Comments | ed_rex: J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, the first 30 minutes

ed_rex

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, the first 30 minutes

Jul 28, 2009 13:40

Star Trek: The first thirty minutes or,
Why I (almost) never go out to the movies anymore

More years ago than I care to count, the science fiction writer and editor Judith Merril taught me one of the only vital rules of writing.

"When you're editing your work, think about every word in every sentence of every paragraph. If anything doesn't have ( Read more... )

review, star trek, film, science fiction

Comments 10

(The comment has been removed)

Re: :[ ed_rex July 28 2009, 23:17:34 UTC

Ah! sweet contradictions! I'm pretty sure this is the first thing I've seen by Abrams, but based on it I'll have to withold the "genius" label (no surprise there, I'm sure).

strider7901 July 31 2009, 01:27:51 UTC

I think the movie was intentionally made to hit a large age group--not just people who remember what happened over 30 years ago. So with that observation, I think the plot was dumbdown a bit. I'm not much of a fan but I liked everything before Enterprise, so I found it delightful. Probably more hilarious than the general audience because there were some pretty messed up scenes.

Yes, but ... ed_rex August 1 2009, 19:40:02 UTC

There were some delightful moments, at least for fans. But I still stand by my critique of the first half-hour. And that sound and fury, signifying what could have been put into a brief bit of dialogue.

"That Jim Kirk's a brilliant kid, but he never got along with his step-father and he's got a lot of anger-management issues. I think Starfleet would be just what he needs to straighten himself up."

Re: Yes, but ... strider7901 August 3 2009, 01:07:36 UTC

Good point. After some thought, I was thinking the same thing...I think it was in the first five minutes, he was in the car and driving off the edge with the cops? HMMMM...

kimchalister August 1 2009, 05:57:24 UTC

As the last remaining person on Earth who is not ADD or ADHD, the one you linked to goes too fast for me. Something in between the two would be good.

It's not a question of ADD *or* ADHD ed_rex August 1 2009, 19:42:33 UTC

The Doctor Who intro works quite a bit better in larger size and the music works better to set the mood - Sure this is a quick over-view of someone you don't you, but keep watching, because things are going to get exciting!.

But your mileage may vary, of course.

paul_carlson August 2 2009, 07:23:01 UTC

I've never been much into Dr. Who, but that clip does make me wonder what's going to happen next. Geoff, I like Star Trek enough that those 30 minutes weren't nearly long enough, but you do make a valid point.

Could be you have a future in movies! :-)

Never the movies ... ed_rex August 4 2009, 05:54:39 UTC

... not unless I had full control. Bad enough dealing with art-by-teamwork, but art by blessing of crass money-bags? I prefer the single responsibility of fiction.

As for Doctor Who, I don't suppose I'm telling you anything knew by admitting I'm a fan and that I think you'd get a kick out of it.

Meanwhile, I take your point about enjoying those 30 minutes. There were bits and pieces that I did, too (the guy who's playing McCoy nailed his character, without really immitating Deforest Kelly - actually, I thought the cast did an excellent job generally). But I would have preferred a much higher dialogue to fist-fight/starship-fight/car-over-cliff ratio.

Re: Never the movies ... paul_carlson August 4 2009, 23:09:03 UTC

Geoff, I'm told that Tom Clancy has a tight rein on his movies, as he buys in as Executive Producer. Beyond that, we need to wait until technology can place many intricate terabytes at our disposal.

Great new Trek cast, and half the fan-ladies I know have got a crush on Young Spock.
Yeah, there are a lot of fist fights. Still, that is true to the original series.
When they do a Young Pickard someday, there will be tons more dialog. ;-D

Re: Never the movies ... ed_rex August 5 2009, 16:24:10 UTC

If I ever finish the novel and if it makes me as rich as Tom Clancy, then I'll by damn executive produce the movie version of my book, too! But (as you know) most writers don't have that kind of clout.

And you're right that there were a lot of fist-fights in the original series - which some folks ("ladies" in particular, I suspect; you might get a kick out of this series of Star Trek re-watch blogs at tor.com. The female half of the duo keeps careful track of ripped shirt scenes. Though that's not why you might enjoy reading it). Mind you, my personal favourite episodes tended to favour dialogue over action.

Which kind of goes to one of my main objections about it. If I know Kirk, Sulu, et al, are going to not only survive but win - and I do, because it's a franchise - I need something more than action to hold my attention.

On the upside, Scotty so quickly picking up on old-Spock - "Oh! Are you a time traveller, then?" - was both delightful and made sense. If you and I might think of time travel as a possible explanation for ( ... )