revisiting the new STAR TREK

[moonpie23]

i've got to admit, i don't go to the movie theater much any more. (except on opening day of each Bond movie)

not bragging but i've got a killer set up at the house....65" lcd and y'all KNOW i've got the throw-down audio to go with it...


anyway, watched Star Trek on blu ray last night and i've got to admit....the casting is excellent, on just about every main character. Good movies stand the test of repeated viewings and i've seen this one now 6 times...

Since they made so many spin offs for the original TV show, i've been a bit skeptical about anything more, but this movie was the exception.

great story, great re-introduction of those timeless characters, and all the wizardry of modern special efx....hard to beat...

am i just a trekkie homer? or did y'all dig it this much?

[Heelkiller1]

It was a pretty good flick , I thought it was well done and stands up nice to the other movies with the original cast. But The Wrath of Khan is by far the best,maybe they will attempt to remake it with the new cast.

[Olympic Fan]

It was a pretty good flick , I thought it was well done and stands up nice to the other movies with the original cast. But The Wrath of Khan is by far the best,maybe they will attempt to remake it with the new cast.

Count me as one Trekkie who is absolutely opposed to a remake. What is there to gain? This series is at its best when it's driven by fresh new ideas ... at its worst when he just rehashes tired old stories.

Wrath of Kahn was great ... it doesn't need to be remade.

I saw the newest Star Trek in the theaters and plan on buying the DVD very soon. But somebody correct me if I'm wrong. But isn't the point of this movie that we have a re-start of the franchise -- an alternate time line in which we don't have to abide by the future of the Star Trek Universe that we all know from TV?

I think there is a lot of room for innovation there.

[moonpie23]

But isn't the point of this movie that we have a re-start of the franchise -- an alternate time line in which we don't have to abide by the future of the Star Trek Universe that we all know from TV?

I think there is a lot of room for innovation there.

totally agree...we've seen all that old stuff, loved it and just rehashing with new players doesn't really do much..


bring on the new stories graced with teaser "connection points" from past episodes and characters for spice...

[ncexnyc]

I saw the newest Star Trek in the theaters and plan on buying the DVD very soon. But somebody correct me if I'm wrong. But isn't the point of this movie that we have a re-start of the franchise -- an alternate time line in which we don't have to abide by the future of the Star Trek Universe that we all know from TV?

You make an excellent point. I guess that is why all these time travel stories are always so confusing.

I guess a Khan remake is possible, but not likely. Khan exists prior to this current movie, so him and his group would have to be found like in the original series and then the events would have to playout in a similar fashion.

Being a crusty old 55 year old, I can truly say the technology for home movie viewing is off the charts. I just upgraded to a 37 inch, 1080P Panasonic LCD, along with their 7.1 Blue-Ray Surround System and the viewing experience is unreal. Hard to believe it was only yesterday when a 25" B&W console was something special.

[moonpie23]

I can truly say the technology for home movie viewing is off the charts.

and the bathroom is RIGHT there and the pause button may be the most amazing technical advancement

[Kim*]

Definitely agree that the casting was fantastic. I'm going to wait a few months to get the DVD because I already saw the movie once in the theater, once in IMAX, and then again on a flight last month.. so I'm set for a while!

[DukeUsul]

I've got the BluRay on my Xmas list. It will look good on my 60" LED-backlight 1080p screen.

***** SPOLIERS ******

I'm a Trekkie homer and I had some issues with the film. I never understood what those giant tubes of water were doing that Scotty got beamed into. What for giant turbines or something? WTF would turbines be doing on the enterprise? And clear tubing? That was just a gimmick for some physical comedy. I prefer when Star Trek tries to stick to at least go for some plausability.

And what's up with Spock abandoning Kirk on some ice planet? Since when would someone as logical as Spock violate all ethical, moral and Starfleet regulations in abandoning someone in such a situation? Totally unrealistic.

And where exactly is this ice planet/moon such that you could see the destruction of Vulcan so visibly in the sky? It would have to be DAMN close to be able to see it that large in the sky. And how ridiculously conincident was the meetup between Kirk and Spock on that planet? Like really unlikely?

I had some story issues. Most of the rest I liked.

[moonpie23]

I've got the BluRay on my Xmas list. It will look good on my 60" LED-backlight 1080p screen.

dood...that sounds sweet...what kind? lEd? awesome

***** SPOLIERS ******

What for giant turbines or something? WTF would turbines be doing on the enterprise? And clear tubing? That was just a gimmick for some physical comedy. I prefer when Star Trek tries to stick to at least go for some plausability.

don't you remember TRANSPARENT ALUMINUM? from the whales movie? scotty showed the guy back in 80's earth how to invent it, so it was definitely around for use on that enterprise.

And what's up with Spock abandoning Kirk on some ice planet? Since when would someone as logical as Spock violate all ethical, moral and Starfleet regulations in abandoning someone in such a situation? Totally unrealistic.

agreeed...out or place...didn't they have a brig onboard?

[DukeUsul]

dood...that sounds sweet...what kind? lEd? awesome

***** SPOLIERS ******




don't you remember TRANSPARENT ALUMINUM? from the whales movie? scotty showed the guy back in 80's earth how to invent it, so it was definitely around for use on that enterprise.






agreeed...out or place...

Yeah I remember transparent aluminum ... "Computer ... hello computer?" But it's there for what purpose?

It's a Samsung LED-backlit DLP. Two years old. Only 13" thick, so pretty thin for a DLP. It was half the price of a 60" plasma at the time.

[moonpie23]

Yeah I remember transparent aluminum ... "Computer ... hello computer?" But it's there for what purpose?

It's a Samsung LED-backlit DLP. Two years old. Only 13" thick, so pretty thin for a DLP. It was half the price of a 60" plasma at the time.

comic relief for the hot fuzz guy...

[JasonEvans]

He is the Shaun of the Dead guy, not the Hot Fuzz guy

A full on remake of Wrath of Kahn is a bad idea. There were so many clever plot moments in Wrath that just made the film -- days being hours and hours being days; Kirk and Spock figuring out that Khan was not an experienced captain so he would not think in 3 dimensions in a starship fight; Checkov and the black cop from the Terminator being victims of Khan's mind control; Spock sacrificing himself to fix the warp engines. None of these would pack the same punch in a new film where we saw the plot twists coming in advance. Now, if we are talking about a remake where the story is radically changed and we just use Khan as a bad guy character again, I guess I can buy that. That is really a new movie just with a familiar bad guy. I am cool with that. But, a remake that pulls a lot of the same plot elements would suck a lot, IMO.

I think the many coincidences regarding Kirk, Spock, and even Scotty in the new movie were meant to show that these people were MEANT TO BE A TEAM. Even when their timelines got messed up, fate found a way to bring them together and have them help each other. That is how I saw the 2nd half of the movie. See if it works for those of you who found some of the plot twists a bit improbable.

Lastly, here is an article talking about possible Star Trek 2 stuff with JJ and Damon Lindelhoff. There is a lot of talk about Khan out there.

--Jason "the new Khan? ---> " Evans

[DukeUsul]

I don't think he has the pecs for it.

[moonpie23]

He is the Shaun of the Dead guy, not the Hot Fuzz guy

right...i saw SOTD about 4 or 5 times...my wife loved hot fuzz so i had to see it about 30 times...

[alteran]

I've got the BluRay on my Xmas list. It will look good on my 60" LED-backlight 1080p screen.

***** SPOLIERS ******

I'm a Trekkie homer and I had some issues with the film. I never understood what those giant tubes of water were doing that Scotty got beamed into. What for giant turbines or something? WTF would turbines be doing on the enterprise? And clear tubing? That was just a gimmick for some physical comedy. I prefer when Star Trek tries to stick to at least go for some plausability.

And what's up with Spock abandoning Kirk on some ice planet? Since when would someone as logical as Spock violate all ethical, moral and Starfleet regulations in abandoning someone in such a situation? Totally unrealistic.

And where exactly is this ice planet/moon such that you could see the destruction of Vulcan so visibly in the sky? It would have to be DAMN close to be able to see it that large in the sky. And how ridiculously conincident was the meetup between Kirk and Spock on that planet? Like really unlikely?

I had some story issues. Most of the rest I liked.

Man, you totally nailed my feelings about the movie.

I'm a trekkie from way back, but I've never been a purist. I absolutely LOVED the casting for the movie. I thought the effects were amazing, and were used to enhance the story, not hide lack of same. I liked the breaks with established Star Trek "canon." (Spock plus Uhura? Bring it on. McKoy with issues? Serve it up.)

I could go on and on with what I loved about this movie.

But the things you mentioned were really groaners that put it squarely in the "B to B-" category for me. Worse, they were lazy, totally unnecessary groaners.

The water tubes cheesed me off, too. They went a long and ridiculous way to get a not-terribly-funny sight gag.

The worst for me was Spock just RANDOMLY being on the right planet, within a kilometer of where Kirk was randomly marooned, and Kirk just happened to stumble into his cave? Seriously, figure the odds. There's a million ways to make them meet each other that are "plausible," particularly since we're mucking around with time here. Not bothering to find one of them is insulting to the audience and just plain lazy.

[The Gordog]

The worst for me was Spock just RANDOMLY being on the right planet,...

Sorry, but this is just wrong. Spock was there because Nemo put him there to see the destruction of Vulcan. Kirk got dropped there because it was the nearest habitable planet/moon to Vulcan, where the ship already was.

...within a kilometer of where Kirk was randomly marooned, and Kirk just happened to stumble into his cave? Seriously, figure the odds. There's a million ways to make them meet each other that are "plausible," particularly since we're mucking around with time here. Not bothering to find one of them is insulting to the audience and just plain lazy.

Now, you can rightly ask how they ended up in the same part of a whole world, but perhaps that was the warmest part and the only place a person could survive. And that BTW is why the starfleet outpost was there as well. Likely? No. Impossible? No.

[JasonEvans]

So you guys just hate my "fate wanted these people to be together" answer, huh? I saw that as the whole point of the film. Muck with time all you want, but it is gonna take some major mucking to keep Spock, Kirk, McCoy, and Scotty from teaming up. If you give fate any kind of chance, it is gonna pull these folks into each others orbit.

Not to go off topic here, but I suspect this is how Flash Forward is operating-- you can change the future, but it takes a lot of work to do so.

--Jason "sit back and just enjoy it, dudes" Evans

[DukeUsul]

I can take fate in small doses when it impacts a story in an over-arching sense. Like bringing the crew of the Enterprise together. Ok. But fate brining future Spock and present Kirk together on this random ice planet? That's just a cop out.

[hc5duke]

more here

[Olympic Fan]

I just watched the DVD and the director's commentary. Let me address some of the problems you have with the film:

(1) I buy the coincidence that Spock and Kirk were on the same moon. In fact, there was a line in the original script "Embrace the coincidence". There is a delated scene where the elderly Spock explains to Kirk pretty much what Jason suggested -- that fate brought them together ... that it was the time line's effort to repair itself.

(2) That said, I have a bigger problem with the younger Spock marooning Kirk on a dangerous planet, where he is likely to be killed (and almost is). The logical, by-the-book officer he is would have locked him in a cell in the brig, not thrown him off the ship.

(3) No problem with the see-through water tubes. I like the earlier suggesting that they are made of transparent aluminim.

(4) But I do have a problem with the "turbine" (as one of the characters calls the system). All we have is a gentle flow of water spinning a blade (and hitting it sideways, at that). That's about as efficient as an old mill by a stream. Turbines (even nucleur powered turbines) work by heating the water to steam and then using the steam to turn the turbine blades -- no human could survive that.

I wish they had not called it a turbine ... call it a water filtration system (even starships will use water to drink, bathe ...). That would have been a bit more plausible.

My biggest problem was the power of the Romulan mining ship that causes all the problems. Okay, it's from the future -- I get that. But Eric Bana tells us that it's just a mining ship, not a warship.

How does he capture Spock's ship -- which is from the same timeframe?

Again, according to the commentary, there's a long deleted scene that after the destruction of the Kelvin (and the death of Kirk's father) when Bana and his crew are captured by the Klingons and spend 27 years in a Klingon prison. They break out, recapture their ship, then capture Spock's ship as it emerges from the black hole. Then they defeat the entire Klingon battle fleet and defeat the portion of the Starfleet that is trying to defend Vulcan.

Where and when did they get so powerful? I understand that it was the capture of the red matter on Spock's ship that allowed them to destroy Vulcan. But how did the mining ship capture Spock's ship ... and defeat the entire Klingon fleet (after the same ship and crew were captured by the Klingons 27 years earlier)?

Reminds me of the big mistake in the last episode of TNG, when Picard initiates a certain particle probe in three time periods to create the time rift that is about to destroy all of humanity. Late in the show, Data discovers the problem and explains that all three particle streams are coming from the Enterprise in different eras -- the problem is that only two of the three probes came from the Enterprise (in the past and Picard's present). The future probe came from Beverly's medical ship, not the Enterprise.

Still, I can live with the problem. I very much enjoyed re-viewing the new Star Trek. I'm looking forward to the next installments in the series.

And, yes, they confirmed on screen (and in the commentary) that this is a re-boot of the franchise. They've created a new reality, so we can't be sure that what we know from the TV stories will be repeated.