Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1979
I remember when this movie came out. It was a big deal that Star Trek was coming back at a time just after Star Wars and hopes were high. I remember being blown away by the big reveal at the end of the movie. However, watching again over 40 years later, I did not remember much else about this movie. In fact, there isn't much else to remember because the movie pretty much lacks any kind of plot or character development. Clues are wrapped up in technobabble and too much of the movie is just people being awed by special effects. There is no real teamwork or much of anything at work and the final resolution is actually pretty mundane as Kirk outsmarts a computer. In one critical scene Spock is able to communicate with this unknown entity, but he never reveals what was said or what was found out. Then he goes on a journey in a spacesuit where he marvels at special effects and somehow mind melds with his surroundings. None of this makes a lot of sense or is much more than finding some magic spell in a book that resolves everything. Other than Spock, Kirk, and two newcomers, almost none of the crew have meaningful parts. During one sequence, Dr. McCoy walks onto the bridge, watches a while, and then leaves without ever saying or doing anything. I did not realize this was such a bad movie, but the Rotten Tomatoes scores are in the dismal 50's, so critics didn't think much of it either. Because of the glacially plodding pace of the movie, Wikipedia says the movie is nicknamed Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture. The important part is that movie made a lot of money, setting up further sequels and eventually new series, but not on this movie's strengths. My digital copy of the movie is supposedly 4k, but most of the special effects scenes are still grainy or even a little blurry. Colors are bright and scenes on board the ship look good.
Written: 19 May 2024
Owned on: Digital