Saturday 23 May 2009

Star Trek Film (Some Spoilers)

I saw Star Trek last night. I won't say I was disappointed exactly; some of my worst fears were confirmed, but in other ways it exceeded expectations. A strange mix. Let's go through the good and the bad with traditional point-blob things.

The Good
  • Most of the acting and casting. The core crew have a lot of charisma in the best tradition of Trek. The main exception was Simon Pegg, who I have a lot of time for, but in this film was a scenery-chewing ham of the worst kind. It wasn't just the accent. (Although, why didn't they get an actual Scottish actor to play Scottie? Tradition?) He was an obnoxious twit throughout. Everybody else was pretty much spot-on.
  • The special effects were never going to be bad, but there were some fantastic moments. The fight on the drill-bit, for one.
  • There was a rollicking, barnstorming atmosphere to the whole thing that reminded me of the best moments of the good original series films. Despite its many flaws it absolutely did not fail to be entertaining.
  • The actress playing Uhura is gorgeous.
  • It was nice to see Captain Pike being given a role; a nod-and-a-wink thing maybe, but it's good to have some sort of continuity for the poor bastard.
  • They didn't try to "do a Daniel Craig James Bond" on Kirk. He's a lothario and a bighead and that's what we like about him. Similarly, I was glad they didn't try to turn Uhura into one of those ninja-badass heroines that are ten-a-penny these days.
  • The score was great. Not as memorable as, for example, Treks II and III, but did the job in an unintrusive and atmospheric way.

The Bad
  • At times the whole thing threatened to slip from pastiche to parody. Did Kirk really need to get into so many fights and get beaten up so many times? Wasn't there one too many "oh look, Kirk has to run away from something really quickly" scene? (The snow-beast bit is the one I'm thinking of.) How many times did Kirk end up hanging off the edge of something? I mean, I know Shatner did a heck of a lot of getting beaten up/being chased/hanging off the edge of stuff, but it was never THIS much.
  • The product placement was about the most hamfisted there's ever been. In fact, the entire bit with the young Kirk seemed to have been included mainly to have something good to put in the trailer and a place for a Nokia ad.
  • Eric Bana is a fine actor but he was completely wasted on probably the most bland villain ever (after Star Trek V, maybe). He didn't even get to quote any Shakespeare. And what the hell were this guy's motivations? Romulus was going to get destroyed through an act of God, Spock tried to help but failed, so now I'm going to destroy Vulcan and every planet in the federation for revenge? Rather than use the fact that I was transported backwards in time to, er, try to avert the original disaster?
  • There was very little sense of danger throughout, which was probably the film's worst failing. It reminded me very much of the 'new' Star Wars films in that respect; there simply wasn't an iota of a suggestion that any of the cast were going to fail or be killed.
  • There were lots of moments that, as a long term Trek fan, I found a bit weird. For example: it really only takes 3 minutes to get from Vulcan to Earth at Warp 4 (or whatever it was)? Where was the entirety of Star Fleet when Earth was threatened at the end?
  • I feel like the first 'baddies' should have been Klingons. I think Romulans are actually more interesting, but Klingons are too iconic to only have a passing mention in what's supposed to be the first in a successful reboot of the franchise.
  • There were quite a few clumsy bits of exposition. The Spock mind-meld bit, for one. "Hey audience, here's where we try to explain the plot..."
  • Are people in the 23rd century really still going to be listening to the Beastie Boys?

Overall, 6.5/10. In the fair-to-good range, but by no means great.

11 comments:

  1. I actually enjoyed Pegg in this, but then I expect a bit of over-the-top with Trek.

    I wouldn't have minded the exposition if it wasn't so cringe-worthy. A supernova threatens an entire galaxy? The rate of expansion isn't predictable enough and slow enough that they couldn't have evacuated Romulus? Don't get me wrong, the movie is fun, but it's definitely of the turn-your-brain-off-first sort.

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  2. I'll grant you it was no First Contact, but there are a couple points I'd address if you don't mind horribly.

    * The product placement was about the most hamfisted there's ever been. In fact, the entire bit with the young Kirk seemed to have been included mainly to have something good to put in the trailer and a place for a Nokia ad.

    This I'll grant you, but I've seen a lot of people claiming that to make use of any real-life products at all is untrue to the spirit of Star Trek. I don't necessarily agree, even if we go with the TNG-era conceit that the Federation doesn't use money. I imagine products in Star Trek's future to be essentially open source, and like today there are going to be people that aren't interested in any bells and whistles and don't have the know-how to make them for others. Therefore it's not incredible to imagine that pre-existing companies might turn their talent over to making their product available for the well-being of the average citizen.

    Just want to nip that complaint in the bud.

    * Eric Bana is a fine actor but he was completely wasted on probably the most bland villain ever (after Star Trek V, maybe). He didn't even get to quote any Shakespeare. And what the hell were this guy's motivations? Romulus was going to get destroyed through an act of God, Spock tried to help but failed, so now I'm going to destroy Vulcan and every planet in the federation for revenge? Rather than use the fact that I was transported backwards in time to, er, try to avert the original disaster?

    I hate to cop out like this, but his motivation (and the source of his wonderful toys) is explained a lot better by the comic Star Trek: Countdown. If you don't want to go out hunting for it I can upload, if you'd be interested.

    * There were lots of moments that, as a long term Trek fan, I found a bit weird. For example: it really only takes 3 minutes to get from Vulcan to Earth at Warp 4 (or whatever it was)? Where was the entirety of Star Fleet when Earth was threatened at the end?

    Either currently engaged in another war or already defeated by Nero. The reason more didn't arrive is because the slug's neurotoxins forced Pike to reveal a security code that prevented Earth from alerting anyone else.

    * I feel like the first 'baddies' should have been Klingons. I think Romulans are actually more interesting, but Klingons are too iconic to only have a passing mention in what's supposed to be the first in a successful reboot of the franchise.

    I agree, but it would have had to have been a different storyline, I think. I expect we'll see them in the next one. Of course, I'd also love to see them take on one sort of Negative Space Wedgie or other. I seem to remember someone pitching a really good plotline that was sort of a fusion of the good parts of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the TOS episode The Doomsday Machine.

    * Are people in the 23rd century really still going to be listening to the Beastie Boys?

    Are people in the 21st century really still going to listen to Dvorak?

    I know, I know, it's not the same, but it's not incredible that a popular and influential musician from the present might still be appreciated by some in the future.

    Nobody complains about Riker's jazz, or O'Brien liking Louie, Louie, or Zefram Cochrane listening to classic rock, etc.

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  3. I enjoyed Pegg as well in this, but the one character I did have an issue with was the one who played Checov. (I'm horrible with name, I dunno the actor's...) Everytime he spoke I just want to raise an eyebrow.

    And... I hated the whole bit with Bana's character's motivation. I seriously couldn't understand why he didn't just go and warn his planet ahead of time when he traveled back in time.

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  4. In an unremarkable film I thought Zachary Quinto was remarkable as Spock bringing humanity to the character within the established constraints. His relationship with Uhura was nicely handled.

    Why would the inside of a mining ship look like the inside of a mine?

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  5. While I certainly didn't love the film (very much at all), its for almost none of the reasons you sight.

    I liked Pegg. He's a comedian so they gave him a comical part. The product placement was horrible and the scene a waste but I forgot it almost as quickly as it happened. Earth to Vulcan probably wouldn't be that fast but its dramatic and really, that's how fast warp engines go, at the Speed of Drama.

    Kirk ran away, fought and leaped a lot? I remeber him running away from exactly one thing, the snow beast. He leaped a couple of times and nearly fell yet you never thought any of the crew was in real danger? And fighting? Heroes and villains fight. Shatner, or his stunt double, did it often.

    I had many, many issues with the movie like a supernova destroying the universe (doesn't work that way), seeing Vulcan from another planet (Delta Vega), no ships, weapons or defenses protecting the key worlds of the Federation, Chekov being 17 (therefore having entered the Academy at what, 14?) and a ton of others. The movie was fun and entertaining but sadly, no where near well made.

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    Barking Alien

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  6. Is anyone here a die-hard fan of the original series? I ask because most people I know prefer Next Gen over all the other Treks and so their critiques are oftentimes stilted by how much they've been spoiled by good special effects, good writing and good production values. All of which were oftentimes absent in the original series... And, yes, since Shatner and crew were released on streaming Netflix, I have become a RAGING, HARDCORE fan of tOS.

    And, contrary to my expectations, the film remake rocked my world in a good, good way. The major character revisions were for the better. The previously mechanical characters who provide token minority representation are suddenly clothed in flesh. There's a lot more - but to make this short, few could say it was a step down from tOS.

    Which is more than I can say for any other Star Trek out there.

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  7. BA: They explain the supernova a little better in Countdown. Really, it's their fault for not making it a part of the movie.

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  8. trollsmyth: Yeah, the supernova thing was just... well, ridiculous, basically. I know Star Trek has always been kind of ridiculous, but there's a point at which suspension of disbelief fails.

    Rach: It's not that pre-existing companies might or might not exist, it's just that product placement is a really crass thing to do. When the line between art and advertisement becomes blurred, we all have to worry.

    Regarding Eric Bana, I dunno, maybe the comic is great, but a film should stand on its own - saying "Buy the comic and it will all be explained" is a huge copout.

    As for the Beastie Boys... well, Dvorak already has lasted for generations. I seriously doubt the Beastie Boys will. I mean, the Beastie Boys are kind of okay, but they've always basically been a comedy group.

    Rae: I was talking about this with my friend last night, and he said that Nero was going to destroy the federation and then still have time left over to stop the supernova thingy, so that then the Romulans could take over the universe. I don't remember him saying any of that, but maybe it was just all the flashing colours and pretty special effects clouding my memory.

    Kent: Yeah, Quinto was really good. All the cast were excellent, I thought, with the exception of Pegg. As for the ship... I agree. And why would a mining ship be armed to the teeth with phasers and photon torpedoes?

    Barking Alien: I didn't mind Kirk running, fighting and hanging off the edge of stuff, but that was all he seemed to do! It was dangerously close to the line between pastiche and parody, I think.

    And it might just be me, but I never had the sense that any of the cast were vulnerable. Even when Kirk was getting pounded to within an inch of his life for the umpteenth time, or hanging off the edge of something yet again, I just never expected the worst to happen. Look at Star Trek II for comparison - they had the guts to actually have Spock die!

    Anonymous: Well, these things are all subjective. Next Gen is my favourite series but I'd probably put tOS at number 2, followed by the other three, which are all mediocre in my opinion. However I have a hard time putting this film above some of tOS ones - numbers II, III and VI are definitely better in my book. Star Trek is the best since number VI, I'll give it that. I didn't like any of the Next Gen films.

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  9. Oh sure, not denying any of your counterpoints, just throwing out what I had to say in the film's defense.

    The odd thing, I think, is I never really got IV. It struck me as a bit of a silly movie. In that respect, I think I'm highly unusual (Also because my favorite TOS film is the first one! What can I say, Asimov wrote most of it!)

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  10. Re: The Beastie Boys - I felt it was totally done as a nod (or a diss) to the Shatner Sabotage (Sabatage) recording sessions...

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  11. SKelly: Eh, you say sabotage, I say sabataage, let's call the whole thing off.

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