Star Trek

[Azuredream]

I got to like all the characters, I think that was the movie's strength. The plot wasn't great, but I left the theater happy when they all got together at the end. This movie could have turned out way worse than it did and that's about all you can ask for a Star Trek reboot I'd say.

[naum]

If your story is not about time travel, but it has time travel in it, then your story sucks.

Still, was an entertaining flick (have seen it twice now), albeit cheesy (though it is Star Trek).

Thought this Star Trek cartoon was funny…

[Nevermore]

I liked it, so don't take the following as not liking it.

Nero was very dull.  They really didn't need to get Eric Bana for that role.  Still, he worked for the plot which was basically: Dumb miner in ridiculous ship is pissed off and wants revenge.  I say dumb because any moron given 25 years could have figured out that perhaps a better use of his time would be to stop the supernova from destroying Romulus himself.  So yeah, in that respect he was the worst villain ever.  But it works for the plot because give a drooling retard a vastly technologically superior ship, even if it looks stupid, and he can wreck havok.  I mean really, 25 years and that's the best he could come up with?  Yet he was still somehow able to predict exactly where future Spock would show up?

But yeah, I still liked the film.  The drill didn't bother me because I just assumed it needed atmosphere to operate.  So just stick it on a big long chain, problem solved.  The rest of the ship didn't make any sense but the drill was fine.  Now the effect that Nero had changing the past I think worked really well.  Kirk became a bigger fuckup without the positive influence of his father but was still brilliant in his own way (we assume, since to be honest I didn't really see a lot of brilliance from him in the movie but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt).  I figure the original Kirk was probably more subtle in his cheating the Kobayishi Maru.  All the other principles worked for me except Chekov.  If I remember correctly, Chekov wasn't one of the original crew.  He showed up later on in the original series and he never displayed any of the brilliance he did in the movie.  I guess Nero mucking up the past turned this Chekov into some kind of prodigy.

The only other quibble I have is I thought the interior of the Enterprise was a bit too shiny.  I'd hate to be the one that has to wipe all the fingerprints off of all those clear plastic surfaces.  But that's just a minor thing.  Actually, pretty much all my problems with the movie are just minor quibbles with the exception of Nero having less brainpower than a turnip, but if he were smart we wouldn't have had a movie at all so it's fine.  Overall a fun movie.  I hope whatever story they use for the next one is something taken from the original series (not Khan) and turned completely on it's ear.  Preferably one of the lesser known episodes so it doesn't feel like a retread.

[Tale]

This movie left me feeling flat. It was well made, but silly. I wanted a bit less humour and more serious oldschool moments from Kirk and Bones. Serious Sylar-Spock was almost out of place among the slapstick.

Simon Pegg was basically doing a Billy Boyd (Pippin) impression. His alien sidekick was a Jar Jar Binks element for the kids. I like Simon Pegg but I didn't like his silly Scotsman.

The use of "black holes" as a time travel device was dumb. Distracting even. I don't have a problem with accidental time travel as a plot device, but the implementation was weak. And Nimoy-Spock wasn't very well written into the plot.

Also, I've a question:

[Slyfeind]

Without the silliness, I would have hatehatehatehatehated it. I'm tired of movies trying to be serious and ohsoserious and darkdarkseriousdarkserious. But that's just me.

Now that is a good question.

[Ghambit]

Simon Pegg was basically doing a Billy Boyd (Pippin) impression. His alien sidekick was a Jar Jar Binks element for the kids. I like Simon Pegg but I didn't like his silly Scotsman.

I had the impression Scotty's alien sidekick was more like the hybrid animal-man midget from "Island of Dr. Mareau,"  y'know, the creepy red one that played the piano?  (he's actually the smallest person in the world... from Mexico I believe)

[Nevermore]

[Strazos]

Yeah, he definitely warped out, and I'm going to assume that because the Vulcan ship was designed to be one of the fastest ships around, they were able to get a goodly distance away from the Sol system.

[Miasma]

Also, did anyone else think of

during that first shot of Vulcan's surface?

I swear that rock in the background was used in this movie too.  I also loved seeing the red shirt guy and knowing exactly what was going to happen, he's used that twice in Lost too.

[Venkman]

Now that is a good question.

Four damned spoiler nests in one post?

[Ghambit]

Now that is a good question.

Four damned spoiler nests in one post?

[Nerf]

Black holes don't suck in everything either, when a star turns into a black hole it has the same gravitational pull it did before it was a black hole, it's just contained in a single point of space instead of spread out throughout the star it formed from.

[Khaldun]

I think there were two or three lines in TOS about Chekov being Spock's science prodigy, under his instruction in science, and so on. It's just that they never really played that angle for anything--most of the time he was there just to say a few Russian-accented lines and occasionally to be the "young guy" in the crew. The Chekov-was-added-later thing has been debated ever since Khan "recognized" him in Wrath ("But you, Mr...Chekov...I never forget a face") with the conclusion being that he was assigned to the Enterprise crew before he appeared regularly on the bridge. Of course, that means that Khan somehow saw all 400+ of the Enterprise's crew during his brief stay on board...

Speaking of 400+ on the Enterprise, what was the Kelvin doing with 800 people on board, as a considerably smaller ship than the Enterprise?

[Murgos]

Speaking of 400+ on the Enterprise, what was the Kelvin doing with 800 people on board, as a considerably smaller ship than the Enterprise?

I thought it was a scientific vessel and so it had an extra compliment of researchers and also contained families.

This Enterprise is a warship and doesn't need as much crew.

Also, Black Holes don't exist indefinitely, they eventually 'burn out' over time (Hawking radiation).  The nature of the 'Red Matter' is unclear and so really, ANY physical characteristics can be attributed to it that moves the story along.

[Riggswolfe]

[MrHat]

That's what I gathered too.  Kirk was trying to get Spock to admit it to himself, and then the logical thing for Spock to do is follow protocol.

[Mattemeo]

It was enjoyable, and to give it the credit it's due, it was a hell of a lot better than it had any right to be. Perhaps that's a bit of my general anti-Abrams bias showing there, but for me it was one of the few things he's been involved in that I could A: watch more than once and B: not need an emergency treppaning afterwards to allieviate the built up pressure of WTF.

As a reboot, it's a pretty daring prospect. Abrams has stamped on a lot of old Trek convention and story within the space of 90 minutes but managed to create something that very definitely feels Star Trek, for all its foibles. I was pleased, really - I've never considered myself a big fan of Star Trek - I pretty much hated DS9, watched Voyager if nothing else was on and pretended Enterprise didn't exist (not solely for its general poorness but because, man, Scott Bakula! What happened?!). I enjoyed Next Generation and love the original 60s series, including the cartoon series (shock horror decent voice acting!) but I've found the movies immensely hit and miss over the years - the majority of the TNG movies were extended TV episodes with a slightly larger effects budget.

That's what got me about Abram's Star Trek. It was a fucking movie. It was spectacle, it was silly, but it was ferociously fucking fast paced and unapologetic in almost every way with a lot for oldschool fans and newbies to enjoy. "You're not used to this, but you'll like it" seems to be the order of the day. Yes, Nero was a complete mouthbreathing tool, but sometimes you need a badguy so mentally unhinged that the awful things he does are no longer questionable, you just have to react to them. I'd have loved loved loved to see some of Jim and Bones' cadet life, I did feel pretty cheated when the '3 years later' floated up on screen, but frankly the pace of the film didn't let me dwell on it. I also wanted more Scottie (I love Simon Pegg) but I could understand why he wasn't a vital fixture in the movie till the last third, though Deep Roy's little alien character was a curious and somewhat out of place addition that perhaps unfairly screamed 'EWOK!' at me...

Quinto does a reasonable job of being Spock, but in all honesty it's less a case of his acting talent and more the fact he just looks so damn much like a young Spock that sells the performance. Acting wise it was just him being Sylar but keeping the crazy on the inside. I was unexpectedly impressed with Chris Pine though, he really got into the role, his Kirk is a lot cockier, more rough edged (no father figure beyond the stoic presence of Capt. Christoper Pike) but displayed some of the more subtle mannerisms that Shatner instilled in the character. It's true, he doesn't get to show much of his intellect (did anyone else get a bit of a Good Will Hunting vibe off the Kobiyashi test/trial?), but that'd be somewhat out of pace with the rest of the movie anyway.
Less cogitate, more conflagrate.

[Jayce]

Overall I thought it was great.  I also didn't fully buy him running into Spock on the planet, but I can live with that, and some of the comments here make it even more palatable.

I wish they had given Kirk a career in Starfleet before being instantly made captain.  I don't think it would have hurt to have him in and out of trouble under someone else's command for a few years before being upjumped and we find out that "oh, the problem was that he is only cut out to be a captain".

I thought Karl Urban really nailed McCoy, better than I would have thought.  I never once looked at Eomer and thought McCoy, but I didn't even recognize Urban for most of the movie, just thought he was some dude who looks like Deforest Kelley.

Did I see Felix Gaeta in the crowd that was watching Kirk get the medal at the end? Or am I mistaking someone else for him?

[Slyfeind]

Woah holy crap, that was Eomer?! Damn, now I'll always see McCoy when I watch Lord of the Rings. 

[Ghambit]

He's also Lord Vaco in Chronicles of Riddick.

[Venkman]

When I saw Riddick, I kept thinking Eomer. When I saw Trek though, I kept thinking McCoy. He's either really good, or just another genius casting choice.

[Yegolev]

Deep Roy's little alien character was a curious and somewhat out of place addition that perhaps unfairly screamed 'EWOK!' at me...

Ah yes, dammit, he does look just like fucking Wicket.  Could have done without him since Scotty was Comedy Relief and adding another Comedy Relief was overkill.

[Yegolev]

Seems FX has picked up TV rights for a J.J. Abrams Star Trek series.

http://www.moviejungle.com/headlines/templates/templatemjnews3.aspx?articleid=2269&zoneid=1

Posted on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Source - Variety


"Live Long and Prosper"...on FX.
 
FX has picked up TV rights to "Star Trek" for apparently a four-year movie license. FX could end up paying $24 million or 12% or so of the film's box office gross if the film hits the $200 million mark domestically which it will most likely do.
 
"Star Trek" will start showing on FX about 30 months from now for the 2011 holiday season.
 
"Star Trek" opened over the weekend with over $75.2 million over the weekend as well as an extra $4 million from Thursday previews.

[Ghambit]

Seems FX has picked up TV rights for a J.J. Abrams Star Trek series.

http://www.moviejungle.com/headlines/templates/templatemjnews3.aspx?articleid=2269&zoneid=1

Posted on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Source - Variety


"Live Long and Prosper"...on FX.
 
FX has picked up TV rights to "Star Trek" for apparently a four-year movie license. FX could end up paying $24 million or 12% or so of the film's box office gross if the film hits the $200 million mark domestically which it will most likely do.
 
"Star Trek" will start showing on FX about 30 months from now for the 2011 holiday season.
 
"Star Trek" opened over the weekend with over $75.2 million over the weekend as well as an extra $4 million from Thursday previews.

Uhhh.. that's not for a Star Trek series.  That's just for the TV rights to show the Star Trek movie on their channel. 
I'm sure a pay cable HD network like HBO will also pick it up much sooner than 30 months.

[Merusk]

Yeah, FX just has the exclusive non-pay-channel rights for that period.  Similar to how Turner networks are the only guys who can show LOTR.

[ahoythematey]

I just about had a stroke.  FX often gives its shows a lot of support and leeway, enabling them to grow into greatness.

[Ookii]

Wow this is a long thread, I'll throw my stuff out there without seeing if anyone has said it before.

I listened to JJ Abrams on O&A and he was talking about how he wasn't really a fan of Star Trek.  He even said, "Apparently Shatner's character dies in the 10th movie?  That's what I've heard".  He also said he didn't know there were 10 other movies, but did say one of the writers was a huge Trekker (apparently trekkie is bad?).

That said the movie is great, and anyone who hates it needs to lighten up a bit.

I also thought JJ didn't get Grunberg in the movie but apparently he's the voice of Kirk's stepfather.  Also Rachel Nicols is in there which makes two Alias cast members for anyone who actually cares.  Oh and fucking Karl Urban was unrecognizable, in fact there was just good casting overall.

[UnSub]

For all the praise this was getting, I expected better. It's not a bad movie, but (and to be honest, I don't really care for TOS but ultimately ST canon should be respected because it is canon) it certainly could have been done without pissing on the canon - the reboot could have been a new crew post-Nemesis and it still would have worked.

Karl Urban was fantastic, everyone else did a perfectly acceptable job. Bana's villain needed more fleshing out.

It was a good, solid formula Star Trek movie with lots of money poured into it. But I agree you could check your brain at the door (see: black holes as time portals).

[Venkman]

The new-crew-post-Nemesis thing could have worked well too. There's a series of books that featured a Captain MacKenzie which would have been a good backdrop. Trouble is that nobody cared about Voyager and even less cared about Enterprise. So introducing what would be a sixth new crew with new names and the same mission of bad science would have been a harder sell than that retarded rescue-the-200-natives TNG flick (gods, I swear by that ninth movie they purposely made the odd numbers suck).

So using the pop culture source material as the backdrop for a reboot really feels like the right business decision. They didn't need to do that for a good story, but I suspect they felt they needed to in order to save the IP.

[Lakov_Sanite]

The new-crew-post-Nemesis thing could have worked well too. There's a series of books that featured a Captain MacKenzie which would have been a good backdrop. Trouble is that nobody cared about Voyager and even less cared about Enterprise. So introducing what would be a sixth new crew with new names and the same mission of bad science would have been a harder sell than that retarded rescue-the-200-natives TNG flick (gods, I swear by that ninth movie they purposely made the odd numbers suck).

So using the pop culture source material as the backdrop for a reboot really feels like the right business decision. They didn't need to do that for a good story, but I suspect they felt they needed to in order to save the IP.

The problem with a post nemesis crew is akin to (nerd reference incoming) starting level one characters in level 20 gear. With the level of tech and knowledge that starfleet has at that point any antagonist would have to be ridiculous in comparison to pose a threat. It just makes for a bad plot in general and while I understand not wanting a reboot, this method is probably what trek needed most, not constant building on top of old material.

[angry.bob]

What happened to black holes?

Current theory holds that they "evaporate", the smaller they are the faster they evaporate. Lots of math on websites indicates that a black hole formed by our sun would decay in a fraction of a second, so the ones in the movie actually lasted way to long (in theory anyway). It's one of the reasons why people weren't concerned about creating black holes with the Hadron collider - if it had managed to create one it would have almost instantly disappeared.

[Velorath]

For all the praise this was getting, I expected better. It's not a bad movie, but (and to be honest, I don't really care for TOS but ultimately ST canon should be respected because it is canon) it certainly could have been done without pissing on the canon - the reboot could have been a new crew post-Nemesis and it still would have worked.

The plot would have worked, but the plot isn't what people are praising this movie for.  The whole fun of this movie is seeing these iconic character reinterpreted and given an origin story.  The fact that's it's made about as much in a weekend as the last Trek movie made in its entire theatrical release suggests that they probably made the right decision.

[Trippy]

The previous movie sucked. It's better to compare it to First Contact which until this one had the record for best opening weekend for a ST movie at around $50 million in inflation adjusted dollars.

[Reg]

The movie was fun. It's rejuvenated the Star Trek franchise (which has been dead since the Wrath of Khan).  The people that continue to quibble and whine just make me tired.

[Mattemeo]

Current theory holds that they "evaporate", the smaller they are the faster they evaporate. Lots of math on websites indicates that a black hole formed by our sun would decay in a fraction of a second, so the ones in the movie actually lasted way to long (in theory anyway). It's one of the reasons why people weren't concerned about creating black holes with the Hadron collider - if it had managed to create one it would have almost instantly disappeared.

Ahh, the little white lies we tell ourselves so we can sleep at night, while the massive underground construction of our future demise patiently toys with the very fabric of the universe. Well, it would if we hadn't broken the fucking thing already.

I actually agree with the Black Holes evaporation theory, but as in all things theoretical, we have no hard facts (which will turn out to be wrong in 20 years anyway) to stand on and it's always fun to look over our shoulder and see the misunderstood villain of time, space and physics sneaking up behind.