|
| Reviewer : |
BJH |
Rating : |
 |
| Review : |
Alas, the first film of the franchise is the Slow-Motion picture. The plot is really nothing more than the story for an episode stretched, contorted and warped to almost two hours of boredom. The picture starts off promising enough, but after the first 20 minutes, you find your attention beginning to wander. A full 30 minutes of scenes could have been chopped, and should have been, but weren't, to the film detriment. That being said, the VFX truly are spectacular, but you should only watch this fiilm if you want a purely 'thinking' film, or as a cure for insomnia. |
|
| Reviewer : |
Indefatigable |
Rating : |
|
| Review : |
Well, visually, this is one of the most impressive films I have ever seen. It's up there with 2001 in terms of cinematography, the sight of the Enterprise (a massive ship by 20th Century standards) looking like an insect when alongside the V'Ger craft was remarkable. It was all motion control as well, I have great respect for whoever made that model. So many strange things, both inside as well as out. Then we have the refitted and updated Enterprise, a very graceful ship, incredibly detailed and realistic. Maybe she's lost some of the simple elegance of the original, but still great. But special effects and models are not everything. Here, we have a good story, but perhaps not brilliant. There is a strange, mysterious force heading for Earth, plus the clash between Kirk and Decker, and Spock's return. Spock transits from being stiffer and starker than ever back to his normal self after the (again visually impressive) venture into the interior. Then the revelation at the end that this vast thing is all based around a tiny piece of NASA hardware launched centuries ago. Still, this all doesn't take away from the fact that we were watching a rehash of "The Changeling", with elements from "The Immunity Syndrome" and "The Corbomite Maneuver" stretched out to two and a half hours. Truly "The Slow-Motion Picture"! As for the origin of the Borg idea, all I'll say is that Rodenberry once said that the Machine Planet was the Borg homeworld. |
|
| Reviewer : |
Bob |
Rating : |
 |
| Review : |
First, the bad - it seems that they were trying perhaps too hard to emulate "2001: A Space Odyssey" by having a movie with very little action, a highly cerebral plot, and detailed special effects. While the latter two aspects worked out reasonably well, the end product is comes across as a television-length plot stretched to over two hours. They clearly tried to insert some sub-plots and filler material. The interplay between Decker and Ilia develops well, and factors crucially into the ending. Meanwhile, the tension between Decker and Kirk over "ownership" of the Enterprise emerges early on, especially during the wormhole scene, but this thread is somehow quickly forgotten and the two somehow become pals for the rest of the movie. As for the other characters, Spock's own personal journey is interesting, to say the least, but the rest of the crew seem confined to being set-dressing. On the whole, the movie well deserves its reputation as the "Slow-Motion Picture". Still, TMP has a lot going for it. As always, there is a strong moral undercurrent, especially to do with the concept of "humanity". In a sense, Spock, V'ger and Decker each have to deal with their own human qualities. Additionally, we get plenty of spectacular visual effects - the Klingon battle at the beginning injected a never-before-felt sense of gravity and power into each of the torpedoes, while the highlight of the film has to be the flyby of the gorgeous Enterprise refit, still the most graceful incarnation of the Big E. Playing throughout the movie is Jerry Goldsmith's masterful score, especially the main theme that has come to be synonymous with Star Trek as a whole. While it may be flawed, and to some even outright boring, do not forget how TMP's success launched the Star Trek film series, which would go on to spawn the TNG era, thus making virtually everything that came afterward, possible. |
|
