Star Trek 2009: Third viewing (in as many days!)
So, I actually ended up grabbing another viewing of Star Trek last night (I don't think that I've ever watched a movie three times in its opening weekend) and wanted to share additional squee and thoughts.
I love that every single member of the crew contributes to the ultimate success of the mission and all in ways that affirm their value in where they're placed on the crew.
1. Uhura hears the Klingon message that lets Kirk realize that this is the same storm that the Kelvin ran into. Also, if she hadn't gone to that bar on Iowa three years earlier, Kirk might not have gotten into a fight, met Captain Pike, and joined Star Fleet. In which case, Earth would have been as screwed as Vulcan was.
2. Sulu saves Kirk's life in the first fight against the Romulans (also, on a funny side note, if he hadn't fucked up with the dampers, they would have gotten to Vulcan and the same time as the rest of the fleet and might have ended up destroyed before Nero noticed that they were the Enterprise) and is a piloting machine of awesome at the end.
3. Chekov saves Sulu and Kirk from freefall; he also has the suggestion of warping to Saturn's moon, Titan, and using it to cloak their signature so that they can sneak up on the Narada (Nero's ship).
4. McCoy gets Kirk onto the Enterprise through shifty medical means. Which are awesome. And funny.
5. Scotty gets Kirk (and himself) back onto the Enterprise, comes up with the idea that saves them from getting sucked into the black hole at the end.
6. Spock maroons Kirk on Delta Vega. Hee (Spock likes it when people get marooned on places named Delta Vega). No, there's also the fact that his presence on the Enterprise probably saved their lives -- Nero wanted Spock to suffer and probably would have just blown up the ship (after nabbing Pike) if Spock hadn't been there. Also, his use of a mindmeld led himself and Kirk to the ship and to Pike's rescue.
7. Notice how many of the above things are about Kirk and/or getting Kirk on the Enterprise? Yeah. Kirk brings them all together in a never-say-die combination of awesome. He's the guy who'll say "Yeah, we can take on the ship from the future with vastly superior weapons technology, all by ourselves." More than that, he's the guy who says that and makes it true, even if it means cheating. Kirk has always been willing to throw himself in a middle of a beatdown for the greater good -- that's a trait that's even more pronounced in this version of him.
On the subject of Star Fleet uniforms, there are several women throughout the film who are wearing pants instead of the minidress. This leads me to conclude that it's a choice thing (also, most women in the gray uniform are wearing pants, but one or two are wearing knee-length skirts instead). Did not spot any guys wearing the minidress, will keep an eye out in my next viewing.
I love, love, love that we got to both hear and see how very smart and gifted our crew is. We get to see why they all belong on the Enterprise. Uhura telling Spock that she's assigned to the Enterprise continues to be a source of joy, as is the lovely way Sulu tells Kirk that his combat training is in fencing. And Chekov running down the corridor shouting "I can do that!" And hearing Bones complaining before we see him. And Kirk, "Well, not only [farm animals]." Snerk. And he actually genuinely made Uhura laugh with that.
I love that the movie had such a sense of humor, including both slapstick and teasing the main characters, but did it with such love that it didn't ever diminish the characters (I love it when Kirk hits his head on the low beam and just keeps going -- it doesn't stop him from throwing off a disrespectful greeting to the guys he fought with the night before or even give him a single moment of embarrassment. I think that this Kirk may actually be immune to the feeling of embarrassment. Though, original Kirk was not overburdened with the ability to be embarrassed, either).
The opening sequence makes me cry harder with each new viewing. This could become a problem if I keep going out to watch the movie. I am also so in love with the soundtrack. I found myself humming parts of the score after I got home.
In further refining of my timeline thoughts:
1) If it's twenty-five years later that Spock emerged, then Kirk entered the Academy at age 22 in this version. And he's 25 when he becomes Captain of the Enterprise. In the original timeline, he entered the Academy at 17 and becomes a captain at the age of 31.
This is apparently what happens if you save Earth, Star Fleet, the Federation, and possibly the universe on your first time out, while you're still technically a cadet (on suspension! Hee!). Bad boy Kirk got put in charge even earlier than golden boy ("textbook with legs") Kirk. I gotta say, I actually do find Pine's Kirk more charming and sexy than Shatner's. It's weird, because I don't generally have a bad boy thing. But apparently that's what Kirk needed to get me to really lust after him. In TOS, I find Spock hotter than Kirk, but in the reboot, I think that Kirk's hotter (Uhura, on the other hand, clearly prefers the good boys).
2) In this timeline, Kirk never knew Gary Mitchell, who was his best friend in the original Trek (and then, you know, died in the first episode). He was also never bullied by Finnegan (and this particular iteration of Kirk would push back hard at any bullying attempts, I suspect).
3) I'm still apparently really not picking up on whatever body language some people see with Spock and Uhura (and am seeing body language that they aren't) because that kiss in the lift has still really struck me as feeling like a 'first time' sort of kiss. Regardless of when it started, their relationship will definitely help make the vibe of future movies distinct from original Trek. It was always pretty clear that there wasn't any real competition for the role of Spock's favoritest person in TOS (which was reaffirmed by Spock Prime's narrow focus on Kirk in this movie -- he didn't seem to show interest in seeing any of the rest of his friends from the old days, all young again, but he went to Kirk's ceremony, as well as going to talk his younger self into going back on the Enterprise explicitly so as not to miss out on his friendship with Kirk), so... that has the potential to be interesting.
Also, I think that Kirk/Spock may have been my first OTP. Before I knew about OTPs. Because I remember, when I first read that there was fanfic for it and that it was the originator of slash, my reaction was pretty much, "Well, duh, they were in love." Because Wrath of Khan/Search for Spock leads to no other conclusion.
4) Chapel's on the ship! McCoy called after her at one point, though we didn't get to see her. It makes sense that Janice Rand isn't there, because she was new five years from now (at least, I think I remember a conversation where Kirk was all "why do I need a Yeoman? What's up with that?"). Of course, the same argument plus a season goes for Chekov, but he's so firmly identified as part of the core crew that it would have been hard for them to leave him off, even if it technically doesn't make as much sense as it should.
Additionally: SQUEE! I LOVED IT SO MUCH!
I've already got firm plans lined up to see it on Wednesday and next Sunday (that time, with my dad, who is also a huge Trek fan).
I love that every single member of the crew contributes to the ultimate success of the mission and all in ways that affirm their value in where they're placed on the crew.
1. Uhura hears the Klingon message that lets Kirk realize that this is the same storm that the Kelvin ran into. Also, if she hadn't gone to that bar on Iowa three years earlier, Kirk might not have gotten into a fight, met Captain Pike, and joined Star Fleet. In which case, Earth would have been as screwed as Vulcan was.
2. Sulu saves Kirk's life in the first fight against the Romulans (also, on a funny side note, if he hadn't fucked up with the dampers, they would have gotten to Vulcan and the same time as the rest of the fleet and might have ended up destroyed before Nero noticed that they were the Enterprise) and is a piloting machine of awesome at the end.
3. Chekov saves Sulu and Kirk from freefall; he also has the suggestion of warping to Saturn's moon, Titan, and using it to cloak their signature so that they can sneak up on the Narada (Nero's ship).
4. McCoy gets Kirk onto the Enterprise through shifty medical means. Which are awesome. And funny.
5. Scotty gets Kirk (and himself) back onto the Enterprise, comes up with the idea that saves them from getting sucked into the black hole at the end.
6. Spock maroons Kirk on Delta Vega. Hee (Spock likes it when people get marooned on places named Delta Vega). No, there's also the fact that his presence on the Enterprise probably saved their lives -- Nero wanted Spock to suffer and probably would have just blown up the ship (after nabbing Pike) if Spock hadn't been there. Also, his use of a mindmeld led himself and Kirk to the ship and to Pike's rescue.
7. Notice how many of the above things are about Kirk and/or getting Kirk on the Enterprise? Yeah. Kirk brings them all together in a never-say-die combination of awesome. He's the guy who'll say "Yeah, we can take on the ship from the future with vastly superior weapons technology, all by ourselves." More than that, he's the guy who says that and makes it true, even if it means cheating. Kirk has always been willing to throw himself in a middle of a beatdown for the greater good -- that's a trait that's even more pronounced in this version of him.
On the subject of Star Fleet uniforms, there are several women throughout the film who are wearing pants instead of the minidress. This leads me to conclude that it's a choice thing (also, most women in the gray uniform are wearing pants, but one or two are wearing knee-length skirts instead). Did not spot any guys wearing the minidress, will keep an eye out in my next viewing.
I love, love, love that we got to both hear and see how very smart and gifted our crew is. We get to see why they all belong on the Enterprise. Uhura telling Spock that she's assigned to the Enterprise continues to be a source of joy, as is the lovely way Sulu tells Kirk that his combat training is in fencing. And Chekov running down the corridor shouting "I can do that!" And hearing Bones complaining before we see him. And Kirk, "Well, not only [farm animals]." Snerk. And he actually genuinely made Uhura laugh with that.
I love that the movie had such a sense of humor, including both slapstick and teasing the main characters, but did it with such love that it didn't ever diminish the characters (I love it when Kirk hits his head on the low beam and just keeps going -- it doesn't stop him from throwing off a disrespectful greeting to the guys he fought with the night before or even give him a single moment of embarrassment. I think that this Kirk may actually be immune to the feeling of embarrassment. Though, original Kirk was not overburdened with the ability to be embarrassed, either).
The opening sequence makes me cry harder with each new viewing. This could become a problem if I keep going out to watch the movie. I am also so in love with the soundtrack. I found myself humming parts of the score after I got home.
In further refining of my timeline thoughts:
1) If it's twenty-five years later that Spock emerged, then Kirk entered the Academy at age 22 in this version. And he's 25 when he becomes Captain of the Enterprise. In the original timeline, he entered the Academy at 17 and becomes a captain at the age of 31.
This is apparently what happens if you save Earth, Star Fleet, the Federation, and possibly the universe on your first time out, while you're still technically a cadet (on suspension! Hee!). Bad boy Kirk got put in charge even earlier than golden boy ("textbook with legs") Kirk. I gotta say, I actually do find Pine's Kirk more charming and sexy than Shatner's. It's weird, because I don't generally have a bad boy thing. But apparently that's what Kirk needed to get me to really lust after him. In TOS, I find Spock hotter than Kirk, but in the reboot, I think that Kirk's hotter (Uhura, on the other hand, clearly prefers the good boys).
2) In this timeline, Kirk never knew Gary Mitchell, who was his best friend in the original Trek (and then, you know, died in the first episode). He was also never bullied by Finnegan (and this particular iteration of Kirk would push back hard at any bullying attempts, I suspect).
3) I'm still apparently really not picking up on whatever body language some people see with Spock and Uhura (and am seeing body language that they aren't) because that kiss in the lift has still really struck me as feeling like a 'first time' sort of kiss. Regardless of when it started, their relationship will definitely help make the vibe of future movies distinct from original Trek. It was always pretty clear that there wasn't any real competition for the role of Spock's favoritest person in TOS (which was reaffirmed by Spock Prime's narrow focus on Kirk in this movie -- he didn't seem to show interest in seeing any of the rest of his friends from the old days, all young again, but he went to Kirk's ceremony, as well as going to talk his younger self into going back on the Enterprise explicitly so as not to miss out on his friendship with Kirk), so... that has the potential to be interesting.
Also, I think that Kirk/Spock may have been my first OTP. Before I knew about OTPs. Because I remember, when I first read that there was fanfic for it and that it was the originator of slash, my reaction was pretty much, "Well, duh, they were in love." Because Wrath of Khan/Search for Spock leads to no other conclusion.
4) Chapel's on the ship! McCoy called after her at one point, though we didn't get to see her. It makes sense that Janice Rand isn't there, because she was new five years from now (at least, I think I remember a conversation where Kirk was all "why do I need a Yeoman? What's up with that?"). Of course, the same argument plus a season goes for Chekov, but he's so firmly identified as part of the core crew that it would have been hard for them to leave him off, even if it technically doesn't make as much sense as it should.
Additionally: SQUEE! I LOVED IT SO MUCH!
I've already got firm plans lined up to see it on Wednesday and next Sunday (that time, with my dad, who is also a huge Trek fan).