Before we get started today, I want to take a moment to ask everyone a favor. I posted about it on Friday, but this is quick reminder.
I am taking a research class for my Master’s degree and am writing a paper on the value of film criticism to opinion leaders – people like yourselves who enjoy movies and whose friends approach for advice and knowledge on the subject.
I have written a quick, 30 question survey that I am using to support my research and I need a lot of people to fill it out. If the subject matter of my paper doesn’t impress my professor, I’m hoping the amount of data I’ve collected will.
If you have 5 to 10 minutes, please help me out by taking the survey. To sweeten the deal, I’m collecting e-mail addresses at the end of the survey to be entered into a drawing for a free t-shirt and free book. You don’t have to give me your e-mail if you don’t want. It’s completely optional. But I wanted to put that out there to sway anyone that might be on the fence!
I’m closing the survey tonight at midnight, so if you can take it before then, I would appreciate it! For those of you who have already taken the survey, thank you for your help!
Now, onto business.
I freely admit that today’s comic was an excuse to steal one of my favorite jokes from The Simpsons – the episode where Milhouse is cast in the big screen adaptation of his and Bart’s favorite superhero, Radioactive Man. As you recall, in the movie, the character is played by action hero stereotype (and Arnold Schwarzenegger knock-off) Rainier Wolfcastle. It’s Milhouse’s job as his sidekick Fall Out Boy to rescue him from a tidal wave of acid that is headed toward the captured hero. For realism, the director uses REAL ACID and encourages the crew to remember to wear their goggles for protection. Nervous, Rainier wears his goggles, but Milhouse doesn’t show up in time. The wave crashes into Rainer and as he is being carried away, utters the famous line, “My eyes! The goggles do nothing!”
Yup. Nothing like explaining a joke in detail to make it funnier! Maybe I should have just linked to a clip of it.
Like most of the free world, I saw Star Trek this weekend and, like most of the free world, I enjoyed it immensely. The lens flares are a little bit out of hand, though. J.J. Abrams’ use of lens flares is not so egregious that it ruins the movies, but if you were going to complain, it would be the easiest target to shoot for.
Abrams at least admits that their overuse was a bit ridiculous, but he has a good excuse. In an interview with io9.com, Abrams shares that he wanted “…a visual system that felt unique. I know there are certain shots where even I watch and think, ‘Oh that’s ridiculous, that was too many.’ But I love the idea that the future was so bright it couldn’t be contained in the frame.”
So even if the effect is overdone in places, I can certainly respect Abrams for coming into the movie with a specific visual concept in mind and running with it.
As for the movie itself, I was greatly impressed! I loved Zachary Quinto as Spock and I thought Chris Pine as Kirk was good, even though I wished that the script hadn’t made him such a persistent dick throughout the movie. We’re told early on that Kirk’s aptitude is off the charts, that he’s a genius. He doesn’t really act like one. I mean, it’s good to set up the bad boy thing at the start of the movie and I know Kirk’s rebellious nature is what makes him attractive as a character. But as the movie progresses, you almost want him to play by the rules JUST ONCE so things feel a little more justified when he assumes control of the Enterprise.
Eric Bana as the villain Nero felt a little undercooked. Basically, he’s a pissed off and vengeful space-miner who gets his hands on some incredibly destructive technology. There’s nothing regal or militaristic about him. I didn’t get the impression that he was much of a threat intellectually. He just has an advantage because he comes from the future.
It’s kind of like Biff getting his hands on Marty’s Sports Almanac in Back to the Future II. Biff isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, he just exploits the scenario. You’d think after the last 8 years, I’d be more accepting of the concept of an idiot’s rise to power, but it always feels like a cheat to me.
Aside from introducing Nero as a threat, I thought the use of time travel in this movie was a very clever way to side-step the whole “reboot” scenario. It’s not just new actors with pretty faces slipping on the clothes of beloved characters. Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman went so far as to create a completely alternate reality for these characters to operate in. Going forward, I see the opportunity for totally new story lines. They’ve replenished the well and I feel excited about Star Trek again for the first time in a long time.
The crowd I watched the movie with on Friday was amped up and ready for a good time. When the Paramount logo came on screen, people started to clap and cheer. Being from Iowa, there was also a unique sense of hometown pride when the film caught up to Kirk hitting on Uhura and picking fights in a bar near the Riverside Space Port. When the identified “IOWA” as the location on screen, there was a lengthy round of applause.
Hey, give us a break. It’s Iowa. Besides gay marriage and corn, we have very little else to hang our hat on.
I don’t know if I can say much more about Star Trek that hasn’t already been said elsewhere except I’ve been running around the house all weekend talking it up to the point that Cami now thinks she wants to see it. Curiously, my father-in-law kept asking me about the movie went we went to visit Cami’s parents for Mother’s Day. Maybe all three of us could go together? I’ll remember to bring goggles for everyone next time.
By the way, have you guys seen those collectible glasses promoting Star Trek at Burger King? I was thrilled when I saw the commercial for them. Not exclusively because I was excited about the movie, but it seems like ages since a fast food restaurant offered collectible glasses like these. When I was a kid, this was something McDonald’s and Burger King did all the time. I bought one last night basically as a way to communicate that this is a promotion I endorse and I hope that they continue such campaigns in the future.
Of course I got my Spock on…
I’m thinking about going back for the other glasses. Cami said she’d like to have the Uhura glass, but does anyone really want to drink out of a glass with Nero’s face on it?
Before I forget, I drew a picture of Spock for the incentive image over at Top Web Comics. To see it, vote for Theater Hopper and you too can get your Spock on.
And for more Star Trek goodness, be sure to listen to The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST where I’m sure the movie will be the topic of choice. Call in with your questions and we’ll answer them LIVE on the air!
In the meantime, what did everyone think of Star Trek? Anyone planning to go back and see it again? I think I might. I had a blast! Leave your comments about the film below and let’s get a conversation started!
I read a review of Star Trek that said director J.J. Abrams went a little overboard with the lens flares.
...so these are for protection.
Uh... good luck with that, I guess.
MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!
I got Kirk and Nero but the Spock one is pretty bad ass. The glasses are surprisingly nice. Really well made and they don;t even say Burger King anywhere on them.
Joe, you’re right – the glasses don’t say Burger King anywhere on them! I hadn’t noticed that!
My only complaint is that the glasses are a little small. But I love the box they come in. Very sturdy. For the hard-core collector, that’s a nice touch.
I’m sure you’ve already caught this, Tom. But if not, in the last panel Jared says ‘Googles’. Two O’s.
I feel like I need to see the movie again just to make sure I got everything. It just confounds me that everyone I know loved this movie to death, when all I could muster was “Yeah, it was alright.” I wonder if I’m missing something, or if I’m just the only one who refuses to drink J.J. Abrams’ latest batch of Kool-Aid.
I have been misspelling “goggles” all morning. I caught myself misspelling it at least three times when writing the and tagging today’s blog!
I don’t think you need to feel bad if you weren’t over the moon for the movie. Maybe it depends on your affinity for the franchise? Trek fans have been abused the last few years. I think any movie that doesn’t do MORE damage to it gets resounding applause in our book.
I went to see it a second time and I think I enjoyed even more. Might even make a third trip. I’ve never been a Trekker (before this new movie I had only seen 4 of the feature films and about 10 episodes of any of the shows) but I still loved it. In fact, I think I love it so much that all I want to do is talk about it!
Of the 10 or so friends of mine who have seen it so far almost all have really enjoyed it. 2 of these friends are Trekkers, one adored it and the other enjoyed it as a movie but not as a Star Trek movie .If I hear him complaining about the level of Sulu’s fight training one more time, i think i’ll kill him. This Onion piece sums him pretty well:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film?utm_source=a-section
(Thanks to the guy over at the DigitalPimp boards for leading me to that)
And ANY strip that uses my favourite Simpson’s line ever is good in my book.
I loved the flick to death. I think a big part of this is that it’s the 1st time in a long time when I’ve gone to the theater, had a blast watching the movie and then left happy with no nitpicks large enough to really care about. Besides, for my money, this movie did a far better job of re-entering an aging franchise than the Star Wars prequels. I mean there was even a ton of cgi and not once did I feel like the movie was fake or rubbery (well maybe a little during the Cloverfield on Hoth sequence.) To top it off, the flick even featured time travel, which almost always makes me groan, but it did it so well and natural that I loved it.
I do agree that there weren’t enough moments of Kirk coming off as super smart. The one thing that bugged me about old Spock showing up was that he tells Kirk how to de-captain-ize young Spock when honestly, Kirk should have know that regulation and abused it.
I also love that the flick is what it is. Sure it’s going to get a sequel, but it’s not a cliffhanger affair that feels like it’s the first part of a trilogy or anything. It just is and that is great. I think the wife and I are going to see it again, though next time digitally projected (as it was an option at my theater, an option I never realized was there before.)
Oh and totally in the fanboy weird minute detail department, did anyone else notice that the pattern on the Star Fleet shirts was made up of a ton of little Star Fleet insignias? I noticed this on the toys and thought it would be goofy looking but I think it was a nice effect as opposed to the G.I. Joe movie in which the Joe team members wear urban cammo with the G.I. Joe phrase logo mixed into the cammo. Shudder.
Sorry, me again but if anyone’s interested here’s a smart piece which describes Star Trek as JJ Abrams’ own Kobayashi Maru test.
http://www.empireonline.com/empireblog/Post.asp?id=514
I’m a huge trekker and I think they did the best possible job they could have done. Some of the in-jokes are a little too cheesy for me, but other than that I was happy and impressed, though I’ll admit to secretly hoping the ending could set up for deleting the new alternate reality and going back to the one I’m used to. I think any other approach to it would have ticked off all the canon fanatics, so the alternate timeline was great. I only had a half dozen nitpicky things as opposed to the huge list I expected. I think I did enjoy it primarily as a movie (as opposed to a Star Trek movie), just because I’m not invested in these actors yet (though I loved Bruce Greenwood as Pike). Since the series was just about dead, the greatness of this movie means I’ll actually have something to look forward to and can hope for a new tv series. I was really really worried that JJ would screw it up and he didn’t, so kudos to him as well.
They did a pre-movie comic series (countdown) that really gets into Nero’s character, which is good, otherwise he does come across as sort of half-baked. You can just read the synopsis from memory beta if you want to get some info on what drives the man.
Sorry, two more thoughts:
1) Not sure this comes across as an optimistic view of the future, like Star Trek almost always does. I mean Vulcan was destroyed, Spock is scarred, etc. It makes for more interesting cinema, but it might not be quite in line with the Roddenberry view of the future.
2) I liked the nod to both the Back to the Future two selfs meeting and not blowing up the space time continuum. I also liked how despite all the timeline changes the enterprise crew (against all plausible logic) comes together at the end. It seems like there is a sort of manifest destiny that can’t be screwed around with. So you do get your dose of optimism there. You still feel good when you walk out.
Shawn,
I felt Old Spock (is this how he’ll be referred to from now on? :-)) telling Kirk about the regulation was more about him giving Kirk the courage & impetus to attempt to bring about said regulation. Plus Kirk is quite intelligent in the way he brings about young Spock’s emotional meltdown, even the crew begrudgingly acknowledge it was the right thing to do. I think.
It is shown that Kirk does know regulations when he is recording his log on the ice planet.
That said, I can’t really disagree with your take either.
Thanks for sucking me into selling out on this little marketing deal… I never would have heard of these glasses, and been plenty happy, but now that I came to Theater Hopper I’ve seen them and think “ahhh, I want them!” Who even thought peer pressure would work online on your readers… eesh!
I loved the movie and have never seen any of the previous Star Trek movies, or any of the series really. I don’t know why, they’ve always been there… but I just never watched them. My wife is the same, and we both LOVED the movie. Funny thing, neither of us noticed the lens flares and I doubt I ever would’ve with my next viewings if I didn’t hear about it here online. MAN, first the BK glasses and now the lens flares… stupid internet. 😉
This is one of the best films I’ve seen in a while, and I’m glad it didn’t just end up in that large pile of disappointing that we’ve all been getting so much of lately. I mean, we saw Wolverine and it didn’t totally suck… it was fun… but it’s nothing close to this. I’ll definitely be seeing this one in theaters again, and I haven’t given a film multiple theater viewings in a LONG time. We might have to go back and check out the original movies and series too… could be fun.
I really enjoyed it! Yeah Nero was half baked and like JLCM said its a shame that he wasn’t a Kahn level threat for Spock but overall, WOW. Totally going back at least once. Simon Pegg stole every scene. The one actor I had doubts about going in was Karl Urban and he blew me away. Just great times all around.
I really don’t see anything beter coming down the pike this summer. Financially maybe but not quality wise. Except Funny People but that’s apples and oranges.
Hey Glen – Yeah, stuff like this gets into that gray area of character motivations where it’s hard to know if you’re getting what the writers intended or what you as the viewer is projecting onto the character. I can totally see it the way you described as well. It’s like the discussions about Uhura and Spock and whether she was using their relationship to get on board the Enterprise, or if she’s just a truly independent woman who gets what she wants/deserves.
Ok Tom, as someone from Iowa maybe you can answer this for me. How many canyons do you have for children to drive classic cars into??
RC, there aren’t really any canyons in Iowa – although there are some pretty steep cliffs in Eastern Iowa. Nothing like what you see in the movie though. Flat plains then a sheer trench? No. None of that.
I think I read somewhere that it was some kind of mining operation to create the materials to build the starships. Although why they build starships on the ground and not in space, I’ll never understand. Roddenberry used the transporter as a means of getting crew members down to foreign planets WITHOUT having to park the ship on the planet’s surface.
Then again, if you were going to launch a massive starship off the ground, Iowa would be the place to do it. Not much else around to get in the way!
I loved the movie and really only had 1 insignigicant complaint about it (I think that’s a record for me!).
I just don’t understand why, with so many tallented actresses of the proper age, Winona Ryder (who is only 6 years older than Zachary Quinto) played Spock’s mother; her “aging” make-up just annoyed me, and thank goodness she wasn’t on screen very long or she probably would have, too!
But I really thought that using an alternate timeline to explain any differences between this incarnation of Star Trek and the originals was ingenious!
I thought Winona Ryder’s aging makeup was pretty good. I recognized her voice before I recognized her face.
I loved the movie…except for destroying my fave planet (I just LOVE the Vulcans) and killing off Amanda, therefor making the book Sarek where Amanada dies of extreme (she was like 127) old age seem pointless now. Altho that IS one of my fave Star Trek books…heck with Vulcan destroyed I wonder if all the books about Vulcan (I have em all) will be worth something? 😛
I too got the Spock glass tho. Had the opportunity to get all 4 for $7.99 but I only wanted the Spock one. If they had Scotty I would have gotten that too. Maybe I’ll get Uhura since Im all about getting couples….Probably get the Uhura action figs too to have em stand next to my Spock figs. I have this thing with keeping couples/families together in my figs. *lol* I could get used to Spock and Uhura being an item. It’s a bit odd…but I just say to myself that this is an alternate universe and Saavik no longer exists. 😛
I loved the movie, but I have some very big complaints with how it was shot. You mentioned the lens flare already, so I wont go any further with it. The greatest crime of this movie is the shaking camera. The fight on the platform, and in fact most of the action and special effects are almost unwatchable because the camera is shaking like an epileptic monkey on caffeine.
One could argue that it was to make it seem more realistic, as if a cameraman was in the action. But come on… Are you telling me in the 23rd century they no longer have access to the steady-cam?
J.J. Abrams is notorious for this kind of filming. Just look at MI3. Great story, but no sense of camera use. Camera shake needs to be used sparingly. If he wanted to keep the frame in motion he should have used steady-cams, dollys, boom cranes and the like. Hand-held makes the movie look terrible on a 50ft screen. Adding overused lensflare to the mix is just rubbing vinegar on my already bleeding eyeballs.
I didn’t really notice the shaky cam. Not as much as I have in movies like The Bourne Supremacy.
I just think that’s the new action “style.” Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
@Orpheus: I felt the same way about Transformers. Everyone just seemed over the moon about that movie at the time, and I never understood just what they all saw in it. It struck me as just a bigger than average budget action movie, with heavy doses of Shia Laboeuf.
I did really enjoy Star Trek, though, so I guess we’re not exactly on the same page.
Upon further reflection of the movie, which I loved despite the lens flare and shaky camera work. I have decided it was too soon to put Kirk in command of the Enterprise. He just seems too young despite whatever heroics he may have had.
Seeing Pike in the wheelchair was a nice touch though.
I think Joe Dunn said something about the movie having about 8 different promotions in it.
I agree that Kirk “rose to power” a little too quickly – especially for someone with a reputation as a troublemaker. That last scene at Starfleet kind of reminded me of the medal ceremony at the end of Star Wars: A New Hope.
@ Manda,
I think the Winona Ryder thing is probably one of those “oh, I love Star Trek so much that I’ll take any part!” things ala Christian Slater (I forget which movie he was in though). I’m pretty sure that Bryan Singer & Kesley Grammer have shown up in various cameos in the shows and movies too.
I picked up my Burger King glasses this afternoon. They seem pretty sturdy. I actually kinda like the Nero glass. What better glass to use at dinner than one with a ship that looks like a flying set of steak knives?
Just saw the movie tonight and I’m still geeking out over it.
(Mild spoilers here?) I can’t say that I mind Kirk becoming captain that soon, because the steps made sense – he excelled in the Academy despite (or quite possibly because of) cheating, figured out a devious plot that no one else in Star Fleet had gotten, and was tapped as first mate by the man who had faith in him *at first sight* in a moment that demanded quick decisions and going on hunches.
(Spoilers definitely here) I love the time travel twist, and must have chuckled silently about it during the explanation on the ice planet and for another five minutes. In one swift move, the Star Trek canon that we know and love was shelved! Yes, it’s still there to enjoy and pore over to no end if you wish, but now we get to start with a clean slate! Future movies can use characters that have been known and beloved for decades without having to keep track of every detail in every frame! Kirk without a father? Sure! Sulu fences? Why not? Vulcan destroyed and Mama Spock murdered in the process? Done and done, and all without ignoring all of the events that went down in the prior universe.
I’ll start off by saying I enjoyed this movie – I thought it was really fun. With the exeption of Enterprise and the cartoon, I’ve seen ever minute of the Trek franchise before this and without a doubt I can say that this movie . . . is part of it. In my opinion – I think JJ took a really bad movie and did it really really well. The cast, dialog and special effects were spectacular. I thought the script was okay and everything else was below average the second the credits started to roll, but totally bought it during the filming. Case in point – I thought Bana was great as Nero but if I give it a second of thought he is basically an evil version of Bruce Willis in Armageddon.
I can’t even express how much I loved Star Trek. I’m a MAJOR fan of the original series, and this movie just did it for me. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous (and in fact I liked the lens flares), well cast, and the story was great for explaining the differences between the characters we know and love and these new reboot versions. It also really opened the doors for the sequels to explore new stories and ideas, which is great.
I’ve always had an extreme interest in Spock’s human/vulcan heritage and the way that he deals with emotions, and this flick was chock full of that. Spock and Bones have always been my favorite characters, and I feel like they were both really well cast. I hope that future movies will have a little more interaction between them, but this served as a great kick-off point in my opinion.
I’m glad to hear that the BK glasses are as cool as they look on the commercials. I’ll be picking up a set for sure sometime this week. Maybe when I’m on my way back from seeing Trek again tomorrow…
I just came home from seeing it, and I can honestly say that this movie is exactly what the franchise needed. A clean slate to move forward from, reinventing a cherished pillar of geek culture. Here’s hoping for a second lightning strike of magic to give us another few decades worth of enjoyment.
Casting was good, excellent for some roles, and I could see myself growing to love these new faces. Especially Simon Pegg, I do enjoy that man’s screen presence.
It was awesome that Leonard signed-on for this. I know he’s spent a lot of his adult life trying to distance himself from being “only Spock”, but if there was ever a time to jump in again, tapping your replacement should be it. And who knows, we might see the elder Spock again.
My one and only true complaint is that the music felt underwhelming. Compared to the sweeping, grandiose themes of the majority of the shows and movies, the music didn’t really add anything for me. It didn’t really detract, either, though. It was just kind of . . . there. I dunno. Only a minor complaint, though.