New Star Trek Movie In 2009..

[kaiotheforsaken]

If I were to have one gripe about the flick, it was who they cast as Sarek. He just didn't do it for me. Still...small thing and didn't detract from the overall awesome of the flick. Loved the choice for Bones though, I thought his performance was great.

[Duke Togo]

One thing that always bothered me about Star Trek was how clean everything was (this goes for the Star Wars prequels, as well). I didn't get that feeling at all in this movie.

[Tinderfitles]

The ship looked fantastic. It was a beautiful combination of the Constitution pre and post refit. And probably has taken over my #1 spot from the defiant.

What can I say "It's a tough little ship"

My only hope is that this leads to more star trek movies, or a new star trek show. Cancel Heroes already, so we can get Zach and that guy who did the writing for pushing daisies.

[Scream Man]

since i got more psyched fopr this film,I started watching more Trek to see if it would finally win me over, and while its a solid watch for the most part, i dont think id ever really love the franchise.

The 2 that stood out for me were enterprise (I think coz im not a Trek fan and thus didnt care about continuity snafus) and Voyager. And if we want to tlk favourite ships; for me its all about Voyager. i love that little guy!

whats always confused me about trek ship design are the week point; surely if u were attacjing it, u would shoot for the pylons and blow the narcels off!

[chen]

Yeah the whole Warp Nacelles being on strut like things is a part of "Trek" science to create warp propulsion but is a major target. Supposedly there are multiple layers of shields protecting it and the whole ship but how many times have we seen a Klingon or someone hit it once and the Enterprise is basically a sitting duck and can only maneuver on impulse or thrusters.

Of course that one hit ALWAYS causes some engineer to yell "coolant leak" and "we're venting gas", you'd think they would have built sturdier ships in the future, perhaps Starfleet ships are built by Yamato

[eugimon]

Of course that one hit ALWAYS causes some engineer to yell "coolant leak" and "we're venting gas", you'd think they would have built sturdier ships in the future, perhaps Starfleet ships are built by Yamato

Feh, that would entail bits and pieces falling off for no reason, obviously you're thinking of Serenity.

[taksraven]

Overall, it was a great film. Trek has never looked this good. The pre-credits sequence was thrilling and it maintained its pace from there. (Weird to see a former Australian soap actor playing Kirk Senior, but he did a good job with his brief role.)

There was a little bit of fanwankery going on and a knowledge of the various Trek series and films is a little bit helpful in understanding exactly what was going on but I still thought it was pretty accessible.

I particularly loved the Kobayashi Maru bit. Strange to think that the joke itself was originally set up in the early 1980's, I was laughing quite loud knowing what Kirk was about to do. The bit about Archers dog was funny too.

The overall look of the film was certainly more SW than Star Trek, but that was OK, it was nice to see space battles realised so well. Thought I was going to hate Enterprise and its new bridge but I found them to be totally acceptable.

As already observed here, there wasn't much of a plot and there was barely enough time to give all of the different cast members their moments. Maybe an extra half hour would have helped this, but it would have stuffed around with the pace of the film which was blistering, I must say.

Generally the cast was pretty good. New Kirk, fine. New McCoy, a bit weird but fine, Sulu and Chekov were much the same as they have always been, and Simon Pegg was great, even if he did sound exactly like Spud on speed from Trainspotting.

Two of the major revelations were Spock and Uhura. Both were outstanding in their roles and the scene where they first embrace in the lift was one of the best in the film. When there was the opportunity this film had a lot of heart with these characters. I thought that the prejudice that Spock went up against with his own people at the start was done particularly well. A lot of people rave about Shatner and Kirk, but I think that the producers of this film correctly realised that ultimately it is Spock who is the emotional heart of the franchise. (Pretty funny, since he is supposed to be the emotionless character) I think that was one of the most successful aspects of Voyager as well, even though it wasn't Spock, it demonstrated the Vulcan characters can be quite mesmerising.

It was kinda sad seeing Nimoy, knowing that there is a pretty good chance that this was his last time as Spock. (Unless he comes back in the next film, always possible, I guess) Shatner is supposed to be going around saying that Nimoy is getting pretty senile, if he is he is still doing quite well. But even with this we have a lot of character development with Nimoy playing him as a much more human character than normal (I don't know if this was intentional or not) and it contrasted well with the younger Spock.

Captain Pike was excellent. Nice to see the role done this way, I was never too impressed with the job they did in TOS.

The one cast member who did get a raw deal, however, was Eric Bana. He's a great actor but in this film he simply did not have enough to do and enough of a chance to really shine. A great pity.

I give this film 10/10 for the simple fact that they DIDN'T press the reset button at the end. With the "premature" death of Spock's mother AND the destruction of Vulcan, I didn't think that they would have the balls to maintain this mucking around with traditional Trek canon.

Well there are many of us, I suspect, who would have happily seen this franchise die (or at least now go into prolonged hibernation), but I doubt that this can be the case now. It will be interesting to see where the franchise goes from here. Ideally, I think that they could stretch this out to a movie trilogy and maybe leave it at that, but of course that is not going to happen. I predict that pretty soon we will see plans being made for the franchise to return to TV. Time will tell......

Taksraven

[Macross007]

Just saw the movie this afternoon with friends and two words come to my mind : F*CKING AMAZING !!! Love the updated exterior and interior U.S.S. Enterprise designs. Love the "iBridge" and yes I like the new engineering section even if it looks like an oil refinery. Don't care because it shows why the Enterprise is called the "Big E". Love the updated uniforms. Love how they keep the original sound effects like the transporter and bridge sound effects. Love how the geek discussions were actually funny unlike in other Trek incarnations (Star Trek : Voyager anyone ?) Love how each character had their moments (Checkov moments were priceless !!! ). Love how the bridge interact during the whole movie (Scotty FTW !!! ).

However, I must say that I did not like two things about the movie the first being how "Cadet" Kirk became "Captain" Kirk in one day. Earning the privilege to command the most advanced Starfleet ship is an honor you would think that will require YEARS OF EXCELLENT WORK. But somehow, Kirk did it in a matter of hours. And I did not like the fact that they NEVER mention the Vulcans having fleets to defend their own homeworld. I know Vulcans are pacific people but this is a diffence between being pacific and being an actual dumbass. If you don't want to defend yourself, then you deserve what you get. The Vulcans learned the lesson the hard way I guess.

Sure the plot was simple, but the movie as a whole was well executed. "Well executed" is what was missing in later Trek incarnations like Enterprise and Nemesis. Don't care if the hardcore fans are saying that the movie does not fit in the timeline. Star Trek was a dead franchise and this movie is bringing back Star Trek from the death. The reboot did it job well. In the future, I hope seeing Star Trek going the Gundam way : all the other movies and TV shows are considered as parts of the original universe and this new movie starts another universe. Like that, die hard fans are are happy. I hope so at least ...

But anyway, thank you very much J.J. Abrams for this wonderful movie. STAR TREK IS BACK IN THE GAME MOTHERF*CKERS !!!

Oh and I give this movie a well deserved 9/10.

Edited May 10, 2009 by Macross007

[Macross007]

One thing that always bothered me about Star Trek was how clean everything was (this goes for the Star Wars prequels, as well). I didn't get that feeling at all in this movie.

Glad to see some people loving the new engineering section like me.

[aerocombatpilot]

Haven't seen the movie yet but I'm a huge Trek fan, I actually think that the later seasons of DS9 were some of the best Trek stuff ever.

I agree wholeheartedly!!! DS9 had some of the best stories in all of Star Trek, however I did not like how Capt. Sisko ended up! As for the movie, I have not seen it yet, but I can say as a childhood Trek fan; I'M SOOO FRIGGIN HYPED!!

I have not been this excited about Star Trek in a loooooooooooooooooooooong time! After First Contact (which was the best!) I lost intrest in the films. I tried to watch Enterprise (only because T'pol is sooo beautiful) however, when the

writers put T'pol and Trip together; I left and never came back. The new film has renewed my intrest again in Star Trek; which is not a bad thing!

[UN Spacy]

I'm starting to think Star Trek has finally surpassed Star Wars.

[Macross007]

I'm starting to think Star Trek has finally surpassed Star Wars.

Me I'm starting to think Star Trek has finally surpassed years of mediocrity (Nemesis, Voyager and the crap Enterprise).

[eugimon]

Me I'm starting to think Star Trek has finally surpassed years of mediocrity (Nemesis, Voyager and the crap Enterprise).

+1

[taksraven]

That sentence if read by Shatner.

"He. Grew up. Without. His Father. This is a. Different. James T. Kirk."

I. HAVE HAD. JUST ABOUT. ENOUGH. OF YOU. :P

Taksraven

[Fit For Natalie]

I love this film. As much as I am a Transformers fan, I am an even more passionate Star Trek fan (though not of the Klingonese-spouting nerd variety). I have never felt so satisfied in having my faith in a movie rewarded.

I am also particularly enjoying the fact it has received consistently good reviews (96% on Rotten Tomatoes with 209 positive out of 218 reviews, last I checked), and shows that despite what critics of Transformers say, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman can actually write.

I LAUGH IN YOUR FACE, TREKKIE NERDS WHO PREDICTED DOOM

One I won't accept this as a Yesterday's Enterprise scenario with a wiped out timeline.

I chalk it up as a A Mirror Darkly scenario where Spock and the Romulans were flung to another reality's past.

I think it was clearly said the original timeline of Trek (if you can call it as such given how many times Star Trek stories have messed around with time travel) still exists, but this is a new tangent of Star Trek continuity coexisting alongside it.

I can't help but notice some inconsistencies. Like Pike saying the Federation is an armada etc. It struck me as the writer did not do research.

I think that's a pretty reasonable way to say "we got a whole load of ships". Like it or not, Starfleet's mission is also of defense of their worlds, so it's equally a military organisation as it is a science and exploratory body.

Another is suddenly everyone knows that Romulans and Vulcan's were related. The Romulans were still a mystery in the early and mid 23rd century. Second contact between the Federation and the Romulan Empire occured a hundred years after the Romulan War. The Enterprise were involved with this. Also the Federation has a Neutralzone with the Klingon Empire?! The Federation and the Kilingons did not have a Neutralzone till the Organians forced on them a peace treaty. The Enterprise again was involved in it.

When Nero's ship entered this timeline and destroyed the Kelvin, it changed the course of history, so MAYBE the Romulans established contact with the rest of the galaxy far sooner than in the original timeline.

[Duke Togo]

Me I'm starting to think Star Trek has finally surpassed years of mediocrity (Nemesis, Voyager and the crap Enterprise).

Yeah, what he said.

Trek surpassing Star Wars would be like Macross surpassing Gundam.

[taksraven]

Yeah, what he said.

Trek surpassing Star Wars would be like Macross surpassing Gundam.

Mumbles quietly.... "But I thought that Macross was better than Gundam, thats why we're here, aren't we?"

Taksraven

Edited May 10, 2009 by taksraven

[Uxi]

A reboot would have preferable to the gaping holes in continuity (if not logic) that they introduced, but hey it's trek... doesn't matter. More annoying is having Kirk in the academy at the same time as all his otherwise subordinates decades later. Not that they ever advanced past that point anyways in the ensuing decades so I guess it doesn't really matter? Trek should have always been more of an anthology of different characters with people's terms coming and/or getting reassigned regularly (if not promotions). They were starting to show that in TMP with Kirk getting the Admiral gig, Wrath of Khan with Chekov as first officer on Reliant, etc... but rather than get creative and/or letting some characters move-on / retire / spinoff series / etc they got stuck in a position with no advancement possible. TNG and the rest only repeated it. Only character who ever has some realistic amount of career growth/change is Worf. Riker was too little waaaaay too late.

Funnier is the pretend that the new movie did with the technology etc just changing for no reason. Nothing extraordinarily archaic about the phasers, etc that necessitated the use of chrome, for example. Replace the analog gauges with digital meters perhaps (though not necessarily) and there's nothing with the classic designs. I'll probably alway sprefer the refit/1701-A version but appreciate the path that the remastered HD and DS9 tribbles-ep treated TOS better.

[Uxi]

I can't help but notice some inconsistencies. Like Pike saying the Federation is an armada etc. It struck me as the writer did not do research.

They knew (or could have). They deliberately didn't care and avoided that. It's a reboot without saying it's a reboot. Kinda like Macross II is alternate universe, so is the rest of TOS (and most of TNG and the rest). Just from the perspective of the AU. Point of departure would have to be waaaaay earlier than Nero going back in time.

Still, I find it interesting to go ahead in the original universe with Romulus not only in political chaos (Nemesis, which I still haven't seen the whole thing ), but destroyed in the aftermath of the Dominion War. The larger intergalactic politicss angles in DS9 were pretty entertaining to me.

[Vepariga]

Yeah, what he said.

Trek surpassing Star Wars would be like Macross surpassing Gundam.

trek is good,but its not gonna beat the wars,and macross is miles better then gundam,imo,gundam is bit boring.

[Xeros]

Mumbles quietly.... "But I thought that Macross was better than Gundam, thats why we're here, aren't we?"

Taksraven

That's exactly what I'm thinking...

[miles316]

A few years ago I was reading star trek the magazine and they were talking about Ep best of both worlds were they toyed with the idea of having the BORG assimilate Romulus but decided not to go with that idea.

We better hope Tuvok's parents were not on Vulcan of got off the surface.

Though if Tuvock did not go off on the mission to infiltrate the Maquis than the ship might not have went in to the badlands, and would not have been pulled in the delta quadrant. Voyager would not have been stuck.

Were were the fraking temporal agents?

[eugimon]

If this reboot means no more stupid federation time cop stories then it will be the single best thing it accomplished.

I just LOVED that they didn't run around waving their arms talking about restoring the time line.

[baronv]

Good, fun move. Not great by any stretch to me, but good. A fun, faster pace Trek. Looking forward to how they treat the next movie and which enemy it will be, kinda tired of Romulans as the main enemy back to back movies (Nemesis and then this reboot).

Dug how they kept so many nods to the original series and didn't try and mega-update things, like Uhura's ear piece still plugged into her ear instead of some quasi-bluetooth device and such. The only thing that irked me was Kirk pretty much being a punk and getting in fights and breaking the law and then becoming a starship Captain in what seems like a year. He was heroic and brash, but I wish they showed him more honorable and able to lead better instead of going gung-ho on everything.

So far between this reboot and the GI Joe: Resolute cartoon, the remakes are coming in nicely in 20093.

[wolfx]

Was the time travel in the movie accidental (caused by supernova + red matter) or was it intentional?

And how did Nero know Spock will appear in that location 25 years later?

[Keith]

I always thought as franchises, Trek compared pretty evenly with Gundam, and Star Wars with Macross.

ST/Gundam - Good original series/original creater timeline stories, later run amok with oversaturated wtf franchise siyndrome.

Star Wars/Macross - Great originals, with sparse sequels that fans split a definate line between love & hate of both shows & the creaters.

[kaiotheforsaken]

Was the time travel in the movie accidental (caused by supernova + red matter) or was it intentional?

And how did Nero know Spock will appear in that location 25 years later?

Accidental

since the anomoly that brought them there was unique it's reasonable to assume he simply kept scanners on watch for when signs of the effects. They also said they had calculated the position/time before the hole opened.

[kanedaestes]

Was the time travel in the movie accidental (caused by supernova + red matter) or was it intentional?

And how did Nero know Spock will appear in that location 25 years later?

I think he had just stayed in that area hoping he would appear there

[Chronocidal]

While I can definitely say that I fully enjoyed the movie (especially in IMAX ), I have to admit... very few movies I've ever seen have left my brain in such an unsettled state. Why? Because I'm someone who loves the complexities of cause and effect chains... and ever since seeing this, my brain has been nearly completely occupied with the thought of what this reboot has done.

Just to start things off.. while yes, we have the original crew reunited, with the potential to repeat a good deal of what they did the first time around, some things have changed that throw the universe for a loop.

The potential exists for Kirk's entire life to be nothing like the original, even post starfleet. We don't have any details about Carol Marcus, or any potential son they had. In all likelyhood, it didn't happen. Kirk entered Starfleet years late, and may never have met her at all, which heads off a series of changes that could royally screw the universe over. For instance.. Genesis may never happen, Khan may never escape, Spock might not die, and since Vulcan is toast, they obviously can't be there when the whale probe shows up in ST:IV..

TMP could still happen sort of.. but you see where I'm going? All the times Kirk and crew saved the universe.. they have to do them again, under different circumstances.

Fotunately though, they might have a guide to the future. Considering Spock has all but given up on restoring the timeline to what it used to be, I don't see any reason why not to screw with it further to prevent certain things. I was fully expecting the original Spock to die to save the future, and was pleasantly surprised when he stuck around. Heck, I'm half convinced that the only reason Kirk actually got his quick promotion was due to prodding from Spock to get things to where they need to be. The crew realized that the timeline had diverged (and they made that abundantly clear through the dialog about it ), so accepting advice from someone who was there the first time around would only be logical.

I don't know how much he wants to give away, but for certain events.. I'm sure he could nudge things in the right direction to make sure they wind up ok, if not better than before. Heck, this time they can prevent Romulus from blowing early on, as well as do things like preventing the events in Generations, find ways to circumvent the borg before they're discovered.. my brain won't let up, and it's driving me insane.

What I really wonder about is the exact timeline, since I'm too lazy to look it up now.. the way things worked out, Pike never went to the Talosian planet, and the whole "The Cage/The Menagerie" bit didn't happen. Heck, the original crew that crashed on Talos IV might never have wound up there in the first place depending on when that happened, and the planet might have yet to be discovered.

What I really want to see is what happens to the remaining Vulcans. The way old Spock was sounding, it almost seemed like he had lost some faith in the application of pure logic, and seemed to steer young Spock more toward accepting emotions, and learning to use them when necessary... and lets face it, with the race down to around 10,000, any potential benefit from pon farr just went out the window. They need to breed like rabbits if they want to survive.

Now the big question is.. given this situation, would the Romulans of the time be more accepting of a much simpler reunification with the Vulcan race? At this point, it won't be a unification so much as an integration of the remaining Vulcans into Romulan society.

Anyway, great movie.. the opening sequence was particularly epic I think (though the rest kind of struggled to live up to that early bit I think) and the character's key lines were well worked out to fit without seeming obtrusive. Many good laughs to be had, and I have to agree, McCoy was probably the best cast one of them all.

Now the question is where do they go from here? I actually kind of hope they don't do a series, and reserve it to movies. While a fresh series might be fun, I think rehashing old plots to show how the timeline has changed will do no good to the franchise.

[Keith]

A TV series would only result in another recast, something that would completely kill momentum. If they stick with movies every couple of years or so, things will be ok. I really love the nuts involved in saying "all the trek you know is dead," truly a bold reboot direction to take.

Edited May 10, 2009 by Keith

[taksraven]

Yeah, what he said.

Trek surpassing Star Wars would be like Macross surpassing Gundam.

Franchise comparisons are pointless anyway. I enjoy ST and SW for different reasons with no real need to compare the two. Its like comparing a lot of the old school anime with each other. Gatchaman (ok BOTP version) was great, Space Cruiser Yamato (ok Star Blazers version) were both fantastic, but both shows were soooooooooooooooo different, what would be the point in really trying to say which one was better.

And you know what, if I really did have to choose my top three SF films, neither ST or SW would probably make the list.

Taksraven

[taksraven]

I really love the nuts involved in saying "all the trek you know is dead," truly a bold reboot direction to take.

Exactly the point I was trying to make. And the fact that they didn't "reset" at the end meant that the producers had true testicles. Also, it was the first time I had ever heard an "F" word in a Trek film, anybody else hear it?

Taksraven

[Vostok 7]

I haven't seen it yet, waiting for the crowds to die down, but I'm glad that people are liking it.

Personally I like the idea of this new Trek being a tabula rasa, so to speak. As Chronocidal said, there's a lot of potential. Maybe even a new TV series? How cool would that be?

It's interesting to see a Trek with an alternate universe that isn't just a minor change on the old norm (such as the Imperial "Mirror"verses), but one that shatters all conventions and pretty much destroys standard canon.

Let's just hope they can keep this one going with a minimal use of time travel and holodeck malfunctions. Please. No more holodeck malfunctions.

Vostok 7

[Keith]

I haven't seen it yet, waiting for the crowds to die down, but I'm glad that people are liking it.

Personally I like the idea of this new Trek being a tabula rasa, so to speak. As Chronocidal said, there's a lot of potential. Maybe even a new TV series? How cool would that be?

It's interesting to see a Trek with an alternate universe that isn't just a minor change on the old norm (such as the Imperial "Mirror"verses), but one that shatters all conventions and pretty much destroys standard canon.

Let's just hope they can keep this one going with a minimal use of time travel and holodeck malfunctions. Please. No more holodeck malfunctions.

Vostok 7

But how will they kill the borg without holodeck tommy guns! How!?

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Nice post Chronicidal. I totally agree that the last thing I want to see them do is stuff like "Here's what Wrath of Khan is like now that the timelines changed". It never even occurred to me that someone might suggest that. I actually was a touch disgusted when Bill Hunt brought that up as though it were some exciting new prospect.

Can they revisit old Treks? Sure. But i think it would be best if they told new stories while referencing the old. The little things like Kirk and the apple were nice nods. Last we need are real cases where we have to divide the fandom between "New City on the Edge of Forever is way better than the old" and so on. I like it as an alternate timeline, but they shouldn't focus purely on that.

I found it interesting that Spock Prime knew the true timeline, though I suppose he had to for plot purposes.