Entertainment Weekly Reviews The Star Trek Movies

[Mudd]

They're going to do one of these every week. This piece is one of the best I've ever read about Star Trek in general and TMP in particular.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/29/star-trek-motion-picture-geekly

 

[BillJ]

Interesting article. Though I still believe TMP is the best Star Trek movie and is Star Trek's "imperfect masterpiece".

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Yes, that piece is outstanding. It's refreshing to read an article in the mainstream popular (online) press that gets so many details and nuances about Star Trek completely right. It's almost as if.... Darren Franich is fully qualified to write about Star Trek!

Looking forward to reading this whole series.

 

[Vger23]

Oh, good. Star Trek movie reviews by a major outlet. Let me guess what the high-level output will be:

1. TMP: "Boring. Slow-motion Picture. Bad uniforms. Didn't get the spirit of TOS. FX heavy and weak on plot."
2. TWOK: "Best Trek. Meyer gets it right and saves the franchise. Montalban. Simple revenge story. Dramatic death of Spock."
3. TSFS: "Disappointing follow-up. Plot and outcome is a foregone conclusion. Not bad but not great."
4. TVH: "Surprise comedy hit. Fish out of water time travel story. Whales."
5. TFF: "Awful. Shatner is teh sux. Search for God. Bad humor. Almost killed the franchise. What does God need with a starship"
6. TUC: "Meyer does it again yay! Glasnost in space allegory. Whodunnit. Great swan song for originals"

Everybody says the same cliche crap over and over again.

Ok, now that I've ranted...I'll go read the article. Haha

 

[Khan 2.0]

Oh, good. Star Trek movie reviews by a major outlet. Let me guess what the high-level output will be:

1. TMP: "Boring. Slow-motion Picture. Bad uniforms. Didn't get the spirit of TOS. FX heavy and weak on plot."
2. TWOK: "Best Trek. Meyer gets it right and saves the franchise. Montalban. Simple revenge story. Dramatic death of Spock."
3. TSFS: "Disappointing follow-up. Plot and outcome is a foregone conclusion. Not bad but not great."
4. TVH: "Surprise comedy hit. Fish out of water time travel story. Whales."
5. TFF: "Awful. Shatner is teh sux. Search for God. Bad humor. Almost killed the franchise. What does God need with a starship"
6. TUC: "Meyer does it again yay! Glasnost in space allegory. Whodunnit. Great swan song for originals"

Everybody says the same cliche crap over and over again.

Ok, now that I've ranted...I'll go read the article. Haha

Do the rest lol

 

[RAMA]

This article is not about JJTrek, but...this video kind of sums up my feeling on it.

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STTMP was almost a reboot...different tone, different ship, different everything. It's ending and theme was totally different from the episode it shares a genealogy with..The Changeling.

ST09 was closer to TOS than STTMP ever was. The cinematic "reboot" had color, adventure, and restored STTMP scale in spades.

STTMP--as the article touched upon--had some deep themes which it could not execute fully. as much as I like some of it, it can never be considered a fulfilling movie.

RAMA

 

[Shalashaska]

This article is not about JJTrek, but...this video kind of sums up my feeling on it.

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STTMP was almost a reboot...different tone, different ship, different everything. It's ending and theme was totally different from the episode it shares a genealogy with..The Changeling.

ST09 was closer to TOS than STTMP ever was. The cinematic "reboot" had color, adventure, and restored STTMP scale in spades.

STTMP--as the article touched upon--had some deep themes which it could not execute fully. as much as I like some of it, it can never be considered a fulfilling movie.

RAMA

What? That video is complete drivel, a big excuse for JJTrek. Completely misses the point of what a Star Trek film should be.

I prefer the comments section:

You're an idiot. Just because you can "copy-paste" original Trek material doesn't make [the new movie] good as a trek film. Also, you're assuming that all Trek fan love the movies. Wrong again. The JJ movies dont stand on their own two feet, and their lack of the deeper ideals of the Roddenberry Trek is what angers Trek fans.

You reboot a franchise, but then lean against canon to tell your stories. It just doesn't make any sense, and I have no respect for JJ's Trek films. The two new films don't speak of the optimism and wonder the original series and subsequent series showed us. It's not Trek, it's just another action film. Let's face it, the studio wanted to MAKE MONEY by capitizing on the present fan base, but had to 'de-trek' Star Trek to make it accessible to the popcorn-munching Guardian Of The Galaxy generation. The whole concept is a sell-out and fans who have loved 50 years worth of characters, actors, stories and universe felt gutted. Why is that so hard to understand? Why do fans gets labelled 'haters' if they object to their 50 years universe being scraped? Btw - The original Trek films were not reboots, and much of what you say in your video are just plain lies. Bizarre video, bizarre angle.

I don't feel like this argument addresses the genuine concerns of people who don't like the reboot. You've shown that it looks the same. And I'll give you that. The problem is that beneath the icing there is no substance. Star Trek has always pushed boundaries. We don't notice now, but a black woman on the bridge of a starship was a big deal for 1966.

It was game changing. It made societal commentary in a way that was easy to swallow. The fact that all you saw was "a colorful romp" is a testament to how well Roddenberry did in showing us what we needed to see in a way we could handle looking at. The movies have no meaning whatsoever. They copy the surface while being incredibly shallow. And I was okay with that in the first movie, it was what it was, but by the second movie, they gave up on making sense even within their own universe.

Just because it has bright colours and fan service shoved down your throat, doesn't make it better than the original films.

 

[BillJ]

Completely misses the point of what a Star Trek film should be.

What exactly should a Star Trek film "be"?

 

[Shalashaska]

You got it twisted.

TMP and the following five films were a continuation of the original cast's story. They didn't need fan service and TOS references to make good films.

ST09 was the reboot with new actors, new universe, new ship design, new everything.

 

[RAMA]

It's what I've been saying for ages. Very accurate video. One of the best I've seen about Trek.

RAMA

What? That video is complete drivel, a big excuse for JJTrek. Completely misses the point of what a Star Trek film should be.

I prefer the comments section:





Just because it has bright colours and fan service shoved down your throat, doesn't make it better than the original films.

 

[BillJ]

TMP and the following five films were a continuation of the original cast's story. They didn't need fan service and TOS references to make good films.

Fan service is great, but it doesn't represent why the Abrams films are fun to watch. Plus, there was plenty of fan service in the six original cast films.

 

[RAMA]

In almost every respect, the JJ films are closer to TOS. Simple.

I've repeatedly said STTMP is not a reboot, but it is a close as you can get without being one. It's not much like TOS at all.

RAMA

You got it twisted.

TMP and the following five films were a continuation of the original cast's story. They didn't need fan service and TOS references to make good films.

ST09 was the reboot with new actors, new universe, new ship design, new everything.

 

[Shalashaska]

What exactly should a Star Trek film "be"?

Not to go off-topic here, but I'm not saying ST09 misses the point of what a film should be, I'm saying that video does. The guy who made that doesn't understand the aim of the original films or the new films, he just sees that it's the original cast so they're probably the same.

It's what I've been saying for ages. Very accurate video. One of the best I've seen about Trek.

RAMA

That's your argument?

It's completely inaccurate.

In almost every respect, the JJ films are closer to TOS. Simple.

I've repeatedly said STTMP is not a reboot, but it is a close as you can get without being one. It's not much like TOS at all.

RAMA

No, no they're not. If you think TOS was bright colours and green aliens, then even I can make a good TOS film.

 

[RAMA]

You didn't really pay attention to the video did you? "fan service" is only one aspect. The movies get the tone right if you want to replicate TOS. STTMP simply doesn't. It's a very accurate assessment that gets the usual suspects of purists butthurt in the comments.

Here's a follow up video that argues another aspect, which is also what I've said for years:

http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/did-jj-ruin-kirk.280446/

Not to go off-topic here, but I'm not saying ST09 misses the point of what a film should be, I'm saying that video does. The guy who made that doesn't understand the aim of the original films or the new films, he just sees that it's the original cast so they're probably the same.

That's your argument?

It's completely inaccurate.


No, no they're not. If you think TOS was bright colours and green aliens, then even I can make a good TOS film.

 

[Shalashaska]

You didn't really pay attention to the video did you? "fan service" is only one aspect. The movies get the tone right if you want to replicate TOS. STTMP simply doesn't. It's a very accurate assessment that gets the usual suspects of purists butthurt in the comments.

Here's a follow up video that argues another aspect, which is also what I've said for years:

http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/did-jj-ruin-kirk.280446/

But you can't use that as a criticism for TMP if TMP wasn't trying to replicate TOS!

Different movies have different goals. It's like saying "I prefer the Star Wars prequels to the originals as the prequels are better at showing Anakin as a child".

Just... ugh. There's no point. You're going to defend the new films 'till the end of time and anyone who doesn't like them is a butthurt purist. I'm done.

 

[RAMA]

Well guess what..the EW review spent some time suggesting the rest of the ST movies tried to "fix" the problem many people felt were endemic to changing the formula so much. So since we have that apparent problem, and the vast majority of trekkies and film fans think any number of the following trek were better than STTMP, then that only proves my point of the irony of the butthurt purists thinking the JJ movies were sacrilege without merit.

Stiill, that's only one part of the STTMP problem as I mention in my original response on this thread.

But you can't use that as a criticism for TMP if TMP wasn't trying to replicate TOS!

Different movies have different goals. It's like saying "I prefer the Star Wars prequels to the originals as the prequels are better at showing Anakin as a child".

Just... ugh. There's no point. You're going to defend the new films 'till the end of time and anyone who doesn't like them is a butthurt purist. I'm done.

 

[Longinus]

That was a very good and thorough review of TMP. It obviously gets the film's flaws (this is not hard), but it also really well highlights its strengths. It is a weird movie; easily the most ambitious and most artistic Star Trek film ever made. I understand that it is not everyone's cup of tea, but personally I love it. The slow pace, hypnotic music, the cool and clinical interiors, colourless uniforms and the restrained emotions of the characters combined with the surreal, kaleidoscopic surroundings all add to the bizarre and captivating tone of the film. Watching it is almost a meditative experience.

 

[Longinus]

This article is not about JJTrek, but...

Then why the hell are you bringing it up? This is the original films section of the forum.

this video kind of sums up my feeling on

That video was bloody stupid. It concentrated on superficial similarities and catchphrases. That's cargo cult approach to Star Trek.

 

[RAMA]

Then why the hell are you bringing it up? This is the original films section of the forum.

That video was bloody stupid. It concentrated on superficial similarities and catchphrases. That's cargo cult approach to Star Trek.

obviously you did not read the rest of the post...

 

[Kemaiku]

Then why the hell are you bringing it up? This is the original films section of the forum.

That video was bloody stupid. It concentrated on superficial similarities and catchphrases. That's cargo cult approach to Star Trek.

Someone needs to tone it down a little...