Star Trek

[David Mullen ASC]

I saw it today at the Mann Village in Westwood, partly for old-time's sake... I went to UCLA and saw many of the original "Star Trek" movies in Westwood. Plus I knew that the Mann Village mostly shows movies in 2K DLP.

 

The picture looked great, very sharp, except for the missed-focus shots, plus there seemed to be some slight diffusion on the Enterprise bridge stuff. Nice lighting by Dan Mindel. I'm so happy they stuck to the anamorphic format for this movie. Loved the flares, made the future seem all sparkly and new.

 

I loved the movie... but you have to remember that I'm rather biased in favor of liking anything related to "Star Trek", so I'm not the most critical of fans.

 

SPOILER below

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I mostly loved was the scale of the movie, particularly the effects, but also that action scene where they drop Kirk & Sulu (and one guy stupid enough to be wearing red) to that platform, and then the suspense of trying to beam them back while they are freefalling.

 

I loved most of the production design, which seemed on a grand scale compared to the previous features.

 

I'd only quibble about the engineering deck of the Enterprise, which was clearly shot in some real factory -- the scale is all wrong, the Enterprise is big... but not that big, and there really wasn't a designed set, just some work stations scattered around the catwalks. It almost felt like they blew through their construction budget so decided to redress some factory building.

 

I liked how some equipment was more beat-up than others, like the shuttles that the cadets were sent out in having scratches in it.

 

The grandness of the effects were the best part, from the San Francisco skyline to the Enterprise construction site, etc.

 

Storywise...

 

Well, I have a few of the same quibbles as others, the whole Nero revenge plot was a bit thrown together.

 

And Kirk going from being a third-year Starfleet cadet to being promoted to a captain by the end without even graduating and then serving as an ensign, etc. is just improbable even in this universe. He would still need a few years serving in space on a ship before he could be a good captain, despite his natural talents.

 

I didn't mind the James Dean meets Maverick from Top Gun characterization because that's sort of how I imagine a young, immature, unseasoned Kirk to be... it's just that making him a captain at the end sort of skips through any of those years in service where he could have become the cool, calm professional you see in the first season of the Original Series, who at times is even more in control of his emotions than Spock.

 

I liked the twist of having Spock being the person who programmed the Kobayashi Maru test that Kirk beats.

 

Simon Peg made an enjoyable Scotty, though the comic relief mascot was unnecessary. In fact, I thought all the actors were likable in their roles, especially Karl Urban as McCoy. The whole sequence where McCoy keeps giving Kirk hypospray injections was a funny in-joke at the original series where McCoy was a bit too free and easy with the drug injections. I suspect the joke about Scotty losing a beagle in his transporter experiments was a mild dig at the last Trek show "Enterprise".

 

But the fast promotion of Kirk to captain at the end seemed false and the whole change to the Trek history by having Vulcan destroyed, that's a bit unnerving. They also screwed around with other elements of the history, like the fact that no one knew what Romulans looked like, and that they were related to Vulcans, until the 1st Season episode "Balance of Terror".

[Guest]

What I mostly loved was the scale of the movie, particularly the effects, but also that action scene where they drop Kirk & Sulu (and one guy stupid enough to be wearing red) to that platform, and then the suspense of trying to beam them back while they are freefalling.

 

I wasn't too worried since I knew both had to survive to grow into adulthood and fly around the galaxy in the Enterprise in a TV show and then numerous feature films :D

 

When that third un-known character went with them on that mission, I said aloud, "I don't think he's coming back." That got a laugh from some people around me as they knew I was right, and I was.

 

I thought the actor you played the younger doctor McCoy stole the show. That guy looked just like McCoy and had his mannerisms down pat, I thought he was the best "younger" member of the crew.

 

For sheer Star Trek terror nothing beats that episode where Kirk must kill the lizard man while stuck on a planet. And all his crew can do is watch on their giant view screen. Now that was freaking scary!!

 

R,

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'd only quibble about the engineering deck of the Enterprise, which was clearly shot in some real factory -- the scale is all wrong, the Enterprise is big... but not that big, and there really wasn't a designed set, just some work stations scattered around the catwalks. It almost felt like they blew through their construction budget so decided to redress some factory building.

 

But the fast promotion of Kirk to captain at the end seemed false and the whole change to the Trek history by having Vulcan destroyed, that's a bit unnerving.

 

Read an article somewhere that said they shot all the engineering deck in a Budweiser factory, and they were extremely limited as to how much they could dress and how many hot lights they could use, because it could effect the beermaking process. Why they didn't just build a set with lots of pipes and light & dress it as they wanted, who knows?

 

And yeah, once they rescued Capt. Pike, I assumed he would stay captain because of Kirk's youth as well...but I guess they had to wrap things up

[Mark Williams]

What Id like to see happen is bring Kirk and the remaining crew back for a final film using todays cgi In my opinion that would be a massive worldwide hit. Kirk could come back in time and reset history back to rights and take control of the enterprise. Some wonderful moments could be had where kirk meets the young crew and his reactions to them. I then think maybe a hunt for a new star trek Captain similar to kirks original crew but different and find stars that could really pull it off. Maybe the stars in this new film as an alternative new version. Where they are new characters. It would take some great writing but it could be done. William Shatner is just such a great talent and its a pity not to use it while the opportunity is still there.

[David Mullen ASC]

Trouble with bringing Shatner back is that he is clearly several years older since Kirk died in "Generations" so it's harder to make that make sense, unlike bringing an older Spock back. It would be hard to say that this was Kirk pre-Generations period. But considering how screwed up the classic Trek timeline is, I suppose it's possible to justify an even-older Kirk (who seems to have gone through several facelifts...)

 

But I think the real problem is that the heart of classic Trek was the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triangle, and now that DeForest Kelley is dead, bringing the old trio back would be difficult. Not to mention James Doohan being gone too.

[Mark Williams]

Kirk could be bought back from the nexus.. Personally I dont think bill shatner looks that bad at least nothing good lightning couldnt deal with.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x94tx8_wi...-trek-mo_webcam

 

There is still Kirk spock sulu chekov uhura.. This real life argument with George is hilarious. Seriously though I doubt there is any real animosity.

 

Okay here is a quick idea I thought up for a new film. I know it has echoes of things already done but it could be done with different bad guys but similar.

 

Spock makes it back and the future has been altered. He remembers the true past because hes been away. So he seeks out Kirk who has been killed much earlier in his life in this new future but spock realises the possibilty of kirk in the nexus which could have picked him up or the kirk that was there before he helped picard.

 

Spocks visits it and brings him back together they steal georges starship Now that in itself would raise a laugh surely and maybe with the nexus help come back to the past. and set thing straight. Kirk spock and crew could have a brilliant encounter with their younger selves who turn out to not really be their younger selves but a different similar version maybe even a different father. This in itself could make a great story where two kirks who are diffferent but the same could be lots of fun and clear the way for a new kirk to play kirk differently. who help them to reset time by going back and fighting nero all over again only to find that an even bigger enemy from the unseen nexus is waiting..

 

The Borg.. who have become one with it and now share some human traits and want Kirk to be their leader by absorbing him. After their experience with Picard they know Kirk could be better. Kirk is now set to destroy everything in existence. He could bring Picard and crew whose enterprise has been turned into a borg ship when everything seems hopeless and the universe is well and truly finished Spock Uhuru chekov and sulu arrive. Kirks weakness for his old crew leads to a A showdown between him and spock an emotional tumultuos struggle for kirk to beat the logical borg.. Together they meet the real ruler of the borg a supreme being.

 

The Q who kirk and spock with logic and human failings defeat. OR reach agreement in a contest the result being the universe timeline is set straight. and the new younger kirk and team end up in this universe to run concurrently with the old version of an unseen younger generation. This is the basis for the new series or films..

 

Not only does it give Kirk and crew a well deserved recognition but it staightens the mess created and allows future adventures to continue

[Tom Lowe]

Lol, Shatner. :lol:

 

The torch has been passed to a new generation. It's time to move on.

 

But it was awesome to see Nimoy do the handoff.

[John Allen]

Just got back from seeing the film. I thought it was really pretty solid. I thought that the trailers looked kind of corny, so I went thinking it was going to be corny. I have to admit, there were a few scenes that were a little corny, but I think those were intended. Overall I thought it was pretty good.

 

Also, I thought it was cool how the DP let all the lights in the room flare off the lens. I think it gave it more of a "futuristic" or "sense of speed" look, which might have not been accomplished as well if he had avoided it.

[Will Earl]

Just saw it today, overall I liked the film, it seemed like a good fresh restart to the series. Although I can see the areas of this film which certain fans will dislike - Star Trek always seemed to have a rather definable moral code that the characters had to deal with, here it seems (especially the end) those moral dilemmas are brushed aside a bit too easily.

 

I liked the flares, but I reckon I would have hated them had I worked on the film. It's one of those things that a VFX Supervisor would get quite easily carried away with trying to second guess the desires of the director. So you have a bunch of notes demanding more flares, and after trying a couple of takes to be subtle and considered with your additions only to get back "add more flares". So you decide to go overboard with the flares to the point of stupidity - only to get a "that's great" from the VFX supervisor and a "what the hell is this?" from the director.

[Phil Rhodes]

My concerns mirror Mr Mullen's almost exactly.

 

P

[Phil Jackson]

I thought the overall product was quite good. Abrams accomplished what he set out to do and he stayed close to home. This is definitely a Star Trek movie, even if it's presentation is a bit updated. It's almost cheesy enough, but serious enough to make me think, is this what Gene Roddenberry ultimately had in mind in the 1960s. It doesn't take itself or the franchise quite as seriously as the Next Generation universe. The problem is that the Star Trek canon is probably the most developed in all of popular sci-fi culture. And it's cumulative, in that all the movies and episodes all exist in the same universe and play off each other (different from say the James Bond movies or the Batman franchise). So writing and producing a Star Trek movie is much more difficult than it would seem and the filmmakers really pulled it off by really re-magining tried and true concepts and story ideas. It's different but its not so far off so as to seem foreign. It's both new and familiar.

 

That being said, I feel like this is an Abrams-ized version of Star Trek; that is to say for however well it's done, it seemed to lack the grandiosity of a motion picture. I kept thinking this is what you'd get if you had a huge budget on a TV special. The first thing that came to mind was that it was somewhat of a Trek-ified Michael Bay movie, minus the visual polish. Mindel's cinematography and Abram's constantly moving camera are solid, but will ultimately date this movie. To me the lens flares become a bit annoying and many of the camera moves are explicitly cleche. It's almost as if I would've preferred a bit more texture and richness to the visual style. Despite the awesome CGI, the whole thing, visually, feels too light on it's feet (which of course is the director's style). The Michael Bay movies flawed as they are and light on substance are at very least very heavy on visual substance, beautiful lighting and cinematography can take even a movie like Pearl Harbor and at least make it visually appealing. Star Trek: Generations wasn't a great movie, but Alonzo's cinematography makes that film a singularly bold visual entry in the series (even if much of the interiors might be a bit over-moody).

 

The real problem I had though was more with the Production Design, which looked convincing in some scenes, but seemed not to create a convincing 23rd century immersive universe. It was like the world hadn't changed all that much since the modern day. It was nice to see someone besides Zimmerman offer a look at how the ship interiors should look, but the interiors for the Delta Vega station were unconvincing. The 1940's klaxon horn on the ice planet was especially weird. I find MacDowell's work in Minority Report or Nigel Phelps' work in The Island to be much more compelling. Similarly even a bad film like AEONFLUX presented a more compelling visually engaging dialogue. There was a real opportunity to be bold here, especially with conceptualist John Eaves being one of the only legacy Trek veterans on the project. When i think Star Trek movies I think of bold defining visual statements: VGER in TMP, Genesis in ST:III, the Klingon Bird of Prey and the Golden Gate Bridge, the Praxis explosion in Star Trek VI and the Borgified Enterprise-E in First Contact. This film certainly didn't hugely disappoint me, but I can't help but wondering what if on a few key production personnel decisions. That being said, Paramount hired J.J. Abrams and this is probably the best you can ever hope for, which isn't really all that bad. I just wonder if this new found approach, popular as it is has any real staying power.

[F Bulgarelli]

I really enjoyed the film and the flares did not bother me for the most part, I think it would have been a different movie without the flares, there is a touch of slickness with them, I think.

Perfect for a science fiction film.

 

I hope the industry takes notice, anamorphic rules!!!!

[Jeffrey Allen Rydell]

Here's an odd question, pertaining to IMAX...

 

At my screening (which is a real film IMAX-capable house), I encountered a weird anomaly:

 

About halfway through the film, a very distinctive bit of dust/debris showed up just about center screen, and would disappear every 10 seconds - then reappear in another 10 seconds completely unchanged in either size, position or orientation! Gone for 10, back for 10!

 

Seriously - I counted several times, and it was metronomic! What gives?

[Antti Näyhä]

I've only seen a 15/70 IMAX projector briefly and I don't know that much about the technical details, so please forgive my wild speculation... but could it have something to do with the field flattener thingy in the IMAX projector? Quoting from Wikipedia:

William Shaw of IMAX adapted an Australian patent for film transport called the "rolling loop" by adding a compressed air "puffer" to accelerate the film, and put a cylindrical lens in the projector's "block" for the film to be vacuumed up against during projection (called the "field flattener" because it served to flatten the image field). Because the film actually touches the "field flattener" lens, the lens itself is twice the height of the film and is connected to a pneumatic piston so it can be moved up or down while the projector is running. This way, if a piece of dust comes off the film and sticks to the lens, the projectionist can switch to the clean side of the lens at the push of a button.

I could imagine that the process of switching to the (supposedly) clean side of the lens could be automated on some installations – switching every 10 seconds or so, while the other side is being cleaned pneumatically? The piece of dirt that you saw could then be on one side of the lens, stuck hard enough so that the pneumatics failed to remove it.

[Jeffrey Allen Rydell]

I've only seen a 15/70 IMAX projector briefly and I don't know that much about the technical details, so please forgive my wild speculation... but could it have something to do with the field flattener thingy in the IMAX projector? Quoting from Wikipedia:

 

I could imagine that the process of switching to the (supposedly) clean side of the lens could be automated on some installations – switching every 10 seconds or so, while the other side is being cleaned pneumatically? The piece of dirt that you saw could then be on one side of the lens, stuck hard enough so that the pneumatics failed to remove it.

That seems to be speculation more 'mild' than 'wild' - I think you might just have it! Thanks!

 

It was quite a distraction over the last hour of the film.

[David Mullen ASC]

http://gizmodo.com/5252478/classic-star-tr...j-abrams-vision

[Paul Bruening]

Funny, how it is with people in the movie biz. We all go into a new movie with a list of pre-programmed "catch routines" in our heads. I saw ST in an IMAX and then 2 days later in a Barco, 2K theater.

 

I have to say, that the movie was so seductively involving that I forgot to run all of my critical observation, catch routines. I was so involved in the experience that I accepted the much berated flares as a normal part of the movie's internal visual language. As I think back on it, the flares leave me with a memory of a glittering, shining, bright sense all in the mood categories of my recollection.

 

Even with my willing immersion into the experience, I have, after the fact, arrived at a few critical perspectives on it. Most of the STs before this leaned heavily on a humanist bent. Most especially, the Roddenberry stuff. This movie, mostly in the hands of the director, was eat up with God. I normally am perfectly happy with God as an invisible character who never shows his hand, yet, leaves his fingerprints here and there. But, this movie was positively eat up with last minute God orchestrations, saves and perfect timings that I can fairly accuse that this movie was really about God and the other people were little more than foils serving God's manifest intent.

 

Who, here, does this piss off? I'm up for some flames.

[David Mullen ASC]

You may agree with this online article:

 

http://io9.com/5250171/so-really-why-is-ca...uch-a-douchebag

One thing I liked about the original Captain Kirk was that he was the best captain in Starfleet, not becuase he'd been anointed as a young man, but because he was just the best. It was a singularly old-school idea of heroism: He came up through the ranks, he passed the same tests as everybody else, and he just happened to turn out the best.

 

In the new movie, though, Kirk's great destiny is pounded into us, and it's like a pillar of light singles him out from amongst the riffraff in that Iowa bar. It's the boring old "Hero's Journey" all over again, with a heavy dose of Luke Skywalker. Some people are just special, and they're better than you and me from the beginning, just because they're so special. Captain Pike pretty much turns to the camera and tells us that James Kirk has the mark of greatness upon him. Later on, it's Leonard Nimoy's turn to intone that Kirk will become the greatest thing since self-slicing bread.

 

Though ignoring that aspect for a moment (which I agree with the sentiments expressed), there is still the old Trek theme in the movie of a group of smart people solving problems together, it's just that rather than be a bunch of trained professionals, they are a bunch of talented beginners.

[Mike Donis]

there is still the old Trek theme in the movie of a group of smart people solving problems together, it's just that rather than be a bunch of trained professionals, they are a bunch of talented beginners.

 

That's exactly how I felt about it - and basically what I expected it to be. Similar to Tom Hulce as Amadeus - the young, brash snot who has a world-changing gift. A good part of the fun the new Star Trek sequels promise is to get to watch Kirk turn into the man we know he will eventually become.

 

...and the flares didn't bother me, though I think there were definitely a lot of them!

[Mark Williams]

Just my opinion. I dont think this was star trek only the effects. Everything else was given a free ride. For me it was a typical hollywood blockbuster on CGI steroids..

[Karel Bata]

Just been to see it. Yawned my way through the predictable pre-titles, but loved the rest. If I hadn't been familiar with the original though, I doubt I'd have liked it too much. Ultimately it's brainless.

 

So they've established a completely different starting point (like Vulcan has been destroyed) and can do what they want from now on without the purists saying they've got something wrong. But seriously - Uhura and Spock having a love affair...?

 

Anyway, how many of you know that Cpt Pike is the very same Cpt from the original Trek pilot? let's Google this...

 

 

Notice the primitive phaser? That painted backdrop they borrowed from Bonanza got re-used many times. I believe the actor died, thus making way for Shatner, and allowing for complete re-casting - except for Nimoy.

 

Pike ends the current movie in a wheel chair, thus maintaining continuity with the first series in which he made a comeback in The Cage, a two-parter that allowed Roddenberry to use the original pilot's footage as a 'flashback'.

 

 

Oh! How strange that my spell-checker accepts 'Roddenberry'. :D

 

If you haven't seen the pilot it's really worth it. All the themes that are prominent in Generations are there. And it has some priceless lines "I understand the women on this planet don't object if you take advantage of them." Good grief! You mean they like it? :huh:

[Daniel Porto]

Did anyone think of eddie murphy as soon as you saw Kirk with the 'Green Bitch'?

 

Haha

[Karel Bata]

Actually, now you say that... no. And I'm sure the Green ladies from Orion would be very offended to hear that. Looks like she was of the same species as the temptress in the pilot:

 

 

One of her ancestors must have mated with a plant. Imagine having to live that down. This looks like it came from the make up test:

 

 

Story goes the lab kept trying to correct the skin tones... :D

 

 

BTW Have you noticed how casually planets get destroyed these days? Back in them olden days planets were a bit more solid and could take a blob of red matter or two...

[Chris Keth]

I can't say I'm really a star trek fan before this movie but I really, really enjoyed it. I got a couple of weird looks walking out when I was having my girlfriend explain some stuff to me about prior star trek stuff and everyone else was explaining it to their girlfriends. :lol:

[Hal Smith]

Actually, now you say that... no. And I'm sure the Green ladies from Orion would be very offended to hear that. Looks like she was of the same species as the temptress in the pilot:

 

 

One of her ancestors must have mated with a plant. Imagine having to live that down. This looks like it came from the make up test:

 

 

Story goes the lab kept trying to correct the skin tones... :D

 

 

BTW Have you noticed how casually planets get destroyed these days? Back in them olden days planets were a bit more solid and could take a blob of red matter or two...

 

I KNEW Elphaba was an alien but no-one would listen to me.