The French chime in...

Per Trekmovie's linkage, I came upon this roundtable discussion of five French journalists (at least that's what it says they are) who attended the Paris premiere. Haven't read French in a while, but I'll try to translate as best I can. Maybe someone who knows more French than I do can provide more detail to their insights.

http://www.unificationfrance.com/spip.php?article6571
(For speakers of French: beware of spoilers in the review!)

Their ratings are mostly good. 4/5 three times, once a 3/5. From what I can glean, only one very hardcore Trekkie had major problems with the film as Star Trek. He feels it's "empty", "without content", doesn't make him think, and it didn't touch him as previous films and episodes did. He felt entertained by it, but feels that Star Trek isn't meant to be just entertainment. He summarizes the film as "a tribute to Star Trek, but in no way a Star Trek in and of itself" (I'm paraphrasing here). He rates the film a 5/5 for technical achievement, a 3/5 as a sci fi film and a 1/5 as a Star Trek film.

(My comment: He says that all 736 (?) previous episodes and films touched him in some way or gave him food for thought. Now I love ST as much or more as many people, but in all fairness, it has to eb said that NOT all films and certainly not all episodes offered food for thought or were even meant to. I'd ike to ask him what he was pondering after seeing Profit and Lace or if he was truly touched by Threshold... Just saying.)

The two Star Trek virgins (they have seen only a few films or episodes) conclude that the film is "pure joy" and that Abrams has breathed new life into the franchise and one of them now feels compelled to "rediscover the Original Series as well as the others". (Which, I might add, would be one positive effect this film could have on new fans...)

Everybody agrees that the frequent lens flares are too much.

Altogether, the entertainment value seems unassailable. A sentiment previously heard in a review that Star Trek 12 should get a little more into the substance now that the style is established is reiterated here. And the die hard Trekkie is left somewhat disappointed that he couldn't find that substance right here.

 

^^ Alright. So hopefully when they read this, I will not have to be embarrassed because I misunderstood something.

 

Actually, the criticism sounds spot on. Pretty much what I expect to say after I see the movie. Still, just how deep or full of pathos was TVH? And TUC was clunky in its message. Let's have fun with this one, then hope the story matches the technology in the next one.

 

That Yves really hates the movie. I speak French, but no way am I translating all that!

 

Well, as I said, I question Yves' view on the previous shows. urbandk, you've seen the film, right? Would you say it's in any way a valid statement to say that each and every of the 736 episodes offers more substance than this film?

Without having seen it yet, I dare say it's impossible. Is this maybe a fan angry that the style he used to know has changed drastically? Is it bitterness?

 

Fully agreed. I'm not expecting an amazing, intelligent and deep Star Trek story, just a (very) entertaining one to set things up for the sequel.

 

Well this nugget is total bullshit:

I mean, do Star Trek II, III, IV, V, VI, Generations, and Nemesis ring a bell? Yeah, yeah, big ideas, but largely character vehicles for our beloved crew/icons. I can't comment on Insurrection, never saw it. What did Quint over at AICN call TVH, "Star Trek vaudeville?" Yves, it wasn't all about the environment, man. This movie tries to strike a balance but has an enormous task to accomplish. Needless to say, there are huge dilemmas in this movie, and if in the end all it is is a Bildungsroman, is that really so awful? Yes, there's no hard science fiction to be found, although, let's face it, there's much more respect for science fact than I've ever seen in Star Trek, but he is completely incorrect in arguing that this is inferior to all Trek that has preceded it. In his rabid desire to conflate this movie with big-budget Hollywood blockbusters, which the French love to hate but go see anyways, Yves does this movie and its story a big disservice. He dilutes the impact of his often valid criticism with an excessively apocalyptic take on the film.

 

Cue the pic of the French taunter from ..Holy Grail.

 

Uhhh, in case there's anyone, like me, who can't speak French:

I see what he's getting at, or seems to be getting at: that the characters are more 'heroes' than people. Keeping in mind I haven't seen it, he seems to think they're striking poses and , as the Irish like to say, 'throwin' shapes'. I think he's doing modern comics a disservice as well. Maybe there wasn't time to develop the characters as people a bit more.

But meh. I'll wait and see. What I've seen so far makes me think he's a bit harsh on that score.

 

Here's a French video about the redesign of the Enterprise. This may clear things up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVJ-W6LioB8

 

I don't think they're professional journalists, actually. They seem to be Star Trek fans and science-fiction fans who regularly contribute to the "Unification" website. They apparently got into a press screening but it doesn't mean anything.

Yves sounds like a hardcore Star Trek fan. In his opinion, JJ Abrams' Star Trek can't compare to any of the 726 Trek episodes and 10 Trek movies. In other words: he thinks it's worse than "Threshold" and "Spock's Brain". Anything that deviates from the old canon seems to irritate him tremendously. He's not entirely negative: he loved Chris Pine's performance and enjoyed Zoe Saldana's as well. He's also saying very encouraging things about Abram's direction.

Eric is a trekkie as well, but he's not a hardliner. He enjoyed the movie for what it is: a very entertaining sci-fi adventure romp, and praises its focus on characterization. He thinks Karl Urban and Simon Pegg have both found ways to express the essence of their characters without aping their predecessors.

Frank is a science-fiction fan, though not necessarily a Star Trek scholar. He really enjoyed the movie and found it very entertaining, albeit not in a particularly thought-provoking way.

Elodie admits that she only saw two Star Trek movies before this one. She enjoyed Abrams' Star Trek, thought the special effects were very impressive, but she thinks that the film's success owes more to its brilliant characters than its pedestrian plot.

Jean-Michel is not a Trek fan either, but he loved the movie, loved the actors, loved the characters and the whole thing made him want to watch the original series.

 

^thanks so much for the synopsis!

 

From what I understand, France hasn't always been friendly towards Star Trek, nor has it been very popular, am I correct?

 

I don't think the country has ever adopted an official position towards Trek.

 

They're too wrapped up in analyzing the comedic genius of Jerry Lewis to focus on much else.

Actually, the French reviewers are very much in sync with other reviews so far. A weak but serviceable plot, very good characters (except the villain, who's apparently rather thinly drawn), great direction, great FX, action, and most of all, it's fun.

 

Doggy style! There, I said it. Let that be official!

The guys over at Unification are not journalists. We worked together during a few conventions.

 

I just remember the French were always very into "Friends" back in the day. And CDs cost a fortune on Champs Elysée! Yeah, but I was young and gullible when I was last in Paris...

I think in much of Europe, Star Trek has always had a fringe position. The cultural influence is there (everybody knows it), but it's not exactly been a runaway hit commercially.

 

An attempt at mechanized translating of the article. Not perfect, by any means.

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unificationfrance.com%2Fspip.php%3Farticle6571&lp=fr_en&btnTrUrl=Translate