It is with great sorrow that one of the most beloved characters of Star Trek, or rather the actor who played the logical one that is Spock, has passed away and so I decided that after spending the last several 100th anniversary posts doing nothing but LEGO, it felt high time to change things around and so from now until I get sick of doing blogging, every time I reach a milestone post, it will be dedicated specifically to the franchises that I really do love and the first of these is Star Trek. I've been an avid fan of Star Wars for so many years and its only just recently that I have decided to get into Star Trek. I haven't watched much of the television show, but I've read comic books and saw the last 2 films so you could say that I've done enough to understand it all and so I have. So to celebrate 900 posts and pay tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy (who even though is known worldwide as Spock, was also the voice actor for Master Xehanort in the Kingdom Hearts series), let us go where no man has gone before:
The Motion Picture
So before we get started, there's a few things that some of you will need to know before seeing these films. An understanding of the television show that the films spawned from would help, but otherwise, there are many comic books out there that can get you up to speed. There's even a few that accompany the films as an alternative to the film with it following everything that happens in the film, but with some noticeable changes. Whether or not they are better than the film or not, that's for you to decide. Anyway, so the original film series as a whole, serves as a sequel if not a successor to the original television series with much of the original cast reprising their roles and a wide range of creative minds writing and producing the films. So the film takes place in the year 2273 where a Starfleet monitoring station called Epsilon Nine detects an alien force that's hidden in a massive cloud of energy which destroys some of the ships belonging to the Klingon Empire and the station too. On Earth, the Starship Enterprise is undergoing a major refit and with it being the only ship that is near enough to the energy clouds, its then dispatched to investigate, with its systems being tested along the way and with James T. Kirk (reprised by William Shatner) in command with much of his original crew as well. Now I've been told that there seems to be this pattern where every odd numbered film is bad whereas every even numbered film is good. I don't know why this is, but I'm sure there is a reason for it (and it just so happens to be role reversal in the case of the reboot trilogy). As the first of many Star Trek films, chances are that it wouldn't be perfect because even with the original group of people who worked on the television series as well, it doesn't mean that the film will be as good as the show and as someone who hasn't seen the original series, but knows a great deal of it, I just thought it was OK. The visual effects and other parts of the film do drag on, but I'd say it was a good attempt at a film, but obviously with more work on story, effects and other things, it will no doubt do a lot better and I can say that after this film, it certainly did (well for the most part anyway). 7/10
The Wrath of Khan
Set 12 years after the first film and having a new producer following the poor performance of the last film, we see Kirk watching over a simulation session of Spock's (reprised by the late Leonard Nimoy) trainees. The simulation has the members of the Enterprise handling a mission to rescue the crew of a severely damaged ship. Later on, Dr. McCoy (reprised by the late DeForest Kelley) joins Kirk on his birthday and seeing him in low spirits, advises him to get a new command and not grow old behind a desk. Meanwhile, Khan (reprised by the late Ricardo Montalban) who hasn't been seen for 15 years, emerges and captures 2 Starfleet members who are Pavel Chekov (reprised by Walter Koenig) and Clark Terrell (played by the late Paul Winfield) and using mind control methods, has them lead Kirk towards him so that he can have the revenge he's always wanted on him which leads to the two going into battle which has some consequences on both sides. If I'm being honest, there were parts of the film that I didn't get which is down to the fact that this is a sort of sequel to an episode of the original series which involved Khan in some form. Anyway, the film is great. It managed to be a much better film than the first one with some great iconic lines, great battle scenes and it handles the death of some of the characters quite well. Great work guys. 9/10
The Search for Spock
The first film of the series to be directed by one of its cast members Leonard Nimoy and serving as the centre of a story arc that began in the last film. So without giving away any spoilers (though the name of the film may have give it away already), the Enterprise returns to Earth following the battle against Khan with one of the casualties being Spock who's mind has been handed over to McCoy. Kirk finds that the only way for Spock to lay rest, is for his mind and body to be whole again or otherwise, both he and McCoy will die and with no other choice, Kirk and his crew steal the Enterprise to set course to Spock's planet and save him as it were. It is quite complicated to talk about a film that is full of spoilers from the events of the last film, but I think I handled it well here. Anyway, so of the bad odd numbered films, this one is actually not as bad as people may think it is. Nimoy does a great job at directing as he does with his acting and the film captures the spirit of the original series for what it is, even though I personally haven't seen the show, but know a great deal of it. I don't have any problems with it, but I will say that its good, but not great. 8/10
The Voyage Home
Nimoy's second film that he directs is also the finale of the 3 part story arc. The crew of the Enterprise are all living in exile and with Spock who is slowly recovering from his resurrection, they all agree to head home to face trail for the theft and destruction of the Enterprise (sorry for the spoilers there). However, a probe has arrived on Earth and it looks like it could see Earth's destruction unless the call is answered by the song of a humpback whale who are extinct in the present, but not in the past. This then has Kirk attempt time travel where the crew will arrive in Earth's past to retrieve a humpback whale in order to save the Earth and this would then see them try to cope with life before space travel. This one I felt was very creative in the sense that it uses little to no visual effects and focuses heavily on real life stuff which given the premise of the film, I felt was a great and original idea all around and it works well. What's even more great about this, is that the whales are for the most part, real and the crew decided to limit the amount of animatronics to make it as real as possible and it was great. Unfortunately, this was the last Star Trek film that Nimoy directed which is a shame really because these two films have given him a chance to try out being a director rather than always being a cast member and I like it. But I think with him out of the directing chair, the series may never be quite the same again, for better or worse. 9/10
The Final Frontier
The first and only film of the series to be directed by William Shatner (and given the poor reception that the film got, I'm glad it stayed that way) and well, let's just have a look at it. So following from the last film, Kirk and crew are enjoying shore leave with Kirk, McCoy and Spock camping. However their shore leave is interrupted when Starfleet Command orders Kirk's crew to go and rescue some human and alien hostages on the planet Nimbus III which they agree to do, unbeknownst to them that some Klingons are after them due to the captain wanting Kirk for personal glory. Kirk and crew discover that Spock's half brother Sybok (played by Laurence Luckinbill) is behind the hostage crisis who only wanted to lure a ship for a personal venture of his which is to find God at the centre of the galaxy and reluctantly, Kirk agrees to help him. This has been considered to be one of the worst if not, the worst film of all the Star Trek films that are out there. I mean it is just so bad. Its dull, the story is a mess, the action sequences are poor, it is just bad all around. Shatner should've never taken directing duties in the first place, but hey at least the next film and the final film of the original series makes up for it. 4/10
The Undiscovered Country
Serving as the last film of the original series as well as the last one to feature the entire cast of the original television series, the one that is in some way dedicated to the franchise creator who died prior to the film's release and the one that celebrates the franchise's 25th anniversary. Yeah, there is a lot of pressure here so let's see how it performs with a limited budget that was given from the last film. So following the destruction of a Klingon moon, the Klingons (who's empire has gone into turmoil) sue for peace with their long standing enemy, the United Federation of Planets. However with Kirk not trusting Klingons for something they did to his family in the past and things getting awry for both sides, it seems that getting peace may be more harder to get that it sounds. I think after a few bad films and a lot of fan service, this film manages to end the original trilogy on a high note, giving the fans one last chance to see their favourite characters in action once more before a new crew takes over and its great. Its light hearted, full of humorous moments and action packed bits and just a great way to say farewell to Kirk's crew. 9/10
Generations
Now when you have a film with Generations in the title, chances are that it would be seen as a crossover between a present and a former set of main characters that the show had and at the release of this film, still had and well that's pretty much the case here. In the past, Kirk, Scotty (reprised by the late James Doohan) and Chekov attend the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B. During the voyage, the ship is tasked with saving 2 El-Aurain ships which are both transporting survivors of the Borg annihilation from a strange energy ribbon. The Enterprise is able to save a few of the people on the ship, but the ship itself is caught in the ribbon and so Kirk goes to help get the ship moving, which then leads to the part he is in to be exposed to the vacuum of space. He is then presumed to be dead. In the present, current Enterprise captain Jean-Luc Picard (reprised by Patrick Stewart) finds that he is the last of his family to still be living and is feeling regret because of it. But his regret is cut short when he comes across one of those people that were saved in the past who wants to return to that energy ribbon which he calls the Nexus, but does so using various methods which often lead him and Picard to be enemies in some form. As a sort of crossover between the 2 shows, I thought it was great to see Picard and Kirk sharing scenes together and seeing them both in action, but as for the rest of the film, it does feel very undeveloped. Some people say its like watching an episode of The Next Generation with it being twice the length of an original episode while others claim that despite the good things that the film has going, its still quite dissatisfying. I don't know, I mean I think its OK, but could've been done better in my eyes. 7/10
First Contact
So following from the idea of having a cast member direct a Star Trek film, this film was directed by Jonathan Frakes who plays William Riker in both the show and these films. Anyway, so Picard wakes up from a nightmare of his where he is assimilated by the Borg to a distress call that the Borg are attacking the Earth. However, despite given orders to do another thing entirely, he chooses to disobey orders after hearing that the fleet are losing to go and assist. But in doing so, he and the crew are sent into a vortex and find the Earth populated entirely by the Borg, meaning that they changed the timeline. In a desperate attempt to save themselves and mankind, the crew go and stop the Borg before history changes for the worse. Now a lot of people have said that of all the good things the film has done, the one thing that everyone was pleased about, was that the film only has the Next Generation cast and not any of the original series cast and for me, it didn't bother me as such, but it does make it so that the film doesn't make the franchise as a whole, dated so that's good. Even though I haven't watched the TV show, I'm glad that the film feels like more of an actual, genuine film than just an extended episode of the TV show so that's great. I like it a lot. 9/10
Insurrection
The second and last of Jonathan Frakes's Star Trek films is also the last of the odd numbered films which no doubt means that its going to suck. The film begins with Data (reprised by Brent Spiner) being sent on an undercover mission on a planet where being the android that he is, malfunctions and accidentally reveals plans of a joint task force observing the beings that he is observing. Picard on the other hand, grows suspicious when a superior of his tells him that the Enterprise is no longer needed and that they require Data's systematics. Picard of course ignores all this and he and his ship go to capture Data which they succeed in doing. Arriving on this planet, the crew soon discover of the technologically advanced race that they are in the presence of, though this is mostly due to an excessive amount of cosmetic surgery that they do which has an effect on the crew. Picard soon realises that this so called superior of his has big plans for the people who live on this planet and does all he can to stop him, before its too late. The film is one of those OK odd numbered films as its plays out OK, but there are still problems with it. It is the first Star Trek film to be fully computer generated which actually works well here and the directing and the performance of some of the characters is great. The downsides are that it yet again feels like watching an extended episode of the show and there are a number of inconsistencies in the film which I'm only saying comes from what a reviewer has said of the film and I will agree on that as I have done plenty of research into it. Its OK, just needs to be better than it is. 7/10
Nemesis
The last film of the Next Generation trilogy also saw the franchise being doomed for all eternity, until the reboot in 2009 and well, let's see why. So Riker bids farewell to being part of Picard's crew as he gets married to Deanna Troi (reprised by Marina Sirtis) and the crew come across an energy reading which Picard, Data and Worf (reprised by Michael Dorn) go to investigate, only to find that its an android that resembles Data which ends up being an earlier form of the said android. The crew are then tasked to do a diplomatic mission, during which Picard meets what seems to be a clone of him and this then has the Enterprise go into yet another ship battle, with a particular android making a sacrifice in the process. I think by now, we are all thinking the same thing. The series has run its course and the franchise is blowing too much steam. However, the film is only considered to be bad by the fact that the director has not seen a single Next Generation episode and I'm just coming out right now in saying that Frake should've been put in the directing chair for this one because at least then it would've had a chance, not the mention that there was supposed to be another film after this one which would've concluded the series the right way. But as I say, the series has run its course and I think I speak for everyone when I say enough is enough. 4/10
Its not the best film series there is, but it does have a lot of creative talent involved and has always been there more for the fans than anyone else, but I'd say that even if you're not a Trekkie, you'll still enjoy some of these films for what they are. But try and get an idea of what the show is like before watching these films, or you'll be left confused. 6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment