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Star Trek!
Saw it!
Okay, so ... TOS was the first show on TV that I think I could reasonably consider myself fannish about. It's one of the first shows I remember watching on TV, in fact. My sister and I used to draw our own Star Trek comics. My love affair with McCoy and Spock and Uhura (haha, notice who's not mentioned; sorry, Kirk) goes back at least 25 years. I've really never participated in Trek fandom because a) I had bad experiences with Trekkers back in college, and b) I used to be so intimidated by the huge size and history of the fandom that I never really felt comfortable joining in (although, after three years in SGA fandom, I've realized that I don't really feel that sense of intimidation anymore).
Anyway ... I loved the casting. Loved, loved, loved it. My first act on getting home was to look up Karl Urban and find out what else he's been in, because, OMG. I didn't think anyone could match Kelley's McCoy in my eyes, and he's still the one and only and first and best, but Urban? I WANT SOME MORE OF THAAAAT.
I really loved them all, in their own way; I didn't dislike Kirk (high praise, coming from me :D) and the rest of them totally knocked it out of the park. Not enough McCoy, though! Not nearly enough McCoy! But I was utterly thrilled to get so much Uhura, and one of the few exceptions to my general lack of overt 'shipping is Spock/Uhura; I have shipped them since I was eight years old, and I really can't express my squee to see it become !!!!!CANON!!!!!
So many little character bits made me squeak and flail. Vulcan bullies! (And wee!Spock ... *squishes him*) Scotty didn't do a whole lot for me on the original show, but this Scotty totally stole my heart. Sulu! Fencing! Wheee!
I had no idea Nimoy was in the movie (I have no clue how I remained unspoiled for that) and I loved that he got to do the voiceover at the end. Sweet.
And, maybe my biggest bit of love for the movie is that it really was a reboot, a canon AU, and it wasn't all about going back and fixing things and wiping out this timeline. They kept it all, dark as it was, and now they're all poised on the verge of their own unique future, and I'm completely thrilled about that. I would totally go see more movies with this cast, though I really hope they get a better plot the next time around -- I'm confident they could pull it off.
Which leads nicely into the UnSquee! part of the review! (*leaves some squee!space*)
OH MY GOD THE PLOT. IT HUUUUUURRRRRTTTSSSS MEEEEEEEEEE.
SO MUCH LACK OF PLOT LOGIC AND SCIENCE LOGIC THAT I CANNOT BEAR IT. *flails*
It's hilarious, because my reaction to the movie is such a total mix of EEEEEEEE! and AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHH! that even on the way out of the theatre I was flip-flopping between flailing at my husband "Oh my god! I loved Scotty! Eeee! Baby Spock!" and then in the next breath, "BLACK HOLES! SUPERNOVAS! PLOT SUCK! HELP!"
(My husband suggested that old!Spock really shouldn't have stopped at the store for a gallon of milk on the way to save the Romulan homeworld. So much tragedy could have been averted that way. *snort*)
I don't really know where to begin with the plot!suck because there's just so much of it, from the utter unbelievability of sending a shipful of ensigns into battle and then leaving them in charge, to the ridiculous way Kirk got on (and stayed on) the Enterprise, to Kirk being jettisoned right on top of old!Spock on the ice planet (or jettisoned, period, onto a world filled with ice monsters; that doesn't seem like a Spocklike thing to do), to the ludicrousness of Kirk "having" to be in charge of the Enterprise even though it makes NO SENSE either within the plot itself or in context of putting a demonstrably crazy and violent ensign in charge of a spaceship...
And I hated the scene where Kirk makes Spock break down in front of the crew with the passion of a thousand blazing Vulcan suns. It was a lousy, horrible thing to do to him as a person, and it was a horrible thing to do to him in context of the TOS!verse, where he was just about the only Vulcan in Starfleet and had to constantly prove himself to his human crewmates; to start out his career in Starfleet by proving him unfit for command, and THEN to top all of THAT with the pure, unmitigated character assassination of having him remove himself from command and turn over the command to an aggressive, untried cadet who is also a mutineer -- HATE! HATE HATE HATE! HAAAAAATE!
*pant pant*
And this is supposed to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship? I ... I CAN'T EVEN. *wails*
Even leaving aside the massive, massive plot!suck (and don't get me started on the science!suck), could I get a little speculation in my spec fic? Aside from the above scene, my other least favorite thing about the movie was the total lack of any effort to think about how people live in the future, and how they think, and what the impact would be (emotional, political, or otherwise) of the events in the movie. Awesome casting, beautiful cinematography, and the actors did great with what they were given ... I just wish they'd been given more. What really made me love TOS was the character scenes and the show's endearingly earnest efforts to grapple with human questions.
I really like shiny special effects and explosions, and I'm willing to cut a show or movie a lot of slack in the world-building and plausibility departments if it delivers shiny things and heart-pounding action, but even I have my limits, and this movie pushed them pretty hard. For one thing, it really made me think about how media sci-fi has been seriously taken over by the "shiny, 'splodey" factor at the expense of plot and character development. You know, if the RIAA/MPAA is right that the era of big-budget sci-fi is going to eventually be torpedoed by downloading (which REALLY does not seem to be happening -- see Exhibit A which I just viewed at the matinee) -- but even if it does, all I have to say about that is, yay! We've had years of big-budget movies with awesome effects and no heart; let's get a few low-budget, independent SF series with genuinely ground-breaking ideas and real diversity and solid writing, huh?
SIGH.
But I just read on imdb.com that they've greenlighted a New!Trek series with the new cast for 2011, and I am THRILLED! I guess it remains to be seen if it'll happen, or if they can get all of the movie cast for it (I can haz Karl Urban, pleeez?), but maybe with TV-show pacing and more time to slow down and focus on the characters as individuals, without having to stop for an explosion or near-death experience every five minutes ... maybe the movie's deficiencies will be less, well, deficient, and maybe we can get some cool thinky stuff and funSpock/McCoy character moments as well as spaceship chases and 'sploding planets too.
Okay, so ... TOS was the first show on TV that I think I could reasonably consider myself fannish about. It's one of the first shows I remember watching on TV, in fact. My sister and I used to draw our own Star Trek comics. My love affair with McCoy and Spock and Uhura (haha, notice who's not mentioned; sorry, Kirk) goes back at least 25 years. I've really never participated in Trek fandom because a) I had bad experiences with Trekkers back in college, and b) I used to be so intimidated by the huge size and history of the fandom that I never really felt comfortable joining in (although, after three years in SGA fandom, I've realized that I don't really feel that sense of intimidation anymore).
Anyway ... I loved the casting. Loved, loved, loved it. My first act on getting home was to look up Karl Urban and find out what else he's been in, because, OMG. I didn't think anyone could match Kelley's McCoy in my eyes, and he's still the one and only and first and best, but Urban? I WANT SOME MORE OF THAAAAT.
I really loved them all, in their own way; I didn't dislike Kirk (high praise, coming from me :D) and the rest of them totally knocked it out of the park. Not enough McCoy, though! Not nearly enough McCoy! But I was utterly thrilled to get so much Uhura, and one of the few exceptions to my general lack of overt 'shipping is Spock/Uhura; I have shipped them since I was eight years old, and I really can't express my squee to see it become !!!!!CANON!!!!!
So many little character bits made me squeak and flail. Vulcan bullies! (And wee!Spock ... *squishes him*) Scotty didn't do a whole lot for me on the original show, but this Scotty totally stole my heart. Sulu! Fencing! Wheee!
I had no idea Nimoy was in the movie (I have no clue how I remained unspoiled for that) and I loved that he got to do the voiceover at the end. Sweet.
And, maybe my biggest bit of love for the movie is that it really was a reboot, a canon AU, and it wasn't all about going back and fixing things and wiping out this timeline. They kept it all, dark as it was, and now they're all poised on the verge of their own unique future, and I'm completely thrilled about that. I would totally go see more movies with this cast, though I really hope they get a better plot the next time around -- I'm confident they could pull it off.
Which leads nicely into the UnSquee! part of the review! (*leaves some squee!space*)
OH MY GOD THE PLOT. IT HUUUUUURRRRRTTTSSSS MEEEEEEEEEE.
SO MUCH LACK OF PLOT LOGIC AND SCIENCE LOGIC THAT I CANNOT BEAR IT. *flails*
It's hilarious, because my reaction to the movie is such a total mix of EEEEEEEE! and AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHH! that even on the way out of the theatre I was flip-flopping between flailing at my husband "Oh my god! I loved Scotty! Eeee! Baby Spock!" and then in the next breath, "BLACK HOLES! SUPERNOVAS! PLOT SUCK! HELP!"
(My husband suggested that old!Spock really shouldn't have stopped at the store for a gallon of milk on the way to save the Romulan homeworld. So much tragedy could have been averted that way. *snort*)
I don't really know where to begin with the plot!suck because there's just so much of it, from the utter unbelievability of sending a shipful of ensigns into battle and then leaving them in charge, to the ridiculous way Kirk got on (and stayed on) the Enterprise, to Kirk being jettisoned right on top of old!Spock on the ice planet (or jettisoned, period, onto a world filled with ice monsters; that doesn't seem like a Spocklike thing to do), to the ludicrousness of Kirk "having" to be in charge of the Enterprise even though it makes NO SENSE either within the plot itself or in context of putting a demonstrably crazy and violent ensign in charge of a spaceship...
And I hated the scene where Kirk makes Spock break down in front of the crew with the passion of a thousand blazing Vulcan suns. It was a lousy, horrible thing to do to him as a person, and it was a horrible thing to do to him in context of the TOS!verse, where he was just about the only Vulcan in Starfleet and had to constantly prove himself to his human crewmates; to start out his career in Starfleet by proving him unfit for command, and THEN to top all of THAT with the pure, unmitigated character assassination of having him remove himself from command and turn over the command to an aggressive, untried cadet who is also a mutineer -- HATE! HATE HATE HATE! HAAAAAATE!
*pant pant*
And this is supposed to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship? I ... I CAN'T EVEN. *wails*
Even leaving aside the massive, massive plot!suck (and don't get me started on the science!suck), could I get a little speculation in my spec fic? Aside from the above scene, my other least favorite thing about the movie was the total lack of any effort to think about how people live in the future, and how they think, and what the impact would be (emotional, political, or otherwise) of the events in the movie. Awesome casting, beautiful cinematography, and the actors did great with what they were given ... I just wish they'd been given more. What really made me love TOS was the character scenes and the show's endearingly earnest efforts to grapple with human questions.
I really like shiny special effects and explosions, and I'm willing to cut a show or movie a lot of slack in the world-building and plausibility departments if it delivers shiny things and heart-pounding action, but even I have my limits, and this movie pushed them pretty hard. For one thing, it really made me think about how media sci-fi has been seriously taken over by the "shiny, 'splodey" factor at the expense of plot and character development. You know, if the RIAA/MPAA is right that the era of big-budget sci-fi is going to eventually be torpedoed by downloading (which REALLY does not seem to be happening -- see Exhibit A which I just viewed at the matinee) -- but even if it does, all I have to say about that is, yay! We've had years of big-budget movies with awesome effects and no heart; let's get a few low-budget, independent SF series with genuinely ground-breaking ideas and real diversity and solid writing, huh?
SIGH.
But I just read on imdb.com that they've greenlighted a New!Trek series with the new cast for 2011, and I am THRILLED! I guess it remains to be seen if it'll happen, or if they can get all of the movie cast for it (I can haz Karl Urban, pleeez?), but maybe with TV-show pacing and more time to slow down and focus on the characters as individuals, without having to stop for an explosion or near-death experience every five minutes ... maybe the movie's deficiencies will be less, well, deficient, and maybe we can get some cool thinky stuff and fun
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When I heard he was cast as Bones I was not so happy. I just couldn't reconcile him playing McCoy, but he did it, oh boy, he DID IT! Awesomecakes!
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I didn't have much opinion on Urban playing McCoy (other than being happy that he had a big role in a big movie, because I'm dorky like that *g*) but yeah, he rocked the hell out of that role. :D
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And I *so* feel you on the plot. Blackholes that magically stop sucking things in once they've consumed a planet? I'm sorry, are you too full?
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I'm developing a bit of a crush on Karl Urban myself. :D Granted, I think quite a bit of it is spillover crush from DeForest Kelley, but in a way that's even more of a compliment, because I really, really hoped they'd do a decent McCoy, and they succeeded beyond my wildest dreams!
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But there was no backstory, so it seems illogical that Nero would just snap when his planet was destroyed. Anyone who mans a spaceship would know about supernovas and their unpredictability. Woulda been nice to watch Nero go a bit crazy over the years. It would go far to explain his mindset.
Oh well. The sequel right?
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Not to mention that given that supernovas aren't likely fast or sudden or without any kind of warning (unless, maybe, someone specifically messed with the star) and given that show!Romulans (who are only like movie!Romulans in that they have pointy ears) are at least as technologically advanced as the Federation, if not more so, I cannot understand how the Romulans didn't evacuate Romulus themselves. They'd have had more than enough time, plenty of ships/tech to do so, and they have other planets in their Empire.
Hard to make a good plot when you're basing it on something completely unbelievable and then trying to shore it up requiring a few too many coincidences and characters making weird decisions.
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(uh, yeah. I was very meh about it when I left the theater (I loved Kirk's dad and I loved Nimony's voice-over at the end and...um...) but the longer I think about it, and the more squee-filled posts I read, the more I hate it. I'm backing away from LJ before I tip over and become That Fan who runs around harshing everyone's squee. I figure in a few weeks Star Trek will stop being every other post on my flist. Feel free to come around to my review post or not if you like - it's not terribly positive and no reason for other people to not enjoy what makes them happy)
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Does is show how awesome the movie was that you don't really are about the flimsy plot. I mean, I noticed it, barely, when I was wching the film, and I still didn't completely understand why the Nero thought Spock had anything to do with his planet being destroyed (deleted scene maybe...?).
I'm definitely looking forward to the next movie slowing down the pacing to have more character development. I can forgive what lacked in this movie because they were trying to kickstart everything and gain new viewers in people who aren't familiar with Star Trek. And, as I read the comments of people in the comms I frequent, it's actually shocking how many people admit to never having seen one episode of Star Trek. I'm like, "whuh?"
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eeeeeee, me too! :D I had really forgotten how much I liked the idea of them as a couple when I was younger. I did find the suddenness a bit startling in the movie, especially considering how oblivious and standoffish Spock usually was with her friendliness in the series. But I loved the casting on both of them, and I wish we'd gotten to see them under more relaxed circumstances. (But there's the sequel and/or maybe even series for that!)
I still didn't completely understand why the Nero thought Spock had anything to do with his planet being destroyed
He seemed to blame Spock because Spock promised to save Romulus from the supernova and didn't get there in time to do it. At least that's what I got from the movie ... but I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense; oh well ... there was SO much in the plot that didn't make sense that I think it's time to let my well-developed, SGA-honed ability to ignore plot holes kick in. *g*
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LOVED McCoy! Words can't describe. I thought he was channeling DeForrest Kelley a few times. And I kept staring at his eyes until I figured out that he was Eomer in LOTR. I actually had seen one of the cast somewhere!! Then I googled Zoe Saldana and found out she was in POTC. I've heard of Heroes but have never seen it (I'm choosy about my geekiness). The others are complete unknowns to me though I did delight in spotting Paul McGillion.
I adored Scotty as well. This guy was a hoot. This Sulu was terrific. I basically loved them all, but Spock made the movie for me. ZQ was fantastic. I read that the cast is signed on for 2 sequels. Woo hoo!
The best part was 2 of the girls who went with us - not ST fans at all - loved the movie. Never hurts to get more people watching, especially females.
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And Scotty was Simon Pegg from Shaun of the Dead! Totally didn't recognize him either, though I really do adore the actor -- and loved him as Scotty!
As goddawful as the plot was, I am full of squee and ready for the next movie. :D
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I've never even heard of Shaun of the Dead until Simon was cast as Scotty. Still haven't seen it so I have no frame of reference. SP was totally awesome in the movie though.
At the end when the credits were rolling, Wynona Ryder's name came up and we all looked at each other and said, "She was in the movie?" Totally didn't recognize her as Spock's mom.
I never even considered shipping Spock and Uhura (I never considered shipping any of them, tbh), but I loved it here. I almost fell out of my seat when she stopped the turbolift and kissed him and HE LET HER. I was like - what happened to every 7 years? Then I threw caution to the wind, decided he was young and half-human and they were cute, so I la-la'd and kept going.
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ETA: Here's the article I was thinking of. It's just the TV *rights*, which doesn't mean it'd actually get made into a series, but a girl can hope. :D
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Oh God. This is exactly what I feared. :( :( :(
(I haven't seen it yet, but OMG. Seriously, this is exactly what I've been worrying about since the first teasers and spoilers came out. Oh, well. Forewarned and all that.)
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Stick with TOS canon and ignore the movie? *g*
I'm going to watch it next week - keep your fingers crossed that I'll like it anyway!
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(The big question? Will it stand up to re-watches? We shall see... *g*)
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I suppose, it might partially be because I expected no better. In fact, when I worked out that they'd full on AU-ed it, I honestly LOL-ed in the theatre and was nanometre from punching a fist into the air.
Not a TOS Trekker myself, but my dad was and I liked the movies (but I'm easy that way - my favourite is the one with the whales and how many plot holes are in that, eh?). And watching this movie I kept on thinking "Ha! That amuses me, but it contradicts the Old School canon and the hardcores aren't gonna like that." - but when I realise that AU was in da house and thus nullified all previous canon-clash objection it was just too funny - hence the LOL and near air-punching.
I too have never been fond of the original Kirk (although watching now in hindsight with the knowledge of Today's!Shatner, I found him a lot more amusing). But I kinda thought this Kirk rocked. Sure, he's a boofhead, but I thought he was hilarious - particularly in his dealings with Spock, both young and old. As
In truth, I wasn't all that enthusiastic about Spock in the original series either. I always found him a touch too arrogant and dismissive of those whose opinions didn't coincide with his. Didn't hate him, but less sympathy with him that other characters. Bones was my favourite (and this was way, way, WAY before I'd even considered my current career path - like I said, Dad was a little bit of a Trekkie - "This stuff is timeless; it doesn't date!" "Dad, it so does!"). Had no idea that Karl Urban would be New Bones. If you'd told me before I'd seen it, I'd have laughed my head off! Eomer as Bones??? You kid me!!! But like you, I think he seriously rocked and
But anyway, New Spock I thoroughly adore! I suppose that I believe in his conflicted duality for the first time. And I don't blame Nimoy for that - if anything, I blame clumsy, anvil-ish 60's writing.
Hmmm... yeah. The plot holes didn't really impinge on me because I've kinda always expected that from Star Trek. Likewise, science-suck has always been well and truly canon as far as I'm concerned - time travel from flying around the sun at x-factor velocity on at least one occasion, so why not black holes and red matter or even dropping acid in Romulan ale?
Heh. I'm thoroughly on board with Star Trek 90210. Who cares if Chekov is 17 and some kind child genius? Are they all? Always loved Scotty and Sulu. Still love Scotty and Sulu. Simon Pegg cracked me up with just about every word he uttered.
But apparently I missed the brief moment that Paul McGillion appeared in the film (did a few double-takes on random Aussie and British actors fleetingly appearing though - and no, I couldn't name them now if I tried).
And Eric Bana as Psycho!Romulan - why the hell not? Ha!
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Despite my above whinging, I actually *did* like it quite a lot, and most of that was down to the truly awesome casting. I don't think there was a single actor that I didn't like in their role, or felt like they let down their scenes.
And watching this movie I kept on thinking "Ha! That amuses me, but it contradicts the Old School canon and the hardcores aren't gonna like that." - but when I realise that AU was in da house and thus nullified all previous canon-clash objection it was just too funny - hence the LOL and near air-punching.
I think that was my single favorite thing about the movie, actually! I was on the edge of my seat through the second half of the movie for fear that they'd undo the AU, but they didn't, and that thrilled me! It was not only a thoroughly awesome way to sidestep fans' worries about the canonicity of it, but just the potential of it...! I mean, classic Star Trek canon has been basically closed since I was a little kid; I can't describe what a total thrill it is to think of a whole new universe out there, waiting to be explored.
I came of the movie saying (repeatedly) "I liked Kirk in this one! I can't believe that I actually liked Kirk in this one! I've never liked Kirk before!"
bwahahaha... I don't think I quite went all the way over to actually liking him. But the only thing I ever liked about Shatner was laughing at him (the one time I have EVER liked Kirk was in Barbara Hambly's tie-in novel Ishmael, and I had a similar moment with that one -- "Oh my god, she made me like Kirk! I didn't think that was possible!") so this Kirk was a definite step up from the original, at least!
And, me being me, I loved the darker, grittier, more down-to-earth and funny attitude of this Trek -- a Trek where the planet Vulcan is destroyed and the crew are basically a bunch of outcasts and misfits. (Who'da guessed that I'd like that part, huh?) I'm just thrilled with all the potential of it! To be honest, I think I'm more thrilled with the potential than the actual execution of the movie -- honestly, you'd think my tolerance for plot holes would be a lot higher after five years of SGA and four years of SPN, but, while I did enjoy it as it was going on, trying to put it all together into a coherent whole made me cringe.
I still want sequels, though. And if I didn't have to pay theatre prices, I'd totally go back and watch it again. I suspect I'll be buying this one, because I'm just THAT much of a dork.
My favorite characters as a kid were Spock, McCoy and Uhura, basically in that order, but re-watching the series as an adult, I totally fell head over heels for DeForest Kelley and his gorgeous blue eyes -- so my big concern about the movie was whether they'd screw up Bones. I could tell from the promotion stills and previews I'd seen that they'd done a good casting job with Kirk and Spock, but McCoy is so much less iconic and so much more human than the other two, so much a product of the actor who played him ... I wasn't really sure how they could pull it off. But wow, I was so impressed! I would totally watch the McCoy Show starring Karl Urban. :D :D :D
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It's not that I haven't been enjoying myself and doing stuff worth writing about. It's because I've been doing so much stuff that I never seem to find the time to blog about it. And fanfic? Ideas - yeah! Hell, yeah! Time to execute ideas - not so much.
I'm not whinging. Not really. Having a ball but no time to tell people how much fun you're having a is a pretty good place to be in. One of life's great ironies - I'm working less and doing more. Been to the UK and back, been to a sci-fi con (well, a SPN one anyway) with friends, taken up pottery again, spending a lot of quality time with family, etc, etc...
But how did it get to be MAY already?!?!?
I think that was my single favorite thing about the movie, actually! I was on the edge of my seat through the second half of the movie for fear that they'd undo the AU, but they didn't, and that thrilled me! It was not only a thoroughly awesome way to sidestep fans' worries about the canonicity of it, but just the potential of it...!
Yeah, I kinda squeed too when I realised they'd left the reset button on. They can essentially do it all over again and it's a parallel universe with its own separate validity. I thought that was so cool!
honestly, you'd think my tolerance for plot holes would be a lot higher after five years of SGA and four years of SPN
LOL! Not too mention Dr Who and Torchwood! (If you can survive the illogic and irrationality of the Torchwood finale, what can't you survive? Hee!)
I spend a lot of time fanwanking around plot holes and character inconsistencies (even just in my head) - but sometimes you've just gotta let it go. Or turn it inot an Austin Powers parody... ;-)
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I've always liked Karl Urban, but to see him in a role that wasn't dour and brooding (which until now has been the only role-types I've seen him in), to playing a well known character and do it so well it made my head spin with delight kicked up my love for him many, many notches. Scotty came in second, because after thinking about it he's always been my favorite, and he was so funny and cute in this.
Plot holes, no matter how big, don't bug me. Yeah, sometimes I'll ponder them after watching the movie, but my mind will automatically explain them away. But, as I keep saying of myself, I'm pretty dang easy to please... and easily distracted ;)
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