Star Trek

[5150 Lego]

Saw the New Star Trek movie last night....

Fantastic movie. While not perfect (well lets be honest,what movie is?) J.J. Abrams did Gene Roddenberry proud. Great cast, great story and plot with great Character development. Every Actor was perfect for their said roles/characters. Very well done. Whats really cool is that unlike previous Star Trek movies, you could go into watching this knowing nothing about Star Trek and you would not get lost in the story. Highly recommended movie.

We can also use this to discuss other Star Trek movies/series if people would like.

[SWMAN]

I just saw this movie last night, and I don't share your same enthusiasm. While the special effects and battles were amazing, the story and character development were kind of weak. While the acting was good (except for the first 10 minutes), they did little to change the characters. While it was nice that Nimoy was in the movie, Nero (Eric Bana) for being the main bad guy was barely in the movie. He only had like 20 lines and wasn't really explained. Also, the story was had some holes and problems in it. Still, it was a lot better than most Star Trek movies and hopefully will have a sequel and maybe a TV series.

And here is my list of the good and bad movies.

Good:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek

Bad:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: Insurrections

And the TV Series.

Good:

The Next Generation

Deep Space Nine

Voyager

Enterprise

Bad:

The Original Series

Edited May 10, 2009 by SWMAN

[Tyrant]

I saw it Thursday night. I really liked it. I thought most of the portrayals were pretty good. Karl Urban's Bones was the best (though his character in the original series was one of the more lively so he actually had something to work with) and I thought new Spock was good. I do agree with the complaints about Nero. There just didn't seem to be much to him. I guess I thought there would be since they bothered to get a decent actor to play him. Or maybe I expected the guy who managed to succeed where so many have failed (alter the Star Trek timeline, likely for the worse) to be a somebody and not a nobody. Nemesis seems to be the only movie that may ever do any justice to the Romulans. That aside, I liked the movie. I especially loved the random red shirt death.

SWMAN your movie list and mine would be virtually identical. I would put Generations in the good column, but the rest would be the same. As for the shows, I thought DS9 was the best with TNG being second best. I was indifferent towards Voyager. I watched it for a while, then there were some local scheduling changes and I just didn't try to keep up with it. I liked most of the characters and the plot was somewhat novel (even if it was just a means to get them back to the "exploring the unknown" angle) but it had downsides (like how bad they neutered the Borg). Enterprise I never bothered to watch. The original I watch when I see it on. I used to watch it a lot. It was novel for it's time and being the origin of everything else, I can't outright call it bad.

[5150 Lego]

I just saw this movie last night, and I don't share your same enthusiasm. While the special effects and battles were amazing, the story and character development were kind of weak. While the acting was good (except for the first 10 minutes), they did little to change the characters.

Which is good. For a movie of this magnitude and for a franchise that has such a large following, its important not to change the characters in a way that they don't relate or portray the originals they were based on. I felt all the characters were easily recognizable and kept true to themselves.

While it was nice that Nimoy was in the movie, Nero (Eric Bana) for being the main bad guy was barely in the movie. He only had like 20 lines and wasn't really explained. Also, the story was had some holes and problems in it. Still, it was a lot better than most Star Trek movies and hopefully will have a sequel and maybe a TV series.

Actually, it was the lack of character development in Nero that make the movie more enjoyable for me. To me, this movie's main focus should have been about getting to know the original cast. I felt there was enough character development for him not to take away from the main cast.

And here is my list of the good and bad movies.

Good:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek

Bad:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: Insurrections

And the TV Series.

Good:

The Next Generation

Deep Space Nine

Voyager

Enterprise

Bad:

The Original Series

I felt that the 3rd movie was definitely one of the better ones. It introduced us to the Klingon's (on the big screen anyways) Actually, Star Trek the Motion Picture did,but they were only in it for a few minutes)). It did however, introduce us to the Bird Of Prey )

The original I watch when I see it on. I used to watch it a lot. It was novel for it's time and being the origin of everything else, I can't outright call it bad.

I agree. It was the base of what everything Star Trek was based on, so in essence, i really can't see putting it in the bad colum either.

[SWMAN]

SWMAN your movie list and mine would be virtually identical. I would put Generations in the good column, but the rest would be the same. As for the shows, I thought DS9 was the best with TNG being second best. I was indifferent towards Voyager. I watched it for a while, then there were some local scheduling changes and I just didn't try to keep up with it. I liked most of the characters and the plot was somewhat novel (even if it was just a means to get them back to the "exploring the unknown" angle) but it had downsides (like how bad they neutered the Borg). Enterprise I never bothered to watch. The original I watch when I see it on. I used to watch it a lot. It was novel for it's time and being the origin of everything else, I can't outright call it bad.

I really like Voyager. It was a really novel idea, with them being the only Starfleet people for thousands of light years. Also, it allowed for a ton of new aliens and plot twists. Plus, I loved how they included the Borg for pretty much the entire last 3 seasons. DS9 was also really good, and once again was really novel with the fact that it was on a station and not a ship. Again, it had a lot of new aliens and wasn't just about a bunch of missions on a starship. Also, what I liked a lot about DS9 and Voyager was that they had overlying plot lines that sometimes spanned the whole series (like with Voyager). DS9 also had the Dominion war, which allowed for huge space and land battles. For the first time, huge fleets were included frequently, with complex interaction between all the major species, not just stand alone episodes. All in all, the TV series have been a lot better than the movies. I really hope they start another one.

[Hewman]

I thought they did as good a job as possible with trying to attract new fans while not offending long time fans of the franchise. I particularly enjoyed the new updated aliens, it's good too see they've developed from all aliens just being a human with a bit of rubber on their head.

[SuvieD]

I saw and liked the movie. Enjoyable cast and just enough of the throwback lines to not overdo it. Scotty and Bones were great and I liked the new Kirk. He worked as Kirk, enough of Shatner to pull off role but not so much that I wanted to punch him. The storyline worked well enough for me though time travel always seems to have holes in the plot, and why not, holes in time should create holes in plot right?

Personally, I found the all TV series' uninteresting. I haven't seen all the movies but those I have seen I was never really into. Star Trek has always been a little slower moving and I prefer reading to watching if the pace requires much thought. I watch movies to enhance reading or purely for entertainment and since I have not read much of the Star Trek lore the movies don't have the appeal something LoTR does for me.

[Brickmaster]

You don't have to be a Star Trek fanboy to heavily enjoy the film. Which is good, as I am not. It was certainly great.

[Escape The Fate]

Saw the movie acouple of hours ago and it was fantastic. The only negative in the movie is the capitains chair which looks uncomfortable and lame otherwise best star trek movie ever!

[SWMAN]

Which is good. For a movie of this magnitude and for a franchise that has such a large following, its important not to change the characters in a way that they don't relate or portray the originals they were based on. I felt all the characters were easily recognizable and kept true to themselves.

Actually, it was the lack of character development in Nero that make the movie more enjoyable for me. To me, this movie's main focus should have been about getting to know the original cast. I felt there was enough character development for him not to take away from the main cast.

I think that because this movie showed the characters in their very beginning, I think character development was paramount to making them into the characters we all know. I just feel like Nero could have been included a little bit more in the movie, for being the bad guy. It just feels like for being the main antagonist, he wasn't explored or even included very much. He almost felt like a subplot to the characters like Kirk and Spock.

Escape the Fate. I have to disagree that it is the best one ever. I feel like it falls in behind VI: The Undiscovered County and First Contact. Those were simply epic. I feel like First Contact used time travel in a lot better way than this movie. Nero accidently gets sent back in time, while the Borg plan it and go back to change something rather than just get revenge.

Edited May 11, 2009 by SWMAN

[5150 Lego]

I think that because this movie showed the characters in their very beginning, I think character development was paramount to making them into the characters we all know. I just feel like Nero could have been included a little bit more in the movie, for being the bad guy. It just feels like for being the main antagonist, he wasn't explored or even included very much. He almost felt like a subplot to the characters like Kirk and Spock.

Exactly. Kirk and Spock should have been the main subject (along with the rest of the main cast) and Nero being the subplot. That's exactly how a story like this; that is introducing the main characters of a saga, should have been.

I feel like First Contact used time travel in a lot better way than this movie. Nero accidentally gets sent back in time, while the Borg plan it and go back to change something rather than just get revenge.

I'd have to disagree with this. Too me, having Nero accidentally going back in time, in an attempt to get revenge was much more original than how it was done in first contact. Think about it... How many times have you seen people plan to go back in time vs. accidentally, or following someone/thing in an attempt to catch them whether it be to change history, or prevent a change? Not only that, but time travel has been done twice already. Both times being planned. So in this case, i think it was a nice change that worked well for the plot.

[CF Mitch]

I went to the movie last last night as well.

I thought it was really great !

The characters were so alike their series counterparts. Bones & Scotty were hilarious, so was Chekov by the way

The plot was quite interesting, although I feel like they messed up the timeline thanks to the whole time-traveling' happening...

But then again I never (thoroughly) followed the Original Series, so I don't know much about that.

I have watched most of the movies though (Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, and some others to which I can't recall the title right now )

All in all an awesome movie to me !

Now here's hoping for a Star Trek: Next Generation 'origin' movie With Milo Ventimiglia as a young Riker

Greetings,

CF W

Edited May 12, 2009 by CF WeaZZel

[SWMAN]

Exactly. Kirk and Spock should have been the main subject (along with the rest of the main cast) and Nero being the subplot. That's exactly how a story like this; that is introducing the main characters of a saga, should have been.

I'd have to disagree with this. Too me, having Nero accidentally going back in time, in an attempt to get revenge was much more original than how it was done in first contact. Think about it... How many times have you seen people plan to go back in time vs. accidentally, or following someone/thing in an attempt to catch them whether it be to change history, or prevent a change? Not only that, but time travel has been done twice already. Both times being planned. So in this case, i think it was a nice change that worked well for the plot.

That is true. I Just like how in First Contact they have to stop the Borg from assimilating Earth. There is a specific thing they have to stop. In the new movie, Nero just wants to destroy stuff and it doesn't even matter that he went back in time to do it. I do like that they created a whole new timeline though (without Vulcan), so they don't really have to worry about staying totally true to canon. They covered their butts and can do a lot more stuff now.

[brickzone]

Stereotypical late 2000s blockbuster movie. Pretty decent at it, brings a bit of real worldliness to the Star Trek picture, but ultimately I felt it completely failed at actually being a Star Trek film. Yet it still had lame plot holes and technobabble.

As with many of these recent blockbuster films, despite being reasonably entertaining, and the fast pace can be engaging - it does tend to just be a mish-mash of brainless action at times, and the camera work is headache-inducing. Explosions etc. and any excuse for fighting, all overdone.

In other words... get off my lawn.

I'd probably watch a sequel or TV show, but not because it's called Star Trek - but more just as mindless entertainment fodder (nothing wrong per se with that). That said, I'd get bored with it pretty quick I think, as probably would many viewers.

I'd also watch this again sooner than ST 1,4,5,7,9,10. I.e. Just 2, 3, 6, 8 rank higher in my esteem (8 only just). 7 and 9 I can enjoy but I consider them to be more like an elongated TNG episode.

Edited May 14, 2009 by brickzone

[tedbeard]

Without a doubt THE BEST Star Trek Movie EVER.

I will be there opening night for the next one just like I was for I, II, III, IV, V and VI (had kids and they got worse after that).

It was action-packed and funny as hell to those of us who grew up with the series. Those classic lines, those outfits...

Edited May 14, 2009 by tedbeard

[5150 Lego]

Stereotypical late 2000s blockbuster movie. Pretty decent at it, brings a bit of real worldliness to the Star Trek picture, but ultimately I felt it completely failed at actually being a Star Trek film. Yet it still had lame plot holes and technobabble.

And how exactly did it fail at being a Star Trek film?

[M'Kyuun]

Just saw it tonight. I have to disagree with it's not feeling like Star Trek. The actors matched their roles well, and their dialog was fitting. My hat's off to Orci and Kurtzman: while I'm not a fan of their Transformers script, I thought they pretty much nailed the characters and created a decent storyline. Ultimately, Star Trek is character driven, and I felt that there was adequate focus on re-establishing these iconic characters, albeit from a different perspective. Nero's role was more plot device, to put our main characters in some sort of peril, than a major character. It would have been nice if his character had shown more remorse, or showed some internal conflict,

(after all, he wasn't really a villain, but a jaded mine worker who, by a negative turn of chance, watched his homeworld die despite a promise of help from Spock. When that help was unfortunately too late, revenge on Spock became his primary motivator, before turning his hatred on the entire Federation).

For the movie's purposes, Nero really did not require any further elaboration, and he remained a 2 dimensional, cliched bad guy. I'm fine with that. What I found interesting was

the pairing of Uhura and Spock. There was no gradual lead up; Vulcan was destroyed, and Uhura, in what started as a touching scene of empathy, ended with her sucking face with Spock. It felt a bit abrupt, to me anyway.

I think there was an episode in the original series to give it precedence, but my memory is shaky.

Time travel was obviously a writer's device for including Mr. Nimoy in the story. I for one forgive them; it was great to see his return to the role, and to see him dispense some wisdom to his younger self in the movie. We've already lost Deforest Kelly, Jimmy Doohan,and Majel Roddenberry, and the rest of the original cast aren't getting any younger, so I'm glad to see them in the roles they made famous, or vice versa, while they're still with us.

I've learned to live with shaky, frenetic camera syndrome, which seems to be employed with ever greater frquency in today's movies. The technique found its way into this film as well, but I didn't feel that it was overused. Fortunately, i suffer no ill effects beyond mild annoyance. I sympathize with those of you who become nauseous from its overuse.

Ultimately, I thought this was a good movie on its own; a faithful representation of Star Trek in general, and the original series' characters specifically; and a good jumping off point to reinvigorate the franchise. I look forward to more "Young" Trek.

[Lt. Veers]

I just watched it in IMAX a few hours ago. I must admit, it was better than I expected.

I felt that the plot "time travel" plot device worked worked very well here, seeing as most other time travel flicks are somewhat lame. I liked how Nero was a new type of villain (Vengeful miner), rather than the average Klingon dude or omnipotent Q-like being that you'd typically find in a Star Trek movie. Even though this did seriously twist up Star Trek canon, I found it very enjoyable.

By the way, did anyone notice R2-D2 in the film? I heard he was supposed to be placed in as an easter egg, but I didn't see him throughout the whole movie.