Fine, I went and saw Star Trek
Rants and Ramblings May 16th, 2009Before we get into my opinions of a movie I just saw called Star Trek, I want to give you a brief history of mine and the impact this franchise has had on me.
First and foremost know that if I had to give you my number one hero of all time it would in fact be James T. Kirk. When I was a kid, KBHK 444 out of San Francisco ran two hours of the original series 5 days a week. I watched every day for years. I could not get enough of it. Star Trek: The Motion Picture is still one of my all time favorite movies and if you don’t believe me check out my top movies here.
You will notice that for The Movie Whore, Star Trek rates above Star Wars. While Star Wars gave me my obsession for film, it was Star Trek that gave me my heroes and made me ask the question “What if?”
Gene Rodenberry had a gift for writing science fiction that few can rival. He gave us characters and character development in Scifi that we had not even begun to see yet and he did it before George even knew how to operate a camera. I love George and his work but when it comes to Scifi it is all about Gene and it is all about James Tiberius Kirk.
Some of my most prized possessions are my Star Trek collectibles. Before you start looking for the guys with the “I love me coat” I do realize it is just 5 TV series and a string of movies and is no way real. However it has a huge impact on my life and has helped to shape the person I am. As sad as that may be it is indeed fact. I only mention this to let you know I am a fan.
On with the show.
I get it. It was a fitting way to say that there is no way they could ever create anything to rival what had been done before with these characters in the history that Gene had created, but an alternate reality, really?
It just feels cheap and dirty. Like I said, I get it. They now have a way to further the franchise down an alternate road and give the crew of the Enterprise all new adventures. I get it, I am not happy about it, but I get it. I will end my negative comments there.
As for the story itself I have to say it was solid. A few overly convenient scenarios but that is a part of Star Trek and the mythology. I was happy to see all the little things that were thrown into the film to let you know they did notice the original and what made it so great.
As far as the acting goes I will say that we have now seen the role that Karl Urban was born to play. He could have easily passed as a Deforest Kelley double. He lived that character inside out and I am looking forward to seeing him reprise this role in the future.
Quinto nailed Spock. He almost even looks like a young Leonard. They have definitely given the character a lot to work with for future endeavors. There is a lot more you can do with a Spock that is trying to figure out what it means to go with his gut VS a Spock that does not even acknowledge he is capable of having a gut feeling.
Simon Pegg is Simon Pegg and that means the guy is just damn fun to watch. While I am not sure he fits the character created by Doohan, he is entertaining enough by himself.
Chris Pine was everything he should have been and left out everything he should have. The writing for Kirk was some of the best. It gave you a firm grasp of the character and paid homage to the original version of my greatest hero.
I said I was not going to say anything else negative but there are a couple small things that did kind of piss me off.
- Ice monsters: WTF over? Abuse of CGI technology is a sin that should have been remembered that was perpetrated by Lucas not that long ago. CGI for the sake of CGI is crap.
- The Bridge: When the fuck did we step into the realm of bright tacky crap that makes my eyes hurt.
- Uhura is an idiot.
Key things I loved.
- Kirk has a history with green women.
- Seeing how Kirk defeated the Kobayashi Maru.
- Bones
- Sulu fencing joke.
- A list of Easter egg visuals and other references that only true fans would recognize.
Does this movie get The Movie Whore stamp of approval?
In all honesty the jury is still out. It is going to a matter of repeated viewing and seeing what they do with the franchise next. I will say however, not a bad job, not a bad job at all.
It seems I now owe J.J. Abrams an apology and I do sincerely apologize for the horrible things I have said in recent months about you. I hereby eat crow and I happen to have a bottle of Tobasco to go with it because everything is better with Tobasco.
Who knows I may even fall in love with franchise and the characters all over again. Only time will tell.
Well kids it is almost time for Saturday Night Live and I need a snack.
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May 19th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
One thing that I think you left out from your review is the film’s effort to attract Star Trek newbies. I have a friend, a major Trekkie who probably shares your feelings about Kirk, who was watching a group of kids for New Years. These 8-14 year olds started touching some of his Star Trek action figures. The kids had no idea who these characters or Star Trek was. To really flourish, the new movie can’t just cater to old fans, but must win over new ones.
I was basically a Star Trek virgin when I saw the recent film and I loved it, but I felt like I was in a different world. Because I saw it at midnight on Thursday, the theatre was filled with die hard fans. Whenever one of those moments of “insider information” came up, I felt completely lost, so I’m glad that it was only a minor homage, not a major part of the film. If the new franchise wanted to both win over new fans and continue with the existing story lines, there would be too much to explain. I keep hearing about how time travel is a cheap trick, but I think its a really interesting way to keep somewhat true to the old Star Trek while being able to start again with a new audience.
Sarahs last blog post..Getting Down to the Bones of the Story
May 19th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
It was not left out on accident. Star Trek is one of those things that has such an impact on me that for me personally it really does not matter what others think of it nor does it matter to me to attract new fans. Specially if you are completely abandoning the histry that each and every fan fell in love with. It is like saying “We know you love it and we know how devoted you have been to this over the years, but we need to make a buck and need to bring in some new blood. We are going to take every bit of history that made you fall in love with this franchise and throw it out the window and cheat you by creating an alternate reality.”
It is a big middle finger to myself and the rest of us that fell in love with these characters the way they were intended to be and with the stories that the creator of this franchise wanted to tell. Essentially they are blatantly ripping off someone elses idea to make a buck. StarTrek was fine the way it was and did not need a a re-imagining. This is so not the Star Trek that Gene Rodenberry created, not by a long shot.
While I may come off as a dick here or just an wack job who needs to get over it, I don’t care. They are treading on the dreams of not just be but of so many others. Take a look at something in film or literature that you love and imagine it is getting a complete facelift to attract new fans and everything you love about it is going to be different.
I did not hate the movie and may even enjoy it quite a bit the second time I watch it but I will never love it or the stories that follow it as much as what was created by Gene Rodenberry. It may be the same characters but it is not real Star Trek and until some one delves into the original series and the movies there is no way for them to appreciate what Star Trek is and there is no way for them to understand why we love it so much and are so resistant to the cheap substitute.
May 25th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I liked it except for the love story between uhuru and spockles.