Star Trek: my thoughts
May. 11th, 2009 08:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
megotelekMy non-spoilery review: LOVED IT SO MUCH MUST SEE AGAIN! Also, McCoy was my favorite, followed closely by Scotty. Followed closely by everybody else. It was amazing; the cast really did capture the characters so well, without being parodies or impressions, and I could see them growing into the original cast.
Okay, spoiler time.
First off, JJ needs to back away from the lens flares. I had read that they were excessive in a couple of reviews, but seriously, every 10 seconds there was at least one.
I loved that they not only created an alternate reality with this story, but they stuck with it. There was no reset button; anything going forward in this universe doesn't impact the "canon" universe as we know it. Clever.
It was funnier than I expected, without going overboard and being slapstick. And the humor was very in keeping with the spirit of the original series. And so many little homages! That didn't seem heavy-handed! From McCoy's trademark "I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" and a muttered "Pointy-eared hobgoblin" aside to Spock, to Scotty's "I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!", they were all very well done.
I actually only had two issues with it, and they weren't the issues I was expecting to have. Because it's essentially an alternate reality, "canon" doesn't really enter into it. I had characterization issues with Sarek and Uhura. Sarek was so incredibly open-minded to young Spock, even telling him essentially, "Whatever you choose, I support you." Um, wasn't the fact that Spock chose to join Starfleet the issue that drove them apart? My dad pointed out the fact that maybe it wasn't Spock joining Starfleet, but him refusing to go to the Vulcan Science Academy after being accepted (in spite of his "disadvantage"). I guess I could see that, but even after he joined Starfleet, there was no hint of disapproval from Sarek. It was...weird.
Uhura...she started out so awesome and kickass and sassy, and then was shortly relegated to being defined by her relationship with Spock (?!). After his breakdown in the turbolift, every other scene she had was in context of her being "Spock's girlfriend" and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think she actually had a single scene where she did anything communications-wise other than informing people that there were no communications. Eh, it wasn't enough to put me off the movie completely, but it definitely felt off to me.
The rest of the movie was awesome, though, and Future!Spock made me tear up more than once. It was obviously a labor of love, and the awesome drowned out the minor issues I had.
Oh, and the music! Not so much during the movie, but the end credits' beautiful updated original series theme music was gorgeous. I may have to just get that track from the soundtrack.
Non-Star Trek-related amusing moments: The opening music was very Lost, and every time they had a place caption ("Iowa", "Vulcan"), it was in the Lost font.
ETA: It made $76.5 million over the weekend and they're expecting it to keep running through the summer. Great news!
ETA 2: We got great trailers for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In IMAX!
Okay, spoiler time.
First off, JJ needs to back away from the lens flares. I had read that they were excessive in a couple of reviews, but seriously, every 10 seconds there was at least one.
I loved that they not only created an alternate reality with this story, but they stuck with it. There was no reset button; anything going forward in this universe doesn't impact the "canon" universe as we know it. Clever.
It was funnier than I expected, without going overboard and being slapstick. And the humor was very in keeping with the spirit of the original series. And so many little homages! That didn't seem heavy-handed! From McCoy's trademark "I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" and a muttered "Pointy-eared hobgoblin" aside to Spock, to Scotty's "I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!", they were all very well done.
I actually only had two issues with it, and they weren't the issues I was expecting to have. Because it's essentially an alternate reality, "canon" doesn't really enter into it. I had characterization issues with Sarek and Uhura. Sarek was so incredibly open-minded to young Spock, even telling him essentially, "Whatever you choose, I support you." Um, wasn't the fact that Spock chose to join Starfleet the issue that drove them apart? My dad pointed out the fact that maybe it wasn't Spock joining Starfleet, but him refusing to go to the Vulcan Science Academy after being accepted (in spite of his "disadvantage"). I guess I could see that, but even after he joined Starfleet, there was no hint of disapproval from Sarek. It was...weird.
Uhura...she started out so awesome and kickass and sassy, and then was shortly relegated to being defined by her relationship with Spock (?!). After his breakdown in the turbolift, every other scene she had was in context of her being "Spock's girlfriend" and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think she actually had a single scene where she did anything communications-wise other than informing people that there were no communications. Eh, it wasn't enough to put me off the movie completely, but it definitely felt off to me.
The rest of the movie was awesome, though, and Future!Spock made me tear up more than once. It was obviously a labor of love, and the awesome drowned out the minor issues I had.
Oh, and the music! Not so much during the movie, but the end credits' beautiful updated original series theme music was gorgeous. I may have to just get that track from the soundtrack.
Non-Star Trek-related amusing moments: The opening music was very Lost, and every time they had a place caption ("Iowa", "Vulcan"), it was in the Lost font.
ETA: It made $76.5 million over the weekend and they're expecting it to keep running through the summer. Great news!
ETA 2: We got great trailers for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In IMAX!
