wolfsbride (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wolfsbride) wrote2009-05-30 11:59 am
wolfsbride) wrote2009-05-30 11:59 am
Entry tags:
Day 150 - Star Trek
Okay. Since this movie's only been out a few weeks, I'm going to put the review behind a cut just in case any one of the three or four people that read my journal haven't yet been to see it.
Firstly, let me say I'm a great fan of the OLD SCHOOL Star Trek. Even their HORRIBLE third season of TV was adorably awful. My favourite bad episode of that season is Spock's Brain. That said, I quite enjoyed this movie. It was actually better than I expected it to be. I thought they did a great job with the casting. When I was told who was playing who, I couldn't picture how it would work. But having seen it, it works surprising well. I think in part to the actors being charismatic but mostly due to the fact that they had enough familiar visual and verbal cues that I was able to be yeah okay... that's how a young whomever would be. I liked Kirk, Uhura and Sulu. I loved Bones and Scotty and I thought Chekov was incredibly adorable. He got my vote the instant the computer wouldn't acknowledge his voice commands because of his accent.
And then there was Spock. Spock, to paraphrase, was and will always be, the standard to which I hold Vulcans. He and Sarek are and were incredible. There hasn't been a Vulcan since that I have liked. Unfair I know but that's the way it is for me. Spock is the make or break character for me. If he wasn't right, I would have not enjoyed the movie in the least.
So imagine my surprise when it turned out that I actually liked this version of Spock. He didn't really look the part of a Vulcan with his softer appearance but somehow the actor's performance connected with me. I think it was something about his eyes and his expressions. I could actually see his emotions even when they weren't overt. I felt the the emotional conflict of his dual heritage. So, this particular Vulcan gets the stamp of approval and as the old duo of Siskel and Ebert would say, two thumbs way up, from me.
Things I liked:
- OMG! LEONARD NIMOY!!!! Honestly, the whole movie could have been him reading a book out loud and I would have sighed happily :D
- Olsen. The minute I saw him I was all HAHAHAHAA RED SHIRT GUY! YOU'RE DEAD MAN WALKING!
- Sulu saving Kirk with his sword after Kirk was obviously thinking.. yeah fencing.. fat lot of good that'll do us
- Chekov saving them mid fall
- Chekov not being able to save Spock's mother. I think that's a great opening there for character development between Spock and Chekov
- Kirk telling Uhura that her chosen field means she's got a talented tongue
- Scotty beaming away the Admiral's beagle
- The Vulcan council verbalizing Spock's heritage as a disadvantage and Spock's response
- Spock's interactions with Kirk and his younger self
- The to boldly go voice over at the end. Seriously. HAVE NIMOY READ ALOUD IN THE NEXT MOVIE PEOPLE!
Things I didn't like:
- ADS BEFORE THE MOVIE! There were ads and then there were coming attractions that added up to half an hour before the movie actually started!
- The whole first half hour. The movie should have started at the academy. Yeah yeah back story blah blah whoop dee doo. All that stuff could have easily been referred to in a few well placed scenes of dialogue.
- Spock's dad marrying his mother for science experiment reasons. I guess we're supposed to infer that they loved each other since he broke tradition and she would hopefully have not married him if he didn't show some sort of feelings towards her but I dunno. The way they worded it really ticked me off.
Again it probably goes back to my love of Mark Lenard. I NEVER got the feeling that Amanda was anything more than the love of that particular period of his life. I think in one of the conversations between Spock and Sarek, Spock asks his father why he married his mother, a human. And Sarek says something like marrying your mother was illogically logical.
- The Vulcans taunting Spock. I don't doubt that Spock suffered greatly as child growing up, but somehow that particular scene did not ring true for me. In my mind Vulcans wouldn't be that obvious with their insults.
- The way they info dumped old Spock's story line. They could have used the half hour they wasted at the beginning to develop that
Things I'm undecided about:
-There's only one. The whole thing between Spock and Uhura. I mean I don't deny it's possible. They do infer it a lot in the old show. I guess I'm just dubious about the way they portrayed it in the movie. Will be interesting to see if it goes anywhere when they make a sequel.
So to sum up, the plot was crappy. I mean, what the heck??? Portable black holes??? WHAT! Not to mention the time issues. GET A NEW SHICK STAR TREK! At least they didn't sling shot around the sun this time. The first hour sucked. I would go see this movie again, but I wouldn't want to have to repeat the first hour. Maybe I can watch some other movie for an hour and then sneak into Star Trek.
BUT! The characters were likeable and I actually cared about them which is the number one thing for a movie. I'm hoping the next movie will be exponentially improved now that they've gotten the set up out of the way.
EDIT: I've been informed that Spock's Dad DOES tell him that he loved his mother. That's what I get for going to the bathroom!
Live long and prosper!
Firstly, let me say I'm a great fan of the OLD SCHOOL Star Trek. Even their HORRIBLE third season of TV was adorably awful. My favourite bad episode of that season is Spock's Brain. That said, I quite enjoyed this movie. It was actually better than I expected it to be. I thought they did a great job with the casting. When I was told who was playing who, I couldn't picture how it would work. But having seen it, it works surprising well. I think in part to the actors being charismatic but mostly due to the fact that they had enough familiar visual and verbal cues that I was able to be yeah okay... that's how a young whomever would be. I liked Kirk, Uhura and Sulu. I loved Bones and Scotty and I thought Chekov was incredibly adorable. He got my vote the instant the computer wouldn't acknowledge his voice commands because of his accent.
And then there was Spock. Spock, to paraphrase, was and will always be, the standard to which I hold Vulcans. He and Sarek are and were incredible. There hasn't been a Vulcan since that I have liked. Unfair I know but that's the way it is for me. Spock is the make or break character for me. If he wasn't right, I would have not enjoyed the movie in the least.
So imagine my surprise when it turned out that I actually liked this version of Spock. He didn't really look the part of a Vulcan with his softer appearance but somehow the actor's performance connected with me. I think it was something about his eyes and his expressions. I could actually see his emotions even when they weren't overt. I felt the the emotional conflict of his dual heritage. So, this particular Vulcan gets the stamp of approval and as the old duo of Siskel and Ebert would say, two thumbs way up, from me.
Things I liked:
- OMG! LEONARD NIMOY!!!! Honestly, the whole movie could have been him reading a book out loud and I would have sighed happily :D
- Olsen. The minute I saw him I was all HAHAHAHAA RED SHIRT GUY! YOU'RE DEAD MAN WALKING!
- Sulu saving Kirk with his sword after Kirk was obviously thinking.. yeah fencing.. fat lot of good that'll do us
- Chekov saving them mid fall
- Chekov not being able to save Spock's mother. I think that's a great opening there for character development between Spock and Chekov
- Kirk telling Uhura that her chosen field means she's got a talented tongue
- Scotty beaming away the Admiral's beagle
- The Vulcan council verbalizing Spock's heritage as a disadvantage and Spock's response
- Spock's interactions with Kirk and his younger self
- The to boldly go voice over at the end. Seriously. HAVE NIMOY READ ALOUD IN THE NEXT MOVIE PEOPLE!
Things I didn't like:
- ADS BEFORE THE MOVIE! There were ads and then there were coming attractions that added up to half an hour before the movie actually started!
- The whole first half hour. The movie should have started at the academy. Yeah yeah back story blah blah whoop dee doo. All that stuff could have easily been referred to in a few well placed scenes of dialogue.
- Spock's dad marrying his mother for science experiment reasons. I guess we're supposed to infer that they loved each other since he broke tradition and she would hopefully have not married him if he didn't show some sort of feelings towards her but I dunno. The way they worded it really ticked me off.
Again it probably goes back to my love of Mark Lenard. I NEVER got the feeling that Amanda was anything more than the love of that particular period of his life. I think in one of the conversations between Spock and Sarek, Spock asks his father why he married his mother, a human. And Sarek says something like marrying your mother was illogically logical.
- The Vulcans taunting Spock. I don't doubt that Spock suffered greatly as child growing up, but somehow that particular scene did not ring true for me. In my mind Vulcans wouldn't be that obvious with their insults.
- The way they info dumped old Spock's story line. They could have used the half hour they wasted at the beginning to develop that
Things I'm undecided about:
-There's only one. The whole thing between Spock and Uhura. I mean I don't deny it's possible. They do infer it a lot in the old show. I guess I'm just dubious about the way they portrayed it in the movie. Will be interesting to see if it goes anywhere when they make a sequel.
So to sum up, the plot was crappy. I mean, what the heck??? Portable black holes??? WHAT! Not to mention the time issues. GET A NEW SHICK STAR TREK! At least they didn't sling shot around the sun this time. The first hour sucked. I would go see this movie again, but I wouldn't want to have to repeat the first hour. Maybe I can watch some other movie for an hour and then sneak into Star Trek.
BUT! The characters were likeable and I actually cared about them which is the number one thing for a movie. I'm hoping the next movie will be exponentially improved now that they've gotten the set up out of the way.
EDIT: I've been informed that Spock's Dad DOES tell him that he loved his mother. That's what I get for going to the bathroom!
Live long and prosper!