FilmFlicking

Jipdog · Supporting Actor Joined: 11 Jan 2008 Posts: 523

Went to see Star Trek this afternoon and was very impressed. It feels more like the original series than any of the 6 films starring the original cast. There are a lot of references to well known parts of Trek lore, including a nice reference to Enterprise that should keep Luc and Cat happy! Storyline wise, I thought it was quite clever as it has now left the producers to do whatever they want with the franchise without destroying the other series' canon and upsetting the diehard Trek fans, as the actions of the villian has created an alternate reality to what has gone before. Unlike previous Trek films it is a lot more reliant on action, whuch is not a bad thing, but sometimes you do feel you want a breather and a nice little chatty scene between the crew. The casting was pretty good. Chris Pine has his Kirkesque moments but is no Shatner. Zachary Quinto as Spock was a very good Nimoy impression, but, in my opinion, the best bit of casting was Karl Urban as Bones. When I first heard about that I thought "oh dear", but my god, it seems like he's channelling the ghost of DeForrest Kelly. McCoy was always my favourite character and I'm glad he's been done justice. On the whole, it's not Wrath Of Khan, but it's not far off. Easily as good as The Undiscovered Country and First Contact in my opinion. 5/5.

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"Well, first of all, there's 4 of you. Your not exactly lone."

Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 8906

I was hoping the Enterprise crew would get a mention Jip - they came before Kirk, so it would have been sacrilege not to mention them! With any luck, we might even get to see them in a future Star Trek film (instead of the Next Gen crew

)....with time travel or holodeck simulations anything should be possible!

I had doubts about the casting of Simon Pegg and Anton Yelchin...they didn't seem right somehow....but they look believable in the trailers and I'm looking forward to seeing the film

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 12791

Brilliant Jip

i can't wait to see this film myself now...which will be this week hopefully and i'll do a review too

you have me curious on what way Enterprise is referenced aswell
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Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 12791

I got to see the new Trek movie...'yeehaaa!!'.

..it was getting alot of high praise and as we all know films like this can get way over hyped that it ends up never been able to live up to its high expectations but I'm happy to report that the publicity and build up have been well deserved...I was highly impressed with the movie...it was fast, modern, action packed and even had its funny moments.
Zachary Quinto was extremely well chosen as Spock in particular the young Spock of the 1960's and acted the part to a tee, but could also add that bit of 'Sylar'intensity when needed....and I think we will see more of that in future movies as this may still be Spock that we love however he's also an alternate Spock...a changed one and it will be interesting to see where they go with him ....though I say that about all the crew...as the same applies to them all....the whole alternate timeline really does open doors for future writers while keeping those Trek traditionalists content.
The main bridge crew of Uhura, Sulu,and Chekov are all played well by Zoe Saldana, John Cho,and Anton Yelchin each displaying new sides or extra features to their characters that trek fans may not have seen before..Simon Pegg's Scotty however I thought was not used enough and when he did feature I was left feeling... that should have been funnier?...in saying that I did enjoy the moment when he says to his Captain in the typical Scottish accent "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!"

Karl Urban's Bones McCoy was a delight...i really enjoyed every scene he was in and I know many think old Trek is defined by Kirk and Spock but for me it was the three... with McCoy's very human traits very much a part of the dynamic....making up the the last of the main crew is of course Chris Pine's Kirk..I have heard much about how he isn't Shatner...and that is true but I have to say there was moments throughout the movie when I could see resemblances of the old Kirk in particular at the Kobayashi Maru test scene..his mannerisms where very like Shatner's I thought...all in all I thought he done a good job on taking on the part ...my only real complaint on this was that he did seem to get a pounding quite a bit

I read too some say that Eric Bana's villain was nothing that memorable but again I disagree I thought he did a decent job there and some real good moments particularly his first appearance.
Leonard Nimoy could act Spock in his sleep by now and again brings his old version back to life...it was good to see him back bringing in the new cast
Oh and I was right about the actress who played Kirk's mum....it was Jennifer Morrison from 'House' (I just thought I'd inform you all how quick I am

) Speaking of the smaller roles Bruce Greenwood, Ben Cross and Winona Ryder filled up the cast list nicely
Summing up it was a really great Trek movie, fantastic special effects and I loved the whole look of the bridge and ship though I do have slight reserves about sequels and hope it doesn't land with the same difficulties of future Bond movies in terms of just creating great genre type pictures but potentially forgetting the core essense of the character(s) or the
overall message but thats just me predicting future problems (I'm such a worrier

)
To the question of...Is it as good as Wrath of Khan? ......Well it doesn't surpass it however I think its fair to say it was up there with it... Trek is back...and i want to continue to boldly go there.....
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Jipdog · Supporting Actor Joined: 11 Jan 2008 Posts: 523

Seems like you had the same thoughts as me Luc! Did you pick up the Enterprise reference? Had to explain it to my Mum, who has only watched TOS and TNG.
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"Well, first of all, there's 4 of you. Your not exactly lone."

Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 8906

JJ Abram has well and truly given Star Trek the reinvention he promised! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and any doubts I had about the casting were forgotten long before the film ended.

I liked Scotty's reference to Admiral Archer's beagle...that was a nice little homage to the Enterprise tv show

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 12791

Yep Jip I guess I did

and yep I liked that reference to Archer's dog though I doubt it was Porthos as I reckon he would have been long gone by then...it was a nice nod though
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Jipdog · Supporting Actor Joined: 11 Jan 2008 Posts: 523

You never know Luc in the future they may be able to prolong household pet's lives or replicate them, ala The Sixth Day.
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"Well, first of all, there's 4 of you. Your not exactly lone."

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 12791

you just can't argue with that logic

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