J.J. Abrams STAR TREK XI

Hm, honestly, the Enterprise-E remains my favorite design, as it just looks the sleekest to me. Though that was probably because it was the closest thing to a warship in the Enterprise' history, in response to Borg invasions, the Dominion, etc. Although the old Constitution class is still a classic too, of course. The new design looks great too, but not sure I like it being that big. I've read in a few places that there was commentary or something that the encounter with the Narada might've given Starfleet some ideas, or maybe influenced more defense research, but still, from the Constitution to the Galaxy, there was a gradual growth in terms of size, instead this sounds like a huge jump. Though now that I think of it, most of the Enterprises were built during peacetime, with the Klingon Empire weakened by Praxis' destruction, and then relations were strengthened after the C's sacrifice.... then by the E's era, Starfleet had actually started building warships, so that was a huge change.

 

It's all about the neck for me. I like towering ships.

 

I do feel cheated out of the subtle bullying which the canon promised.

 

You got me, Fenn. The canon makes absolutely no reference to how scenes of Spock's bullying might be portrayed by real-world actors.

If ONLY I had been talking about general filmmaking quality, and not uber-nerd continuity!!

 

If only you had been talking about Roddenberry's vision, and how Roddenberry and Fontana stomped all over it. That would have been pure win. Alas, it was not to be...

 

Yeah, they liked to film the E-D's saucer reaching over objects in front of it, they made it look very majestic in some shots. I do like the E-E (from some angles), I'm just more of a D fanboy.

I guess I'm also a fan of the new Enterprise. It has all the features I like about the original movie Enterprise, plus some funky retro updates. Specifically the quirky neck and warp nacelles, and how the underside of the saucer is perfectly flat instead of concaved like the original. But enough gushing, here's some HD screencaps of the movie for anyone looking for some nice shots:

http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/index.php?cat=59

 

Yeah, the Enterprise-D always had a nice sense of presence to it. It wasn't the most powerful ship, but it looked... elegant, appropriate for a Federation flagship. The Enterprise-E, though, just had a more... massive feel to it, I think, particularly in those first shots when we see it in First Contact. Heck, I got the Blu-ray for that movie partially just to see that battle in HD. Although I think I saw sketches once for how the Sovereign could do a saucer separation, with the neck then slipping out of the saucer, instead of with how prominent it was on the A-D classes.

And yeah, I usually pause the new Blu-ray just to get a glimpse of those ships before they warp away. Too bad they barely show up for... maybe half a minute, then the next time we see them, they're already in pieces? a nice variety of designs, just like how the Kelvin was a new design (I think). I liked the space station design too, with the saucer docks and the central sphere/hub. Looks like something Starfleet would use (with all the saucers), but very distinctly different from the Spacedock we see in III and IV. I hope we can see more of those other ship designs in the next movie (just as long as they're aren't stolen).

 

What did you think of JJ Abrams Star Trek

 

Leonard Nimoy to be Narrator of Star Trek Online MMO.

Very, very interesting. And cool as hell to finally get to hear Nimoy discussing/referring to the Dominion War, the Cardassians, and other DS9-era stuff.

 

I just got the two disc DVD. Not bad--I agree with the decisions on the deleted scenes. They really added little and would have only slowed the narrative down. The special features were minimal but I thought the doc on casting was interesting.

Great movie--I'm looking forward to the sequel.

-Seldon

 

95% of the criticisms of this film online are pure steaming bantha poodoo.

 

Just saw Star Trek XI (2009) for the first time ever, and thought it was truly brilliant! I was avoiding watching this since I've lost interest with ST years ago (though I was at one time a fan of TOS, as well as TNG). However, a friend lent me the DVD so I decided to check it out - and, I'm very glad I did.

One of the many reasons I really liked this film was that it was much more of a deconstruction/retcon/revamp of the whole ST saga than a prequel to the original series, and because of this was similiar in a lot of ways to the approach taken by the latest JB films starting with Casino Royale, as well as the new take on the Batman character starting with Batman Begins.

My comments:

- The special effects were superb througout the film. Though you expect nothing less these days, I have seen recent movies where the CGI really stands out - not in this film, though. Examples of where the effects really looked exceptional include: The whole beginning scene with the Roumulan ship fighting Kirk's father's ship; the scene on the ice planet when the two monsters/animals ran after Kirk; the end battle scene where the Enterprise was firing numerous lasers onto the monster Romulan ship, etc. - truly incredible.

- I don't always like the use of time travel in sci-fi movies since it can get very confusing/hard to follow, but I thought it was used to great effect here. The idea of a huge Romulan ship inadvertently going back in time & wanting to get revenge because of the destruction of their planet in the future was very powerful and well-done; also, the idea of having an older Spock travel back through time and being stranded on a remote planet, where he ended up meeting a Young Kirk (and then later a younger version of himself) was great. These story-lines were very much in line with the numerous time travel storylines of TOS.

- The whole film had a very hip, ultra-modern feel to it, which I thought was excellent. Playing the Beastie Boys Sabatoge over the scene when the little Kirk was fleeing the security robot was amazing, and told you right away that this wasn't going to be an ordinary ST film.

- I liked the brief battle scene on the Romulan ship when Kirk rescued Pike - I never liked the phasers in TOS, but the lasers used in this scene were more like the ones used in SW than in previous ST films.

- All of the actors/actresses were believable as younger versions of the characters in TOS, especially Spock and Bones. The actor who played Spock was especially spot-on in his depiction of the younger version of the character.

- I really like weird-looking, bizzare aliens in sci-fi films, but many of the aliens in previous ST films have left me cold since they haven't really looked that strange. However, the aliens in this new film looked great, including: the big-eyed alien woman who helped deliver baby Kirk; the big-headed alien at the bar between Kirk and Uhura; the various background aliens on the bridges of the ships; and the little alien who was with Scotty on the ice planet.

- The scene when Kirk and Sulu jumped into the planet's atmosphere, and the subsequent fight scene with the Romulans on that circular device was incredible - intense fight scenes like this were missing from previous ST films, and it was good to see this here. I also like the scene where they blasted that device using the laser rifles - very cool.

- The brief but powerful scene when the little monster and the much bigger red monster chased after Kirk on the ice planet was amazing - both monsters looked incredible, and this chase scene gave the film a horror-movie feel to it, which I've never seen before when watching a ST film or TV show.

- One of the most interesting aspects of the film was how the time-travelling Romulan ship's destruction of Vulcan & Kirk's father's ship completely changed the chronology of TOS. In TOS, Vulcan was not destroyed and Spock's mother was still alive, and as far as I know Kirk's father was also still alive. However, changing this makes it obvious t

 

The latest trek movie is great, so long as you don't look into it. The more you look at the plot/script/action, the worse it gets.
I enjoyed it in the theater, and for about an hour afterward. Then all the bigger problems started to boil up to the surface.
Glad you liked it.

 

I think it is brilliant Star Trek XI it really just makes me so happy when I watch it have you got any favourite moments in the movie?

 

I enjoyed this. I've never been a Trekkie by any means, nor have I ever even given the universe much of a chance, but I liked how this film was set up to a point where the non-Trekkie could watch it and equally enjoy it.

 

I think this is the aspect of the new Star Trek I like the best. My wife is not a big sci-fi fan, save for Star Wars, but she greatly enjoyed this movie. It appealed to her in a more entertaining, and engaging way than any of the original movies did for her.

I think that as a Star Trek movie, it focuses more on the tech and effects than the average Star Trek movie. However, the story is well executed, even with a few plot holes, but those holes are no worse than any other Trek movie.

The actors executed their roles with the spirit of their predecessors, especially Bones. From the moment Karl Urban uttered his first lines, I knew who that was and his character was spot on. Scotty was the only actor I was not certain of.

This movie does what most movies should do-entertain!

That is why it is fun!

 

Not long after J.J. Abrams? new TREK film, ?STAR TREK? hit the theaters in early May, I wrote a review of it. Despite some criticisms of what I had believed were flaws in the film, I concluded that it was a pretty good film. Well . . . I saw it for a second time, yesterday, and realized that my view of the movie has changed.

When I said that my view of ?STAR TREK? had changed, I meant not for the better. The number of plot holes that had caught my attention astounded me. And considering that Abrams and screenwriters, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, had decided to create an alternate reality in the script, my opinion of the film has become even worse.

First of all, I want to point out one thing. This alternate reality or timeline created by Orci and Kurtzman has its origins in the arrival of late 24th century Romulan mining ship ? the Narada ? and its captain, Nero (Eric Bana), to the year 2233, 154 years before his time. His arrival marked the destruction of the U.S.S. Kelvin, along with its captain, Richard Robau (Faran Tahir), and first officer George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth). Just before the Kelvin?s destruction, Winona Kirk (Jennifer Morrison) gave birth to James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), aboard one of the ship?s shuttles.

It is here ? Kirk?s birth ? where the movie hit its first snag. Many TREK fans pointed out that James Kirk had been born in Iowa, not aboard a Starfleet vessel or one of its shuttles. Robert Orci replied that Kirk would have been born in Iowa if Nero had not arrived from the late 24th century and attacked the Kelvin. Why? One, Winona Kirk was never a Starfleet officer in the original timeline. This has been supported in ?THE ORIGINAL SERIES? (1966-1969). And Nero?s arrival would have NOT changed that. She had no business being aboard the Kelvin . . . even before Nero?s arrival. Orci and Kurtzman also failed to hint that Kirk had an older brother named Sam.

Another problem I had with the film was the manner in which Kirk joined Starfleet Academy. At a bar near Kirk?s home in Iowa, Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) urged him to apply for the Academy, claiming that Kirk would attain an officer?s commission within four years and command of a starship within eight. So, what does Kirk do? He shows up at a Starbase the following morning on his motorbike . . . without even encountering one sign of security. Then he boards a shuttle for San Francisco . . . just like that. He never submitted an application. Nor was he wearing the uniform of an Academy cadet. Come to think of it, neither did Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban). Was this Starfleet?s idea of military discipline in the mid-23rd century? What the hell was this, anyway?

Within three years, Kirk is close to completing his Academy training. Yet, he ended up getting into trouble, when he passed the Kobayashi Maru test by cheating. When Starfleet receives a distress signal from Vulcan regarding a lightning storm in space, the cadets are mobilized to help the Starfleet ships in orbit. Kirk is unable to join this expedition due to being suspended from the Academy. I have two problems with this scene. One, why on earth was it necessary for Starfleet to mobilize so many cadets for a distress signal over a lightning storm in Vulcan space? Two, no one inside the U.S.S. Enterprise?s Sick Bay bothered to questioned Kirk?s presence on board and McCoy ended up ordering others around, despite the fact that he was a mere cadet and not the ship?s Chief Medical Officer. In fact, where was the CMO before his death? And why was it so important for Uhura to join the Enterprise?s crew? She was a cadet. She was not supposed to be there on a permanent basis, in the first place. And could someone please tell me why the cadets assigned aboard the Enterprise were wearing the same uniforms as the regular crew . . . instead of cadet uniforms? They had not graduated from the Academy.

Upon reaching Vulcan space, the Enterprise finds the fleet destroyed and the Narada drilling into Vulcan's core. Pike promotes Kirk to First Officer. Then he orders Kirk, Lieutenant Sulu (John Ch

 

Most of your criticisms are fairly objective and yours to hold, but I do have to point something out on a few, starting with the matter of Chekhov.

Why are you assuming this is the same Pavel Chekhov at all? One of the butterfly effects on the timeline is that Chekhov's parents had a son four years earlier than in the original timeline, and named that son Pavel. After all, parents decide on child names in advance all of the time. Notice that while all of the other characters are made to look as much like the originals as possible, but Chekhov looks absolutely nothing like the original.

As for Kirk's mother being on board the Kelvin and an officer, that is either a legitimate gaffe or a deliberate retcon of TOS. Remember, most of what is considered canon in Trek did not solidify until around the TOS movies and TNG.

I too was wondering about the ridiculously fast promotion of Kirk, and two possibilities have occurred to me on that front. Pike made Kirk his first officer because he had already been planning to make him second officer before the whole shebang with the Kobayashi Maru. For the rest, I think that this Starfleet has an extremely high casualty rate. Therefore, Kirk and co. were promoted because Starfleet needs warm bodies in seats and experience is an added bonus (which somewhat makes sense- Starfleet crews throughout canon are placed in completely new situations all the time; it can be argued that there is a limit on how much experience actually helps). After all, how many people over 35 did you see in the movie besides Pike and Robau?

For the security at Iowa, well, why would they need security? Earth in the Federation is basically a paradise; nowhere would an under-construction ship and would be cadets be safer. As for an application- Pike put it in for him.

 

I think most of the movie's flaws can be summed up thusly - they should have done a clean reboot and not worried about tying into existing continuity.

As much as I loved seeing Nimoy with the ears again, I think the film is ultimately too reverent of his presence. The lingering "Thrusters on full" shot is gratuitous, as is my absolute least favorite part of the film - giving the "Space...the final frontier" speech at the end to Nimoy rather than Pine.

 

If you want to hear Pine do it, there's always the gag reel.

 

Remember, this movie was written by the same two schmucks who turned TransFormers from a fun show/series about robots beating each other up into a sex-crazed potty-humor american-pie style crapfest, and who wrote the worst episodes of Jack of All Trades, thus destroying the series & causing it to be cancelled.
These are NOT people to be called Good Writers. Or even competent writers.

 

Why are you assuming this is the same Pavel Chekhov at all? One of the butterfly effects on the timeline is that Chekhov's parents had a son four years earlier than in the original timeline, and named that son Pavel. After all, parents decide on child names in advance all of the time. Notice that while all of the other characters are made to look as much like the originals as possible, but Chekhov looks absolutely nothing like the original.


I'm not really buying this argument. In fact, I find this argument even more difficult to believe than the excuse they gave for why Khan remembered Chekov in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.