Star Trek

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Or Star Trek II: No more Kirkin' around.

[JH Sounds]

Or Star Trek II: The Search for Shatner.

[rig1015]

Star Trek II: The Wrath of the Franchise

[Cassanova]

While all of these are certainly brilliant titles, Star Trek: Gornography is already in the works.

[Lotd2242]

I'm wondering if the second movie will beat Cryptic's Star Trek MMO to release. The MMO sounds interesting in concept, but I don't know how well it will work in practice.

They've decided to take the "fast-forward 100 years" style approach with the player as a ship's captain. Apparently there will be real-time space combat as well as away missions to planets and such, with customizable ships and crews and races. They've also had events in the timeline mess up relations with the Klingons so that the Federation and the Klingons are at war.

[Jam Stunna]

Ok now that I'm awake, here are actual thoughts about it.

For starters, I think that if Paramounts goal was to broaden the audience, they succeeded in spades as I brought two friends, one of which was familiar with Star Trek and another who was totally ignorant other than people telling him that the series sucks and out of the two, the second one enjoyed it the most even going so far as to call it his favorite movie of the year thus far. For me as a Star Trek fan, I'm glad that they were so enthused by it that I could toss in snips of ST lore here and there.

Secondly, I loved the fact that they were able to keep so much of the lore in tact while expanding on the universe like the Vulcan academy and such. The fact that the actors played their characters so well was also great. I loved Scotty, Kirk and Spock, but I think I loved Sulu, Chekov, and McCoy much more in this incarnation.

This really is Star Trek as it was meant to be. Would gladly see again and I want a sequel: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Nero.

McCoy really was awesome.

[Strike911]

You should try watching Gundam. They've got a half-dozen different alternate universes (in addition to stuff set in the "real world").

Gundam ftw.

And I went and saw this movie a few days ago and really enjoyed it. That is all.

I've already began integrating "Are you outta your Vulcan mind?" into my regular speaking patterns.

[Wacky]

So anyone else in the audience felt anti-vulcan xenophobia when Zoe Saldana started pashing Spock? I know I did.

Freaking Vulcans and their hot logic.

For a more in depth analysis of the movie, here's my thoughts:

1. There are no massive canyons in Iowa that I know of. However, the Xindi did do some massive shit to the planet that hasn't been fixed yet. I was very impressed, since "Enterprise" exists in both universes.

2. I like, yet dislike, the almost retro steampunk of the engineering sections of the Enterprise and Federation ships. I really really like it because face it, metal welding's gonna be metal welding no matter how far in the future it is, and anyone from today could still use anything made 200 years ago. Even Spock's mega uber ship from the future still has an air of having been built by engineers, rather than assembled by prop makers (Similar to the Enterprise E, although that ship's got a different paradigm altogether.) I don't like it because it doesn't scream Trek to me, but it's still great.

3. "Enlist?" Captain Pike uses those terms rather loosely, especially for academy cadets. I also dislike how, instead of the original series where Kirk earnt his captaincy over several years of actually being a starfleet officer, he gets his captaincy immediately after passing his academy course.(Equivalent to colonel in the Army!)

The Awesome:

The massive amounts of snark that work on multiple levels.

1. Sulu loving Fencing? True in both universes- except where in the normal verse it's a hobby that's faintly ridiculous (And apparently lampshaded as such in the movie) here it means he can go toe to toe with creatures stronger and more resilient than he is. With a Freaking Retractable Katana of WIN and AWESOME.

2. I finally get a convincing reason why Scotty comes up with insane ideas that are outside the box. Because he knows a LOT about engineering, and because he's frankly slightly insane.

3. "Are you out of your Vulcan Mind?"

4. Hot interspecies sex in mini skirts and go go boots (In which we all are envious of Mr Spock.)

5. Spock being snarky when he wants to be.

6. "We can help your crew." "I'd rather die." "That's cool. Mr Sulu, shoot him."

But seriously, the movie brings back characters that I can relate to, and are convincing portrayals of those characters. The Federation is made of flawed human beings, and THIS Federation is one I can see doing all the things I suggested in my first post- but maybe they wouldn't, because while the humans in this Federation are all flawed beings they've still kept that Starfleet optimism which I've missed so much.

Waiting eagerly for the next movie- which I hope will have Kirk facing his greatest weakness, which is the belief that there is no such thing as a no win scenario...

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Sulu loving Fencing? True in both universes- except where in the normal verse it's a hobby that's faintly ridiculous (And apparently lampshaded as such in the movie) here it means he can go toe to toe with creatures stronger and more resilient than he is. With a Freaking Retractable Katana of WIN and AWESOME.

This right here.

I'm pretty sure everyone in the theater I was in laughed when he said he could fence, then when he actually pulled out the thing, everyone was like "oh snap!"

So awesome.

Waiting eagerly for the next movie- which I hope will have Kirk facing his greatest weakness, which is the belief that there is no such thing as a no win scenario...

This would be a great idea I think, but why stop there? I'd love to see a whole new Star Trek universe reboot. To me, this movie really managed to breathe a bunch of life into the series.

[The Author]

1. There are no massive canyons in Iowa that I know of. However, the Xindi did do some massive shit to the planet that hasn't been fixed yet. I was very impressed, since "Enterprise" exists in both universes.

What about the fact that he was driving in a quarry... this might have something to do with the big hole he almost drove into...

Just sayin...

[Admiral_C]

I also dislike how, instead of the original series where Kirk earnt his captaincy over several years of actually being a starfleet officer, he gets his captaincy immediately after passing his academy course.

And you know... saving the Earth, Starfleet, and likely Federation itself... that helped too I think.

[Lotd2242]

And you know... saving the Earth, Starfleet, and likely Federation itself... that helped too I think.

That was all Spock. One of the things I wondered is why Kirk gets the credit? Future Spock gave him the ideas, New Scotty did the beaming, New Chekov came up with the hide in the rings bit, and New Spock flew Future Spock's ship to do all the drill breaking and Nero ship-killing.

[Bleck]

That was all Spock. One of the things I wondered is why Kirk gets the credit? Future Spock gave him the ideas, New Scotty did the beaming, New Chekov came up with the hide in the rings bit, and New Spock flew Future Spock's ship to do all the drill breaking and Nero ship-killing.

they would just died in the trap set by the romulans if kirk wasn't on the ship

[Lotd2242]

they would just died in the trap set by the romulans if kirk wasn't on the ship

No, they would've died in the trap set by the Romulans if Sulu had taken the e-brake off before trying to go to warp. They're still debating Kirk's warning even as they come out of warp into the debris field. They probably still would've died if Nero hadn't caught a glimpse of the name of the ship and remembered Spock might be on it and stopped shooting at them.

[JH Sounds]

That was all Spock. One of the things I wondered is why Kirk gets the credit? Future Spock gave him the ideas, New Scotty did the beaming, New Chekov came up with the hide in the rings bit, and New Spock flew Future Spock's ship to do all the drill breaking and Nero ship-killing.

...but if young Spock had diverted the Enterprise to the Laurentian system, Earth would have been pwned before anything else could happen. So the resolution ultimately revolves around Kirk's very existence.

That was deep.

[Upthorn]

Right, so I saw the movie on Sunday, the 10th, but I've just gotten around to checking this thread. Here's my take:

The good

George Kirk

James Kirk

Pike

Bones

Uhura

Sulu

Chekov

Sulu's sword.

Old Spock

Scotty

Racist vulcans

some of the action sequences.

Beastie Boys - sabotage.

The updated viewscreens.

The bad

The "shields at 30%" cliche being invoked when the shields clearly don't exist at all, as evidenced by the massive explosions and hull damage whenever any weapon hits at all.

Romulans all being bald and tattooed.

That one Romulan using a collapsible battle axe instead of his gun

The new design aesthetic visible inside federation ships. (all exposed pipework and steamworks and 20th-century submarine-esque)

Vulcan gradeschool bullies.

The incredibly generic villain.

The dystopian future traffic cop, and actually the entire scene with Kirk joyriding -- Except for Sabotage.

product placement.

The utterly horrible

New Spock's entire personality (blame lies firmly with the writers/directors on this one, not the actor).

Sci-fi monster chase sequence on ice planet (Notably the portion which outright recycles the cloverfield monster model with a new head)

Scotty's wacky!!! alien assistant

the waterworks sequence. Completely unnecessary and unrealistic filler, outright shattered my willing suspension of disbelief.

the scene where Kirk emotionally compromises Spock. (Aside from being blatantly telegraphed, there was literally no reason that Kirk should have thought to say the things he said.)

Red matter

The supernova in the original future which threatens the entire galaxy. Seriously, that is just disgustingly ignorant on the part of the writers.

Now, the "shields" thing, the dystopian cop, and new Spock's personality being completely incorrect wouldn't be negatives if it weren't calling itself a Star Trek movie. So, if I were to grade it without taking the branding into account, it'd get a 6 out of 10 -- mildly entertaining, if mediocre and unfocused.

With the Star Trek branding, that drops to a 4 or 5, primarily because of the complete mischaracterization of one of the most important personalities in the entire franchise.

[Avatar of Justice]

I've never really watched the original Star Trek show, so I know the characters names and general personalities and that's about it. I found this movie to be kind of meh. I would've enjoyed seeing Spock and Kirk in the academy more and see them getting some development during their three years of training (or however long Spock was in the academy). The movie was way too balls to the wall action for me. I would've rather stayed home and watched The Wire. At leas tit didn't have any scenes that were cringe worthy like Transformers.

[Native Jovian]

The movie was way too balls to the wall action for me.

So what you're saying is that you aren't man enough for this movie.

[Lotd2242]

...but if young Spock had diverted the Enterprise to the Laurentian system, Earth would have been pwned before anything else could happen. So the resolution ultimately revolves around Kirk's very existence.

That was deep.

Not true. They would've died before Spock had the opportunity to make the decision had not Nero recognized the name of the ship, which would've been less likely if they appeared with the rest of the fleet since he would be too busy shooting everything to look closely. Plus he wouldn't care about the name of the ship without the possibility of Spock being on board.

Then, if it weren't for Future Spock, Kirk would've died on the ice planet, or at least would've been stuck there slowly freezing to death while Spock proceeded to the Laurentian system anyway. So it's really all Spock.

Come to think of it, I don't think Kirk does one right thing the whole movie, and takes lots of actions that should ultimately prevent him from getting any kind of promotion. He spends pretty much the entire movie making bad decisions and nearly getting himself and others killed for no reason.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Not true. They would've died before Spock had the opportunity to make the decision had not Nero recognized the name of the ship, which would've been less likely if they appeared with the rest of the fleet since he would be too busy shooting everything to look closely. Plus he wouldn't care about the name of the ship without the possibility of Spock being on board.

Then, if it weren't for Future Spock, Kirk would've died on the ice planet, or at least would've been stuck there slowly freezing to death while Spock proceeded to the Laurentian system anyway. So it's really all Spock.

Come to think of it, I don't think Kirk does one right thing the whole movie, and takes lots of actions that should ultimately prevent him from getting any kind of promotion. He spends pretty much the entire movie making bad decisions and nearly getting himself and others killed for no reason.

Um.... No.

[Jam Stunna]

With the Star Trek branding, that drops to a 4 or 5, primarily because of the complete mischaracterization of one of the most important personalities in the entire franchise.

Spock is half-human, and I thought that was something that was completely ignored in the TOS movies. I think it's great that they finally have shown some of the conflict of his two cultures.

Besides, such a look at Vulcans is not unprecedented. The name of the episode escapes me, but there was an episode in TNG where Picard took in the emotions of a Vulcan ambassador, and they were pretty intense there as well.

[JH Sounds]

Besides, such a look at Vulcans is not unprecedented. The name of the episode escapes me, but there was an episode in TNG where Picard took in the emotions of a Vulcan ambassador, and they were pretty intense there as well.

...and the Vulcan ambassador happened to be Spock's father, too.

[Jam Stunna]

...and the Vulcan ambassador happened to be Spock's father, too.

Correct you are, sir!

[TSori]

my two cents on why kirk gets the credit. Yeah its a little bit odd.

The charcaters in star trek bring an array of unique abilities. Even looking at the original series you have to ask where kirk is supposed to fit in. Hes not the engineer..thats scotty. hes not the dr., nor the scientist, the pilo, etc. no the skill kirk brings to the table is the ability to lead. He can coordinate those people to form a working team that can accomplish great things

that is what he did in this movie

yeah old spock gave him the idea. to take the ship, but hes the one that actually went back up there and did it. he's the one who got himself into a position where he could piece together everyone elses idea's. And then did it, resulting in a team of people using their individual abilities to solve a larger problem.

you make the guy who can transport at warp speed an engineer, you put a great pilot at the helm. you put a rational and contolled mind in an advisory roll. you put the guy who can pull them all together in charge.

so in the end. I agree with everyone else. actions and ideas came fom the others, but you have to have someone to pull it all together

[Lotd2242]

...and the Vulcan ambassador happened to be Spock's father, too.

It also happened to be a result of an incurable Vulcan disease.

my two cents on why kirk gets the credit. Yeah its a little bit odd.

The charcaters in star trek bring an array of unique abilities. Even looking at the original series you have to ask where kirk is supposed to fit in. Hes not the engineer..thats scotty. hes not the dr., nor the scientist, the pilo, etc. no the skill kirk brings to the table is the ability to lead. He can coordinate those people to form a working team that can accomplish great things

that is what he did in this movie

yeah old spock gave him the idea. to take the ship, but hes the one that actually went back up there and did it. he's the one who got himself into a position where he could piece together everyone elses idea's. And then did it, resulting in a team of people using their individual abilities to solve a larger problem.

you make the guy who can transport at warp speed an engineer, you put a great pilot at the helm. you put a rational and contolled mind in an advisory roll. you put the guy who can pull them all together in charge.

so in the end. I agree with everyone else. actions and ideas came fom the others, but you have to have someone to pull it all together

I can understand that rationale, but the problem is that Kirk does not really do any of that. His act of bringing them together is basically to sit in the chair and tell them they're going to suicidally attack Nero. It's not as though Spock did not have that idea, more that Spock acted correctly realizing that his ship was no match for Nero's.

Classic Kirk makes much more sense as captain because he is a master tactician with a knack for coming up with clever, last-minute strategies to save the day that nobody else thought of. He was also no slouch in engineering, piloting, medicine, combat, or diplomacy and could jump into any role pretty effectively.

What could've really distinguished New Kirk as a leader worthy of the captain's chair would've been to recognize that they could hide at Saturn and beam something onto Nero's ship to give them the advantage and convince Spock and the rest of the crew to do it, rather than throwing a tantrum on the bridge.

Even you do give Kirk the credit, I don't see how it gets him promoted to captain of the flagship of the Federation though. Maybe off of academic suspension or possibly captain/first officer of a little ship on which to cut his teeth.