Star Trek

[DJ Mighty]

Also, New Chekov is possibly the most annoying SciFi character since Jar Jar Binks.

while i may not agree with what you say i will fight to the death your right to say it.

[Cerrax]

I swear to god if I see another lens flare I'm going to shoot J J Abrams in the face.

[relyanCe]

I swear to god if I see another lens flare I'm going to shoot J J Abrams in the face.

you could always, y'know, stop watching JJ Abrams movies...

[Cerrax]

That's the first J J Abrams movie I've seen.

[Kizyr]

I don't get the issue with Spock/Uhura.

If you actually pay attention early in the film, you see it. The entire scene where Spock assigns Uhura to the Farragut instead of the Enterprise and then explains that it's because it would look like a conflict of interest given their history, etc.

That right there laid the foundation of scenes to come.

If I rewatched it, I'm sure I could pick up on a couple hints here and there. But my main point is that it added nothing to the movie, and could've been dropped entirely without losing anything. (The only purpose I see it serving was that it 'humanized' Spock, but that was already done through Kirk--and the kids at the beginning--insulting him and his mother.) It still felt really out of place and rushed, though, regardless of the hints (perhaps underdeveloped is a better word for it).

And dammit, I liked Star Trek Enterprise! There were some lousy arcs in there, but on the whole they did a lot with the series that they hadn't done elsewhere.

The franchise was still going downhill at that point (as it had been since the Dominion War ended in DS9). I won't argue that. KF

[Sinewav]

Look I was not opposed to trying something to breath life into the franchise. I just prefer not to do it at the expense of existing characters, and I don't see how this movie does that. People who are entertained by this movie will be bored to tears by the average Star Trek episode or movie, so I doubt many of them are going to get into the old stuff.

Really now? The biggest reason I loved this movie so much was because I enjoyed the original series, and I appreciated how well the new actors breathed new life into the old characters, while keeping them fairly true to the originals.

Sure, the original series wasn't action-packed by any means, but Kirk & Co. were always beaming down to some planet and winding up having to fight their way out of some alien prison or something, while Kirk made out with some green princess, and Spock followed Kirk to the bitter end, in spite of questioning the logic of his plan. I enjoyed the philosophical aspects of the show as much as anyone, but what made the original Star Trek so cool was that it was just plain fun. I feel like they brought those aspects of the old show into the new movie very well.

[Lotd2242]

Really now? The biggest reason I loved this movie so much was because I enjoyed the original series, and I appreciated how well the new actors breathed new life into the old characters, while keeping them fairly true to the originals.

Sure, the original series wasn't action-packed by any means, but Kirk & Co. were always beaming down to some planet and winding up having to fight their way out of some alien prison or something, while Kirk made out with some green princess, and Spock followed Kirk to the bitter end, in spite of questioning the logic of his plan. I enjoyed the philosophical aspects of the show as much as anyone, but what made the original Star Trek so cool was that it was just plain fun. I feel like they brought those aspects of the old show into the new movie very well.

I do not take exception with the quality of the acting. The new actors did fine with what they were given, but their characters do not really behave like their originals, save maybe McCoy. They are instead the same generic templates we see all over the place, the rebel without a cause, the conflicted mama's boy, the token hot chick love interest, the loud-mouthed comic relief... That is more a problem with direction and writing. I don't think new life has been breathed into Star Trek by this movie so much as its corpse has been reanimated, given some makeup, and sent out to eat brains.

I think one of the main reasons Enterprise (and the end of Voyager) were such abysmal failures is that they were trying to shift into being an action series. Yeah that's fun stuff, but after a couple episodes it gets old.

If you actually think about it, most of the time Kirk & Co. did not fight their way out of trouble. Most of the time they had to think their way out. Break the super-robot with a logic puzzle. Convince their alien captors to turn on their superiors. Goad the godlike being into using up all his power. Bluff the alien commander. Make up the new drug/technology on the spot. Classic Kirk would be more likely to use his new "beam from a trillion miles away at warp" ability to put some new Romulan-only knock-out gas McCoy devised using Spock's blood onto Nero's bridge than risk himself, Spock, and the Enterprise.

Through it all, they would have to deal with all kinds of existential issues as McCoy, Spock, and Kirk each take a portion of the human psyche to play out the different positions for us. This movie does not slow down long enough to even give the characters time to consider their options, nevermind start to delve into the existential issues.

Also, contrary to popular recollection, the one woman that Kirk never nailed was the green chick. He screwed everything else in the galaxy except the women on his ship and the green Orion slave girl, who if memory serves actually went home with Scotty.

EDIT:

Scratch that. Pretty sure the dancing chick was not one of the green ones, and Kirk did make out with one of the Orions to play along with her seduction and escape in a different episode.

[Jam Stunna]

I do not take exception with the quality of the acting. The new actors did fine with what they were given, but their characters do not really behave like their originals, save maybe McCoy. They are instead the same generic templates we see all over the place, the rebel without a cause, the conflicted mama's boy, the token hot chick love interest, the loud-mouthed comic relief... That is more a problem with direction and writing. I don't think new life has been breathed into Star Trek by this movie so much as its corpse has been reanimated, given some makeup, and sent out to eat brains.

I think one of the main reasons Enterprise (and the end of Voyager) were such abysmal failures is that they were trying to shift into being an action series. Yeah that's fun stuff, but after a couple episodes it gets old.

If you actually think about it, most of the time Kirk & Co. did not fight their way out of trouble. Most of the time they had to think their way out. Break the super-robot with a logic puzzle. Convince their alien captors to turn on their superiors. Goad the godlike being into using up all his power. Bluff the alien commander. Make up the new drug/technology on the spot. Classic Kirk would be more likely to use his new "beam from a trillion miles away at warp" ability to put some new Romulan-only knock-out gas McCoy devised using Spock's blood onto Nero's bridge than risk himself, Spock, and the Enterprise.

Through it all, they would have to deal with all kinds of existential issues as McCoy, Spock, and Kirk each take a portion of the human psyche to play out the different positions for us. This movie does not slow down long enough to even give the characters time to consider their options, nevermind start to delve into the existential issues.

Also, contrary to popular recollection, the one woman that Kirk never nailed was the green chick. He screwed everything else in the galaxy except the women on his ship and the green Orion slave girl, who if memory serves actually went home with Scotty.

EDIT:

Scratch that. Pretty sure the dancing chick was not one of the green ones, and Kirk did make out with one of the Orions to play along with her seduction and escape in a different episode.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film

[JH Sounds]

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film

I actually linked to this way earlier in the thread.

[Toadofsky]

Lotd2242, look, you didn't like the movie, fine. No big deal, maybe you should just quit talking about it. I'm not trying to be a smart alike, but c'mon, how many pages are we gonna keep going with this? I've had several die hard Star Trek fans enjoy this film, including the friend that I talked about earlier. Even he understands that this franchise needed to be rebooted BADLY. Sure, they didn't stick to original cannon with the alternate timeline, that's fine by me, in fact, that was probably to appease the fans, not to just keep the audience from being confused.

I know what you'll say, Star Trek IS for the masses. I don't really think it has been for a long time. It's kind of like the whole mess of people griping about lack of "hardcore" titles on game systems, which is the biggest bunch of bull, mostly because so called core gamers don't realize that games have been for EVERYBODY since the industry began. But I'm shifting waaaay off topic here, so I'll stop.

You called it a Michael Bay of Star Trek films. Honestly, I don't take that as an insult. Sure, Michael Bay does big explosions, not much on story, yeah, I know, but I still enjoy his movies. Don't get me started on Transformers, all the so called fans forget that that was a toy line BEFORE it was a series (and I'm pretty certain about that). That series was essentially a 30 minute ad for toys. And I could honestly care less about how accurate each character is to his make and model of vehicle from said show, which brings me to my next point, it's JUST A MOVIE.

If there's one thing I'm getting sick of, is how people dictate every little thing in a movie, "Why didn't he just shoot it?" "She shoulda jumped!" Yeah smart guy, and how much tension would you kill from a scene or ruin a scene by using logic? Sure, maybe some movies would benefit more from it, but I don't watch movies to say what COULD'VE happened, I don't criticize how unrealistic a movie is (if the special effects are bad enough, then maybe), I watch a movie to be entertained now, and to think LATER.

[Lotd2242]

Sinewav responded to something I said and I disagreed with the assertions made. Sorry if that bothers everyone because I apparently happen to be the only person in the world who did not like this movie for any number of reasons both directly relating to Star Trek and not.

I liked Transformers. That was the perfect kind of movie for Michael Bay' style. It's giant toy robots fighting. There isn't much there in the first place. I said before there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that Star Trek has never been that kind of thing, and even Transformers had fewer plot holes.

[Cerrax]

I can see where Lotd2242 is coming from. There are many franchises in video games, movies, and TV that have been "rebooted" and "remade" that I personally have hated regardless of the artistic merit of the work or the growth of the fanbase.

I'm pretty unimpressed by most movies these days and while Star Trek certainly didn't blow me out of my chair, I can't say I hated it. There definitely scenes I will be recollecting with friends about and I didn't walk out of the theatre thinking it was absolutely awful.

But I also didn't find it as thought provoking and as carefully planned as other Star Trek movies. It felt kind of thrown together. I know that this movie was meant to back off the smarty-tarty high horse that some people view Star Trek movies as, but it just didn't feel like Star Trek. It felt more like Star Wars mixed with a little Titan AE and sprinkled with Star Trek references. Which makes it both incredibly enjoyable and quite disappointing at the same time.

Plus the saying goes, nothing is meant to last. Trekkies, you had your fun. Now its time for a different crowd to go where no man has gone before.

[Native Jovian]

Hey guys. Stop liking this movie. It's bad. Srsly, really bad. Stop enjoying it. Enjoying it is wrong because it's so bad. Why haven't you stopped liking it even when I've explained to you how bad it is?

I actually said this, but I was mocking Lotd at the time, so I think it's appropriate to attribute the quote to him.

[Jam Stunna]

I actually linked to this way earlier in the thread.

You think you're better than me?!

[JH Sounds]

maybe they'll do a director's cut (there WAS deleted scenes for the movie, just look at some of the previews, you can see them).

For now, there's the novelization by Alan Dean Foster (which I am currently reading, BTW).

[Kizyr]

I've had several die hard Star Trek fans enjoy this film, including the friend that I talked about earlier.

This is actually something that really amazes me. By all rights, I should've been really upset after this film--same with most any other Star Trek fan. But, I haven't talked to a single fan yet who didn't really love the movie.

I mean, I was even expecting it to be subpar and looking for stuff to criticize. I found a few (Nero's motives, angle shots/shaky-cam, Spock+Uhura) but nothing detracted from the film enough to keep me from enjoying it. KF

[Toadofsky]

Sinewav responded to something I said and I disagreed with the assertions made. Sorry if that bothers everyone because I apparently happen to be the only person in the world who did not like this movie for any number of reasons both directly relating to Star Trek and not.

I liked Transformers. That was the perfect kind of movie for Michael Bay' style. It's giant toy robots fighting. There isn't much there in the first place. I said before there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that Star Trek has never been that kind of thing, and even Transformers had fewer plot holes.

Hey, I'm sure you're not the only one who didn't like the movie, I'm sure there are plenty of people that didn't. I didn't see what Sineway said, but I kind of took you saying the new Star Trek was a Michael Bay version as an insult, since so many Transformer fanboys criticize him and the film(s), which those said people just need to get over it.

You didn't like the movie, that's okay, that's fine. If people want to insult you for it, ignore it. I never saw Watchmen, didn't want to, of course, I opened up a can of worms when I posted that in the Watchmen topic, but that's my mistake, and I took it. I ended up reading the Watchmen comic after that debacle, and I felt like I got hit in the gut at the end, it was the most depressing thing I read. It was well made, but it's not something I'll ever read again.

But hey, when you state your opinion, you got to defend it, and I think you did that just fine, but you know what people say about arguing on the internet...

[Cassanova]

I mean, I was even expecting it to be subpar and looking for stuff to criticize. I found a few (Nero's motives, angle shots/shaky-cam, Spock+Uhura) but nothing detracted from the film enough to keep me from enjoying it. KF

There is the main issue. Not a soul gave this film a shot. I'd wager more people were looking for Trek to be terrible just so they could be right and tear it to pieces. Sure, you can say in your heart of hearts you want it to be good because it's Trek but not a soul would say that without adding a negative comment.

[Toadofsky]

There is the main issue. Not a soul gave this film a shot. I'd wager more people were looking for Trek to be terrible just so they could be right and tear it to pieces. Sure, you can say in your heart of hearts you want it to be good because it's Trek but not a soul would say that without adding a negative comment.

To be honest, I was just as skeptical as others. But after having seen Mission Impossible 3 and Cloverfield (I know Abrams didn't direct the latter), I was very confident in the film. And to top it off, the cast selection, nay, Simon Pegg as Scotty, you couldn't get much better than the original James Doohan, or maybe Mooshi (Futurama Star Trek episode, probably the best one of all the episodes in my book ).

[Lotd2242]

Hey, I'm sure you're not the only one who didn't like the movie, I'm sure there are plenty of people that didn't. I didn't see what Sineway said, but I kind of took you saying the new Star Trek was a Michael Bay version as an insult, since so many Transformer fanboys criticize him and the film(s), which those said people just need to get over it.

You didn't like the movie, that's okay, that's fine. If people want to insult you for it, ignore it. I never saw Watchmen, didn't want to, of course, I opened up a can of worms when I posted that in the Watchmen topic, but that's my mistake, and I took it. I ended up reading the Watchmen comic after that debacle, and I felt like I got hit in the gut at the end, it was the most depressing thing I read. It was well made, but it's not something I'll ever read again.

But hey, when you state your opinion, you got to defend it, and I think you did that just fine, but you know what people say about arguing on the internet...

So you basically told me to shut up because you thought I was hating on Transformers?

Also, something I find highly amusing is that so many people I've heard talk about how they loved this movie (Star Trek) absolutely hated Transformers, which is ironic considering they're the same style containing the same problems, most of which are exacerbated in Star Trek. I guess people just had such ridiculously low expectations and were so desperate to see something with the Star Trek label after so many years that getting a decent movie with decent acting was enough. I suppose if that and the people who loved it for being generic action movie translates into a new TV series that is more like old-school Star Trek, it'll be worth it.

I'm not sure where they intend to go with this universe either way though. The Federation should, by all rights, be thrown into utter chaos as a result of the destruction of such an important planet and the near extinction of a founding race. An entire fleet of new ships full of a generation of new cadets are wiped out. They've got two black holes affecting space travel in the heart of the Federation, one of which is quite possibly large enough and close enough to affect Earth itself. This would be the perfect opportunity for every major power in the galaxy to just swoop on in and conquer them. At the very least, Kirk & Co. will have to spend their time doing patrol duty instead of exploring.

[Bleck]

if people went in to a movie about giant truck robots fighting each other and expected something different than giant truck robots fighting each other than they deserve to not only be disappointed but probably also beaten

[Lotd2242]

if people went in to a movie about giant truck robots fighting each other and expected something different than giant truck robots fighting each other than they deserve to not only be disappointed but probably also beaten

Most of them hate on it for bad dialogue, plot holes, not having enough talking from the giant truck robots, and the giant truck robots not being the same giant trucks they were in the 80s cartoon. That last one is probably the oddest one considering they constantly added new/changed the giant truck robots to sell more toys throughout every Transformers property, why would the movie not change some of the giant truck robots so they could sell new toys?

[Toadofsky]

So you basically told me to shut up because you thought I was hating on Transformers?

No, well, dang it, I fouled that up pretty good....

Sorry.

I guess I was, but I figured you'd have just as much valid reasons for hating it IF you did, which you didn't.

I've made my peace now.

[Lotd2242]

No, well, dang it, I fouled that up pretty good....

Sorry.

I guess I was, but I figured you'd have just as much valid reasons for hating it IF you did, which you didn't.

I've made my peace now.

That's fine. Perhaps you understand my vehement debate against the awesomeness of this movie considering your reaction to even the potential implication that I thought Transformers sucked.

And just to be clear, I don't hate the Star Trek movie. I just consider it a pretty forgettable generic action SciFi flick with the Star Trek label stamped on it, which is more or less what I expected to see when I went in. If it didn't have that label, I would've mildly enjoyed it, laughed about the laughable plot, scoffed at the bad science, and promptly forgotten about it until it showed up on some cable network in a year or two.

[Vivi22]

if people went in to a movie about giant truck robots fighting each other and expected something different than giant truck robots fighting each other than they deserve to not only be disappointed but probably also beaten

I did go in expecting that actually. What I really got was an hour and a half of worthless flesh sacks pretending there was a story to the movie and maybe 15 solid minutes of giant robots beating the shit out of each other, but often obscured by shots that focus on giant robot ass. Way too much of the former and not nearly enough of the robots fighting if you ask me.