Young Kirk n Spock + Lost = new Star Trek movie

aw man, i didn't say i ENJOYED it, just that it was kind of like jj had this idea for a movie then shoehorned it into the star trek universe, maybe? all the time-travel shit felt kind of forced, and some of the characters were changed for no good reason. mostly the uhura/spock romance was kind of hard to accept, given spock's general demeanor. asshole kirk was decent, but bones was probably the best of the central cast.

wait i mean.. i DID enjoy it, but i also thought it did not "feel" like a star trek movie to me, rather like an awkwardly written fanfic.

I don't know why people can't enjoy 200 Million dollar movies for what they are

^post-Lucas generation speaks. You know how I could tell it was a $200 M movie? I MUST AVENGE MY DEAD PARENT x 2

I will embargo the particulars of my opinion til later, but it's amazing how getting rid of one planet paves the way for an an all-war series going forward.

I miss the innocence of Titanic at this point (which had no dialogue more terrible than the opener here -- "Tiberius? No way!")

i.e. you had this kennedy-era progressive optimism

Kirk was very often LBJ in Vietnam in the TV series, continually wiped his ass with the Prime Directive.

As for the politics, there's certainly a lot of interracial/special issues that are addressed.

All of these was much more U&K and better addressed in the original series.

wait i mean.. i DID enjoy it, but i also thought it did not "feel" like a star trek movie to me, rather like an awkwardly written fanfic.

I think the point was for it not to feel so wooden and cultish as the original films. It's supposed to be a fresh start. Objectively, there are some huge improvements in certain areas. Of course, other things are lost along the way.

Also, I totally agree that McCoy is the best performance. Spock/Urhura was unexpected, but kind of intriguing too.

no dialogue more terrible than the opener here -- "Tiberius? No way!"

Yeah, the opening scene was awful.

the point was for it not to feel so wooden and cultish as the original films

It frequently feels mechanical, and even more a celebration of USA-style militarism than in the past.

PSYCHED FOR THIS BUT PROLLY WILL JUST SEE IT ON DVD

i will totally re-watch this when it comes out on dvd, of course.

I won't, and have no interest in future "alternate reality" installments.

i am only interested in sequels if uhura hikes up her skirt & lets her hair down.

Pon Farr Vixen

will probably see this Friday.

an all-war series

Given its single villain (and single enemy craft, albeit a huge one), I fail to see how this is any more a "war" installment than, say, Khan, which is almost universally lauded as the best of the series. You can hope for cloud-fucking or "save the whales" but no one is ever going to pay to see those things in a blockbuster context. I'm just happy Abrams and co. turned out a legitimately entertaining film after sitting through boring BS like Wolferine: Where I'm Comin' From.

I agree w/ yr first point, but Khan is a good war movie and (bcz of its lower budget) lacking in the oh-so-boring effects porn in this one.

I found this pretty enjoyable. Definitely not good if you're looking for some interesting political or intellectual sci-fi concepts, which was sad considering how much they wanted to "go back to the original", but as far as summer action movies go, it's fun, light and exciting. Loved the casting and the effects, and I liked the time travel connection they came up with. It's very much a J.J. Abrams project - fantastic setting and adventure that's a backdrop for the primary interpersonal drama. The fact it does focus so much on Spock really worked for me.

Also I feel like they did nail certain intangibles, especially the humor and the chemistry among the cast, that do make it feel like Star Trek.

how was the animal cracker scene?

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film?utm_source=a-section

^That's cute, unfortunately the plot is incoherent, cribbed from Wrath of Khan (MY DEAD WIFE!), and exists to let the TV Guy do whatever he wants in the future films.

also horndogs, this Uhura model can't act and needs to go back to saying "Hailing frequencies open."

David Edelstein somehow likes it while nailing new Spock's wrongness:

Zachary Quinto plays the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock as the kind of know-it-all even geeks want to slam into a locker. The problem might be as basic as Quinto’s physiognomy. Where Leonard Nimoy adopted a semi-scrutable (vaguely Eastern) mask, Quinto’s features settle into a sneer. Nimoy’s Spock would tell his colleagues, “I have no feelings to hurt,” and we knew it was a lie because Nimoy’s impassivity was so pregnant. But Quinto’s face telegraphs disdain. He’s Kirk’s competitor—which might be more realistic but which utterly changes the Star Trek dynamic. Kirk is no longer the virile leader trying to find a balance between coolly dispassionate logic (Spock) and urgent humanist emotion (Dr. McCoy). He’s hardly even a plausible leader. (How does he end up in the captain’s chair?) The doggone kids really have seized the Enterprise.

http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/56428/

"vaguely Eastern"

search Kirk's "my Chinese friend got his ears caught in a mechanical rice picker" line from original series

"search Kirk's "my Chinese friend got his ears caught in a mechanical rice picker" line from original series"
Their finest hour!

(not being sarcastic -- this episode is supposed to be the best one of them all)

^^^not the best episode by a long shot but it is good

http://harlanellison.com/heboard/visitors/startrekpressrelease.html

Ellison in total jackass nonshockah

you'll never guess who the holdout is! (and no, it's not Morbs, whose rating technically qualifies as "fresh")

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_11/

also - "Mission to Mars"?!

"My skepticism isn’t a matter of lacking fan devotion but simply of Star Trek breezing along familiarly—even appropriating The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”—yet not measuring up. "

WHAT?

"This Star Trek sells cuteness, sentimentality and explosive F/X as if Starship Troopers, Minority Report, Mission to Mars or even Blade Runner or The Matrix (all visionary standard-setters) never happened."

Armond White is one weird dude.

I'm not sure I'm going to disagree with any of White's Star Trek assessments actually (except maybe the blurred action critique), but it seems a complaint that could be leveled at virtually all of the previous Star Trek films too. It's a thing, he doesn't get it (I don't really either) so just move on.

i love armond's tactic of comparing all movies unfavorably to his very favorite movies of all time.

Yeah Armond's arguments tend to boil down to "Spielberg would've done it better" a lot of time.

someone please explain the Beastie Boys ref. Do the crew dress up as cops and go back to 70s SF?

the line in this review where he throws down peckinpah, eisenstein, AND speilberg might get him laughed out of your average college newspaper's friday entertainment section.

he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist he’s TV’s Fincher, not an artist

Oh so this is what it's about
from poster MANWICH on beastie boys message board:

"Yo, so I just went and saw the new star trek, and 10 minutes into that shit SABOTAGE starts blaring! Sooooo sick. I don't know about the rest of you, but this makes perfect sense. Bboys are always hollering about Dr. Spock and such, it only makes sense that they'd have a song in the new movie. The movie was pretty tight too. I am not the biggest Star Trek fan (other than Wrath of Kahn) but this was wicked. Maybe the Beastie Boys had something to do with it. hhaha"

oh man my reaction was totally the opposite :(
it's also one of the most useless scenes in the movie--pre-teen kirk stealing a "vintage" car and drag racing through da fields.

I can't imagine that there is much I agree with poster MANWICH about.

"Bboys are always hollering about Dr. Spock"
I'm no beastie boys expert -- what is this about?

Adam Yauch has an irrational love of the writings of Dr Spock.

Spock ref in Intergalactic

wow, Carrie Rickey thinks this movie is "fundamentally optimistic." I guess blowing up a couple civilizations from the series to smithereens doesn't make a dent on her cockeyed Nellie Forbush scale.

Whenever I read the phrase "great summer movie," I envision the author being beaten with a sock o' manure.

gross

this is designed to thrill people who cannot tell the difference between movies and TV.

Armond OTM

Sock O' Manure would be a great name for a summer movie

for a great summer movie

you'll never guess who the holdout is! (

More dissents are coming, Simon. You do know most RT critics have a five-forked tongue so they can rim all the major studios simultaneously, right?

Ebert more OTM than Armond (tho I'm not sure why his 2.5/4 ratings are logged as rotten, and others' are as fresh):

The Gene Roddenberry years, when stories might play with questions of science, ideals or philosophy, have been replaced by stories reduced to loud and colorful action. Like so many franchises, it’s more concerned with repeating a successful formula than going boldly where no “Star Trek” has gone before.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090506/REVIEWS/905069997