# Star Trek -- the "I saw it" thread \*\*SPOILERS\*\* **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640 "2009-05-07T08:13:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/21 "2009-05-08T15:00:32Z")
> [@Annie](#): > > (Bitchy Vulcans-another ENT thing!). For the record, I was fine with bitchy vulcan kids in the movie, but I hated the way ENT portrayed the entire Vulcan race as a buncha bitches. That was so not true to the mythos. :mad: It felt like the show had been written during the early, xenoparanoiaic years of first contact with the Vulcans, and had an edge of anti-vulcan propaganda to it. But anyway, vulcan bully kids? Yeah, totally. Of course! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/22 "2009-05-08T15:02:30Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > OTOH, future Trek projects must deal with a universe of 10,000 Vulcan people without a planet. Sarek but no Amanda. I suspect (fear?) that the next movie will have something to do with undoing this. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/23 "2009-05-08T15:14:45Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Well, when he was fleeing from the cop on the hoverbike, the car he then careened over the cliff. It’s just never established why that happens, at all. He’s probably running from home, or something, but all in all, this scene, and large parts of the movie, feels like the writers have internalized ‘show, don’t tell’, but never really feel the need to make plausible what they are showing. As much as I hate to say it, the fact that “NOKIA” was clearly visible on the in-car cell phone goes a long way towards explaining why that was part of the film (red Stingray convertible notwithstanding). What did everyone think of Scotty’s diminuitive lizard colleague? I’m conflicted. It had a bit of R2D2 charm, but could easily get real old real fast. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/24 "2009-05-08T15:15:48Z")
I thought it was great. it worked as a blockbuster, but it was unapologetically a Star Trek movie. The two things I would have liked to see a tweak to were the supernova thing (it would have been fine just to have it threaten Romulus) and the idea of Pike making Kirk the first officer. However, it seemed from the way things fell out that the officer corps of the ships (not just Enterprise) that faced Nero was made up mostly of cadets because the bulk of the fleet was elsewhere – they hadn’t planned to launch this mini-armada until some time later, when they would have distributed experienced crews over the whole thing. On that basis, I could understand that there weren’t many officers on-board at all. And you kind of have to forgive it given as an unavoidable flaw when you have the premise of showing Kirk et al. growing into their roles but at the same time you have to get them in the expected spots by the end of the movie. In particular, I thought Quinto was great in letting Spock show just exactly the right amount of emotion that indicated he was boiling over. It seemed to me the type of thing they would have wanted to do back in TOS but Nimoy didn’t have the chops at the time (although I think he got them as he got older). –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/25 "2009-05-08T15:20:57Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I suspect (fear?) that the next movie will have something to do with undoing this. Yeah, after the film was over, I thought that at least they didn’t do an ‘it didn’t happen’-ending, but showed the balls to stick to the changes with all their consequences, and then that strange little dark voice in the back of my mind that compulsively has to destroy everything that I love piped up with pointing out that they’re probably just holding this back for the next film. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/26 "2009-05-08T15:24:52Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > What did everyone think of Scotty’s diminuitive lizard colleague? I’m conflicted. It had a bit of R2D2 charm, but could easily get real old real fast. I’m not conflicted at all. It was all too goofy, reminded me of that pet in the Lost In Space movie. Did you percieve it as a “colleague”? I saw it more as a pet, which no one but the captain should be allowed to have. It made gestures, but nothing that I’d percieve of as a language. (BTW, during the TOS era, I perceived the Communications Officer as a techie sort of job, running the radios. I liked how ENT showed linguistics to be a major part of it, and I’m glad that was taken up by this movie.) ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/27 "2009-05-08T15:28:22Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > they’re probably just holding this back for the next film. Possibly, but I doubt it. I think The Powers That Be want the new generation of writers to be free to do what they want, without having to look back over their shoulders, with no fear of thousands of us nerds yelling “Continuity Error!” ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/28 "2009-05-08T15:31:26Z")
I saw it last night. I had read the positive reviews, and knew a couple of spoilers. I was expecting to be entertained, but no more. I was blown away. Yes, they destroyed the old canon. Big deal, it’s a reboot, and, unlike most reboots, it has an at least plausible (in-universe) peg to hang it on. But who cares. I never watched the old Trek (I remember watching the first run of “Mantrap”) for the hard science or for Roddenberry’s vision of Utopia, but for the interplay between the characters, especially the Big Three. And THAT, they got in spades! The casting was remarkable. Kirk simply WAS Kirk. Pine didn’t do Shatner, he did Kirk. Sylar was amazingly believable as Spock (and, yes, my wife and I both instantly interpreted “Live long and prosper” as “Fuck you!”). Karl Urban couldn’t have been (1) less like Eomer or (2) more like McCoy. They threw a little red meat to the fanboys, including Sulu’s fencing, the green babe, Spock’s raised eyebrow, and “Wictor, wictor”. Lots of fun, but not enough to be ponderous. Finally, Nimoy’s part wasn’t merely a cameo, it actually was a substantive part. I loved his final salute to his younger self - which is also, probably, his final salute to the Trek verse. The movie brought back a sense of fun to the series, from which it had been pretty much drained. I want to see it again, and look forward to the inevitable sequels. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/29 "2009-05-08T15:49:47Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > As much as I hate to say it, the fact that “NOKIA” was clearly visible on the in-car cell phone goes a long way towards explaining why that was part of the film (red Stingray convertible notwithstanding). Yeah, but their spin on the standard SUPER annoying ring tone made me chuckle. > [@Khan](#): > > What did everyone think of Scotty’s diminuitive lizard colleague? I’m conflicted. It had a bit of R2D2 charm, but could easily get real old real fast. Pegg made it work. His line about, “You could have - like - a bean and be full!” had me in stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/30 "2009-05-08T17:59:00Z")
The ringtone made me chuckle too, But the highly visible “NOKIA” on the dash put the whole thing into perspective: it struck me as advertising first, exposition second. But if they HAD to do that for whatever reason, I’m glad they put it there instead of, say, on Uhura’s headset. At any rate, I’m leaning towards liking the lizard guy. I’m just concerned about his potential as comic relief being abused. I do think he was an officer, though: in the last scene with Scotty in engineering he had a starfleet uniform on. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/31 "2009-05-08T19:05:30Z")
Does anyone remember the date that was given for when Romulus was destroyed? I’m pretty sure it was mentioned as a regular year, not a stardate. I’d like to see when it fits in with various timelines, such as in [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_timeline) or [Memory Alpha](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Timeline). BTW, do I remember correctly, that at one point Nero asked Pike what the stardate was, and Pike didn’t know what he was talking about? If so, that would fit very nicely with stardate numberings which begin only a tiny bit prior to The Original Series. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/32 "2009-05-08T19:13:26Z")
Scratch that. I had not noticed that the [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_timeline) article already cites this movie: > [@](#): > > 2387 - According to Star Trek, Romulus is destroyed when it’s home star goes Supernova. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/33 "2009-05-08T19:52:14Z")
I had fun and acknowledge that there’s massive amounts of fridge logic to this movies, and have nothing to add but this; GET THESE GODDAMN LENSFLARES OUT OF MY FACE! IMDB tells me it was done intentionally, to create ‘a sense of wonder’. I think it’s best used sparingly, if at all. This way the movie just looks like someone who has just discovered Photoshop and wants everything to look SUPERCOOL! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/34 "2009-05-08T19:56:48Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Scratch that. I had not noticed that the [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_timeline) article already cites this movie: I don’t _think_ the film specifies that it’s Romulus’s home star. It just says the supernova “threatened the galaxy” and also that “Romulus was threatened.” It would make more sense if it was Romulus’s homestar, but the movie doesn’t seem to nail this down. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/35 "2009-05-08T20:03:46Z")
Wasn’t Nero a Romular? Wasn’t he upset that Romulus got destroyed? Wasn’t that why he was made a Spock? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/36 "2009-05-08T20:48:25Z")
I am posting this without looking at anyone else’s remarks, just to see what that’s like. As for this movie. I was disposed to like it. I wanted to like it. I tried to like it. I tried really hard. But I couldn’t. This was not merely the worst Star Trek movie ever made, though it was. This was not merely the worst movie ever made, though it was. This was not merely the worst entertainment product ever made, though it was. This was so bad that the only reasonable explanation for it is that J.J. Abrams (the director) and the screenwriters are actually Visitors, by which I mean highly evolved lizards using gee-whiz supertech to appear human and determined to exterminate all of mankind. They are Visitors, and they hate us. No, that’s not right. They don’t **hate** humans–but they do hold us in utter and infinite contempt. They made this movie to traumatize our psyches, break our spirits, break our souls. They begin by teasing us with an interesting and exciting opener, but proceed to produce forth a cinematic work of such mind-boggling vileness that to call it shit would be an insult to feces. In short: FUCK!!! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/37 "2009-05-08T20:54:44Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > In short: FUCK!!! I await clarification. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/38 "2009-05-08T20:54:49Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So far, I seem to be the only person in the world who didn’t like it… Not the only one. Oh no. But this movie has done one good thing for me. I used to despise The Return of the King and The Matrix: Revolutions. But no longer. Star Trek/U] has so changed the scale by which I judge bad movies that those movies, and all other previously made bad movies, now seem akin to Citizen Kane and The Godfather. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/39 "2009-05-08T21:02:40Z")
Skald, how big of a Star Trek fan would you say you are in general from 0 to 10 - 0 being never seen an episode and 10 being that dentist whose entire office is Star Trek themed? I would call myself a 3, and going in with no expectations/investment, I really loved this flick. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640/40 "2009-05-08T21:15:34Z")
> [@MostlyClueless](#): > > I had fun and acknowledge that there’s massive amounts of fridge logic to this movies, and have nothing to add but this; > > GET THESE GODDAMN LENSFLARES OUT OF MY FACE! > > IMDB tells me it was done intentionally, to create ‘a sense of wonder’. I think it’s best used sparingly, if at all. This way the movie just looks like someone who has just discovered Photoshop and wants everything to look SUPERCOOL! Abrams: "The flares weren’t just happening from on-camera light sources, they were happening off camera, and that was really the key to it. I want [to create] the sense that, just off camera, something spectacular is happening. There was always a sense of something, and also there is a really cool organic layer thats a quality of it. They were all done live, they weren’t added later. There are something about those flares, especially in a movie that can potentially be very sterile and CG and overly controlled. There is something incredibly unpredictable and gorgeous about them. It is a really fun thing. Our DP would be off camera with this incredibly powerful flashlight aiming it at the lens. It became an art because different lenses required angles, and different proximity to the lens. Sometimes, when we were outside we’d use mirrors. Certain sizes were too big… literally, it was ridiculous. It was like another actor in the scene… We had two cameras, so sometimes we had two different spotlight operators. When there was atmosphere in the room, you had to be really careful because you could see the beams. So it was this ridiculous, added level of pain in the ass, but I love… [looking at] the final cut, [the flares] to me, were a fun additional touch that I think, while overdone, in some places, it feels like the future is that bright." [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-the-i-saw-it-thread-spoilers/495640.md?page=3)