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Star Trek

What rating would you give "Star Trek"?  

5 members have voted

  1. 1. What rating would you give "Star Trek"?

    • 5. It's great, I loved it!
      1
    • 4. It's good
      2
    • 3. It's average
      0
    • 2. It's not that good
      0
    • 1. I hated it!
      3


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Original Review from Star Trek (2009) Reviews

 

Amazing!

 

I went into this film with ideas of reboot dominating my thoughts. While I was optimistic, all the talk of it being one had truly contaminated my perceptions to the point I didn't think I was going to be seeing a Star Trek film at all. I expected just another Hollywood popcorn flick that would have very little in common with what I know Trek to be. My only hope lay in the multiple reviews I'd read singing it's praises, but could they be trusted to understand Trek as I do?

 

Well the film soon straightened me out about a few things. From the opening scenes this puppy was oozing a Star Trek vibe that caught me by surprise. Having properly hooked me, the film then took control of the situation, dictating terms on how this was going to go down. It was telling me what and when to think and feel, I became it's bitch. It slapped the mental notebook I'd brought along to record nitpicks with out of my thoughts. I thought I heard a voice whispering in my ear saying, forget ll all the bull you heard, forget your fears. Buckle up and prepare to go somewhere you haven't gone for a very long time. Comforted, I completely forgot all the fear and paranoia of something terrible happening to Star Trek. I remember saying to myself: This is Star Trek.

 

Then the opening sequence rolled and I realized the teaser section alone was worth the price of admission.

 

The rest was gravy. A delightful mix of the familiar with a dash of difference thrown in for flavor. Original Series dishes worthy of a 5 star restaurant were lavishly brought out & served with flair, OS style and in just the right proportions to keep me from being filled up too early. Whenever I thought I saw a fly in the dish I would remember TOS wasn't without its bugs, (Spock's Brain anyone?) leading to a smile and a dismissal.

 

On the Technology. Very big, shiny and different but at the same time very played down here and that is how it should be imo. The tech should take a back seat to the characters and story. I know Tech will and does play a part in our lives but it should be a very limited part of the Trek story with only a few exceptions where the story demnds it. I know some people really like that part of Trek but I think it was partly responsible for killing old Trek. How the ship works became more important than why it existed in the first place. I hope NuTrek always keeps the Tech as low key as possible.

 

On the characters. While I never specifically felt a Kirk moment from Chris Pine I accept him as a younger Kirk. I do expect more Kirkisms to emerge from Pines performances of him in future sequels.

Zachary Quinto is visually a fine stand in for Spock. His sound is off but the writing, which is spot on imo, makes it easy to suspend disbelief.

Karl Urban has been taken over by DeForrest Kelly!

Yes Roy, Zoe Saldana is hot but is she Uhura? I didn't see Uhura with her except in the writing, the writing was for Uhura but I didn't see Uhura in the performances. I'll look more closely next time...

Simon Pegg, John Cho & Anton Yelchin were fine as Scott, Sulu and Chekov.

Spock Prime was brilliantly written and performed by Nimoy!

Eric Bana's performance as Nero probably would have felt pretty flat if I hadn't read Countdown.

I absolutely love what they did with the character of Chis Pike which leads us to this films biggest flaw or accomplishment depending on your POV; the timeline. I m not going into that here though as a hundred threads about it will undoubtedly be started about it so I will wait and address it in them.

 

I really like the new Trek Theme. I hope the DVD has a "soundtrack" only option as I have heard the soundtrack release and I don't like it as much as I do the films actual soundtrack.

 

The movie does partially explain a fair number of back story plot points but if you want a more detailed story on events leading up to this flick I recommend you pick up a copy of Countdown. It is not necessary to understand this film but it does enhance the experience. (Knowing the origins of the Narada and Jellyfish, for examples.)

 

Bottom line: Do you like TOS and want to see a story crafted and told in a similar style again? See Star Trek.

 

Not a big TOS fan but open to seeing a Star Trek film which pays homage to the series which started it all? See Star Trek.

 

Were you never a Star Trek fan at all but like a good movie with humor, drama and fun audience participation? See Star Trek.

 

In the end, Star Trek takes a bold direction which may, no, will challenge hardcore fan ideas about what is possible within its, IMO, silly 'rules' of what is possible in the Star Trek Universe. You're either going to like it or hate it but either way, "Star Trek" is Star Trek.

 

Addendum coming soon...

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So here it is one year later and I wanted to update my above review to include how I feel about it now.

 

One major change is what rating I give it. I originally gave it a 5 but the passage of time and some repeated viewings have dulled some of the shine, I now give it a 4. I take points off for some minor nitpicks. Ironically my nitpicks are the same kind of things I pick nits of TOS for so I guess they could be called homages. :clap:

 

Some of you may care to hear how I now feel about the 'big issues' this film brings; no more Prime Universe, the timeline has been reset, etc. I still don't.

I still believe Trek as a product was dead on the vine. I doubt any story using any series or characters could have re-fertilized the Franchise back to life. I will say I do miss the PU, it was a forty year relationship so naturally I feel some loss but that Universe will live on in Novels and such so I could revisit it when ever I want.

 

I remain energized with the promise this reboot brings of boldly going somewhere I have never been before.

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I haven't watched it for about 5 or 6 months, maybe a little longer. I have been planning on watching all of the Star Trek movies again this summer though so I'll eventually get to that one. Right now I have about 20 days off so I could watch one every other night and be done right when my time off ends.

 

I initially gave it a 5 too but as of right now have also lowered it to a 4. I doubt my opinions have changed in terms of what I didn't like, that doesn't mean I didn't like the movie. Just that I didn't like what they did and hope to see them correct their mistakes down the road.

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If by 'correct mistakes' you mean, reset us back to the Original Universe, I hope not. At least not yet. I'd be a bigger mistake not to take advantage of this Universe for at least a Trilogy. I really want to see how things play out here. Just as the original Mirror Universe got some fleshing out in DS9 I'd like to know more about the Nu-Mirrorverse.

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If by 'correct mistakes' you mean, reset us back to the Original Universe, I hope not. At least not yet. I'd be a bigger mistake not to take advantage of this Universe for at least a Trilogy. I really want to see how things play out here. Just as the original Mirror Universe got some fleshing out in DS9 I'd like to know more about the Nu-Mirrorverse.

It wouldn't matter to me if they took 3 movies to get the Trek universe back to 'normal', if I knew for a fact that they were going to do that then I could enjoy the movies more now. I didn't like it one bit when they killed Spock in TWOK, they fixed that by the end of ST III and filled in the story more in ST IV. If they did something similar here I'd be more than happy.

 

With the mirror universe in DS9 they didn't really alter what had happened previously, they just carried it to the next step. What happened after Kirk meddled in their business? How did their universe develope once Mirror Spock had been influenced by Good Kirk? Then they just put the click on fast forward for the 80 or whatever years between then and DS9. How did the universe develope? That was a cool thing to see.

 

I look forward to seeing how they'll develope the coming movies and just hope that they don't have the attitude of "Star Trek before 2009 sucked and now WE have to fix it". I also hope they stop trying to merge Star Wars with Star Trek. I love Star Wars and would just as quickly go to a Star Wars convention as I would a Star Trek convention, but the two shouldn't be mixed on the screen.

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Neither does the new movie really alter what came before, the writers have stated that was their intent. They both occur in different realities. (The movie c/should have made that more clear)

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Neither does the new movie really alter what came before, the writers have stated that was their intent. They both occur in different realities. (The movie c/should have made that more clear)
Yeah, and I don't really want to rehash all the old arguments of how this is a "different kind of time travel" but the precedent had already been laid out in the previous 700+ hours of existing Star Trek that any alterations in the timeline would affect the entire timeline.

 

If they're saying that this is an alternate universe then that's ok but they should actually come out and say that this isn't the "real" Star Trek universe. If they have said that I just missed it, which is very possible because I haven't had a whole lot of time to follow much of anything for the past year.

 

The last thing I remember though is that they were saying that this is the "real" Star Trek universe. If that's the case, which again I could be wrong on, but if that's the case that their intention is that this is the "real" Star Trek universe then they really did alter some things. The argument could be made that the altered things were minor, but the alterations would be there none the less.

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Well I don't want rehash any arguments either but, Star Trek Canon has also previously laid out that AU's exist and so does the possibility of passing between them given the correct circumstances and that is what we have here.

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Well I don't want rehash any arguments either but, Star Trek Canon has also previously laid out that AU's exist and so does the possibility of passing between them given the correct circumstances and that is what we have here.

That's my biggest question about the new movie, is this an alternate universe (officially) or an altered timeline? Has it ever been stated?

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From a TrekMovie.Com Q&A session:

 

Vapad: When watching this film there, nowhere does it say or implied that it is a alternate timeline. It’s not there, and I think Bob is grasping for straws.

 

BobOrci: Uhura says it, and I quote, “An alternate reality.” To which Spock responds, “Precisely.” And then Kirk and Spock debate it, with Spock telling him that Nero’s actions, beginning with the attack on the Kelvin, have set them on a chain of events that neither side can predict because these are alternate events. But I will agree that it goes by so fast that you may need to see the movie, with friends, 20 or 390 times to really catch it.

 

See? An Alternate reality not altered reality.

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From a TrekMovie.Com Q&A session:

 

Vapad: When watching this film there, nowhere does it say or implied that it is a alternate timeline. It’s not there, and I think Bob is grasping for straws.

 

BobOrci: Uhura says it, and I quote, “An alternate reality.” To which Spock responds, “Precisely.” And then Kirk and Spock debate it, with Spock telling him that Nero’s actions, beginning with the attack on the Kelvin, have set them on a chain of events that neither side can predict because these are alternate events. But I will agree that it goes by so fast that you may need to see the movie, with friends, 20 or 390 times to really catch it.

 

See? An Alternate reality not altered reality.

I read that last year, didn't really like what I read if I recall. Didn't really agree with it either. In fact I think it just made me dislike the directors that much more lol.

 

Like I said, I won't rehash a bunch of the issues. I personally just hope they fix those issues by the end of how ever many installments they make. If they don't then as far as my DVD shelf goes, the new cast movies will either be non-existent or if I do get them will sit with the final TNG DVD and be treated like a "red headed stepchild" (no offense intended toward actual redheaded step-children lol).

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Just the fact of an Orion Slave Girl being in Starfleet shows a lack of research on the part of the writers. They just wanted to have the "cool green chick" in the movie. They didn't take into account the past history of Orion females and their ability to control human males.

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Just the fact of an Orion Slave Girl being in Starfleet shows a lack of research on the part of the writers. They just wanted to have the "cool green chick" in the movie. They didn't take into account the past history of Orion females and their ability to control human males.

 

Remember, history changed in this Universe after the Narada appeared, so it works.

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Just the fact of an Orion Slave Girl being in Starfleet shows a lack of research on the part of the writers. They just wanted to have the "cool green chick" in the movie. They didn't take into account the past history of Orion females and their ability to control human males.

 

Remember, history changed in this Universe after the Narada appeared, so it works.

How does that change a races body chemistry though?

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Just the fact of an Orion Slave Girl being in Starfleet shows a lack of research on the part of the writers. They just wanted to have the "cool green chick" in the movie. They didn't take into account the past history of Orion females and their ability to control human males.

 

Remember, history changed in this Universe after the Narada appeared, so it works.

How does that change a races body chemistry though?

 

Oh, I was talking about an Orion chick being in Starfleet.

 

It was never said she couldn't control him, for all we know their being together was her idea.

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Someone said once that, either in the comic book or the novelization, Kirk used her to rewrite the code for the Kobyashi Maru that allowed him to "cheat". That doesn't mean she wasn't trying to seduce Kirk already, just that Kirk was able to use it to his advantage.

 

Or maybe the seductive drive is simply stronger in some women and weaker in others.

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Just the fact of an Orion Slave Girl being in Starfleet shows a lack of research on the part of the writers. They just wanted to have the "cool green chick" in the movie. They didn't take into account the past history of Orion females and their ability to control human males.

 

Remember, history changed in this Universe after the Narada appeared, so it works.

How does that change a races body chemistry though?

 

Oh, I was talking about an Orion chick being in Starfleet.

 

It was never said she couldn't control him, for all we know their being together was her idea.

I'm not talking just about Kirk and that specific Orion female, I'm talking about all Orion females and all human males. Starfleet could never allow the Orions into Starfleet because of the potential of the Orions just using their females to completely take over the Federation without even firing a shot.

 

Having an Orion female in Starfleet might have looked cool to some Star Wars writers but it doesn't fit in a Star Trek universe.

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I'm not talking just about Kirk and that specific Orion female, I'm talking about all Orion females and all human males. Starfleet could never allow the Orions into Starfleet because of the potential of the Orions just using their females to completely take over the Federation without even firing a shot.

 

Having an Orion female in Starfleet might have looked cool to some Star Wars writers but it doesn't fit in a Star Trek universe.

 

Oh come on. In TMP Lt. Ilia had to take an oath of celibacy to be allowed to serve. Even still all she had to do was smile at Sulu - SULU!! - and he turned into a major klutz.

 

We really don't know that much about Orion female physiology, just bits and poeces from TOS. Maybe the seductive drive can be turned on and off at will.

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I'm not talking just about Kirk and that specific Orion female, I'm talking about all Orion females and all human males. Starfleet could never allow the Orions into Starfleet because of the potential of the Orions just using their females to completely take over the Federation without even firing a shot.

 

Having an Orion female in Starfleet might have looked cool to some Star Wars writers but it doesn't fit in a Star Trek universe.

 

Oh come on. In TMP Lt. Ilia had to take an oath of celibacy to be allowed to serve. Even still all she had to do was smile at Sulu - SULU!! - and he turned into a major klutz.

 

We really don't know that much about Orion female physiology, just bits and poeces from TOS. Maybe the seductive drive can be turned on and off at will.

We know more a lot more about them than from TOS, didn't you watch the Enterprise episode "Bound"? Had it not been for T'Pol they'd have taken completel control of the Enterprise.

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We know more a lot more about them than from TOS, didn't you watch the Enterprise episode "Bound"? Had it not been for T'Pol they'd have taken completel control of the Enterprise.

Is that the one where they captured T'Pol and put her up for auction? If a sexually repressed Vulcan female can do better in an auction than a horny Orion female that tells you something right there.

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We know more a lot more about them than from TOS, didn't you watch the Enterprise episode "Bound"? Had it not been for T'Pol they'd have taken completel control of the Enterprise.

Is that the one where they captured T'Pol and put her up for auction? If a sexually repressed Vulcan female can do better in an auction than a horny Orion female that tells you something right there.

No, it's the one where a trio of Orion females take over the Enterprise.

 

Bound__ENT_episode_.jpg

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I'm not saying Orion females can't make themselves irresistable to human males. I'm just saying it might be something that can be turned on and off as it suits them. The movie Orion might have wanted Kirk to respect her for her mind (yeah, right).

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I got my wife and two youngest to watch it and they loved it. Now my wife will watch TNG with me when on SyFy Channel. Next I am going too introduce them too some old Star Trek Movies.

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I've tried to watch it a couple times over the past 2 weeks and just can't get into it. I normally don't have a problem watching movies that I've already seen, even if I've seen them multiple times but this one I just can't get into.

 

As time goes by the little annoyances just make me hit the fast forward button and eventually I just shut if off and find something else to watch.

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I didn't like the movie when it came out and time hasn't changed my opinion.

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