying it's wrong for others to have enjoyed those series or films. I'm happy you found something that brought you to the world of Trek, though I have considered for years that Trek has splintered into something that I had no love for, it had become defined by those who didn't have "the vision" and made it tired and boring.

 

I never gave up hope, but for me, Trek had become a golden memory of watching the TOS reruns with my brothers as kids, and of falling in love with Jean Luc and that sexxxy accent, loving the quirky Q and the way they took that series. eventually coming to accept DS9 as a completely different yet viable alternate type of Trek.

 

It was interesting to watch all the early nay sayers over at STD.com. Wow, so much hate for a film that they'd never even "seen". What had happened to the open minds that were supposed to be a part of Trek? It seemed another confirmation that the way I viewed Trek was much different than those who chose to actively spend time on a site dedicated to a series that was hopeful and imaginative, that had spirit and belief that anything is possible as long as you dare to try, to be that one person who can make a difference.

 

The theatre was packed. Two theatres dedicated to this time, and both were filled completely, and the IMAX that started 45 minutes earlier was completely sold out. Alot of families in there, lots of new blood to either get converted to the "original" sci-fi that has birthed so much to those young ones, or to scare them away from Trek for good.

 

I was nervous today when I sat down to watch this film. Nervous because I really wanted the film to be good; nervous that the lady in front of me who couldn't seem to sit still through the previews as going to get my Dr. Pepper poured all over her if she bothered my enjoyment of the film; nervous because I wanted to be on a fantastic ride that would make my deeply hidden love of Trek be able to feel prideful again, instead of just putting it away for good as a happy childhood memory and honestly, I wanted my kids to enjoy Trek just like I had.

 

In the end, I loved it and so did my kids. My eldest called it "epic" and fell for Spock which fits, she is the most vulcan of my children.

 

I will not call out what I consider to be petty things, like the lights around the bridge. Instead I would like to all out all those things they did right, which was damn near everything.

 

It's pretty damn obvious that with this film that Trek has gotten the boost it needed, effectively letting us hold on to those classic and awesome episodes that we all cherish, and remember affectionately, and yet the biggest gift is that it can all be done again, and there don't have to be these absolutely pathetic cannon fights that rage wedges between fans.

 

The core to Trek was the ensemble cast, and they are all there again. I do not have any issues with how much "screen time" some got compared to others, I love that they all got their due and got to show exactly why they were considered to be amongst the best that make up the Enterprise. I think this extra effort goes to show why those series that took the time to have character development were so beloved and they're setting the seeds for that to happen again in future installments of this franchise.

 

I loved the casting [xcept Ryder] and had to laugh out loud at Tyler Perry being in the film. Is he a huge Trek fan or something? Indeed I sat there through all the credits and just to enjoy it while my children went on to tell me how much they loved the movie, what characters sparked their interests and asking me back stories so that everything is not an inside joke to them.

 

Bravo to those who made this Trek fan proud to be able to say so again.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Awesome.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

When most people think of what is Star Trek they think of TOS, TNG, and the movies. When most people think of DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, the books and comic books and maybe TAS (to the extent they think of TAS at all) the thought is "Yeah, those things are out there too, but I don't really know much about them."

[trekz 7]

Wow, great review! I'm very glad your kids enjoyed it, because new fans will keep this fanchise going for decades, hopefully. (And I always sit through all the credits too!) I share your feeling to some extent with VOY and ENT. I liked them but was never as passionate over them as the previous series. With VOY, I'm sorry, but you knew they were going to get home, and that would be the final episode. ENT had difficulty finding it's rhythm, and lost viewers when it faltered, and when it finally seemed to get on a roll, it was cancelled, and ended the long run of Televsion Trek! I'm going to see ST for the second time, but the first with my significant other, this weekend, and will write my review afterward.

[Madame Butterfly 0]

The beauty of it is that my kids now will watch TOS with me and don't care so much about Star Wars. LOL.

 

Yes, we laugh and joke about how far technology has come as far as the aliens and special affects, but they're much more open to it all, and most of all they like the message of Trek, which I think has been lost over the years.

[trekz 7]

Interestingly, it was Pike and Spock Prime that seemed to speak to the core values and message of the federation the most eloquently. The rest of the crew spoke more through action than words. i think they may have to write carefully or subsequent movies may be pushing PG 13 with Kirk, the young Spock and Uhura ...