Star Trek: The Franchise

[ratscabies]

Just sat down for 7:15 show in Muskogee, OK. There are only 10 peole here....hmmm.

[MrsOldManBalls]

I saw the 10:00 show last night. Theatre was fairly busy. I really liked the movie! Everyone seemed a little more familiar and confident with their characters, lots of action, a good time!

[ratscabies]

I loved it.

It took a while in the last one to accept the "alternative timeline" scenario brought on by Quinto meeting Nimoy, but as long as you buy that, the little references and nerd shoutouts are kind fun. I wonder if Quinto was coached by Shatner for his big line...?

[Deleted]

I think it worked as a blockbuster but completely failed as a Star Trek movie. I really wish JJ and his team had done a completely original story, I loved the idea of a new timeline and here I'm forced to compare it to a previous Star Trek movie, and it doesn't measure up, plus fails in my view on the very principles of the franchise.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}The complete disregard for the Prime Directive particularly annoyed me. It was a funny scene, but no way does Kirk just not give a damn about what happened on that planet, and in fact never ever grasps the ramifications. Then I'm supposed to buy him as the leader of the 5 year mission to explore strange new worlds because he proved that he can hack it in a military situation? Wtf? The Federation is about exploration and not the military, and in this version Kirk has no regard for that. Also, referencing Wrath of Khan so closely for big fans was a huge mistake in my view. They totally missed the point, and in fact I don't even get what that accomplished in the movie. Kirk learns to die for his crew? That is something he has shown through all the movies that he is willing to do, it is losing crew members that he cannot accept. Not to mention the entire fun of Khan is seeing Kirk pitted in a mental battle against an equal, not to watch Khan crush people's heads. Another issue is having the Federation have this secret plot to start a war and be all war mongering. The whole point of Star Trek is that they are beyond such things on Earth and can now grapple with more morally complex issues and problems. It's supposed to be aspirational as dorky as that sounds. Finally, none of the set pieces made sense. Why call New Vulcan and not Earth for help? Why not just use the blood of the 72 Khan like beings you already have?? Why would the Enterprise be underwater??? I could go on.

Complaints aside, I did think it was a fun watch, the cast in great, and I thought it was extremely funny at times. A lot of the ridiculousness like the opening scene were almost worth it for the fun factor. Basically, if they didn't call it Star Trek and it was just a big dumb blockbuster, I would have had a really good time.

[Malle Babbe]

Just saw it, and enjoyed it a lot. Given that the Prime Directive got bent into all kinds of shapes in the original series, I didn't mind the opening sequence.

They didn't really have to ((

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}recycle the Khan plotline, I get that this is a alternate timeline and they went for the concept of this timeline dealing with the fallout of the Eugenics Wars that ended with Khan and his crew getting frozen and shot into space. The basic plotline of dealing with Starfleet becoming more militarized, and almost kicking off a war with the Klingons would have been good on its own, and actually pretty nervy in a post-9/11 world.

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BC still did a great job though, if they ever do "Paradise Lost" he'd be a great Lucifer.

((

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}This may be showing my age, but now I want to hear Cumberbatch say "Rich Corinthian Leather" in that voice of his...

))

Also liked the "You Gotta Be Shitting Me..." look that Harrison shot Kirk when they were about to the jump into space from the Enterprise.

[Oxynia]

I'm married to the biggest Trekkie I've ever known and he took the day off from work today so we could see this...we were both pretty meh on it.

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SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}It works as an action adventure, if you're in the market for that sort of thing, but it pretty much failed at delivering the weight and meaning of TOS. I know it's a prequel and perhaps intended that civilization hadn't yet outgrown its infancy, but the dependence on fights and action sequences at the expense of emotional depth and gravitas (which was the heart of TOS) made it more of a popcorn adventure than what Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek to represent. Abrams famously said he wasn't making this film for Star Trek fans but for action fans, and he wasn't kidding.

The plot was crammed with way too much stuff that could have easily been simplified to allow for more meaningful detail. We got confused a lot and still are. That was a big disappointment. We also weren't too thrilled with the liberties that the writers took in portraying the characters. We liked Bones the most (Dr. Crankypants!), but the rest felt like jacked-up cartoon versions of the originals. Kirk may have always been a bit of a contained hot-head, but he was never this cocky and rogue and it's hard to believe that these are traits he would outgrow in time for TOS. Cumberbatch the Villain, on the other hand, was the best thing in the whole movie...he should be evil more often. I'd give him an A but the rest of the movie gets a C, and I'm in a generous mood.

)

[petitesuite]

I thought it was SO good, but perhaps that's not surprising since I was always more of TNG fan than TOS? I thought Cumberbatch was fantastic, loved all the Kock interactions, thought the action scenes were great. My only quibble is that Alice Eve's character seemed a little unnecessary, but otherwise I thought it was amazing.

[Atreides]

I pretty much loved it! Yes, there are things about it that may bug you depending on how much of a Trek fan you are but I had a blast watching it.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the reviews. I can't wait to see it! And not just because I want Benedict to do naughty things to my no-no parts!

[Babycakes]

My only quibble is that Alice Eve's character seemed a little unnecessary

Is she a robot? Her character I mean. Her "acting" in the trailer is some of the worst I've seen since January Jone's turn in X-Men. Feel free to spoiler your response.