"STAR TREK" movie comments/reviews (spoilers)

Rico · May 10, 2009, 06:26:08 AM

Great comments Tim! I think for myself I have pretty much explained my thoughts on how I feel about the movie. I'm not going to get into a back and forth here with regards to everything being said. Everyone is entitled to their own informed opinion. But, I will make my thoughts very clear on the vidcast this weekend and I urge anyone who hasn't sent in a video yet to do so. Now is your chance to make your voice heard and reach a lot more people than just the forum folks - if you would like that.

Anyway, glad to see everyone so passionate about the movie. That's a good thing. And I'm sure I can count on everyone to keep things respectful of each other's viewpoints.

Trekkygeek · May 10, 2009, 06:34:28 AM

Well said Rico.
I must also recommend the soundtrack. I bought it from itunes yesterday and after seeing the movie, it works so well. Track three "Labour of Love" and track four "Enterprising Young Men" really are beautiful pieces. They throw you right back into the movie and they brought back all the emotion. JJ Abrahms seems to use Michael Giacchino so well. As with "Lost" they work perfectly together. Track three is used when George Kirk is flying the Kelvin into Neros ship and you get the exterior view of the ship disintegrating and Kirk Senior hearing the cries of baby Kirk. I tell you mate, I nearly cried like a baby myself and I have almost done the same during "Lost". This scene reminded me so much of that show. Go get the soundtrack and I defy anyone to hear those two tracks and not to make out "That there is something in my eye" LOL :'(

cosmonaut · May 10, 2009, 08:01:51 AM

Quote from: Trekkygeek on May 10, 2009, 04:42:45 AM
In fact this film was so well made that I only had two VERY small criticisms and they were two scenes that they really could have done without. When Kirk was stranded on the ice moon. Then this monster comes out from nowhere and it just threw me. Totally out of place and unnecessary in my opinion. And when Scotty was sucked through the pipes, again this was silly and not funny although the initial beaming into the wrong place was pretty good actually.

Exactly these two scenes bothered me, too! Very good points in your review, I totally agree! :)

billybob476 · May 10, 2009, 08:16:18 AM

Well I saw it last night and was blown away. I was trying as hard as possible to go in with my regular low expectations despite the hype, unfortunately, this ended up being impossible. I walked in expecting to be wowed. I was.

This is the first time in as long as I can remember that a movie lived up to the hype surrounding it. My already high expectations were met and exceeded. I won't reiterate details that have already been mentioned.

Only a few observations:

I NEVER and I mean NEVER get emotional watching movies, the beginning sequence with Kirk's birth and George's sacrifice got me misty eyed. It was powerful.

I loved all the casting, there was no one I would have replaced with someone else. Remember way back when we had heard Kirk would be played by Matt Damon? I think that would have been a disaster.

I like how they made Chekhov a sort of young prodigy. I don't remember that from TOS. I think his quirky personality goes well with being a sort of geek of the future.

"All I've got left are my bones" Enough said. He was awesome.

As a fan (as all of us are) I LOVED all the little Easter eggs for us. One thing no one mentioned that I picked up on was Scotty talking about his trans-warp beaming test on "Admiral Archer's prized Beagle". Did Scotty kill Porthos? :)

With regard to Kirk's promotion, I'll follow up. No, the main fleet was not hit, but that entire task force that was sent to meet Nero was destroyed along with their crews. My assumption is that there is now a lot of gaps to fill up in the starfleet ranks.

Kirk was given a battlefield commission and position. He proved himself in it. There are many stories from the world wars where kids in their early 20s end up as Colonels running entire regiments because of attrition in the ranks.

In a perfect world, the military is a pure meritocracy. Those that are most deserving get promoted the quickest. Sure, it's a big jump, but Kirk did a big thing. I'm not saying it makes perfect sense, or that it is perfectly logical, but it has been known to happen.

All in all, sure, there are nitpicky little things wrong with the movie. That is to be expected, even citizen Kane is not a perfect film. But I was completely blown away. My wife was completely blown away. She is not one to see movies more then once (in fact she despises it) but when I mentioned I'd love to see this movie again sometime this week in IMAX she was game to see it again.

A+, 2 thumbs up, 100%, I don't know how else to say it. Trek is back with a vengeance.

X · May 10, 2009, 08:30:13 AM

yesterday, I was headed out when my brother in law and one of our mutual friends pulled up. Here is a brief summary of that conversation.

Rick (Yes another one): Hey Chris, did you happen to see the new Star Trek movie. I know that you're a Star Trekker.
Me: Yeah. I loved it.
Rick: Greg (my bro in law) and I saw it last night. I've never liked trek, I'm not a Star trekker like you, but I loved it! It's been .. I don't know how long since I saw a really good movie at the movies. This was a really good movie. I don't know if it messed things up for you, but this was MY movie. As a Star Trekker were you upset about the changes that were suposed to happen?
Me: Nope. (This is where I smile to myself and think of my daughter quoting the care bears: Sharing is Caring) I loved the movie. it didn't take anything from what I loved in the past and I think I'm going to love where this leads.
Rick: I want to go see it again.
Me: Yeah, it's like that huh?

Background: Rick is a ex-marine police officer that likes to debate instead of drink. Greg is a sci-fi fan and fireman but never really future stuff that deep.

Both are sold. The movie is a success.

A have another friend that has been a trek fan since he could remember. He loves the new movie, but had one complaint. He couldn't find a message. He like the idea of trek always leaving you with a message and he didn't think revenge was a good message.

For me, the message was simple: I always have been and ever shall be your friend.

The universe turned itself upside down and those words still rang true.

billybob476 · May 10, 2009, 08:53:10 AM

Quote from: Just X on May 10, 2009, 08:30:13 AMA have another friend that has been a trek fan since he could remember. He loves the new movie, but had one complaint. He couldn't find a message. He like the idea of trek always leaving you with a message and he didn't think revenge was a good message.

For me, the message was simple: I always have been and ever shall be your friend.

The universe turned itself upside down and those words still rang true.

Lots of messages, that's why this movie is great. Yours is a good one, mine was a bit less literal:

No matter what obstacles you encounter in life and no matter where you end up, a person always maintains the capacity to go above and beyond and do something great.

Kirk-Fu · May 10, 2009, 10:44:10 AM

I saw it yesterday with my Trekkie friend and our non-trekkie wives. They had as much fun as we did. And my wife thinks McCoy is a hottie...go figure :-)

It was a half filled Imax at 10:15am on a Saturday, but the lines were there when we were leaving.

I have to say, this is probably one of the best movies, in general, I have ever seen. Forget my Trek bias, it was just a solid work, by JJ and all involved. Wow, talk about grabbing the audience by the collar from the start and never letting go.

I had no issues at all with the actors, the Tech, the feel...it was great. Our wives understood completely why Nero was after Spock, although the new/alternate timeline took some explaining.

But for me, an unabashed original series zealot, what I was most impressed with was how much the movie not only felt like Star Trek, but how after about 30 minutes, the characters were who they were. Not once did I make comparisons, or think of the original actors. I love them all, but the new cast sold me.....each and every one. And I thought Chekov had the confident air about him, much the way Walter always played it. And the accent was perfect.
I was so engrossed in the movie, I just didnt have time for anything other than to sit there and try not to miss a thing.

I stopped drinking fluids about an hour before bed the night before.....no way was I making a potty break in mid movie :-P

Bryancd · May 10, 2009, 10:57:17 AM

Well said Tim and Kirk-Fu. What amazed me were the things which I thought would bug me but didn't do to the quality of the portrayls, similar and yet different. The scene with young Kirk and the Corvette bugged me when it appeared in the trailer but in the movie in it's entirety and with the Beatsie Boys Sabotage rocking, it really worked. The bar room scene with Kirk hitting on Uhura I though was going to be too Top Gun, but it wasn't.

Kirk-Fu · May 10, 2009, 11:04:16 AM

And as an addendum to my previous post, my comment about being a TOS zealot is spot on. While I enjoyed the other shows, it has, and always will be about the Original.
Thats why im not really ever going to make any comparisons between this new movie and any of the others, even those with the TOS crew.
This movie is the 'Original Series' for a new generation. They will get a chance to love characters that I loved, without all the canon dragging it down. Hopefully it will peak their curiosity and they will look into what we have all enjoyed for years. My kids watch TOS with me, including my 4yo. So Star Trek is something that has an appeal, beyond tech and characters. I dont even think it is as much the 'messages' that we all talk about. I can generally do without message media. Im a smart guy, grew up fairly normal. My opinions and beliefs are mine. Im not interested in JJ Abrams, or Gene Roddenberrys opinion on social issues. But, I do appreciate when they make me think. And thats what I feel Star Trek has always done. Dont preach to me, just give me something to think about, or relate to.

Kirk-Fu · May 10, 2009, 11:05:45 AM

Bryancd, same here on the vette. We cringed when we saw that in the trailer. But man, what a kick that was. And (little)Kirk had the half scared, half cocky thing going. Perfect.

Trekkygeek · May 10, 2009, 12:57:33 PM

Bryan you made an excellent point there mate. I remember when I saw Kirk in the Corvette on the trailer I thought "Oh No here we go,the ol'troubled kid routine", but It came across in the movie very well. After seeing the opening scene I guess you could understand why he turned out to be the way he is.

A point that Billybob made. That first scene really was powerful and my eyes were certainly blurred. I read on Twitter from one of my buddies that she cried during the film. This was before I had seen it and I wondered how It could make her cry. After all, this was the first film with these actors, we hadn't seen them before, I never thought this film could affect me in the same way as "Generations" did. When Picard is telling Troi about the death of his brother and nephew, I teared up at that scene, but I had had years of seeing these actors playing these characters and felt some kind of attatchment to them. But this film contained newbies.

But that first scene just hit me and I think it was the fact you were seeing how Kirk was born and the tragedy that surrounded it, and with Giacchinos music it was just perfect. I do wonder though if Non-Trekkies had the same response. I mean, we know the Trek universe (or thought we did) and we know the Kirk character.

Bryancd · May 10, 2009, 01:36:25 PM

The sequence was enhanced by that phone call he receives in the 'vette from what I think was his uncle or other relative who's care he was in. Sounded like not a lot of love lost there. I also like the premise that McCoy was leaving Earth after also losing everything in a divorce. You can see how that commonality could create a bond between them and eventually the loner Vulcan in Spock. Somehow I recall in TOS that McCoy had a similar background story which I don't remember if it was ever expressed on screen or was something I had read.

Bryancd · May 10, 2009, 01:41:08 PM

Here is a great image of all three Enterprises, TOS, Refit, and new movie. The scale is likely pretty close. Now, look at the secondary hulls and tell me that you can still imagin that vast, open engineering area we see on the inside crammed into that slender bit of nothing!!! :wacko I understand if it doesn't bother you, but you have to admit it's proportion is all wrong.

X · May 10, 2009, 01:53:35 PM

Yeah, I can. If they take out some decks for the pipes, three stories still seems VAST and that's only 3 stories. Say that it's 5 stories and closer near the dish. We know they landed in engineering, but we don't know the part. What if engineering doesn't have floors at the normal spacing. The pretty is saved for the saucer where people live and the gritty is in the engineering section where you don't have to be pretty.

X · May 10, 2009, 01:54:35 PM

Quote from: Bryancd on May 10, 2009, 01:36:25 PM
The sequence was enhanced by that phone call he receives in the 'vette from what I think was his uncle or other relative who's care he was in. Sounded like not a lot of love lost there. I also like the premise that McCoy was leaving Earth after also losing everything in a divorce. You can see how that commonality could create a bond between them and eventually the loner Vulcan in Spock. Somehow I recall in TOS that McCoy had a similar background story which I don't remember if it was ever expressed on screen or was something I had read.

In TOS we find out that he was a great starfleet doc, but his wife left him.