Star Trek

[blueerica]

Without getting into finer details, which I reserve the right to do later, yes, I loved the movie, no, it wasn't perfect, but, it was a delicious departure that was camp, and IMO, not abusive to the original.

And - they said it in the movie - it's an alternate universe, so I didn't bother trying to get hung up on what I thought others would or should be like, because life's circumstances may have been completely altered with the death of Kirk's father. Maybe someone missed out on an important mentor - any number of things could have changed the timing or motivation behind the storyline. So long as they kept the basic elements, I planned to be pleased, and I was. (though I wonder if my ultimate enjoyment of Scotty had more to do with the fact that he was played by Simon Pegg, whom I have a huge nerd crush on)

Oh, and Uhuru... yeah, didn't care for her much...

Okay, so after reading iSm's post again, I mostly agree with him.

And yeah, Iowa... which, incidentally, is where J is at the moment as a part of a special test squadron. Was everyone getting on that transport from around the globe, or was it a regional transport center for Starfleet? I need to think about that one some more. Maybe it was a bit odd that there was a "shipyard" in Iowa.

Oh well, it got the cute Kirk on board.

[RStar]

The wherehouse looks to the sets were the one thing that bothered me as well. It just looked too different than the clean look in TOS (for those unaware, The Original Series). I was a little confused about the distruction on Vulcan. Didn't that go completely outside the realm of the history line already established, or did I miss something?

[Melonballer]

Originally Posted by RStar

I was a little confused about the distruction on Vulcan. Didn't that go completely outside the realm of the history line already established, or did I miss something?

It was supposed to. The movie is set in an alternate universe from the original Star Trek series.

[swanie]

OK...I really liked it. I'm teetering on the L-O-V-E word, but at this point I can say that I'm deeply "in like" with it. I entered the theater completely unspoiled, and for that I was grateful. I agree that the film isn't without it's faults, but overall I found it to be a ton of fun. And unlike the Star Wars prequels, I thought this was a completely worthy addition to the series. It got a hardy round of applause at our showing and regardless of the following gripes, the film still earned two very big thumbs up from the Swanies.

I thought the casting was fantastic, and though I agree that Uhura was my least favorite of the regulars I don't blame that one on the actress. I didn't buy her relationship with Spock at all, and frankly I'd be happy to never see Uhura-Spock loving ever again. I didn't despise the actress, instead my issue was with how the role was written.

I really liked Chris Pine's Kirk. I loved seeing the John Wayne/Capt. Kirk swagger come out once he donned the yellow shirt and walked on the bridge at the end. Kirk has always been a rebel. He's always been mischievous. He's always been a hound dog. He's always had a fair amount of confidence. I have to say that I loved watching his development into officer material during the course of the 2 hours.

For any old Alias fans there...did the big red ball bring back any memories? Mr. Swanie and I both looked at each other with a "you've got to be kidding me" look when it came on screen. J.J. was never able to explain away "the circumference red ball of whatever" during the show's 5 seasons, so I guess this was meant to be some kind of redemption? Regardless of his intent, it certainly gave us a good laugh.

I guess my biggest sticking point with the film is the idea of an alternate reality. In one sense, I see it as a brilliant move to keep the future prequels fresh and interesting. They can play with history of the series and throw us a bone here and there since not everything is bound to change (ie. the ceti eel and Pike, how Bones got his nickname, seeing how Kirk beat the Kobayashi Maru, etc.)...but my big complaint is that they're inevitably going to screw with the series' history too. With the exception of the destruction of Vulcan and could someone please explain to me how 2 Spocks can live side by side without causing the universe to implode somehow (isn't that one of the basic rules of alternate realities...that you're never allowed to meet yourself without suffering some dire conequence?)...I thought it worked reasonably well for this installment. I'd like to reserve my final judgment until prequel #2 comes out. I hope it continues to work, but I could see it sucking too.

And finally for my most minor gripe...I hated having to wait to hear the theme until the end. Once I was in my seat I wanted to hear "the" music and it was cruel and unusual punishment having to wait until the final credits.