STAR TREK (2009)

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Fri May 08, 2009 8:39 -0700

Anyone seen the new Star Trek movie yet? The word on it seems to be pretty good overall. I might see it sometime this weekend.

If you can't make it to the theater this weekend, here's another excellent Star Trek movie you can watch:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 9150068960

Bogus · Post by **Bogus** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:42 -0700

Jet_Jaguar, here is a review that a friend of mine wrote for ain't it cool. It was originally removed from the site, but was later put back up according to him. I don't have a link that I can provide right now though. I personally don't read reviews that often but I give him feedback to support him since he likes to write them.

Also, be aware that spoilers are included so you may not want to read it.

Chiming in from just after tonight's sorta surprise
screening of Star Trek here in Austin.

Sorta surprise? Well, when you show up to see The Wrath of Khan and
the place is crawling with Paramount suits, metal detector wands are
being waved around, and you spot one of the writers....bull BADWORD
you're "only" seeing 10 minutes of the new Trek movie!

This thing is going to SPLIT the fanbase. Or for fans like myself, it
will be another beating of a long dead horse. Plenty of kids who
eschew Trek are finding themselves curious about the hip, young, sexy,
CG, ADHD Trek trailers, and they're going to gobble up this film aimed
squarely at their demographic. Gotta have a juvenile product to get
the kids, and that is sadly the world to describe it:juvenile. Sure,
there's tons of little nods in there for Trek fans-why, there's even a
Star Trek 5 reference, if you just didn't get enough warning signs
about low hanging objects-but I think it's there more to twist the
knife.

AHEAD, SPOILER FACTOR 9! The general plot has been pretty well
known-Romulans, time travel, etc. Turns out popular rumor was close
but a bit off-no TOS reference in the time travel, no plot to kill
Kirk, no Spock coming back to save Kirk. Instead we discover that in
the late 24th century a sun suddenly goes supernova (science, what's
that?) and is going to destroy THE ENTIRE GALAXY (science huhwhat?).
In the most logical conclusion, Ambassador Spock and ONLY Spock can
save the galaxy by....shooting a miniature black hole (triggered by
red matter, whatever the hell that is) into the supernova. In the time
between developing this black hole weapon and it's deployment, Romulus
is destroyed, making villain Nero (Eric Bana) angry, and Spock
wouldn't like him when he's angry. Spock, Nero, and Nero's mining ship
(remember how stupid the endless elevator shaft with the bridge right
through the middle of it was in Nemesis? wait until you get a load of
this video game abortion) get sucked into the black hole and flung
through time. Nero's grand scheme in the 23rd century is to prevent
the destruction of Romulus by destroying Vulcan, Earth, and who knows
what else with his own black hole gun and presumably ignoring the fact
that a sun will still go supernova and destroy the entire galaxy.
Naturally the only hope of saving the galaxy is in the hands of the
new flagship of the Federation, the Enterprise and her intrepid crew:

James T Kirk, perhaps the most scrutinized young cast member and the
one with the heaviest weight on his shoulders. Trailers haven't given
us much of young Kirk to go by, and here's why:Kirk is no where to be
found. Sure, there's a brash bold cadet by the same name, but here
he's written and played like Van Wilder or any other comedy film frat
boy. Bumbling, goofy, inept with women, and willing to jam out to The
Beastie Boys. No, that's not a joke. I hope you don't mind the Beastie
Boys, since we hear the ENTIRETY of "Sabotage" during one scene. Also
responsible for the vast majority of product placement tie ins. The
man loves his name brand cellphone service providers, whiskey, and
beer.

Spock, already well received by fans when cast, does a great job. Our
young Spock has some mommy issues, which we're introduced to early on
when he's picked on by (Vulcan) bullies at (Vulcan) school who he ends
up brawling with. Fanfic writers rejoice, though-there's plenty of
Spock/Uhura action to be seen! Not that it's ever acknowledged in any
way until we need a shot of them making out.

Uhura, might as well write about her since I just mentioned her, is
pretty much the same as always....minus updating her for the times!
Gotta be sassy, complete with head bob! I'm sure if she weren't the
only female star on the bridge, we might have gotten a "You go girl!"
out of her.

Bones, another instant hit among fans before shooting even commenced.
I really have nothing to say here, perfect casting and writing.

Scotty, yet another fanbase favored casting, makes the most of his
limited screentime with his usual quips and odd midget sidekick. Yes.
He has a "comical" sidekick now. I really have nothing negative to say
about Scotty, either, though continuity nerds will have a shitfit with
transwarp drive being perfected already.

Sulu does not find any White Castles in space, stop making that
reference already, it was not and remains not funny. Able to sword
fight while doing backflips over the head of a Romulan.

Chekov, the 17 year old video game ace who's joystick skills save the
day when he has to manually lock on to moving objects for beaming.
Wessel!

Old Spock, what can you say....it's Leonard Nimoy. I don't blame him
for delivering exposition like he's talking to a toddler-that's the
writers' fault for all the hand holding and dumbing down of dialog.

And of course, the real star of the show, The Enterprise. Did you
think the new bridge was ugly? Did you notice the lack of any
engineering photos? Well, you'll understand why. There isn't so much
an engineering set as there is a chemical plant somewhere that got
borrowed for a weekend. No big beautiful glowing warp core, nothin
like that-it looks more like the interior of a Naval battleship. Sick
bay looks like it was sponsored by Apple. The exterior design looks a
little better in motion, but I still think it's a hideously
misbalanced result of someone sniffing glue before using glue to
assemble their own Enterprise model. Sadly, it's the best looking of
this movie's Federation "stick a random number parts together in
random places and call it a ship " design philosophy. I do appreciate
that the effects have put some of the weight back into the starships,
they'd gotten far too nimble later in Trek and it killed the nautical
feel of those massive ships.

It's undeniably a summer flick-big, loud, senseless, and ending with a
sequel setup. If you're a continuity nerd, this movie basically erases
all of Star Trek history....or makes a new "alternate reality" (a
phrase used in the film) if you go by Back To The Future time travel
rules. Much like Star Wars and Doctor Who, this long dormant property
has been revived as an easy to digest, no gray area, spectacle fueled
kids' program. With all the bad teen angst and focus on 80s style
"kids know better" set up to get the grownups out of the picture and
these cadets in charge of their own starship, I kept waiting for the
movie to scream "You just don't understand!" at me. Ultimately I was
bored-it's very cliche, and the writers talked a good game about
wanting to make their own Wrath of Khan with a great villain who is
motivated by revenge....but it takes a little more than wanting
revenge to make a great villain, just as making a Star Trek movie
takes more than writing a different scifi movie and slapping the Star
Trek title on it. It's an odd numbered Star Trek movie, undeniably,
and there are some slick nods in there, but I would advise anyone who
is cautious to remain so. The Trek we knew and loved, the Trek we knew
and were indifferent to, it's all gone now. It's in the hands of a man
who lets us know just how much he doesn't like Star Trek and would
rather make Star Wars. Bring your kids, they'll LOVE it.

Gallennon · Post by **Gallennon** » Fri May 08, 2009 14:37 -0700

Friends and I are goign to try and see it late tonight after we go to the Mongolian Beef Restaurant. I have also heard the film is very good.

Post by **Todd Shogun** » Fri May 08, 2009 22:13 -0700

I haven't yet, but I want to real soon. Huge Trek fan. It already stands at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. They finally got it right it looks like.

Gallennon · Post by **Gallennon** » Fri May 08, 2009 22:52 -0700

I just saw the film. Trying not to spoil the film, I feel the film pays homage to the original series and makes it clear they do not plan to one-up the series. Basically it makes a clean break from the original with out disregarding it's roots. I will add more after a week or so has passed.

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:03 -0700

I saw it last night. There were a few good parts (In particular, I liked Leonard Nimoy"s last scene a lot), but overall, I'm feeling a little bit lukewarm about it right now. Of course, if you"re a Star Trek fan, that shouldn't discourage you from seeing it. I guess I'm just kind of hard to please.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about it right now other than that "Intergalactic" really should've been the Beastie Boys song that the young Kirk listened to in the car toward the beginning:

I'm a lumber jack DJ Adrock
If you try to knock me you'll get mocked
I'll stir fry you in my wok
Your knees'll start shaking and your fingers pop
Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock

I think that the young Kirk listening to a song that mentioned Spock might have been oddly appropriate in this movie.

Post by **Todd Shogun** » Sun May 10, 2009 0:41 -0700

Spoilers below....

I'm with Jet on this one. Definitely lukewarm. I just saw it and overall I'd give it a "B". Definitely a worthy effort to reinvent the franchise, but lacking in Trek essence. As a Trek fan, I didn't think the film had a Trek "feel" to it, at least not consistently. I agree with a lot of the review that Jet had posted, especially the science part, which was obviously dumbed down (the supernova threatening to destroy the entire galaxy made me cringe, as did the reference to a "lightening storm in space"). The movie actually started off fairly decent and enjoyable. That all started to take a different turn I think when we get to the scene on that icy Vulcan class-M moon where Kirk just randomly happens to run into Spock Prime in an ice cave. Did I miss something here? How the heck is that even plausible? And to top it all off Scotty's on the planet too!

The film actually reminded me a bit of the last Trek film Nemesis, which I thought was a dud. Were Nero and his crew supposed to be Remans or what? He did mention his ship was a mining vessel and that's what the Romulans used the Remans for...then you have the resemblance to Remans (bald heads/pale skin). Where the hell were the Klingons dammit? At any rate Nero was an ineffective villain -- again, I defer to the review Jet posted regarding him. His whole revenge ticket was too unconvincing...why go after the entire Federation just because an unpreventable Supernova destroyed your home world and your girlfriend? Why not travel to the sun which exploded in the future and use some of that red gooey stuff on it??

A lot of the film seemed rushed, especially later scenes. Like they wanted to pack in as much as possible. Some of the scenes with Spock Prime (Nimoy) seemed too rushed to take seriously.

roel · Post by **roel** » Sun May 10, 2009 1:17 -0700

I really loved the film!!! I was a fan of the original series and had the toys when I was younger but do not consider myself a Trekkie or a die hard fan and maybe that's why it was more enjoyable to me. I was always more into Star Wars then Star Trek. I thought the film was very enjoyable and a lot of the changes didn't bother me at all. I felt that the changes made the film better. I have a friend that worked on all the Star Trek movies and is a huge fan. He was very skeptical about this one while he was working on it but after seeing the final film he said that this was one of the few films that he was proud to have worked on and that's saying a lot since he has worked on all the major blockbuster films for the last 20 years. I can't wait to watch it again and I can't wait for the sequel. This is a good start for the sumer blockbusters. I can't wait for Transformers and T4 now.

Andy · Post by **Andy** » Sun May 10, 2009 15:13 -0700

I absolutely loved it! I think it paid tribute to the old while making it fresh. I think that it will breathe new life into this franchise.

Colin Solan · Post by **Colin Solan** » Mon May 11, 2009 7:54 -0700

I saw the new Star Trek over the weekend and was just bored with it. I don't think I've ever checked my watch that many times in a movie.

mickmoart · Post by **mickmoart** » Sat May 16, 2009 18:18 -0700

I totally loved it! It was a fun ride into the "rebirth" of what I already knew.

I found myself seeing it 2 times. Course, if your like me, who has not seen a single film in the theater for 3 1/2s time. It just seemed to make the movie that much more watchable!

morna-san · Post by **morna-san** » Sun May 31, 2009 20:21 -0700

Totally loved it. So so much fun. I have been a minor ST fan all these years, grew up with cheesy old Kirk and Spock who was my hero, and liked the subsequent series a little less each outing. Kinda gave up on the movies but the buzz got me there. Sure it's not perfect but, hey what is.

Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining.

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Sun May 31, 2009 21:23 -0700

Guess who Stan ran into at the Reuben awards last weekend?

http://pics.livejournal.com/usagiguy/pic/0006cbdk/