*boldly goes f*%$ing wild with adrenaline*
Wow, Thursday of let's-stress-your-heart-with-crazy-excitement.
Franz Ferdinand was bloody gods damn awesome. I hate tall people at concerts, but like people who accidentally shove me toward the front because they're too drunk/high to be smart. I'd go into more about how perfect that concert was, but... I can't do it justice. I did scream myself hoarse, which I don't normally do. So there you are.
And then there was Trek. The cause of much concern/happy for me over the past several months. J.J. Abrams is actually a Sarah Lawrence alum, so if he'd really screwed this one up, oooohhh, I'd have found out where he lived, folks. Spoilers follow. Cue the original ST Theme. Damn straight, they used it in the end credits. ;)
I should point out that I, weirdly, am more an OS Trek fan. This is strange because due to my age group, I should be Next Gen all the way. But frankly, though I've had a crush on Data since I was 3, old school Star Trek has been a special love of mine for as long as I can remember. My first film (in the theater, as an infant) was Star Trek IV. I think it made a lasting impression. I have seen every single episode of the Original Series, many of them half a dozen times or more. Crappy special effects, at times over-the-top acting, and styrofoam landscapes have never deterred me. It's simply the best.
Needless to say, when J.J. Abrams said he was going back to the start of things and recasting our original crew in the form of young hotties, I was concerned. Particularly at the revelation that one of my favorite characters of all time (Spock was my 12-year-old crush that lasted a very long time) was going to be played by Sylar. Erm, okay....
Sometimes J.J.'s Bigger, Louder, Faster, More Dramatic Than You've Ever Imagined! doesn't work so well. Lost is a great example of that. From what I've heard lately, so is Heroes. Well, I have happy tidings of great joy my fellow geek brothers and sisters; our beloved starship is in able hands.
And she's a beauty too. She even still has her giant satellite dish in its proper place. She sparkles from the walls and probably even has that New Ship smell.
Let's get the big revelation out of the way. Because everyone was wondering how they were going to start up OS Trek without completely fucking continuity up it's tight arse. So we find out half way through that due to what Nero did, he has created what is essentially an alternate reality. Now, if I interpreted this the way it seemed they were putting it, this does not void the entire Star Trek Universe As We Know It. It's almost like a Farscape Unrealized Reality; it has created another option, a different route, because if it hadn't, old Spock couldn't be there in the first place - he wouldn't exist as he is if it simply wiped out the old universe. So they basically figured out a way to do whatever the hell they wanted with these characters in the upcoming films without having to worry about continuity. This is an alternate journey, another possibility. As long as they are true to the characters, they're in good shape.
Um... wow. They did it. It works. I can't complain. And it means that nothing from our beloved canon has been raped at all. It's a reboot: the clever way.
It does mean that certain things come to pass which are devestating: 1) the Spock from original canon apparently lives out the rest of his life in the past of an alternate universe where he must now help rebuild his dying race. That breaks my heart. And how the hell is this going to affect this new ST universe at large, having crushed the Vulcan race that way? It is (dare I say it?) a fascinating key change. Of course, there is this alternate Spock losing his mother at such a young age. This seems to have led to a better relationship with Sarek, his father, but it does mean that certain things will never happen (mainly the events in the OS ep "Journey to Babel" and discussions between Spock and his parents in the OS films). That is pretty damned tragic, seeing as those were all important points in Spock's development into his older wiser self. It will have to occur some other way now.
It also has the affect of making Kirk grow up without his father, of making him peers with people I believe he had originally graduated before, of giving him a bitter sort of start that, miraculously, still makes him into the same man we know (and love. Admit it, guys). And makes him into that man earlier don't forget - OU (that's Original Universe) Kirk didn't make Captain five years before he was even supposed to be allowed to.
Now that I've harped on that for a while, why don't we move onto the characters.
Chekov - was so. fucking. cute. I was pleased that the crisis caused by Nero cleared the age problems I was worried they were going to gloss over; Chekov was always supposed to be younger than everyone and only joined the Enterprise in Season 2 of the OS. Lucky they found an excuse to get him in there ahead of schedule. And he's bright-eyed and eager as hell and still having accent barrier problems and only friggin' 17, just like he should be. Couldn't love him more.
Sulu - Poor Sulu is usually the character who gets less time than he deserves because he's just too damn dependable and easy going. Basically, he ends up getting shafted for being less high strung than everyone else. XD The same was true in this film, but I must say, they get a ginormous pile of brownie points for bringing back one bit of background that had been left by the wayside for too long: "What sort of combat training do you have?" "Fencing." Can it be? Yes Virginia, there is a fencing helmsman again, at last. Oooo, look at him go.....
Uhura - Lemme start by saying that Spock and Uhura having a thing going on completely makes sense to me; I always felt that that pair had a special sort of affection for each other, even back in the old episodes. We could constantly see Spock looking out for Uhura whenever the bridge got knocked about, always catching her and checking to make sure she was all right, and he treated her with a particular deference that he showed to few others. She in return was more understanding of the understated ways in which Spock showed emotion, usually the first next to Kirk to show worry for him when he seemed distressed (next to Nurse Chapel, that is. But let's not get started on that mess >_<). So them making out really only inspired me to coo a lot. Especially since Spock so clearly needed it just then. And they're well-suited, personality wise IMHO (however, I'm hoping the writing team knows that it means trouble if they allow any kind of relationship to progress easily, as we know that once Spock properly grieves and regains enough control, he's going to have issues with all the attention he's getting from the pretty lady). I also loved how Uhura forced him to put her on the Enterprise, and did appreciate them finally showing how incredibly specialized her knowledge base has to be, shedding light for the first time on how hard her job actually is. However, I am tired of everyone suddenly revamping female characters with a lot of sass they didn't have before. There are other ways for women to be strong, guys.
Scotty - SCOTTY! I LOVE YOU! I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES!!!!&$*&$#*& ....ahem. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I do feel the need to point out that I already said this movie would be worth seeing just for the joy of watching Simon Pegg play Scotty. This still stands. Simon Pegg has brought back to Scotty something that I think a lot of people forgot or never knew about the character in the first place: Scotty is not the guy whining down in the engine room about all the mean impossible things the senior officers make him do. That's really just a dialogue of tradition at best (which was why the argument between he and Kirk at the end while the Enterprise was being sucked into the black hole was such a pitch perfect, good old fashioned laugh). Scotty is the go-to guy. The dude who enjoys the adventure of it, the possibility, especially when it seems unlikely to work. He loves it when Kirk asks him to do something crazy. He wants to break the rules and change science. He's the kid who wants to build the biggest most explodey science project of them all, just to do it. Doesn't change the fact that he's stalwart and reliable as they come, but if life on the Enterprise were boring, Scotty would not be the Chief Engineer. Simon Pegg, I salute you. I adore you. You became half the soul of this movie without even trying.
McCoy - Let's face it. No one can be DeForest Kelly's Doctor McCoy. And it's mildly amusing to watch Karl Urban attempt to occupy the shoes of a man who is admittedly much slighter than he is. He did get lucky in one respect, however; though he didn't bother to adopt McCoy's southern drawl, the character was written well enough that Urban only had to adopt the gruff, no-nonsense attitude that we know so well in order to sell himself in the part. Okay, his Kirk-babying helped. Okay, so did the sudden eruption of McCoyisms halfway into the movie. Also the revelation of where the nickname "Bones" actually comes from. And the fact that he claims to "like" Spock before he properly gets to know him, for the exact reason that the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trinity works so well - Spock doesn't let Kirk get away with his bullshit. All in all, it didn't take much for me to come to accept this McCoy as the real McCoy. (wow, that was lame of me, pay no attention to the end of that sentence >_>)
Kirk - We obviously didn't want him using Shatner-speak. Not because it's annoying (I don't really think it is, but I guess I grew up on it), but because that belongs to its namesake alone. What we really wanted was someone who embodied this Captain of the Enterprise. A captain who has never been equaled anywhere else in the Star Trek canon when it comes to pure nerve, going with your gut and that devil-may-care laugh. A man who leads because there is really nothing else he could ever do with his life. That farmboy destiny that is somehow just as pure as Luke Skywalker's ever was, but lacking the mysticism. Kirk doesn't do what he's told (can I get a whoop for the Kobayashi Maru test? best old skool reference), doesn't mind making himself look bad if the overall endgame is a good one, has no problem taking things too far as long as it works. Did Chris Pine give us that Captain Kirk? Our Captain Kirk?
Hell yes, he did.
He gave us Kirk because he understood the ratio of bravado-to-heart necessary... while also keeping in mind what a little bitch that Iowa boy was. And you were with him the whole way. Oh Kirk, I've missed you. It's good to have you back.
Spock - Zachary Quinto. I could kiss you. And I'm the first person to admit that I didn't think you'd be able to fill Leonard Nimoy's pointy-eared prosthetics. You figured out the most important method to playing Spock flawlessly: eye work. Well, that and that soothing vocal quality that just... makes you... trust him. An-- ZOMG BABY SPOCK!!!!! LOOK HOW WITTLE AND CONFUSED HE IS! DON'T TRY TO KILL KIRK, BABY SPOCK, IT'S GONNA BE OTAY!!!
...sorry. I'll attempt to control my outbursts. Scripting wise, they made a smart move - while it's ultimately Kirk's journey, the film is very centered on Spock. And this is right, because let's be honest, Spock from the start was the heart of Star Trek. Laugh at the irony all you want, but it's never been a secret. They push off right by showing us child!Spock in one of those scenarios described by Spock's mother in the OS, getting beat up by nasty Vulcan kids for being a half-breed. Man, it hurt bad enough imagining that scene in my head when I was younger. The worked in bits with Amanda, Spock's mother (yes, guys, it was Winona Ryder. Can we get over it? I thought she worked just fine) were perfect, as was the point where Spock makes his decision to join Starfleet. Because it confirmed what you knew had to be true deep down: Spock may not be okay with the fact that he himself is half human, but you do not insult his mama. It confirmed that and his ultimately human desire to distinguish himself due to what I feel is Spock's most present human emotion early in life, though he may not recognize it - Pride. Okay, pride is not exactly an emotion, but it is the result of what little emotion Spock unintentionally allows through. Yes, I'm analyzing it to the point where people stop paying attention. It's my lj, I'm allowed to indulge myself. :P
Leonard Nimoy's presence not only made the film legitimate, but it bound the movie together as a whole and brought home what is arguably the most important sci-fi character relationship in the genre's history. The first time you see Kirk and Spock standing side by side as a team, the first time you watch them lock eyes with a parallel thought, the first time you hear Spock say "Jim." They're back. They're really back.
And I hope beyond hope that they're not going away any time soon.
All in all, the movie was a chaotic, blow-by-blow seat-shaker. After all the adrenaline running through my system from the concert, the movie kind of blew me through the roof. I was shaking for a good couple of hours afterward. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Franz Ferdinand was bloody gods damn awesome. I hate tall people at concerts, but like people who accidentally shove me toward the front because they're too drunk/high to be smart. I'd go into more about how perfect that concert was, but... I can't do it justice. I did scream myself hoarse, which I don't normally do. So there you are.
And then there was Trek. The cause of much concern/happy for me over the past several months. J.J. Abrams is actually a Sarah Lawrence alum, so if he'd really screwed this one up, oooohhh, I'd have found out where he lived, folks. Spoilers follow. Cue the original ST Theme. Damn straight, they used it in the end credits. ;)
I should point out that I, weirdly, am more an OS Trek fan. This is strange because due to my age group, I should be Next Gen all the way. But frankly, though I've had a crush on Data since I was 3, old school Star Trek has been a special love of mine for as long as I can remember. My first film (in the theater, as an infant) was Star Trek IV. I think it made a lasting impression. I have seen every single episode of the Original Series, many of them half a dozen times or more. Crappy special effects, at times over-the-top acting, and styrofoam landscapes have never deterred me. It's simply the best.
Needless to say, when J.J. Abrams said he was going back to the start of things and recasting our original crew in the form of young hotties, I was concerned. Particularly at the revelation that one of my favorite characters of all time (Spock was my 12-year-old crush that lasted a very long time) was going to be played by Sylar. Erm, okay....
Sometimes J.J.'s Bigger, Louder, Faster, More Dramatic Than You've Ever Imagined! doesn't work so well. Lost is a great example of that. From what I've heard lately, so is Heroes. Well, I have happy tidings of great joy my fellow geek brothers and sisters; our beloved starship is in able hands.
And she's a beauty too. She even still has her giant satellite dish in its proper place. She sparkles from the walls and probably even has that New Ship smell.
Let's get the big revelation out of the way. Because everyone was wondering how they were going to start up OS Trek without completely fucking continuity up it's tight arse. So we find out half way through that due to what Nero did, he has created what is essentially an alternate reality. Now, if I interpreted this the way it seemed they were putting it, this does not void the entire Star Trek Universe As We Know It. It's almost like a Farscape Unrealized Reality; it has created another option, a different route, because if it hadn't, old Spock couldn't be there in the first place - he wouldn't exist as he is if it simply wiped out the old universe. So they basically figured out a way to do whatever the hell they wanted with these characters in the upcoming films without having to worry about continuity. This is an alternate journey, another possibility. As long as they are true to the characters, they're in good shape.
Um... wow. They did it. It works. I can't complain. And it means that nothing from our beloved canon has been raped at all. It's a reboot: the clever way.
It does mean that certain things come to pass which are devestating: 1) the Spock from original canon apparently lives out the rest of his life in the past of an alternate universe where he must now help rebuild his dying race. That breaks my heart. And how the hell is this going to affect this new ST universe at large, having crushed the Vulcan race that way? It is (dare I say it?) a fascinating key change. Of course, there is this alternate Spock losing his mother at such a young age. This seems to have led to a better relationship with Sarek, his father, but it does mean that certain things will never happen (mainly the events in the OS ep "Journey to Babel" and discussions between Spock and his parents in the OS films). That is pretty damned tragic, seeing as those were all important points in Spock's development into his older wiser self. It will have to occur some other way now.
It also has the affect of making Kirk grow up without his father, of making him peers with people I believe he had originally graduated before, of giving him a bitter sort of start that, miraculously, still makes him into the same man we know (and love. Admit it, guys). And makes him into that man earlier don't forget - OU (that's Original Universe) Kirk didn't make Captain five years before he was even supposed to be allowed to.
Now that I've harped on that for a while, why don't we move onto the characters.
Chekov - was so. fucking. cute. I was pleased that the crisis caused by Nero cleared the age problems I was worried they were going to gloss over; Chekov was always supposed to be younger than everyone and only joined the Enterprise in Season 2 of the OS. Lucky they found an excuse to get him in there ahead of schedule. And he's bright-eyed and eager as hell and still having accent barrier problems and only friggin' 17, just like he should be. Couldn't love him more.
Sulu - Poor Sulu is usually the character who gets less time than he deserves because he's just too damn dependable and easy going. Basically, he ends up getting shafted for being less high strung than everyone else. XD The same was true in this film, but I must say, they get a ginormous pile of brownie points for bringing back one bit of background that had been left by the wayside for too long: "What sort of combat training do you have?" "Fencing." Can it be? Yes Virginia, there is a fencing helmsman again, at last. Oooo, look at him go.....
Uhura - Lemme start by saying that Spock and Uhura having a thing going on completely makes sense to me; I always felt that that pair had a special sort of affection for each other, even back in the old episodes. We could constantly see Spock looking out for Uhura whenever the bridge got knocked about, always catching her and checking to make sure she was all right, and he treated her with a particular deference that he showed to few others. She in return was more understanding of the understated ways in which Spock showed emotion, usually the first next to Kirk to show worry for him when he seemed distressed (next to Nurse Chapel, that is. But let's not get started on that mess >_<). So them making out really only inspired me to coo a lot. Especially since Spock so clearly needed it just then. And they're well-suited, personality wise IMHO (however, I'm hoping the writing team knows that it means trouble if they allow any kind of relationship to progress easily, as we know that once Spock properly grieves and regains enough control, he's going to have issues with all the attention he's getting from the pretty lady). I also loved how Uhura forced him to put her on the Enterprise, and did appreciate them finally showing how incredibly specialized her knowledge base has to be, shedding light for the first time on how hard her job actually is. However, I am tired of everyone suddenly revamping female characters with a lot of sass they didn't have before. There are other ways for women to be strong, guys.
Scotty - SCOTTY! I LOVE YOU! I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES!!!!&$*&$#*& ....ahem. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I do feel the need to point out that I already said this movie would be worth seeing just for the joy of watching Simon Pegg play Scotty. This still stands. Simon Pegg has brought back to Scotty something that I think a lot of people forgot or never knew about the character in the first place: Scotty is not the guy whining down in the engine room about all the mean impossible things the senior officers make him do. That's really just a dialogue of tradition at best (which was why the argument between he and Kirk at the end while the Enterprise was being sucked into the black hole was such a pitch perfect, good old fashioned laugh). Scotty is the go-to guy. The dude who enjoys the adventure of it, the possibility, especially when it seems unlikely to work. He loves it when Kirk asks him to do something crazy. He wants to break the rules and change science. He's the kid who wants to build the biggest most explodey science project of them all, just to do it. Doesn't change the fact that he's stalwart and reliable as they come, but if life on the Enterprise were boring, Scotty would not be the Chief Engineer. Simon Pegg, I salute you. I adore you. You became half the soul of this movie without even trying.
McCoy - Let's face it. No one can be DeForest Kelly's Doctor McCoy. And it's mildly amusing to watch Karl Urban attempt to occupy the shoes of a man who is admittedly much slighter than he is. He did get lucky in one respect, however; though he didn't bother to adopt McCoy's southern drawl, the character was written well enough that Urban only had to adopt the gruff, no-nonsense attitude that we know so well in order to sell himself in the part. Okay, his Kirk-babying helped. Okay, so did the sudden eruption of McCoyisms halfway into the movie. Also the revelation of where the nickname "Bones" actually comes from. And the fact that he claims to "like" Spock before he properly gets to know him, for the exact reason that the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trinity works so well - Spock doesn't let Kirk get away with his bullshit. All in all, it didn't take much for me to come to accept this McCoy as the real McCoy. (wow, that was lame of me, pay no attention to the end of that sentence >_>)
Kirk - We obviously didn't want him using Shatner-speak. Not because it's annoying (I don't really think it is, but I guess I grew up on it), but because that belongs to its namesake alone. What we really wanted was someone who embodied this Captain of the Enterprise. A captain who has never been equaled anywhere else in the Star Trek canon when it comes to pure nerve, going with your gut and that devil-may-care laugh. A man who leads because there is really nothing else he could ever do with his life. That farmboy destiny that is somehow just as pure as Luke Skywalker's ever was, but lacking the mysticism. Kirk doesn't do what he's told (can I get a whoop for the Kobayashi Maru test? best old skool reference), doesn't mind making himself look bad if the overall endgame is a good one, has no problem taking things too far as long as it works. Did Chris Pine give us that Captain Kirk? Our Captain Kirk?
Hell yes, he did.
He gave us Kirk because he understood the ratio of bravado-to-heart necessary... while also keeping in mind what a little bitch that Iowa boy was. And you were with him the whole way. Oh Kirk, I've missed you. It's good to have you back.
Spock - Zachary Quinto. I could kiss you. And I'm the first person to admit that I didn't think you'd be able to fill Leonard Nimoy's pointy-eared prosthetics. You figured out the most important method to playing Spock flawlessly: eye work. Well, that and that soothing vocal quality that just... makes you... trust him. An-- ZOMG BABY SPOCK!!!!! LOOK HOW WITTLE AND CONFUSED HE IS! DON'T TRY TO KILL KIRK, BABY SPOCK, IT'S GONNA BE OTAY!!!
...sorry. I'll attempt to control my outbursts. Scripting wise, they made a smart move - while it's ultimately Kirk's journey, the film is very centered on Spock. And this is right, because let's be honest, Spock from the start was the heart of Star Trek. Laugh at the irony all you want, but it's never been a secret. They push off right by showing us child!Spock in one of those scenarios described by Spock's mother in the OS, getting beat up by nasty Vulcan kids for being a half-breed. Man, it hurt bad enough imagining that scene in my head when I was younger. The worked in bits with Amanda, Spock's mother (yes, guys, it was Winona Ryder. Can we get over it? I thought she worked just fine) were perfect, as was the point where Spock makes his decision to join Starfleet. Because it confirmed what you knew had to be true deep down: Spock may not be okay with the fact that he himself is half human, but you do not insult his mama. It confirmed that and his ultimately human desire to distinguish himself due to what I feel is Spock's most present human emotion early in life, though he may not recognize it - Pride. Okay, pride is not exactly an emotion, but it is the result of what little emotion Spock unintentionally allows through. Yes, I'm analyzing it to the point where people stop paying attention. It's my lj, I'm allowed to indulge myself. :P
Leonard Nimoy's presence not only made the film legitimate, but it bound the movie together as a whole and brought home what is arguably the most important sci-fi character relationship in the genre's history. The first time you see Kirk and Spock standing side by side as a team, the first time you watch them lock eyes with a parallel thought, the first time you hear Spock say "Jim." They're back. They're really back.
And I hope beyond hope that they're not going away any time soon.
All in all, the movie was a chaotic, blow-by-blow seat-shaker. After all the adrenaline running through my system from the concert, the movie kind of blew me through the roof. I was shaking for a good couple of hours afterward. And I wouldn't have it any other way.