Movie Talk - Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness

 

I'm James T. Kirk... and I fight for The User... Yeah, that was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw Kirk and "John" in those suits.

Remember when I said that it would be a while before I saw the new movie? Well, I... exaggerated. I just had to go see  it on opening day after work.  What did I think of it and the previous movie that started it all? Find out below.

Background
Hmm... just look at this month and that should let you know that I'm a fan of Star Trek. When I found out  that that the 2009 movie was going to have younger versions from the original series, I already figured that this might be some sort of reboot or prequel. I went to the theater in Murfreesboro the day I left for the summer. For this segment and for fun, I watched the first movie last weekend on DVD. For the new movie, I was pumped but not trying to get too excited. I've made that mistake before. Anyway, since I didn't want to break tradition and it's my last day on dayshift, I thought I might as well see the movie on opening day.

Star Trek (2009)
The movie begins when a mishap in the space-time continuum changes the course of James Kirk's life. The big adventure begins when he joins Starfleet. Not only does he have to face a guy named Spock and the legacy of his dead father, he and Starfleet have to face the threat of time-displaced Romulans out for revenge.

I gotta say this: this was a good-looking movie. It especially looks gorgeous on the big screen. While the story is okay, the movie is made good mostly because of the characters and the acting. I think the acting was pretty good all-around especially from main crew. Karl Urban's McCoy came off pretty good. I have to admit that I didn't like Simon Pegg's Scotty when I first saw this. On my re-watch,  I began to like his rendition more as time has gone by. I especially liked Quinto's version of Spock. I do like that they play around with balancing his emotional and logical side here as well. While Leonard Nimoy was a bit of fan service, I liked seeing him here.

Add some great effects, some awesome music, and cool space battles to the list. While the villains were a little lackluster, they were threatening and brought about the biggest shock from this movie: the destruction of Vulcan. I also thought the Enterprise itself looked good. While those nacelles  looked bulky, it was awesome to see the old girl in action on the big screen.

Either two things have happened:

1. Spock has the solution to the problem.

2. Spock just said something vulgar about Scotty because Scotty's looking peeved.

Are there things I don't like? Of course. There were just a couple of moments where some characters just did some weird unexplainable things. Why did Spock kick Kirk off the ship? I believe the Enterprise does have a brig. I guess you have to bring in Old Spock somehow, but that was a really weird and unnecessary way to bring him and Scotty into the movie. Also, Kirk does come off as a brash butthead at times especially in the Kobyashi-Maru (I guess I got it right) scene.

There were also some references I didn't find that great. Examples include Kirk getting it on with a green girl and Chekov mispronouncing his V's. I also thought that it was weird that Starfleet would just hand the ship over to Kirk at the end of the film, but then I remember Starfleet demoting Admiral Kirk to a Captain and giving him a ship in The Voyage Home. They just got to bow down to that Kirk-Awesomeness, don't they? Lastly, the villains were a little lackluster. There really wasn't much depth to Nero. He's essentially Khan without the awesome attitude. Overall, while it's not perfect, I still like the film.

Favorite Quotes:
"Punch it!"
"Bones! Buckle up!"
"Dammit, man! I'm a doctor, not a physicist!"
"Now, your father was captain of a Starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's and yours. I dare you to do better."
"Fire everything!!!!"

Star Trek: Into Darkness
And here is the final movie for this month. In this installment, Starfleet is internally attacked by one of its own. Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise must chase down the terrorist "John Harrison" and face even more secrets from the darker corners of Starfleet. Well, I'm just going to come out and say it: I think I liked this film more than the first one. Mind you, this is just my first impression and I ain't spoiling it for ya.

Now I see what these films have in common... I've seen them all in theaters!

Like the last movie, what really moves this plot forward is the characters. Chris Pine and Zach Quinto do it well as Kirk and Spock. I really like the banter between them. The acting as a whole is pretty good. The villain, who is someone we've seen before in Trek lore, is pretty good. All I know the actor from (I ain't spelling the dude's name) is from the BBC show Sherlock and he's good there as well. Also, the rest of the main crew do each get a moment of awesomeness. My favorite might either be Uhura's or Scotty's. Just like the previous movie, the effects, the space battles, and the music were up to par and all around good. I also thought the humor was done a little better here as well.

Does the movie have problems? It does have a couple. I thought the last parts of the movie were a little rushed. There are also a lot of homages to the previous movies, specifically Wrath of Khan. There's a scene in this movie that kinda annoyed me. I was like "Hmm... so they're basically re-doing that whole scene?!? Okay..." Anyway, my last gripe was that it felt a little predictable in some places. I guess this could come from me checking IMDB a lot or it could be the fact that I've seen a lot of Trek in my time. Overall, while it has a couple of flaws, I think this movie was pretty good taken on its own.

Favorite Quotes: 

"JOHNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!" (I'm not spelling the dude's real name out. All I can say is this: Kirk should have carried a caulking gun with him.)

......

Kirk: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. 

Spock: The man who said that was later betrayed and killed by his ally. 

Kirk: Well, its still a hell of a quote.

........

"Do you know what a pain you are? You think the rules don't apply to you. There's greatness in you, but there's not an ounce of humility."

........

"Damn it, Jim! I'm a doctor! Not a torpedo technician!"

........

"No ship should go down without her captain."

........

"Let me explain to you what's going on here. You are a criminal! I watched you murder innocent men and women. I was authorized to end you! And the only reason you are still alive is because I am allowing it! So shut your mouth!!"

..............................................................................................................

Well, I've finally gotten through all of these movies. I guess I'll save my ranking of the movies for my last post of the month. Peace, God Bless, and watch out for black holes and Peter Weller.