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Now we will squee - in WARP DRIVE!
.
Just came from seeing Star Trek.
YAY! How cool is this movie? WAY COOL! I had a great time, far more than I expected. It's definitely a yummy way to start the summer.
(What follows is a little spoilery, but only a little.)
It's NOT a prequel. I know, I know - that's what all the promos and reviewers are calling it, but don't believe them. (Those reviewers are obviously not ST fans, because anyone even a little familiar with Star Trek will spot the inconsistencies almost immediately, starting with the death at the beginning of the story.) Abrams hasn't "invented a back story", as some are saying, since the backstory of ST has been well-established for decades. I started going "Nuh-UH! No way!" about ten minutes into it, and I didn't shake that off until about two-thirds of the way in, when I suddenly got just what the story was doing, and then it all fell into place and made sense. What cleared it up for me? Why, Spock's explanation, of course.
(Without spoiling it, I can say that anyone who knows ST well, and knows the conventions of science fiction, can deduce the basic idea by going to the film's IMDB page and looking at the list of characters.)
What Abrams has done here is figure out a story rationale for messing with the characters and their histories. Clearly, Abrams wants to make more ST films, and also clearly, the ST history already established didn't suit him. So by using the conventions of the ST universe, he's managed to change things around. Some of the changes are small, some quite big, some quite surprising, but none of them dreadful or enraging (at least, not to me), just...interesting. It's quite clever, but definitely NOT the history of the ST universe. It's something else, but it has a reason for being something else, and that reason works (if you swallow the basic premise, which I'm happy to do because hey, this is Star Trek.)
It's a wonderful film, no doubt about it. (40-year ST fan talking here.) The casting is great. Example: At first I thought Zach Quinto resembled the original Spock, but after a while I realized he didn't - but he has that...look. And that's all he needs. (And before you ask, YES, Karl Urban rocks as McCoy!) The ship is hot, the uniforms are classic (yay!), and the story is nimble and well-thought out. Setting aside the issue of the Enterprise - the finest vessel ever commissioned by Starfleet - apparently having crappy sensors and no brig, it's just as cool and fun and fast and cheerful as I'd hoped.
And that's what I always loved about Star Trek, and so many other fans do. It's cheerful. It looks at the future with optimism and hope and confidence in humanity's ability to overcome problems. (In that manner, it's perfect for the new political landscape in America. This was the best time Abrams could have chosen to re-tool and -launch the Enterprise.) And best of all, in the Star Trek universe, the most difficult and challenging of those problems lie not in big technical geekery (of which this film has plenty *hugs Simon Pegg*) but in the hearts and minds of the people out there, exploring the galaxy. That they always rose to the challenge, or were willing to try, made us love them all.
ETA: See below for some more observations. :)
ETA Junior: Ahaha. Apparently some people have trouble finding their balls. Clearly you don't know me, so allow me to enlighten you: Coming here to drop pissy anon comments and then run away will NOT work. I will just delete them (as I already have). If you want to play in this sandbox, you'll have to wear your name tag.
Capice?
Just came from seeing Star Trek.
YAY! How cool is this movie? WAY COOL! I had a great time, far more than I expected. It's definitely a yummy way to start the summer.
(What follows is a little spoilery, but only a little.)
It's NOT a prequel. I know, I know - that's what all the promos and reviewers are calling it, but don't believe them. (Those reviewers are obviously not ST fans, because anyone even a little familiar with Star Trek will spot the inconsistencies almost immediately, starting with the death at the beginning of the story.) Abrams hasn't "invented a back story", as some are saying, since the backstory of ST has been well-established for decades. I started going "Nuh-UH! No way!" about ten minutes into it, and I didn't shake that off until about two-thirds of the way in, when I suddenly got just what the story was doing, and then it all fell into place and made sense. What cleared it up for me? Why, Spock's explanation, of course.
(Without spoiling it, I can say that anyone who knows ST well, and knows the conventions of science fiction, can deduce the basic idea by going to the film's IMDB page and looking at the list of characters.)
What Abrams has done here is figure out a story rationale for messing with the characters and their histories. Clearly, Abrams wants to make more ST films, and also clearly, the ST history already established didn't suit him. So by using the conventions of the ST universe, he's managed to change things around. Some of the changes are small, some quite big, some quite surprising, but none of them dreadful or enraging (at least, not to me), just...interesting. It's quite clever, but definitely NOT the history of the ST universe. It's something else, but it has a reason for being something else, and that reason works (if you swallow the basic premise, which I'm happy to do because hey, this is Star Trek.)
It's a wonderful film, no doubt about it. (40-year ST fan talking here.) The casting is great. Example: At first I thought Zach Quinto resembled the original Spock, but after a while I realized he didn't - but he has that...look. And that's all he needs. (And before you ask, YES, Karl Urban rocks as McCoy!) The ship is hot, the uniforms are classic (yay!), and the story is nimble and well-thought out. Setting aside the issue of the Enterprise - the finest vessel ever commissioned by Starfleet - apparently having crappy sensors and no brig, it's just as cool and fun and fast and cheerful as I'd hoped.
And that's what I always loved about Star Trek, and so many other fans do. It's cheerful. It looks at the future with optimism and hope and confidence in humanity's ability to overcome problems. (In that manner, it's perfect for the new political landscape in America. This was the best time Abrams could have chosen to re-tool and -launch the Enterprise.) And best of all, in the Star Trek universe, the most difficult and challenging of those problems lie not in big technical geekery (of which this film has plenty *hugs Simon Pegg*) but in the hearts and minds of the people out there, exploring the galaxy. That they always rose to the challenge, or were willing to try, made us love them all.
ETA: See below for some more observations. :)
ETA Junior: Ahaha. Apparently some people have trouble finding their balls. Clearly you don't know me, so allow me to enlighten you: Coming here to drop pissy anon comments and then run away will NOT work. I will just delete them (as I already have). If you want to play in this sandbox, you'll have to wear your name tag.
Capice?
no subject
Those are my thoughts.. just in clear words.
What you said about "getting" it and what JJ+ writers with the story so.. "What Abrams has done here is figure out a story rationale for messing with the characters and their histories."
GAH!
I still suck at articulating my thoughts about the film, obviously, but I read this and went "YES, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN!!!!"
Some old fans are pissed and although I understand, I think the old STar Trek wouldn't work here. I mean, sure, it could. As well as the last few, at best.
You're dealing with a more sophisticated audience with a finer palette in their movie tastes (yes, even the old fans are more sophisticated.)
They HAD to make these characters different and this beautiful first movie told us WHY and now all we have to do is sit and relax!
Also, it was FUNNY AS HECK!
no subject
Also, I don't think they had to change the characters, which is why they really haven't changed them very much at all. It's the circumstances that have changed, influencing the way the characters react and develop, but they're still the same people essentially. Just that a couple of them have issues they didn't have before. (Uhura, for instance, is almost exactly the same, except for some stylistic touches.) It's more the look and style of the film itself that is different.
I think that's why I'm so OK with the changes, because they haven't messed with anything that's really important. (Well, other than the fact that the ship's sensors now completely sucky - what the hell is up with THAT?)
/ranty McRant. sorry. :)