As you can tell from the photo above, this is a review of the 2009 Star Trek film that effectively rebooted the franchise. Now don't get me wrong. I'm a big Star Trek fan. I love all the television series from the original series in 1966 up to "Enterprise" in 2005. I even liked the animated series in 1974, though I admit that the plots are more shallow than the other series. I enjoyed the first 10 films, even though most of them are weaker than the television series. And yet, I hate this reboot. It's awful. Maybe even 2 stars is too much for it.
I would have been happy if the film had been made with a different premise. Maybe the story of a different starship making voyages at the same time as the USS Enterprise. That would have worked. But to cast new actors playing the original characters that have since become part of the world's cultural heritage..... that's blasphemy! Only Karl Urban is a passable replacement for DeForrest Kelly as Leonard McCoy. Chris Pine is awful as Jim Kirk, and Zoe Saldana is so inept at playing Lt. Uhura that she should be banned from ever acting again. Zachary Quinto, an actor that I greatly like after seeing him in "Heroes", does the best he can as Spock, but he just isn't Leonard Nimoy. Simon Pegg is a reasonable choice for Scotty, but he overdoes the comedy. John Cho is utterly forgettable as Sulu. Anton Yelchin is a very poor replacement for Chekov, and also out of place, since Chekov wasn't part of the original crew of the Enterprise; he joined the ship in the second season of the original series.
As for the plot: the backstory with Kirk's father is unnecessary. The love affair between Spock and Uhura is so wrong that it made me want to throw a brick at my television screen. The only good thing about the film is the appearance of Leonard Nimoy as the old Spock. He alone has saved the DVD from being dumped in my trash.
No, I refuse to give you a link to the film trailer. Forget it.
Your main issues with the retread movies don't really bother me that much. I view it like when a comic book changes art teams and suddenly everyone is different, even if they're the same.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, i greatly dislike the new movies as well. So much so that they've killed my interest in Star Trek. I haven't even glanced at the new shows that get such rave reviews. I just can't bring myself to care, and that's due to the new films.
My issues stem more from the conceptual level. Kirk pretty much exemplifies it. Originally, he was the youngest Captain in Starfleet after having worked his way up through the ranks and, more importantly, having worked in every major department, learning how everything works at least on a general level. Kirk understood the rules and broke them when they were at odds with their purpose.
NewKirk fell ass-backwards into the job wholly unprepared to handle it. He breaks the rules simply because he doesn't like them, and counts on others (mostly the writers) to cover his ass so he doesn't screw the universe up too badly in the process. That's nowhere close to a hero.
I gave up trying during the third one less than half an hour in. When yet another Enterprise was destroyed, it was over. I really don't care to watch the adventures of a crew that can't even keep a ship flying.
My main problem is the re-casting of the actor. I have nothing at all against the new shows. They're actually quite good. And remember that TNG was a new show. What I don't like is the idea of picking a new actor and saying he's Jim Kirk. He isn't. Nobody comes close to William Shatner. They should just have made a Star Trek film with different characters.
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