Abrams Trek review thread *HEAVY SPOILERS*

[Alelou]

Yep, Bether and JT and I are already planning to see it again together this weekend at the AP CON.

We might have to sneak out when my son isn't looking, though, since he already told me he "needs" to see it again.

[Linda]

I really don't see it as a great movie though it was entertaining. Maybe it is a generational thing, but the action scenes were TOO fast. It is hard to take in the detail when things move by so fast. It makes me think that is because they want to keep you from seeing the details because the details are not that good. It was kind of humorous that Kirk always ended up hanging over a cliff, but that got tedious about the third time. But I will see it a few more times, probably when I buy the DVD. I can wait until that comes out; I don't have the unquenchable urge to see it tomorrow or even this week.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Don't know if this has been posted previously:

Eerily similar: Star Trek and Star Wars

[Alelou]

Ha, that's pretty cool.

Well, I always did like the first Star Wars movie best.

It's the classic <edit>apotheosis</edit> of the hero: fatherless or orphan child with a previously undiscovered talent must overcome opposition and his own weaknesses to learn how to wield his talent and save the world.

It has informed many powerful stories, including A Wizard of Earthsea and Harry Potter.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Scientist Wil McCarthy shows how Star Trek's planets explode

[Alelou]

Well, THAT'S comforting.

[JadziaKathryn]

But if they went with that, there'd be no dramatic scene of Amanda's death. Besides, Vulcan blinking out of existence looks cooler. Of course, pesky things like scientific inaccuracy have never bothered Trek writers, so why should they start now?

It's interesting, though. Actually could make for a good Trekverse story, where a planet had a few days to evacuate everyone they could (and maybe some key treasures, things like seeds, electronic libraries, etc) and then rebuild on another planet.

Liked the Star Trek/ Star Wars comparison.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Frankly I'm rather sick of the whole exploding planets thing in science fiction. They blew up Alderaan and suddenly a lot of planets on a lot of shows/movies had to go. As much as I enjoyed ENT season 3, I was always bothered by the Xindi "death stars". Not very original.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Conceptual art by James Clyne can be seen on his website here.

[CX]

Thought some of you might like this review

Regardless, I do believe that some consideration needs to be given a film's source material -- the belief that the filmmakers are better than the ideas they are borrowing infects far too many movies these days. "Star Trek" succumbs to that too easily, going so far as to use its source as window dressing for a work that thematically and dramatically has nothing at all to do with the franchise it claims to be part of.

The film follows bad boy James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), coerced and humiliated into signing up with Starfleet Academy because his father (Chris Hemsworth) was a legendary captain -- in fact, Kirk was born during an escape from the destruction of the ship that claimed his father's life. In official "Star Trek" lore, this apparently never happened and is the initial change that creates an alternate time stream -- and gives the filmmakers a "get out of jail free card" to ignore what has previously been established in the franchise.

[JadziaKathryn]

Thanks for sharing.

Meanwhile, Nimoy's Future Spock side story is so full of holes, it's a wonder that the poor old guy doesn't slip and fall into one of them as he totters through the sets.

Defying all logic, Future Spock is willing to sacrifice a billion of his own people in order keep his existence a secret from his past self (Zachary Quinto), only to downplay the importance of this concern by the end of the film, when he introduces himself to his past counterpart with the excuse that "there are so few of us left."

Good point. Why didn't I think of that?

The main point of the story is that cheating, juvenile delinquent, woman-using, dishonest, dishonorable and disrespectful jackass James T. Kirk must end up captain of the Enterprise and save the solar system with Spock at his side.

To accomplish this requires a series of impromptu military promotions and maneuvers that stretch disbelief -- Kirk somehow manages to gain command of the starship literally within a few hours of story time despite behavior that should inspire a court martial instead. Many of the characters have been transformed into dishonest shadows of their former selves. Engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) gains his post through fraud -- one minute he is being reprimanded on an outpost planet, and the next he is the chief engineer of the Enterprise -- entirely because Future Spock finished an important math equation for him that he couldn't actually complete himself.

Yeah, Scotty got the short end of the stick in this one.

[WarpGirl]

Eeeek My sister has been hounding me to see this movie, and I don't like the sound of that. She's seen it twice and wants to go again. She's not even a true trekkie even though we were both raised on it. I have a feeling she will kill me if I don't like it. I really hope that review isn't quite accurate. Perhaps her obsession with Bones McCoy has clouded her judgement. But she has been obsessed with him since she was 4 so... Nevermind I'll let you all know MY opinion when I see it.

[Linda]

Even though the movie was entertaining, I love this review because it does point out many flaws. It is painful to think of Star Trek in the past and attempts to "reanimate a corps" and the review is correct for in many ways, the movie is not being true to Star Trek. Still, I suppose I grasp at anything which tries to keep Star Trek alive.

[Aquarius]

Frankly I'm rather sick of the whole exploding planets thing in science fiction. They blew up Alderaan and suddenly a lot of planets on a lot of shows/movies had to go. As much as I enjoyed ENT season 3, I was always bothered by the Xindi "death stars". Not very original.

Unfortunately the exploding planet has become the "gimme" of cool sci-fi movie special effects. Wanna evoke an emotional response in your audience over their empathy for a bazillion people dying all at once, while leaving them awestruck at what you big special effects budget let you do? Blow up a planet!

Though it was cool how Genesis was the opposite of that, at least at first...leaving us awestruck because a beautiful planet was being created, and evoking an emotional response of hope in the face of death and change.

[Alelou]

Eh, I don't think you necessarily really feel empathy for all those people on an exploding planet. I'd feel more empathy seeing one family getting blown up -- or Amanda and a few crushed Vulcans, in the case of the movie -- than the whole planet. It's just too abstract and I agree that it is also a SF cliche at this point.