First off, let me say I enjoyed it greatly as entertainment in itself. A fun. never boring ride filled with young actors that I already liked, or do like now. JJ Abrams succeeded in making what was a chuckle on TOS (The Original Series) into genuine laughs for this show. I am extremely happy to see the franchise re-vitalized. If George Lucas wants to know where he went wrong with episodes I-III, he need look no further than this movie. The actors are allowed to use their own dynamic intensity to homage (and slightly parody) the cast from TOS.
Some folks have been complaining Kirk (Chris Pine) gets beat up on too much and some have surmised that it’s JJ’s method of giving Shatner the finger for being an ass about this production. Shatner gave the impression that it couldn’t be done without him (more on that later). Chirs Pine did an admirable job as the wee Kirk, and in the last scenes he added what was kind of missing earlier in the movie (the swagger and over-intonation of voice).
Zachary Quinto did a perfect job as Spock per my Mrs, I agree, but he was even more anal than Nimoy in TOS. It meshed in contrast to his outburst (more anal = bigger loss of control). It will be interesting to see if he’ll tone it down for the next one.
Uhura, I really didn’t know who Zoe Saldana was, she did a decent job in re-imagining the character (re-imagined more so than any other character) certainly not the same body type as Nichell Nichols (you could never call her a stick). In TOS, Uhura did always seem to have a bit of a wink when it came to Spock’s behavior (even about his pseudo relationship with nurse Chapel), but I’m thinking that this plot development has to do with the alternate time line (again, more later).
McCoy (Karl Urban): Damn perfect, only had one time where his lines seemed forced (the “Dammit I’m a Doctor” line to boot, but how can anyone ever say that as well as DeForest Kelly).
Scotty (Simon Pegg): A Doctor Who refugee, who did an excellent job, he and Bones where the two who left me wanting more (means they did their job the best). Tho’ his wrinkly faced dwarf buddy should not have made into the last scenes.
Checkov (Anton Yelchin): Perfect voice, hysterical shipwide announcement, looks like a Irish kid doing a Russian accent.
Old Spock: Nimoy the most relaxed in the ears since “The Voyage Home”.
Sarak (Ben Cross): Continuity error, Sarak’s hair was still black in TOS, he was made gray so Old Spock could say the “I am not our Father” line at the end.
Plot: They spend a lot of time explaining “how different” their now alternate time line is/will be, but things get awful close to the continuity of the existing Star Trek universe barring the destruction of Vulcan.
I don’t think Kirks dad is ever mentioned in TOS or the movies, so we have to take for granted that in TOS timeline Kirk’s dad was Starfleet, and alive for his graduation and that has now changed in this timeline.
They did keep with the description/continuitiy of Kirks “passing” the Kobayashi Maru outlined in “Wrath of Kahn”, (which you might think would have changed given the “alternate” timeline was already in place).
Spock’s abandonment of Kirk on (Hoth): What are the chances, he’d be dropped on the same planet Old Spock was on? First snow beast (bear-like) was believable, but the “monster” was improbable. Any creature with a large fleshy (colorful) mouth, that exposes it when attacking, is going to live in a warm climate, I mean… it’s mouth was open for MINUTES in the freezing cold chasing Kirk, no breath, but bouncing with anticipation of eating him… just NO logic whatsoever in that creature, and then it runs from a burning branch? It’s the one time I was embarrassed to be watching this movie.
Romulan miners: Does the Romulan mining guild wear tatoo’s, or did JJ want to more clearly differentiate the Romulan’s from the Vulcans.
The Romulan 25 year wait: Biggest hole in the script… The mining vessel comes through the black hole, destroys Kirk Senior in a Starfleet vessel, and sits and waits there for 25 years for Spock and no one ever comes to retaliate?!!! C’mon!!!!! Not to mention they barely age (honestly, the only difference I could see was stubble). I know they live longer, but give them some gray eyebrows or something.
Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood): Almost ruins the plot by suggesting to the miners that Romulus is alive and well in this time. Should someone have suggested that the miners prepare Romulus by providing the red matter for the situation in the future…They waited 25 years, what’s another 104? …. Well…..we wouldn’t have a movie then would we…..
The bug they put in Pikes mouth, looks wayyyy too much like (and works just like) the bug Khan used in “Wrath of Kahn”….what…no other truth tech from the future than bugs in an orafice? Does it really explain Pike needing a wheelchair? If his spine was damaged, why was he able to grab that phaser, or shake Kirk’s hand at the end? Tho’ it does set up his convalescence ala “The Cage” from TOS “Second” Pilot, so again, this “alternate” timeline seems to make TOS’s timeline possible.
The original pitch: As I understand, this concept was supposed to start as Kirk and Spock reminiscing about their early days (flashback movie). This would have been problematic, since Kirk died in “Generations” that meeting would have had to take place before the events of that movie which would have been a flashback movie inside a flashback movie…. Though if they fully embraced the alternate timeline, they could say the events of “Generations” never happened and Kirk could be alive… Though I don’t think they want to go there. There was also some talk of a holographic Kirk recording.
There seems to be enough cushion in the plot that if this tanked they could still rescue TOS continuity with another movie, or a pilot for a new series, but it doesn't look like they'll have to.
...
No comments:
Post a Comment