STAR TREK: 95% TOMATOMETER *spoilers abound*

[Menolly]

I just returned from seeing the movie. There should be a massive disclaimer for my miniature review, so I should state that I not a Star Trek fan and am extremely critical of the franchise.

*snip*

Three and a half stars out of five.

*whoa*

considering your criticism of the franchise that I have read in the past, that's a major endorsement from you, IMO, Lore. I was planning on seeing it eventually anyway, but that only cements it for me.

[dlbpharmd]

I'm gonna try to see this tomorrow night.

[Cail]

Might see it tomorrow night as well.


Oh, and for those who didn't see this buried in the Trek forum.....



It's a travesty Shatner isn't in this film. I'll try to enjoy it anyway.

[finn]

Don't know where you'd put him, he's past the profile for an 18 year old kid and at the other end of the storyline, he's dead!

He might have got a part as one of the ships I suppose.......

[Cail]

Kirk ain't dead, he's just boning on another plane of existence.

[[Syl]]

I can't think of anything bad to say about this movie. OK, Kirk was one ugly kid, but that's all I got.

[Zarathustra]

Wow, that was fantastic. And Cail, believe it or not, you can actually plot this movie on that chart. Well, some of it. Actually, some of the most important things that happen follow it. Does that mean it's a spoiler??

[Sunbaneglasses]

Aside from the occasional feeling that the movie was straying too close to Starship Troopers I liked it a lot. With all the 'set up' stuff out of the way if we get a sequel it should be great.

[Cail]

It was pretty good up until...

Spoiler

the f*cking time travel.

Way to ruin the movie. I was totally digging it up to that point.

[dlbpharmd]

This movie SUCKED. I wanted Star Trek, not fucking satire. I thought at times I was watching Galaxy Quest. Even ST: Insurrection was better than this.

There were 3 bright spots:

1. The actor that played McCoy.

2. Quinto as Spock

3.

Spoiler

Leonard Nimoy

The rest was crap.

Oh, and could they have picked a worse actor to play Chekov?

[Zarathustra]

I think it's the second best ST movie. Insurrection is better? I don't think so. In fact, I can't even remember the plot of Insurrection. I know there was a planet, and phasers, and . . . that's about it.

Cail, this is certainly not the first ST movie to use

Spoiler

time travel.

It's been an established ST plot device for a long time (heh). Even the original series used it.

I thought the actors were great. The plot was creative and never boring. It was funny and badass. It didn't make any serious mistakes--which is saying a lot when you consider how many different audiences they were trying to please: non-Trekkies, jaded Trekkies, purist Trekkies, Sulu-should-have-his-own-series Trekkies, Next Generation Trekkies, DS9 Trekkies, and people who just go to see an entertaining flick.

I didn't like

Spoiler

Spock and Uhura.

WTF?

I did like how Spock and Kirk

Spoiler

were set up with an antagonistic relationship, so that they had to earn their friendship.

I liked all the little nods to the Trekkie geeks.

Spoiler

So, are we now in a completely different ST universe? Did the time travel completely alter the Star Trek history as we know it?

If so, that's one of the most clever reboots I can imagine. Giving the writers complete freedom to reinvent this series (Cail, I think this is the main reason they used the plot device you didn't like). This is exactly what it needed--like what Casino Royale was to Bond. Going back to the beginning and making it better (hopefully).

Seriously, go back and watch some of the lame ST movies or episodes. We've been watching them all for weeks now, in preparation for this movie. There is so much of ST that outright SUCKED . . . this is not one of them.

[Menolly]

OK, so I'll admit to reading spoilers when I haven't yet seen the movie, but from what I am gathering from one, i.e.,

Spoiler

Spock and Uhura

isn't there an original series episode that hints at that? I am terrible at titles and plots, but something to do with a culture based on Greek deities?
I remember they are manipulated into the physical positions shown in the episode, but I seem to remember the dialog hinted at possibly more...

...unless my assumption about what the above spoiler refers to is totally off base...

[SoulBiter]

Totally loved this movie. I agree with Malik. There was really not much to not like about this movie. I didnt like the Chekov character but other than that, I thought it was awesome. And Im not going to ruin this movie for those that havent seen it but I really liked how they explain the differences from the original series universe.

Damn.. good.... movie! My hats off the JJ Abrams and the entire cast. I saw an interview with Mr. Nimoy at the primier and they have already commissioned for a new script for another movie.

[CovenantJr]

I wasn't going to bother seeing this, but maybe I should.

[Cail]

That plot point (Hell, gimmick) has been beaten to death. Mal, you may be right about the reason to use it, but that doesn't make it any more palatable, nor does it make in any less nonsensical. I literally said (loudly), "you've got to be f*cking kidding me" when it happened. I'm cool with stuff changing, I'm totally cool with reboots (BSG is a perfect example), but this just wasn't good. I don't know if I'd go as far as DLB and say that the whole thing sucked, but if resorting to that was the best that the writers could come up with.......

Maybe I'm more of a Trekkie (trekker? trekkist?) than I thought, but I thought that was a slap in the face.

[ItisWritten]

OK, so I'll admit to reading spoilers when I haven't yet seen the movie, but from what I am gathering from one, i.e.,

Spoiler

Spock and Uhura

isn't there an original series episode that hints at that? I am terrible at titles and plots, but something to do with a culture based on Greek deities?
I remember they are manipulated into the physical positions shown in the episode, but I seem to remember the dialog hinted at possibly more...

...unless my assumption about what the above spoiler refers to is totally off base...

I believe you are refering to Plato's Children, in which the aliens had the power to force Kirk to kiss Uhura, and Spock to kiss nurse Chapel.

In the movie,

Spoiler

Kirk obviously has a thing for Uhura, but as her Captain, now he can't act upon it. I don't think Spock being in the way would deter him, but duty would.

I saw it today, and my wife leaned over and said, "We have to own this movie," after

Spoiler

McCoy stuck Kirk with a hypo for the 3rd time.

We are not good movie watchers, and share asides with each other throughout. I'll have to wait for the DVD to catch the lines we missed.

We were a bit shocked at

Spoiler

the Spock and Uhura thing, but with the butterfly effect in play from the opening sequence, you can either say NO! NO! NO! or oooh-kaaayyy.

From the overall response here, I'd say the latter is winning.

As for WTF reactions, (Don't read this Menolly!)

Spoiler

Vulcan is gone!!! Bye bye, Amok Time.

I highly recommend the movie, but rating it is for critics. I just watch movies.

[ItisWritten]

That plot point (Hell, gimmick) has been beaten to death. Mal, you may be right about the reason to use it, but that doesn't make it any more palatable, nor does it make in any less nonsensical. I literally said (loudly), "you've got to be f*cking kidding me" when it happened. I'm cool with stuff changing, I'm totally cool with reboots (BSG is a perfect example), but this just wasn't good. I don't know if I'd go as far as DLB and say that the whole thing sucked, but if resorting to that was the best that the writers could come up with.......

Maybe I'm more of a Trekkie (trekker? trekkist?) than I thought, but I thought that was a slap in the face.

You know, my wife had a similar reaction very early, but by the time we met the new Kirk, Bones and Spock, she'd put aside her irritations.

The way I look at it, the writers could have ignored Trek history and just done different things, but instead

Spoiler

they made the plot the reason for the reboot. Time travel may seem cliche,

but they did try.

Let me put it another way, how many episodes of Star Trek (in all its incarnations)

Spoiler

have they used time travel but nothing significant changed?

[Menolly]

As for WTF reactions, (Don't read this Menolly!) Spoiler:

OK...so I cut and pasted so the spoiler wouldn't shop up when I posted. But it better be a darn good spoiler...

[Cail]

ItisWritten: That's a valid point, however it strikes me as soooooooooo TNG, and I hated TNG. I think there were plenty of ways around doing what they did that would have allowed for a cohesive story. OTOH, this was a definite break from the trend of having "dark" reboots.

Believe me, I hate sounding like a pedantic fanboy (because I'm really not one), but there was a lot to like about this movie.....The effects are great, the cast (with a few exceptions) was great. I liked some of the stuff that DLB probably hated. There was lightheartedness and camaraderie, which was a hallmark of the show (remember, I liked the goofy stuff in ST:V).

But dammit, I think they took too much of a liberty with that one thing, and that's just too much of a cheat for me.

[Fist and Faith]

I believe you are refering to Plato's Children

I believe you're both refering to Plato's Stepchildren.

Heh