Star Trek, Yay!

[przed]

Finally got to see Star Trek. Had an huge grin on my face the entire time. They manage to quote nicely from the original without getting too bogged down in keeping things the same.

Not that I don't have issues.

There's the action scenes for a start. They're all handheld, wobbly, jumpy, poorly cut messes and they make me angry. I enjoy my action scenes. I like to savour them and enjoy the choreography and the mastery of the performers and the crew. If everything's cut into 20 frame bits, you can't tell what the heck is going on and it's all so much visual noise.

This all started with the Hong Kong directors in the late '80s/early '90s, but those guys could do fast cut editing and still have it all make sense. Someone needs to put all the current Hollywood guys in a room, and make them watch Swordsman and Drunken Master over and over until they freaking get it. Okay, I feel better now.

Back to Star Trek. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about the Spock/Uhura relationship. It's sort of sweet, but wayyy unprofessional, and clearly put there to short circuit the Kirk/Spock slash. Plus, it does take Uhura from being the strong, super smart character she is at the start of the film to being just "the girlfriend" by the end. Which is a bit irksome. Sigh.

On the other hand, Simon Pegg is genius as Scotty. (My worry there was entirely unjustified.) John Cho is great as Sulu, and they worked the fencing in nicely. And Chekov! Chekov was freaking adorable! Though not as adorable as McCoy...

Karl Urban was completely perfect as McCoy. He was channeling DeForest Kelley, without mimicking him, and he did a genius job. And wow, if they were consciously trying to avoid the Kirk/Spock slash (and I think it likely they were) they definitely let the Kirk/McCoy slash slip under the wire. Given Urban and Chris Pine, I'm totally leaning toward the K/M pairing. And I've been a Kirk/Spock (or at least Kirk&Spock) gal practically from infancy. Hmmm.

Even without the Kirk/Spock vibe, though, I really like the new versions of my two favourite characters. And I didn't think I would. In photos, Chris Pine looks like a generic pretty boy, and I already pretty much hated Zachary Quinto from my limited viewing of Heroes. (I am, shall we say, not a fan of Heroes.) But they're both perfect. Pine is much rougher on the screen than he looks, and that grittier quality really helps him make the role of Kirk his own. And Quinto really was born to play Spock. He's got a lovely surface calm that you just know hides enormous depths of emotion. And they can both act.

I can't wait to see it again. I'm totally dragging the Sweetie to see it, kicking and screaming if I have to. (He is definitely not a Trekkie. Though he is completely a Spock/McCoy fan. Go figure.)

Comments

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Oooh now I'm encouraged. I've been debating whether to see it or not.

I'm not a fan of Heroes either. Hell, I couldn't even watch it when Christopher Eccleston was on there and believe me I tried... Yes, usually I can manage shallow, thanks for asking. :D

I'm going to assume that you've seen Killa's great pon farr vid and the funny Monty Python one else I'd be doing the linky thing right now. :D

[siskiou.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear you liked it!

ST:TOS was my first real fandom, and I loved it for the friendship between the 3 main characters.
I wasn't impressed with the stills I've seen, particularly of Kirk!

My husband wants us to go and see the movie for our upcoming wedding anniversary and I'm of two minds.
On one hand I really want to see it, on the other I worry about his ruining ST:TOS for me.
And now I hear a lot about the Spock/Uhura romance, which sounds a little like: "Ha! You are not getting this one, Kirk!" to me (meaning they did it because of the Tomcat!Kirk criticism, but how does this fit with the character of Spock as we know him?).

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

And wow, if they were consciously trying to avoid the Kirk/Spock slash (and I think it likely they were) they definitely let the Kirk/McCoy slash slip under the wire.

They so did. And yet! I see post after post cheering the Kirk/McCoy slashiness, and post after post of people being surprised at how much they like Spock/Uhura, and yet the fic is still 99.9% Kirk/Spock. If everyone sees K/Mc and likes K/Mc, where's the fic?!

Sigh. The (tongue-in-cheek) bitterness of the non-dominant pairing slasher, woe, alas. (Nothing against K/S, of course. They're awesome, as always. Just... share! *g*)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Still not convinced. *g* I'll probably see it when it comes to HBO, or something (though I've certainly read enough to feel like I've already seen it!) While they saved enough of the original to automatically get a lot of the original fans' money, too much has changed (the whole thing with Uhura, for one, the fact that Kirk doesn't earn the captaincy but pretty much gets it by default, which is a major change in his charater, imo, for another) for, as they themselves admit, it to be "your father's Trek." That's my generation they're talking about. They're right, it's not my Trek.

But mostly I'm concerned about the fandom. There's already been fic written based on the movie, fic where everything that was, is no longer. Abrams use of the time-travel plot devise (with some pretty big plot holes to go along with it,) effectively destroyed the original "universe." It's as if they made movie where they took Bodie and Doyle and changed many of those large and small characterizations and physical qualities that make them who they are for you. Doyle no longer was an honest cop who had the courage to turn in the bad apples but maybe was one of those bad apples who wasn't quite bad enough to be accused of anything. Maybe Bodie's background is all changed around so that his mystery is blunted. He wasn't a mercenary, he was a missionary. Oh, and they're not partners except for in the movie. It would probably be a great AU, but as their new reality?

[pxr5.livejournal.com]

I adored Karl Urban. For me, he really made the film. Plus, I found the humor to be a good addition. (It helps to know that I'm *not* and never have been a trek fan.)

Chekov was a bit too Wesley Crusher for my tastes, but was good otherwise. I didn't like the new Sulu. Quinto, for me, was only so-so, as I find the way he was acting Spock was too similar to Sylar, and I kept expecting him to rip Kirk's head off :-)

I liked Pine more than I ever have Shatner. ...and Pegg was good, but he should have been in more of it, rather than waiting for not!Hoth.

My bigger problem came in the movie!physics, which were ridiculous to completely implausible, but hey...that's hollywood.

Otherwise, I thought it was good! I'm a nitpicker born, but I definitely hope they do another one.

(So what did you think of Eric Bana?)

[phantomas.livejournal.com]

I am definitely encouraged to go and see it now :D

*peeks ears* what is Swordman and Drunken Master, precious, what is it?

*g*

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to work out a time to go see this with another friend who works shifts (not an easy feat!) but your review has made me even more determined to get to it. I LOVE Simon Pegg anyway so Scotty was on to a winner from the off with me, but I'm muchly intrigued by the K/M. Sounds promising...

Thanks for the balanced review - I'm looking forward to it now!

[sooguy.livejournal.com]

I am still trying to find to go see this!

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

I didn't see the Spock/Uhuru pairing as an attempt to foil the Kirk/Spock people, although you could well be right. To me it seemed more of an attempt to give Star Trek an ongoing mature adult relationship because, let's face it, Trek as a whole isn't exactly famous for them. I bet they won't be able to resist a few slashy moments in upcoming films... just to keep *everyone* interested. Plus, slashers don't really need canon to write good fic do we? ;-) I'm hoping they won't relegate Uhuru to the role of 'just' a girlfriend because my impression was that they plan to do things a bit differently this time around. And I'm so excited about a Spock who has decided to accept that he has feelings!

I gave up on Heroes after 2 seasons so was not at all thrilled to see that ZQ had been cast as Spock. How wrong I was - he's a revelation! As you said, a very sensitive performance.

And yes, I loved Karl Urban too, and Simon Pegg's Scotty which is played much more for laughs... so I suppose that would appeal to me. I wasn't sure about Kirk. I like the actor but Kirk was *so* gung ho to the point of immature in this movie and that was shock, as the old Kirk did have a certain presence about him. Early days yet, I suppose.

I can't wait to see it again either and plan to drag my OH back to the cinema within a couple of weeks if poss.

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

Yoo hoooo!

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