BOLDLY GO
The 43-year-old Star Trek franchise has been successfully rebooted, starting the epic story from scratch ala the recent Batman and James Bond overhauls. Star Trek (2009) is as entertaining as any previous movie incarnation. Not a difficult achievement as, truth to tell, this series has had a spotty track record since its leap to cinematic installments 30 years ago.
My thoughts on the Star Trek movies from 1979 to 2009 and how the latest stacks up:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) **1/2
Great to see the original crew reunited on the silver screen 10 years after the original TV series ceased production, but this was a boring, humorless affair directed by formerly talented Robert Wise, who had helmed classics such as The Sound of Music many years earlier. The only movie produced by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Interesting that there was no actual villian and that it attempted to touch upon Roddenberry's big philosophical ideas, but poorly executed. Memorable bits: sexy bald chick, great music, and the first appearance of bumpy-headed Klingons!
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) ***1/2
Paramount took the keys away from Roddenberry and gave them to Nicholas Meyer, who wrote and directed what has become the most highly regarded entry in the series, with by far the most memorable villian and the temporary death of a major character. Also foisted Kirstie Alley upon the world, as a sexy Vulcan officer.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) ***
The only way Leonard Nimoy would agree to appear as Spock again was if he could direct, so he did, and a good movie resulted. Notable for Kirk's long-lost son, Chinese Vulcans, great McCoy-Spock interaction, and a miraculous resurrection.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) ***1/2
Nimoy's second shot as director was the most humorous, as well as the biggest box office success of all Star Trek films. Spock's parents from the TV series put in a welcome appearance. Another movie with no villian.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) **
Shatner's turn to direct under the Nimoy-Shatner "favored nations clause", and he flopped big time. He wanted the Enterprise crew to meet God, a premise so ludicrous that the story was watered down through multiple rewrites to end up nothing special at all. Infamous for featuring Spock's brother(!) and a slashed special effects budget -- let's all pretend this one didn't really happen.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) ***
Nicolas Meyer was brought back to helm the final feature with the full original crew. Notable for featuring one of the first "morphing" special effects sequences done on film.
Star Trek: Generations (1994) **1/2
Shatner wormed his way back on screen in the first Next Generation installment by suggesting they kill off Capt. Kirk, which they did, which is why he can't appear as his old self in the new movie.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) ***
Best of the Next Generation movies, as their main villian the Borg threatened Earth by changing its past.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) **
An overlong sub-TV-quality installment featuring a fountain-of-youth planet.
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) **
Worst of all Star Trek movies to date. Features a long overdue wedding and the termination of another major character.
And last but not least...
Star Trek (2009) ***1/4
Very briskly paced, with a few too many shortcuts in getting the crew together. But fun, not ironic, not tired, respectful to all that came before, a prequel that also serves as a reboot with a clever twist in that anything can happen from this point forward and we're not tied to rigid continuity established by the 10 movies, 7 TV series, and hundreds of books that came before. Made that much more special by Leonard Nimoy's passing of the torch to the new incarnation of the original crew.
The 43-year-old Star Trek franchise has been successfully rebooted, starting the epic story from scratch ala the recent Batman and James Bond overhauls. Star Trek (2009) is as entertaining as any previous movie incarnation. Not a difficult achievement as, truth to tell, this series has had a spotty track record since its leap to cinematic installments 30 years ago.
My thoughts on the Star Trek movies from 1979 to 2009 and how the latest stacks up:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) **1/2
Great to see the original crew reunited on the silver screen 10 years after the original TV series ceased production, but this was a boring, humorless affair directed by formerly talented Robert Wise, who had helmed classics such as The Sound of Music many years earlier. The only movie produced by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Interesting that there was no actual villian and that it attempted to touch upon Roddenberry's big philosophical ideas, but poorly executed. Memorable bits: sexy bald chick, great music, and the first appearance of bumpy-headed Klingons!
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) ***1/2
Paramount took the keys away from Roddenberry and gave them to Nicholas Meyer, who wrote and directed what has become the most highly regarded entry in the series, with by far the most memorable villian and the temporary death of a major character. Also foisted Kirstie Alley upon the world, as a sexy Vulcan officer.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) ***
The only way Leonard Nimoy would agree to appear as Spock again was if he could direct, so he did, and a good movie resulted. Notable for Kirk's long-lost son, Chinese Vulcans, great McCoy-Spock interaction, and a miraculous resurrection.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) ***1/2
Nimoy's second shot as director was the most humorous, as well as the biggest box office success of all Star Trek films. Spock's parents from the TV series put in a welcome appearance. Another movie with no villian.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) **
Shatner's turn to direct under the Nimoy-Shatner "favored nations clause", and he flopped big time. He wanted the Enterprise crew to meet God, a premise so ludicrous that the story was watered down through multiple rewrites to end up nothing special at all. Infamous for featuring Spock's brother(!) and a slashed special effects budget -- let's all pretend this one didn't really happen.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) ***
Nicolas Meyer was brought back to helm the final feature with the full original crew. Notable for featuring one of the first "morphing" special effects sequences done on film.
Star Trek: Generations (1994) **1/2
Shatner wormed his way back on screen in the first Next Generation installment by suggesting they kill off Capt. Kirk, which they did, which is why he can't appear as his old self in the new movie.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) ***
Best of the Next Generation movies, as their main villian the Borg threatened Earth by changing its past.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) **
An overlong sub-TV-quality installment featuring a fountain-of-youth planet.
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) **
Worst of all Star Trek movies to date. Features a long overdue wedding and the termination of another major character.
And last but not least...
Star Trek (2009) ***1/4
Very briskly paced, with a few too many shortcuts in getting the crew together. But fun, not ironic, not tired, respectful to all that came before, a prequel that also serves as a reboot with a clever twist in that anything can happen from this point forward and we're not tied to rigid continuity established by the 10 movies, 7 TV series, and hundreds of books that came before. Made that much more special by Leonard Nimoy's passing of the torch to the new incarnation of the original crew.
1 comment:
Since the new Star Trek movie opened, I wavered between giving it a 3 star or 3 1/2 star rating, so I'm settling on 3 1/4 stars, which is cheating. This makes me wish I had stuck to my original 5 star scale, which would allow me to give it the 4 stars it deserves.
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