Star Trek has been a celebrated franchise since its inception. Multiple storylines and spin-offs were created from the original series, as the show gained more and more of a following. Now, there is a new reboot series and a new television show set to come out soon based on the original series. I figured that the best way to truly go back and embrace the Star Trek universe was to watch the first film ever created for the franchise. I watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture for the first time last night and came out of the experience with a bit of disappointment.
At first, I was extremely impressed by the science fiction scenery involved in the space series. The USS Enterprise looked elaborate and all of the space scenes were visually detailed. The film came out in 1979 and a lot of the scenes looked as though they could still fit into a new movie. At times, the psychedelic colors remind me of a Pink Floyd laser show I saw a few years ago. Technically, this film is brilliant with an accompanying score reminiscent of a classical symphony. Robert Wise (The Sound of Music) creates imagery that reminds me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact, Star Trek: The Motion Picture loses my attention for the same reason that I lost my attention with Kubrick's film. The cinematography is definitely not to blame for my disappointment, rather the pacing and entertainment value is.
The film is slow, draggy, and void of action. If you have seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, then you have basically seen this Star Trek film. However, this film has such an amazing cast that it should have managed to keep an entertaining tone. William Shatner (Star Trek), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), George Takei (Star Trek), and all of the others are bland and held back through a lack of script. At one point, there is a scene that lasts about 30 minutes and all we see is the Enterprise moving through space. Maybe Wise was making a statement about how it feels to travel through space, but the series never felt so slow and boring as this movie did. Furthermore, the film has an awful storyline that has been used before in other films. Recycling storylines often turns out okay for me (see Star Trek Into Darkness) but this storyline is bland and drawn out for what should have been a 30-minute episode of Star Trek. In my opinion, this film is the worst I have seen so far in the Star Trek series. Let me know if you think otherwise!
The Bottom Line: This film is a visual spectacular that falters from a lame story and extremely draggy scenes.
Score: 5.5/10
Image credit: http://i.imgur.com/rc4rvni.jpg
At first, I was extremely impressed by the science fiction scenery involved in the space series. The USS Enterprise looked elaborate and all of the space scenes were visually detailed. The film came out in 1979 and a lot of the scenes looked as though they could still fit into a new movie. At times, the psychedelic colors remind me of a Pink Floyd laser show I saw a few years ago. Technically, this film is brilliant with an accompanying score reminiscent of a classical symphony. Robert Wise (The Sound of Music) creates imagery that reminds me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact, Star Trek: The Motion Picture loses my attention for the same reason that I lost my attention with Kubrick's film. The cinematography is definitely not to blame for my disappointment, rather the pacing and entertainment value is.
The film is slow, draggy, and void of action. If you have seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, then you have basically seen this Star Trek film. However, this film has such an amazing cast that it should have managed to keep an entertaining tone. William Shatner (Star Trek), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), George Takei (Star Trek), and all of the others are bland and held back through a lack of script. At one point, there is a scene that lasts about 30 minutes and all we see is the Enterprise moving through space. Maybe Wise was making a statement about how it feels to travel through space, but the series never felt so slow and boring as this movie did. Furthermore, the film has an awful storyline that has been used before in other films. Recycling storylines often turns out okay for me (see Star Trek Into Darkness) but this storyline is bland and drawn out for what should have been a 30-minute episode of Star Trek. In my opinion, this film is the worst I have seen so far in the Star Trek series. Let me know if you think otherwise!
The Bottom Line: This film is a visual spectacular that falters from a lame story and extremely draggy scenes.
Score: 5.5/10
Image credit: http://i.imgur.com/rc4rvni.jpg
