Special Edition Podcast
Show Notes
The time has come! Star Trek has finally beamed into our brains! Whether you’re a hardcore Trekkie (we refuse to use the term Trekker) or a total Federation noob, join the iFanboys as they take a look at J.J. Abrams’ attempt to resuscitate the once mighty sci-fi franchise!
Running Time: 00:26:26
Music:
“Theme from Star Trek”
Alexander Courage
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterpr– waitaminute, who are these guys?
The prequel/sequel/reimagining of the once mighty, but now moribund sci-fi franchise is finally here, brought to us by J.J. Abrams and company.
Star Trek!
Never has the anticipation for a film been simultaneously more exciting and terrifying than for this one.
Are you going to see it? Of course you are! So let’s talk about it!
If you haven’t seen the movie yet be forewarned — there be SPOILERS ahoy! So don’t scroll down any further if you are sensitive to that kind of thing.
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Thanks for posting this so early. Just got back. Thoughts to follow after I listen!
Watching this film is like reading DNA Cosmic Marvel. Loads of fun and awesome.
I’ll listen later, but I’ve got to gush right now. That movie was A-fucking-MAZING! So completely blown away by it, on every level. Wasn’t perfect, of course, but nailed it so close that I’ll give it a fudge.
Man Roger Ebert is on a tear this month! First he gives a negative review to Wolverine, now Star Trek? I hope we dont see him on the front page saying he got murdered by a bunch of trekkies.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090506/REVIEWS/905069997
I think this movie is everything SUPERMAN RETURNS hoped to be. It used elements of the old and combined with the new. Didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwate
I really enjoyed that Young Spock expresses his humanity through physicality be it a brawl or a makeout. Nimoy added such gravitas to the cave scene on Toth (don’t know the name of Trek Planet) I wheelped with tears when he said "Live Long and Prosper Old friend" before Scotty and Kirk beamed up.
Maybe would have liked a few female admirals, but good times.
Thats awesome, I didn’t expect you guys to do a Star Trek show. I loved the movie and Star Trek is at the summit of my fan hood even beyond comics I think. I worried that this movie was going to just move away from the universe i grew up on but it was still there. There was all the nostalgic lines and so on. This was also the most fun Star Trek movie ever, the action and the humor. It was really well put together too from the visuals to the sound!
Alright here’s the scene:
You guys were totally making me want to watch this film now. Totally wasnt interested before, but for some reason your glowing review made me think……’Huh, maybe this will be a good film and I’ll have a fun time. Then these 3 words came up signifying I will not watch this film ever.
Star Trek Multiverse.
Pass.
Hey. What’s wrong with Minnesota accents??? GRRR HOMETOWN RAGE! (oh well..)
Great show, guys. This movie was awesome. I know nothing about Trek and was compltely wowed by this film. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a theatre since Iron Man.
it seemed visually interesting but otherwise quite boring. i found myself making fun of it quite a few times throughout. i dunno, i’m still glad they gave it a go, although i always enjoyed star trek on the small screen rather than big. and why oh why do there have to big platforms that people can fall off to their doom inside the romulan ship. can’t they afford handrails? yes i know it’s cliche but…..oh wait. never mind.
that movie was sooo awesome. i could not stop smiling.
@thenextchampion…im not one for the murdering of another human being, but i have no beef with ruining someones so called career in criticizing film. Roger Ebert needs to learn that we (true movie fans) dont need his input and dont appreciate it.
on that note…the movie was awesome. Saw the first showing in my hometown so that by default the theater would be filled with either hardcore movie fans or Star Trek fans. I think that if you see a movie such as this with people that still luv the Star Trek Universe it only adds more to the experience. Star Trek is not dead and not making any presumptions, but JJ definitely proved that the prequel genre can be of decent quality.
@mttskates: Well he’s technically in the minority when it comes to opinions of this film critcally. He can be wrong, not saying he’s a god. (Although he is my mentor in terms of my career)
But that line ‘im not one for the murdering of another human being’ is so funny out of context 🙂
Our theater had such a diverse cast which was very encouraging for the success of this film.
This thing was great. So much fun. That’s all I can say right now, It’s 2am and I just got back…
@TNC, you need to put away any reservations you have and just enjoy it. This is easily one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.
Oh, and did anyone else notice that Spock displayed more berserker rage in one scene that Wolverine did in his entire film?
Anyone else have a near empty theater?
To the people who didn’t go to the 9:30 screening at my local theater, you definatly missed out. It was awesome.
I’m reading the Roger Ebert review and as usual its making me cringe. The guy really needs to retire. I know at some point he was a respected critic but he always just comes off as some angry old man to me.
He said this "The logic is also a little puzzling when Scotty can beam people into another ship in outer space, but they have to physically parachute to land on a platform in the air from which the Romulans are drilling a hole to the Earth’s core."
he must have missed the whole deal about the transporter and com signal being jammed by the device. Once the device was destoyed the signal was unjammed and they were beamed out. I would hate to be a critic, they get so stuck in criticism that they forget to enjoy movies or even pay attention.
I got a new tagline for Ifanboy:
‘Ifanboy.com: The ifanbase that has hated Roger Ebert since 2009’
Ebert did say he enjoyed it and technically gave it a thumbs up. I do respect his opinion and he is accurate on several points and missed some points. Star Trek used to deal with very lofty ideals on capitalism, communism, morality, on the difference of life and sacrifice, it use to comment on society.
Now it is a space opera and has been since Roddenberry died, I’m okay with that though.
This was a really good movie, I really liked it, I want to see it again. Easy 9/10 for me on my pure pleasure meter.
was awesome. was sucked in from the first i liked the reboot was the crisis on infinite earths ostar trek. and i a big star trek fan i’v seen every episode. was very popularist and main stream but that’s what star trek need’s.
please let them do a hbo type series of this
I saw it last Tuesday at a free screening. It’s my favorite of the Star Trek movies.
@TNC – if you don’t want to watch it, watch Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090065/
I’m really fine with the whole alternate reality explanation. Since they have dealt with time travel so much in the past it seemed to really fit. Also, this opens up letting them do whatever they want without Trekkies climbing over their back about continuity.
"Ultimate" Star Trek is perfect for the current generation of geek. I had never seen any of the original film, by that I mean the numbered ones not the TNG ones. About a year ago I went back and watched Wrath of Khan. That was one boring ass piece of shit for like the first 45 minutes. I then watched some of the others and they seemed to pick up the pace. But if they tried to follow the pacing of those movies today they would ONLY get the trekkies and not grow an audience like it seems this movie will allow them to do.
I haven’t listened yet, and I’ll have time (maybe) for a deeper review later but…
That’s how you reboot!! You create something fresh and new without shitting all over everything that came before it. I thought it was amazing, the bar for the summer has been set high! I’m not sure I’ll see a better movie this year. I hadn’t heard mush going in about Urban as McCoy and he nailed it.
Two thumbs up, 5/5, four stars and so on! I absolutely loved it!
I had really high expectations for this movie and I just loved it. I’m going to see it again tonight and definitely next week with my father. I can’t remember the last time I liked a movie enough to be as excited to see it a second time as before I actually saw it.
Someone commented about the lofty ideals of the Original Series and how they’ve become space opera. I have to quibble about that. It is a space opera and I know the comment was meant to be an insult, but the loftiest idea that Roddenberry had was of a future in which human beings were better versions of themselves and survived to become part of an intergalactic community. After watching the full run of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, I have to say that Roddenberry’s vision is still alive and well here and it still has something to offer even today. The fact that the characters in this Trek can have funny moments and tell a fun sci-fi story is part of that optimism. I loved BSG, but even in its finale it maintained a certain fatalism that reminds me of classic science fiction. Trek can be a little goofy at times, but it’s supposed to be. It’s not just a nod to the original series, it’s part of the bright future that we want for ourselves–being able to laugh as well as explore new worlds, etc. I loved this movie and I’m glad everyone else seems to be digging it too.
On another note, it was probably the most fun I’ve had waiting for a movie to start. Trekkers, or trekkies, really are a unique group of people. Not one ‘crazy’ person dressed up and everyone was just so excited for the movie, it really was a lot of fun.
Pretty much loved it. The script wasn’t perfect, but so many other things made up for that. Loved the space battles, and the characters.
Great podcast. I’m also not too sure about the "Spock meeting Spock" and multiverses etc, but I’ll check out the original series. I saw several episodes of Star Trek (don’t know from which incarnation) and I liked the concept but it never caught on.
Roger Ebert has been reviewing films since 1967, and he was writing for sci-fi fanzines since he was in high school. I don’t think he has to justify himself or his criticism to anyone around here.
@Jimski: If anything; he probably knows more about sci-fi then most directors who do those types of films
This is a fine reboot that got the characters right. And as a "Trekkie" I take no issue with the parallel dimension deal or whatever. The only issue I take I have is that the point of the ST deal is that these were stories that served to teach us something about ourselves, in an optimistic way. This film does not do that (Even considering Kirk’s half-hearted negotiation attempt). As long as the future movies make a bigger point of: as long as we stick to the big values of talking before shooting and thinking before acting, we may have a franchise worthy of Roddenberry’s legacy.
I saw it last night. Well worth the ticket price. Perfect balance of the Star Trek core ideals, Action/Adventure, camp/exposition and overall production. Highly entertaining and well worth a 2nd and/or 3rd theater viewing.
I do recommend reading the Countdown 1-4 prequel though, just to get a little more insight behind Nero’s motives, and the whole Spock from the Future thing.. And because you get Data, Picard, Jeordi and Worf cameo’s.
Re: Ebert…
Writing his opinions professionally since 1967 doesn’t make them more valid now or then. I spoke with Leonard Maltin many years ago about his bashing of Jurassic Park and he admitted that he liked the movie and thought it was a lot of fun, but that he had a responsibility as a professional critic to look for flaws. Mechanics are paid to find problems with your car, critics are paid to find fault with films. Are there faults? Usually. Just like you could find something wrong with you in a full-body scan at the hospital, you can find something wrong in every film. I think that critics like Ebert should be taken with a grain of salt because their opinions are their job.
@raduloket and yet you come to a website built around 3 main critics and a community of critics that they’ve built? 🙂
All kidding aside when I said Space Opera, the frame is the same as TOS, it’s an Earth World that has come together and proven we can get over or stupid petty crap and such. That’s just the frame though.
The thrust of the old stories had a self examining critique on 1960s and 80s Western Society. This movie, which I like the more I think about it, is a set up for the characters and then it is a race to stop mad men from killing innocents. There is no subplot, no underlying moral conundrum, no exploration of lofty ideals. Which is not what I expected or necessarily wanted, the TOS and Next Generation did it, did it well and had more space to do it. I wanted a movie that would be funny, action packed, have good characters I cared about and draw new people into the mythos. If they like it they’ll explore the loftier ideals of the stuff that was done.
As an aside, Star Trek: Insurrection tried to do a story about the displacement of people for greed and science. That depending on perspective was commenting on the things we do to others for our own gain. It didn’t unfortunately make it a good movie, it was almost totally unremarkable.
Loved it! Love the multiverse stuff! This is an ideal reboot because it doesn’t negate past stories, but establishes a new reality where new adventures can take place in their own timeline. Brilliant and exciting. On top of that, it was a blast.
loved it. the story was great. the openning scene was great. it changed gear in between and had a star trek ending but that was great.
Why is the idea of a multiverse in Star Trek so unknown to people. The dark mirror universe has, I think, appeared in every series. That whole concept is predicated on the idea of one or two changes altering the outcome of history. Furthermore, TNG used alternate timelines repeatedly, most notably when a Tasha Yar from a different timeline was brought into the mainstream timeline, had a child by a Romulan, and that daughter later appeared in a few episodes. This is really nothing new.
I’m gonna write my thoughts before I listen to the show.
I loved this movie. I was always more of a Star Wars fan than a trekkie and have very little clue into the whole universe so I went in with no expectations in regards to faithfulness to the original vision, continuity or any other baggage like that. What I came away with was the experience of watching a nearly perfect melding of style and substance, form married to function.
There’s no way to prioritize what I loved most about this movie. The introductions of each character were great and the actors’ characterizations were spot on. I wasn’t so sure about Karl Urban as McCoy at first, but as soon as he strapped himself into the shuttle, complaining like a gruff soldier the whole way, I was sold. Ditto Sulu, Uhura, Scottie. And OMG to Spock. Making his story the central point of the movie was brilliant. Bringing out the parallels between him and Kirk. The scene where he loses his mother! I can go on and on.
Chris Pine (?) as Kirk was also a questionmark for me because I’ve never heard of him before, but he was great, too. Absolutely cocksure and he doesn’t make the mistake of falling into imitation that I’m sure was a big temptation. Oh, and fuck JJ Abrams for making me tear up before the title even shows up onscreen.
Again, I could go on and on about everything, like the alien designs being just beautful, the music perfectly epic, but I should stop. Now, to listen to what the ifanboys have to say.
going to see it tommorow. not a trek fan, could never really get into the show but i love the movies for some reason and i also like j.j abrahms work. —p.s your not doing a terminator show? or does that come after transformers
If I can ask; do a lot of redshirts die in this?
I must say that I enjoyed the movie emensily. It was a ton of fun and even my wife, who would certainly not call herself a Star Trek fan, really seemed to enjoy herself. She did audibly react to the appearance of Winona Ryder and Tyler Perry. I gotta say, those two did kinda throw me out of the movie for a second too.
Another minor quibble, but did anyone else get distracted by the J. J.’s use of lens flare? It seemed to be everywhere when the action was on board the Enterprise. I really don’t know his work well, but has he done this in other work or did he just try to make the Enterprise really shinny?
None of these things ruined the experience for me. Like I said, I enjoyed it a lot. These are just my reactions to it.
Confession: "My" version of Star Trek is based above all things on the novelization of ‘The Wrath of Khan’, which I read when I was 10. The Kobayashi Maru is a BIG thing in that (in the movie too, I guess, but I didn’t see that until a decade later and don’t remember it as well). On a related not, I loved this movie. You don’t have to have had published fanfiction rattling around in your head for the last twenty years to enjoy it, either, but it still works really well if you do. That’s quite a balancing act if you think about it.
Also, I kind of imagine this movie tapping on the ‘Wolverine’ movie’s shoulder and going, "Nuhh, uhh, I’ll show you how to make a prequel. Watch this."
@TNC I didn’t keep tally but the first guy to notably die from the Enterprise was definetly wearing a red shirt
one of the guys in the colour coordinated spacesuits was wearing red and he was roasted, so that might count.
@thenextchampion…yeah, when the extra soldier in the red spacejump suit said he was going to "kick some ass", the whole theater laughed and said "yeah right" almost in unison. 🙂
you know…i said it before but I will say it again..Bless JJ for bringing back what is fun about seeing a movie in the theater with what felt like a theater full of friends.
Just a shot in the dark, but maybe at SDCC this year…the ifanbase should round up a live movie event/meetup. whatablast
"Redshirt"? What’s that?
When I saw the space jumpsuits I immediately thought Halo.
JeffR – I didn’t notice the excessive use of lens flare til right near the end. I thought it was flaw of the IMAX screen at first. I didn’t mind it and thought it was Abrams’ idea of putting us in the movie by making the camera lens an actual thing in the movie. Like all the shaky cam that he likes to use, too.
I have little to know connection with star trek. I have seen maybe three episodes, and no movies. Call me what you like, so be it. But this movie blew my fucking mind.
I’ve always hated Kirk as a character, just not a Shatner fan really, but this guy made me forget that. The movie was awesome and I loved Nimoy signing it off with the old starting line. I hope they start a series with this or most of this cast.
It was a mixed bag for me, yet I still enjoyed it.
I thought Eric Bana’s performance seemed flat. Maybe it’s just that he didn’t have much to work with in the Nero character. Nero just seemed uninteresting and a bit too generic for a lead villain. It didn’t help that I thought the motivation for Nero’s blame/revenge was an unconvincing part of the plot.
There was definitely a fair share of lazy screenwriting as well. One scene that comes to mind is the recycled plot device “you don’t know this yet, here’s some future tech”, ironically used by future Scotty in Star Trek IV.
Sure there were plenty of nit picks but overall I was entertained and had a good time with the film.
I well say this, I pee’d alittel….
I’ve been listening to Giacchino’s terrific score the past few days. Just awesome. If you’re into film score, pick this one up, even if you just grab the nine minute ‘End Credits’ track.
I loved it. I know it’s been said to death, but fun is a good word for it.
My only nitpick is that the ice moon scene threw me out of it for a moment. Seemed they threw a lot of stuff at that scene like Spock’s exposition and the plot device to get them back on the Enterprise. And threw in a chase involving the Cloverfield monster’s little cousin to boot.
Favorite scenes: McCoy following Kirk around the ship with the injections was pretty funny. And the Enterprise’s entrance for the last fight.
Did anyone else die a little when they realized that they have lived long enough to see Wynona Rider play Spock’s mom? Ok… that’s just me pretending that it hasn’t been 20 years since Heathers.
In fairness, they had to put age makeup on Winona to make her look that way. So we’re okay.
Did anyone else notice that Leonard Nimoy was listed in the credits as "Spock Prime"?
Possible sequel: Spock Prime punches reality so hard that he brings back Kirk Prime/William Shatner.
Overall, I loved the movie. Furthermore, the opening scene caused my wife to cry and actually become invested in the film. So, this movie does a good job of reaching fans (myself) and non-fans (my wife) alike.
What I want to know is what effect if any do the events of this movie have on the Mirror Universe
I’d imagine zero. It’s a whole new reality.
Saw it again today, this time with my dad (who took me to the first two TNG movies when they came out). It was a great time. My dad jumped twice, sending popcorn flying. It was hilarious.
Tyler Perry continues to be in the film.
I cant wait for
‘Tyler Perry’s: Madea goes to Vulcan’
I doubt that that film would be produced.
@Paul: Perry does like 80 Madea films a year. He’ll run out of ideas and do a Star Trek parody eventually
You want to be a camera operator, yes? You ought to see the film for technical review.
This was an excellent, excellent movie. I’ve never seen any of the Star Trek movies, but this one was a blast and I had great time seeing it. I can’t wait for the DVD and the evemtual sequel.
So stoked for sequels. I want to see the alt take on Amok Time given the new set of circumstances around Spock and his culture. If they introduce Khan, I’d like to see Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert on LOST) in that role.
Great film. My wife has always been into Star Trek, so great to finally see her geek out more than me in a movie.
I loved the movie. Not perfect, but a great way to kick off the Summer of movies. Love the alternate timeline thing. Such a great way to tell some stories without worrying about continuity.
I got a big grin on my face when Sulu, Kirk and red guy (come on, you knew he would die as soon as his "X-treme!!" ass shows up) came out in the different-colored suits. I don’t know why, but they were so bad ass. Wife said Sulu looked like a Power Ranger 🙂
P.S. Not a big fan of bar fights in movies, but it had to be in there I suppose.
Set phasers on stunning! This film was great. I had really low expectations going into it and i really dont know why. I was skeptical about J.J. Abrams ablity and the cast. But all of that has been put to rest.
The casting was superb. And I thought Karl Urban and Chris Pine, really stole the show. Here’s hoping this re-energizes the series. But if not this movie pays great homage to some classic characters.
Star trek made me very angry. it’s only May 9th and I’ve already seen the best movie of the summer. i haven’t had this much fun at the movies since Iron man, which was pretty much the most fun i’ve ever had at a movie. And I am a hardcore iron man fanboy, yet I’m not a big Star trek Fan. I’ve seen the movies and have seen a chunk of the episodes, but I’m by no means a huge Trekkie (or is it Trekker?) But damn did i love this movie!
I’m actually really looking forward to the new Terminator, Transformers, and GI Joe movie. It’s a good sign that the summer is starting off so strongly. Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come.
@Neb: I’m looking forward to Terminator and Transformers….but not GI Joe. Mainly cause I have seen very little in terms of production and trailers.
Plus Dennis Quaid? Eh…….but Eccleston? FTW!
I haven’t had this much fun at a film in years. It had me from the first scene and I had a big, doofy grin on my face the entire time–or, at least, when I wasn’t cringing or wringing my hands through the more tense scenes. It was a whole movie, which seem to be more and more rare. Solid acting, great characterization, good script, fantastic visuals, and a great score.
Speaking of the score–It reminded me how powerful music can be in a film when you don’t automatically put heavy dramatic music behind the dramatic scenes. Loved it.
Looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say.
Everyone’s saying Pine for Captain America but me I’m saying he’s easilly the best choice for Hal Jordan right now.
Just got back from Star Trek. A+ overall with only minor reservations. There are probably valid critiques to be had, but I’m not paid to be critical on a professional level so I’m not going to bother.
I just saw this film. Before it started, there was a trailer for G.I. Joe. The auditorium was completely silent until the logo came on screen, at which point people started going, "Awwwww yeah!"
I would contend that, if you did not realize you were watching a G.I. Joe trailer until someone told you that’s what it was, you don’t have a lot to "awwww yeah" about.
@Jimski: Was it just a 30 second spot with barely any film footage or was it a full blown trailer?
Also, Nimoy just shut me (and others) up about the film. Stating, and I quote: ‘If your not a fan of this film; then your a dickhead’.
@Paul — I read your ‘Amok Time’ comment, and went through this process (1) "Is pon farr even going to be relevant to a Spock who has clearly embraced his human side enough to enter into a relationship with a human woman and show affection to her, publicly?" (2) That is such an incredibly nerdy thought that I should not ever reveal the fact that I had it to anyone (3) Hey, this is a hip newly revitalized franchise and as such it is now every bit as valid to muse publicly on such topics as it is to wonder whether (for instance) Superman could beat a Jedi (4) or at least if by ‘publicly’ one means ‘on a website devoted to discussing comic books’.
I still think it’s a good question.
As a moviegoer who just wants to see the goddamn movie start, already, my estimate would be that the GI Joe trailer was roughly 19 minutes long.
I didn’t know much about the movie going in, and I didn’t know about the time travel elements at all. I almost began clapping and laughing when the timeline cheat explanation started. Spock all but turns to the camera and goes, "Everything you liked still happened, but we can still do whatever we want from now on. Give continuity a big, long goodbye kiss and settle down, nerd." I want to high-five whoever came up with it.
The end made me think that Star Fleet might be the most flagrantly irresponsible military in the history of fiction. That’s all I’ll say to avoid a spoiler.
@Jimski I was one of those people who got excited when I saw the G.I. Joe logo. I quickly realized that if I had no investment in that trailer before I realized what it was, that was probably a bad sign.
I groaned when I saw the GI JOE logo, personally, because the first minute or so of that trailer looked dreadful, and I had been trying to convince myself that the movie won’t be that bad. Not to judge a book by its cover, completely, but if they can’t even put together a cool looking trailer, that’s not a good sign.
G.I.Joe, did anyone else think the creators saw Iron Man and thought, hell we’ll give them like 10 Iron Men and then they’ll havta love us.
Looks really bad. Don’t think I’ll be giving over money for that one.
@ohcaroline – I think that element, plus the fact that Vulcan is gone might make for an interesting pon farr. Maybe, it’s a retread of his journey in this movie, but maybe it’s not. Just something to think about.
Pushing the spoiler off the main page.
@Paul oh, I think so, too, though I’d be just as happy if they don’t address it.
I’ll be happy so long as there are more Kirk and Bones stories with these actors. They have great chemistry.
awesome awesome awesome
@Paul Agreed, loved the whole cast. I hope they bring Pike back, too.
Celebrated Mother’s Day by taking Mom to the 10 AM showing. I want to marry this movie and give it strong sons. JMom would approve. 😉
Also, "Spock Prime?" Icing on the cake.
By no means am i a trekkie or trekker. I mean I dig some of the old movies, but i really couldn’t have cared any less about all the shows. But this was a damn good movie! Great acting. The plot actually was well calculated, which was my concern going into it. But the movie was soooo entertaining. Far exceeded my expectations.
I doubt there will be any summer movie this year that will top it. Much like Ron, I want to go back and watch the old series now.
Just got back from seeing it.
Wow! They nailed it. The most fun I’ve had watching a movie in years. Is it perfect? Probably not. But I had so much damn fun watching this I didn’t even think about that.
The cast was perfect. Chris Pine did a great job as Kirk, and Karl Urban was the total embodiment of Bones. No one was doing an impression, but everyone got the spirit of the characters just right.
The story was compelling, a complete ride. It was fun, exciting and silly in places. Even the story, the time travel element, worked brilliantly as it made more sense than I thought it would.
My only minor gripe was Simon Pegg, and I say that as a Brit who’s been a fan of his since ‘Spaced’ first aired here in the UK. I love Simon, and I think he’s a terrific actor with amazing comic timing. But it just seemed like his lines were the ‘funny Simon Pegg lines’ rather than Scotty as a character. I have no problem with him being in this as the comic relief, but I suppose I wasn’t expecting the rest of the film, before he appeared, to be so damn funny and entertaining. So when we got to him, I just thought we didn’t need him as comic relief. The film’s funny anyway, just let him be Scotty.
Other than that, I have no bad words. I went to see this with 3 friends; one is a comic book guy who doesn’t really know Trek, the others were 2 girls who don’t read comics and hate sci-fi. Everyone loved it. The word most used after was "fun". We all just had a great time watching this.
Walked out of the theatre, went straight to the box office to book tickets for next weekend. And I plan to go many more times after that.
Saw it loved it
Just saw it, I really enjoyed it. Other then TNG I really did not watch much Star Trek so I was pleasantly surprised.
Saw it yesterday with my wife. During the movie she thinks she felt our baby move for the first time. I think this confirms our child will be a Trekkie.
Teaser trailer for Star Trek 2: Just a long shot of a ship floating in space towards Earth, then let the lens glide along the side of the ship, and the last thing you see before the end: Botany Bay. That would rule! It might also be great to intersperse details from the actual Eugenics Wars along with it.
Also, the only thing I hated about the film was that it ended. Dear Paramount, just break out a fleet of Brinks trucks and pay these people whatever’s necessary for a T.V. series. Lost is a season away from being done, nothing can save Heroes so why waste Zach Quinto, and if it stuck to the "5 year mission," then the actors might be willing to stay around. I don’t want to wait two to three years for the next installment.
Can I purge myself of my only nitpick and be done with it? Confession is good for the soul, and I already know it’s a stupid thing to be hung up on.
When Kirk faces off against Nero man-to-man, Nero vaguely knows he’s a human who’s pretty historically important. "I know your face from history books," and so forth. That’s fine. A minute later, though, he says, "I’m a’gonna kill you just like I killed your dad."
There is simply no way, _no way,_ that guy would or could know anything about Kirk’s dad. Not who he was, not where he was. Dumb line in a great movie.
Good catch Jim, I didn’t pick that up. All my nitpicks were anal retentive things, like the size of the ship and such. Stuff that I let go because it was so much fun.
i’ve never seen a star trek episode or movie before and now i realise why my friends’ eyes glaze over when i talk about a comic-related movie. i just didn’t care about anything that happened in this movie. Two spaceships firing bright lights at each other didn’t seem possible or exciting. I had no interest in the budding relationships between Spock, kirk or anyone else. Ultimately, i was a little bored by all of it.
sorry
Don’t be sorry to us. We’re the ones who had fun.
I’m not a Star Trek fan at all, but this film was awesome. I can’t wait to get the DVD and watch over and over again. And now thanks to this film I want to go out and check out the original series, and the next generation series. So, mission accomplished, I’m now a Star Trek fan.
My favorite part of the film was the cast. Going in, I was a little worried about some of the choices, namely Chris Pine and Karl Urban, but they exceeded expectations, especially Urban who was my favorite character in the film. I look forward to more films with these actors. Like someone said above they all have great chemistry with each other.
My only nitpick was the whole black hole thing, but I was able to just go with it and enjoy myself.
@ Kory- couldn’t they have called them "wormholes" instead? In Star Trek mythos, they’ve always allowed for wonky effects anyway. It might have been more understandable, and would also explain why they weren’t permanent.
I was ready to hate the film when I went in. The two thoughts that crossed my mind while watching the trailers were: "The cast looks like a bunch of 90210 pretty boys placed into the film just to draw in the younger crowd" and "It’s gonna be another Lost In Space." When I walked out of the film, I had to admit to my friends that I was wrong. I had a great time. My pulse was actually racing at times. I don’t recall that happening even with Iron Man last year.
Just saw it thought it was fun, theres a few major plotholes and checkov’s accent was painful tho
First of all, you guys who are knocking on "Wrath of Khan" should shut up. Half of this new movie was extrapolated from the best Star Trek movie ever made which is indeed, Wrath of Khan. In case no one noticed, the method Kirk used to beat the Kobaiashymaru test was the same way he beat Khan. He forced the enemy ship to lower its shields. That being said, I thought it was a great movie and a wild ride. I thought that Quinto was a just a bit too emotional Spock, but got the character great. Pine has swagger like you guys said. I agree that Simon Pegg was underused, but I’m dying to see him in the next installment. One thing, I love about Pegg is that his comic coordination are probably unparalleled by all, but Steve Martin. In his own movies and this one, I’m always impressed how he can run across the length of a set, still spouting dialogue, but look a million directions at once, do a pratfall, and hit his mark. It’s amazing and I got goosebumps when he said "I’m given all she’s got Captn!" The story and a good way to avoid lots of comparisons between old and new. I do think they used beaming as a kind of "get out of jail free card" quite a few times, but we’ve seen that before. Last nitpick, we saw Nero put the creature in Pike, but that was it, what were the effects?? I guess that’ll be in the DVD. Overall, great movie and it was the ride was as good as Iron Man was for me last summer.
Haven’t seen it yet, dammit Jim, I should have gone this past weekend. Are you going to do a Terminator special? Might as well, it was a comic at one time.
Saw the film on Saturday night and loved it. I think Josh summed it up best for me — there may have been critical flaws in the movie, but I was too busy *enjoying* my damn self to pick anything apart. It’s nice when a film just pulls you in like that. It occurs to me that the very reason i could spend so much time analyzing the flaws in a film like Wolverine is because it didn’t engage me. I was analyzing it AS it progressed in the theater. There was no time for that with this film. I had a dopey grin on my face most of the time.
I saw the film with a mix of fans and non-fans, and everyone seemed to enjoy. It’s a good introduction for non-fans, but filled with spectacular in-jokes for the fans. And I loved the way they managed to reboot the franchise within "continuity" by using a plot element worthy of both Trek and ‘Lost.’ Very cool.
Great casting, fun story. This is the epitome of the "fun summer blockbuster" as far as I’m concerned.
Absolutely loved it. Going in I too was like Josh, movie looked great in the previews, somewhat know the characters, but looking for a good time. Coming out of the movie not only was I blown away but I too am tempted to go watch past Trek. Yes, it was that good, imho.
Just saw it again. Same thing. Noticed giant plot flaws, promptly forgot about them and didn’t care.
@josh: Plot holes eh?
forgot about them did ya?
it’s a thing isnt it?
Saw it on saturday with the GF and we both thought it was fantastic!!!
"Plot" is often overrated anyway. 😉
What a fantastic movie. Oscar for Giacchino.
Saw it, loved it. Saw it again and noticed stuff I missed (the missing beagle that Scotty transported away being Archer’s from Enterprise for example).
I saw the GI Joe trailer both times and it just does not look good. They should have gone realistic, gritty Bourne Identity-like with the GI Joe movie rather than what looks like a bunch of models running around in weird suits of armour. And putting the title card "From the director of the Mummy" up really isn’t selling anyone on anything.
@marshak75: I think the creature that Nero uses on Pike is the same one that Kahn used on Chekov during "Wraith of Kahn." Maybe? I kinda just guessed that without doing any sort of research online. So, take my theory with a giant grain of salt.
Review
This films needs to have more of a title. Star Trek sounds alright, but after watching this film there’s two things this film could be called:
‘Star Trek: Deus Ex Machina’ or ‘Star Trek: Attack of the Flares’
I want to stress this before my review that although this might sound harsh….this was by no means the worst summer film nor the worst film of the year. That distinction will clearly go to X-Men Origins: Wolverine til the end of the year (or maybe when I see that horrible GI Joe film. God that trailer made the film look like shit). The score is gonna be low and maybe this is just for me and no one else….I just want to stress this out before the review.
Right then, this was a very average sci-fi film. If you took everything that was Strek Trek; or just the elements of it….this would be a regular ‘Michael Bay’ type of film. Change the names of the major characters, change the ship design just a little bit; no one would consider this a Trek film. The elements of Star Trek is so surface and has no deep meaning in the film it’s laughable. It feels like the writers (Kurtzman/Orci) were writing a regular sci-fi film, JJ Abrams looked at the script; changed the names around to make them Star Trek characters, and made a Star Trek film.
Granted, and want to stress this out too; I am not an uber Trek fan. But I know most of the in’s and outs of this universe. Just that if you speak to me in Romulan I wouldnt know what your talking about. This film is so surface it’s amazing. It seems like people we’re saying things just so the Trek fans can giggle. All of the character’s famous catchphrases are here, and they’re delievered so child-like and forced it made me laugh. These type of moments are too campy for a ‘serious’ film and it made me groan a lot of times.
Part of the problem with the film is that all of these characters are disposable. You could make a case for Kirk and Spock; but everyone else? Disposable. No reason to have Uhura there, I guess she has to fill the ‘sexy minority woman’ quota. For Sulu; you could’ve put any actor in there and he still wouldnt be that important even for me to bill him. Chekov is a stereotypical Russian; oh looks he’s funny cause he cant pronouce ‘W’ ha ha….Then we get to the most laughable villain ever. Is Nero suppose to be threatening? You could’ve fooled me cause it looked like they took him from another film; Abram’s again spray painted a Star Trek on the character and threw him into the mix. His motivations are weak at best and he doesnt he get a final hurrah in the final battle. He just gets curb stomped after he is clearly been defeated and is about to die. Classy Federation.
The special effects are really not worth mentioning. The first space battle looked okay; but you could put the battle from Star Wars Episode III and I couldnt tell you the difference. Plus it doesnt help that the rest of the space battles look absolutely the same. It felted like nothing was being accomplished and fast. There are some nice details like how there is no sound in space, or certain character traits was still present. I thought it was really cool they kept the green blood for Spock; even his bruises are green. But then we get to one of the most laughable things about the film.
OH MY GOD I’M BLIND! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FLARES!?
Jesus Christ! There must’ve been supernovas all around space at this current time. Every single shot, and I mean every single shot, had flares in them. The future is bright, and it burns! There were certain points that the flares completely blinded the whole screen. Just when you thought ‘Hey they’re inside the ship now, no more flares’. But then a flashing button is shown in the background and it gives off a flare! Argh!
Nothing about this film felt memorible nor felt like Star Trek. Again it’s all sugarcoated and I wouldnt be surprised there was a ton of re-writes to make this more like the TV show. Just because you have ‘Damnit Spock I’m a Doctor…’ or have the original 60’s sound effects for the Enterprise makes this a good Star Trek film. The majority of the characters are meaningless, the CGI is very ho-hum, and the alternate reality discussions was groan worthy. Hey since we cant makes a simple prequel; let’s do alternate realities! That way we can do whatever we want and not piss off the fans. Why this couldnt have been a simple prequel makes no sense to me.
When I was sitting there watching the film; I knew what my thought was. ‘Damnit, I’m gonna be the 4% who hated this film’. So many people loved this and so many people think it’s the best Trek film ever. Well I might not be a Trek fan at heart; but I saw no reason to love this film at any point. If this is how sci-fi/action films are gonna be, then call the genre dead. It isnt the worst film of the year nor is it the worst summer film. But it’s averageness and surface Stark Trek references made it a bad film. Count me out on future sequels and I hope no one was blinded by these flares.
D-
The fact that you hated on this movie so much before even seeing it makes me not want to read your review at all. So I won’t.
I can’t imagine being a contrarian is all that fulfilling in the end. Not liking something is fine, even if that thing is popularly favored. But attitude has a lot to do with your ability to enjoy anything.
@drake: I didnt really hate on it; I just didnt want to watch it. It’s called peer pressure!
@TNC-Don’t ever let Conor make you do anything you don’t want to. Especially if alcohol is involved
@drake: He gave me wine….then touched me in places no man should touch another man….*wimpers*
@TNC – Thanks, Miss California. 😉
@Paul: Well actually if I was sober…..okay that’s enough of that ^^;
moving on…
@TNC – in the heart?
In all seriousness, I understand that my resistance of seeing this initially might make my review a bit bias. But I think even if I was neutral or even looking forward to this, my thoughts would still be the same. Maybe if I was super excited about this the review could’ve been worse. Hell even if I paid to get in here (used a gift card for free purchase) my review probably would’ve been worse. It costed $11.50 to see this….11.50!? I understand ten bucks but when did they jack up the price!?
Not terrible, just disappointing.
If I watched this movie I would’ve told you to go sit in the corner with Josh, but I didn’t.
I’m off to see this tonight! Realising full well that I’m possibly the last man on Earth to see it.
@Champ: Conor touched you on the wimpers eh? Saucy!
Loved it!