Author Topic: Star Trek Movie (Spoiler Thread) (Read 19956 times)

Heradel · **on:** May 07, 2009, 10:26:01 PM

I haven't seen it yet (will this weekend), but please keep the spoilerific discussion to this thread.

Talia · **Reply #1 on:** May 08, 2009, 05:43:50 AM

GREAT GREAT GREAT

everything my geeky little heart could desire

Every scene with Leonard Nimoy in it was pretty cheesy (im not sure now if he EVER could act, or if he just lost it with age), but forgiveable, cuz hey, Leonard Nimoy.

Zachary Quinto was FABULOUS. In fact, the whole cast of the Enterprise crew just blew me away! Chris Pine, the guy who played McCoy (fantastic!!), Simon Pegg in particular.. wonderful. Not sure about the guy who played Chekov, but I'm less familiar with Chekov as a character.

I enjoyed the sly little nods to trek fans written in as well, they were the cause of some guffawing among us collective nerds.

I am so glad I ponied up to see this on Imax. I havent enjoyed a movie this much in a long, long time.

Poppydragon · **Reply #2 on:** May 08, 2009, 05:47:56 AM

Great to see that you always needed to worry about wearing red if you were on an away team too.

bolddeceiver · **Reply #3 on:** May 09, 2009, 10:24:14 PM

Well, looks like I'm the first to step out with the hate... I couldn't begin to cover all the fail, but here's some lowlights:

First, the plot was so contrived, not only to throw the cast together (which, considering that we're on a drastically altered timeline starting from JTK's birth, would require the type of predestination that works better in fantasy than SF), but to throw them into situations where they can say their trademark catch phrases. One or two would have been fine, but every five minutes there was a "I'm a doctor, dammit" or a "She cannae take any more."

Also, on top of the usual suspension of disbelief surrounding Starfleet protocols (why exactly are we sending ships full of civillians and officers' families on military missions, or sending essential command personnel on dangerous away missions?), we have the even more glaring question of why this brand-new, state-of-the-art ship, being sent into a crisis situation, on what is essentially its shakedown run, has been almost entirely crewed by cadets; what's even more ridiculous, besides a few somehow all these cadets happen to magically do their jobs better than the seasoned professionals. It's like they took everything that was wrong with Wesley Crusher, then made a whole movie of it, but with the added insult of doing it with characters we actually care about.

(And one more piddling little thing -- all those tubes labelled "inert reactant?" Isn't an inert substance by definition not a reactant?)

Heradel · **Reply #4 on:** May 09, 2009, 11:50:53 PM

To bolddeceiver: To you sir I say Meh. It's a restart, and do you really expect them not to, in the words of the inestimable Blues Brothers, get the band back together? And the point of TOS is that the Enterprise is the Ship of the Line, and that Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov are the best in the fleet.

And when has Starfleet not sent essential command personnel on dangerous away missions? It's practically the Secondary Directive that an away mission shall not take place without at least two members of the bridge crew on it.

Look, it can't take place in the same universe as the rest of Trek, because we already know what happens in that universe. In order for a movie to work we need to be able to think that there's the outside possibility that any of the bridge crew might kick it. Otherwise it's just figuring out how they get out of this mess. We might not even seriously consider that they'll die, but the shadow of possibility is necessary.

bolddeceiver · **Reply #5 on:** May 10, 2009, 12:14:04 AM

Sure, we know they're the best in the fleet, but am I supposed to believe Starfleet would put them in bridge positions on a brand-new state-of-the-art starship on its shakedown mission? Wait, Wesley Crusher, never mind.

Heradel · **Reply #6 on:** May 10, 2009, 12:17:03 AM

Quote from: bolddeceiver on May 10, 2009, 12:14:04 AM

Sure, we know they're the best in the fleet, but am I supposed to believe Starfleet would put them in bridge positions on a brand-new state-of-the-art starship on its shakedown mission? Wait, Wesley Crusher, never mind.

You appear to be operating under the assumption that this is not a major motion picture.

Talia · **Reply #7 on:** May 10, 2009, 02:43:43 AM

Im not sure we saw the same movie, man. The movie I saw was GLORIOUSLY grand.

MacArthurBug · **Reply #8 on:** May 10, 2009, 05:34:56 AM

I am only a small trek geek- geek lite, geekette. But I wore an single unfilled button on my collar proudly for two years, and got sent on a lot of "away" missions by my two best friends, who were both raging Trek fans.
I squealed like a silly little school girl during the obvious nods to the classic, I even caught some smaller references. I thought the casting was well done- even Syler err Spock (who I had a hard time with off and on, but I let it go, 'cause he was good)

But I'm not a Major Trek geek. So.. mayhap I missed what this was missing. I thought it was (to loosly quote the Onion) Fun and enjoyable. And you know? I'm now planning on watching some old movies with my quickly growing into a major geek daughter. She'd love 'em and I wouldn't have given it a second thought without this re-introduction. For this geekette? Awesome movie.

bolddeceiver · **Reply #9 on:** May 10, 2009, 06:43:29 AM

To clarify, my problem was not to do with Trek canon, but rather with what I felt was sloppy writing, leaps of logic that strained my capacity for willing suspension of disbelief to the breaking point, and underneath it all (because I'm capable of overlooking both of the preceding problems if the story merits it), an uninteresting and fragmented plot with unlikable, underdeveloped cardboard-cut-out characters.

Bdoomed · **Reply #10 on:** May 10, 2009, 07:27:11 AM

Quote from: bolddeceiver on May 09, 2009, 10:24:14 PM

...throw them into situations where they can say their trademark catch phrases. One or two would have been fine, but every five minutes there was a "I'm a doctor, dammit" or a "She cannae take any more."

kay that did NOT happen every five minutes, and even as an overstatement that is way out of line.
Scotty's character was AWESOME, McCoy was AWESOME, he did the doctor line maybe 5 times, probably less im sure...

Quote from: bolddeceiver on May 09, 2009, 10:24:14 PM

we have the even more glaring question of why this brand-new, state-of-the-art ship, being sent into a crisis situation, on what is essentially its shakedown run, has been almost entirely crewed by cadets

that was explained in the movie, get over it.

and overall, i really loved it, it was fun, enjoyable, i got a few of the references even tho im not a trekkie, and... MEH to you bolddeceiver!

Heradel · **Reply #11 on:** May 10, 2009, 07:33:15 AM

Seriously, my major complaint with the movie was that it was overdoing the JJ Abrams cinematography — Close focusing to show off bokeh/use of large and/or medium format lenses and LF film, lens flare in every shot, blowing out highlights. I like it fine in short bursts, but way too much of it, and even if it's not that bad on a regular screen I saw it in IMAX, and those lens flares were bigger than I am on that screen.

Bdoomed · **Reply #12 on:** May 10, 2009, 07:34:21 AM

i didnt get dizzy from Cloverfield, but i started to get dizzy from this movie near the beginning. lots of swaying camera, round and round and round

i love it tho!

Talia · **Reply #13 on:** May 10, 2009, 02:08:26 PM

Quote from: Bdoomed on May 10, 2009, 07:27:11 AM

Quote from: bolddeceiver on May 09, 2009, 10:24:14 PM
...throw them into situations where they can say their trademark catch phrases. One or two would have been fine, but every five minutes there was a "I'm a doctor, dammit" or a "She cannae take any more."
kay that did NOT happen every five minutes, and even as an overstatement that is way out of line.
Scotty's character was AWESOME, McCoy was AWESOME, he did the doctor line maybe 5 times, probably less im sure...

Quote from: bolddeceiver on May 09, 2009, 10:24:14 PM
we have the even more glaring question of why this brand-new, state-of-the-art ship, being sent into a crisis situation, on what is essentially its shakedown run, has been almost entirely crewed by cadets
that was explained in the movie, get over it.

and overall, i really loved it, it was fun, enjoyable, i got a few of the references even tho im not a trekkie, and... MEH to you bolddeceiver!

oh yeah, that's definitely true about the quotes, at any rate. That happened MAYBE once or twice, and at least in the audience I was in, people dug it and chuckled.

(and I too thought Scotty and McCoy were awesome, in particular McCoy).

Heradel · **Reply #14 on:** May 11, 2009, 05:34:38 AM

This is a rather good essay in the Washington Post on fans and remake/sequel movies/TV Shows: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/10/AR2009051002034.html

Talia · **Reply #15 on:** May 11, 2009, 11:38:31 AM

Hah! Love the article title too.

DKT · **Reply #16 on:** May 11, 2009, 05:00:04 PM

I'm not the biggest Trek geek around although I've wathced enough of TOS and TNG and DS9 to get by. But I LOVED this movie. It was way more fun than I've had watching Star Trek in ages. And I connected with these characters much more than I ever had before (especially Bones and Spock).

I've now taught my daughter to say "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?!?!" and am seriously considering buying a Starfleet uniform for my son's first Halloween.

Alasdair5000 · **Reply #17 on:** May 12, 2009, 06:44:42 AM

Loved it. Interestingly, whilst I'd read the Countdown graphic novel prequel and could fill in the background details about Nero, the Romulus disaster etc, my wife hadn't and had no problem with anything in the film.

Things I particularly liked included:

-Everyone got a moment to be the hero/heroine from Uhura decoding the initial transmission from the Klingons to Chekov's pulling Sulu and Kirk out of freefall.

-The viewscreen isn't a viewscreen any more, it's a WINDOW. I especially liked the blank terror on the bridge crew's faces when it starts to crack:)

-Bones. The big three were all incredibly strong but Karl Urban was just spookily good.

-Scotty. I'm a well known Simon Pegg mark but pretty much everything he had to do in this was great. I was also incredibly pleased to see Scotty and Chekov used as more than just the comic relief. That being said, this exchange:

'....Are you from the future?'
'Yes.'
'BRILLIANT! Do you still have sandwiches there?'

may be my favourite:)

-Bruce Greenwood as Chris Pike, a performance for which the words 'kick' and 'ass' must be used and used in conjunction.

-Dropping the sound and letting the score carry the death of the Kelvin. I'm a colossal wuss at the best of times but that was a hell of a gut punch.

So yeah, I liked it:) A lot.

Listener · **Reply #18 on:** May 12, 2009, 06:11:34 PM

From a geek standpoint... when you eject the warp core, don't you drop out of warp and get sucked into the black hole? Just sayin'.

The only plot point that was truly not believable to me was this one: "hey, Jim, you can be second-in-command even though you're only like 21 or 22 and haven't even graduated the academy, because I thought your dad was awesome-sauce".

George Kirk dying with "I love you" on his lips just about killed me.

My dad summed it up best: "If this is the last thing they ever do on TV or film with Star Trek, I'll be happy with the way they left the series."

izzardfan · **Reply #19 on:** May 13, 2009, 02:39:05 AM

Quote from: Listener on May 12, 2009, 06:11:34 PM

From a geek standpoint... when you eject the warp core, don't you drop out of warp and get sucked into the black hole? Just sayin'.

Here's an article I found very interesting, because although the author debunks some of the science, he still loved the movie: Bad Astronomy’s Review of the Science of ‘Star Trek’

Windup · **Reply #20 on:** May 16, 2009, 04:44:53 AM

Yeah, it had the logic problems endemic in the series. I mean, if you're in a postion to beam people into an enemy vessel that is literally threatening to blow up the Earth, the logical thing to do is tie together a bunch of photon torpedos, beam them over near the power supply, and let them detonate. Yes, you'd kill Captain Pike. But you'd save the Earth. No commander in his right mind would do anything else.

But, James T. Kirk was never an in his right mind sort of guy, was he?

Also, as with many recent movies, the action sequences seemed over-long. How many times can people forget/lose/ignore the fact they have beam weapons just so we can have yet-another fight scene?

But, as I mentioned earlier, I loved the movie and noneof this really bothers me. Like DKT's dad, I would be happy if this is where they left the series, but face it: it's making SO much money you know there's a sequel being assembled as we write this...

Boggled Coriander · **Reply #21 on:** May 16, 2009, 05:13:19 AM

Quote from: izzardfan on May 13, 2009, 02:39:05 AM

Here's an article I found very interesting, because although the author debunks some of the science, he still loved the movie: Bad Astronomy’s Review of the Science of ‘Star Trek’

I'll admit when I saw that my reaction was "wouldn't it be like sandblasting a cracker?" Like getting an evolutionary biologist to critique the Voyager episode where Janeway and Paris turn into salamanders and mate.

That said, the review is fun to read and as you say, he loves the movie despite all of its flaws.

Talia · **Reply #22 on:** May 16, 2009, 05:29:54 AM

And I already can't wait for that sequel

*sigh* I'm such a nerd. I might even go see this one again. (alabeit not in Imax this time. $$$$$$$).

cuddlebug · **Reply #23 on:** May 16, 2009, 07:49:10 AM

Quote from: Talia on May 16, 2009, 05:29:54 AM

And I already can't wait for that sequel

*sigh* I'm such a nerd. I might even go see this one again.

I know, me too. have seen it once and have plans to see it twice next week if it all works out. (kinds screws with the other films on my wish list, such as Coraline and Angels and Demons) Maybe this is one of those gems one can see over and over again without getting bored, and that's quite an accomplishment. I bow to the genius of J.J.Abrams. well done. (and pleasing such a critical crowd as the SciFi nerds and Trekkies is not an easy task)

Anarquistador · **Reply #24 on:** May 17, 2009, 02:48:44 AM

Just saw it today.

I'm running hot and cold on it. It was nice to get a good reboot and a fresh cast (and I for one am grateful they kept Shatner as far away from this as possible), but the whole alternate timeline thing bugged the hell out of me. I mean, bwa? So none of it ever happened? Stuff like that just takes me out of movies.

Uhura and Spock in a romance? Oh that's just wrong on so many levels. What of poor Nurse Chapel?

And in the interest of being a completely pedantic nerd, I'd like to point out that the Klingon vessels being used in the Kobayashi Maru test were NOT Warbirds. Romulans use Warbirds. Technically those were D-7 Battlecruisers.