After a small hiatus, Monday Night Movie Club returns, so lets have your 200 word review of the 12 Star Trek movies. Next week we'll be doing The Matrix.
Make it so.
The Nerdmudgeon Podcast
Three middle-aged nerds (including yours truly!) review all of the MCU movies in chronological order. Short, funny, and full of good vibes, check it out and let us know what you think!
Nerdmudgeon.com
That’s funny, I watched Star Trek I last night.
And, despite its failures, I was quite struck by its differences with the lastest Star Wa- I mean Trek. There was no firefight, no brawling, no duel, and the only starship battles we say were not anly pretty one-sided and absolutely not cinematic, they were equally more realistic, in a way. And the Big Bad? Well, he wasn’t blasted to oblivion by the good guys, who instead discovered what it was, what were his goals, and ended up helping it.
These are almost opposite in every way, and, while the latter movie is better entertainment, the former is a lot more adult and mature, the kind of exemples I’d like to show children, the kind of reactions we, as a society, should aim to achieve.
(Warning: this review contains Spoilers! All spoilers will be indicated by *** .)
I just came back from the latest installment of the Star Trek franchise. As movies in general go, this is pretty mediocre. The plot is nothing that hasn’t been seen before. ***In fact it turns out that we’ve seen it all before, as this particular movie is really only a revamp of Wrath of Khan with a slightly different storyline and no quotes from classic literature (*sigh*)***. One of our villains sports a more “futuristic” look and lacks the large hair of the former incarnation, creating a cleaner cut and, at least in my opinion, a more menacing image than the original, but yet somehow is not nearly as iconic. Sadly the actor simply doesn’t live up to the role, either.
However, the plot’s shortcomings are made up for by the interaction between our canon characters. The new set of actors keep in character like they should, and run with the new twists the writers have added in ways that are believable and very funny. ***The climax is very climactic indeed, and a nice nod to Wrath of Khan***. The movie won’t be winning any Oscars in any category, but on the whole is very entertaining and worth price of admission.
Not a ‘Star Trek’ fan but I still watch the shows and the movies up to ST:NG. There’s a reason why they’re never going to make movies out of ‘Voyager,’ ‘Deep Space Nine,’ or ‘Enterprise.’
Anyway, the first ‘Star Trek’ movie moved at too slow of a pace. Then again, I was really young. The movie was written for fans who saw the show when it originally aired. The audience was older and still dreaming of a “flower power” future. Re-watching it now, it is probably my favorite of all the films.
The “re-boot” is fun and obviously more action-packed. I like that they gave it a 1960s vintage look. Haven’t seen ‘Into Darkness’ but will soon.
In order to see if I can make the 200 word limit, I’ll try to be as brief as possible.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Slow, yes, but I don’t completely dislike it. As Atomic Punk said, still trying to harness the flower-power vibe of the old series. The reality behind “Veeger” was anticlimactic in my opinion.
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan: Best Star Trek movie. Full of pathos and allegory. References to Moby Dick are obvious, but not heavy-handed.
Star Trek: The Search For Spock: A little bit of a let-down compared to previous movie, but not bad. Despite a history of type-casting as eccentrics, turns out Christopher Lloyd can play a ruthless Klingon starship captain.
Star Trek: The Voyage Home: Despite it’s popularity, it’s pretty much a silly “fish out of water” romp. I don’t care for it as much as anyone else I’ve ever met.
Star Trek: The Final Frontier: Stupid, stupid, stupid. Although, among my group, the line “What does God need with a starship?” comes up far more frequently than you’d imagine.
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country: One of my favorites. I like the political backdrop and the conspiracy story arc. Good send-off for the for the original crew.
Star Trek: Generations: Also pretty stupid. Kirk’s death seemed disappointing. Not sad, just disappointing.
Star Trek: First Contact: Very much liked. Borg always a good TNG villain. Liked the way they tried to set up Earth’s introduction to the Galactic Federation.
Star Trek: Insurrection: Okay. Again, I didn’t like it as much as most people, but I’ll still give it a passing grade. Bit of “fridge horror” if you consider the implications of the Federation’s original plan in trying to relocate the Ba’ku.
Star Trek: Nemesis: Did not like. Refuse to watch it again.
Star Trek: Pretty fun, lots of action. No real moral allegory or deeper meaning to it. Popcorn fare.
Star Trek Into Darkness: Very much liked. Some good action. Still not going to replace The Wrath of Khan, but a little deeper than its predecessor.
i also watched Star Trek last night. Undiscovered Country. The old movies are just great. kirk and crew are just the luckiest and baddest asses. by 6 kirks old and fat and hes still brawling in a prison camp. spock is one step ahead of everybody. bones joke in the trial (met with dead silence except one off-screen klingon that freakin loses it).
i like the reboots. the took the charm and sort of tone of the original and mixed it with what we liked about the old star wars. made it sexy.