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Post by dANdeLION on Dec 18, 2009 12:50:06 GMT -5
Next stop....STAR TREK VI :-) Okay, I'll kick it off. Do the producers really expect me to believe that A) Colonel Sanders is still alive in the 24th century, and B) he's managed to become the Federation President? Puh-leez.......
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ram
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Post by ram on Dec 21, 2009 21:28:56 GMT -5
That just tells you how bureaucratic the Federation is, that you have to wait that long to become President! And yes, the Colonel is alive because he had been cryogenically frozen and then re-animated. Lucky for him that his personal advisor had seen into the future and threw the Colonel's name into the running for the as-yet-unformed Federation. Anyway, guys, sorry but I haven't gotten around to ST VI. Work has been insane lately, so my mind's been numb. I need to watch this movie again cuz it's all kind of a blur to me - it was never a big favorite of mine. It's a "good" Trek film only because it followed the abomination that was ST V. But don't let me stop you from airing your beefs! ;D
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Post by dANdeLION on Dec 23, 2009 7:41:39 GMT -5
VI was so much better than V that I think most trekkies were able to temporarily suppress their OCD when watching it. Last time I watched it I noticed a few things, but nothing really huge, and I probably watched VII right after it, which would make anybody forget that VI might not be perfect.......
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Post by thomasallencummins on Dec 23, 2009 8:47:16 GMT -5
Well, with Star Trek VI we were treated to the return of Nicolas Meyer who directed Star Trek II (which we all agree is among the best if not the best ST films). The Undiscovered Country features some really spectacular Star Trek moments. The Excelsior getting clobbered by the Praxis shock wave is fantastic. All of the scenes with Captain Sulu are great. Spock's interrogation of Velaris was a very powerful scene. Both Nimoy and Kim Cattrall really sold it. There are more to be sure. The film is certainly not perfect in any way but it is a very solid production all things considered. ;D
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ram
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Post by ram on Dec 24, 2009 20:02:40 GMT -5
VI was so much better than V that I think most trekkies were able to temporarily suppress their OCD when watching it. Last time I watched it I noticed a few things, but nothing really huge, and I probably watched VII right after it, which would make anybody forget that VI might not be perfect....... Agreed on all points, dAN. ST VI was such a relief after ST V that a lot of us didn't want to complain too much. ST VI is a pretty tightly constructed Trek film, I think. I detest VII (Generations) -- I don't have that movie in my collection (gee, wonder why) but I remember enough of it to know why I didn't like it. So you can bet I'll have some nitpicks ready for Generations if you guys want to tackle that one later on. Agree with your ST VI highlights, too, atomic. I have trouble pinning down exactly why ST VI didn't succeed with me as well as the first four. Maybe it just lacks a certain energy that those earlier films had (yeah, yeah, I can guess what you're thinking: ST I had energy??) But who knows? I haven't watched ST VI in a long time, so I may like it more after a fresh viewing on DVD.
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ram
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Post by ram on Dec 28, 2009 11:27:27 GMT -5
I've watched ST VI, and yes, I like it better now. The movie's general darkness turned me off the first time around, but it's the most sophisticated Trek film in its Cold War allegory. Aside from the movie itself, I had a great time watching all the bonus features - around three-and-a-half hours' worth! And there are still the audio commentaries (two of 'em) to get to. I had not owned ST VI until now, with the I-VI box set, so all the extra stuff was new to me.
ST VI was such a well-executed film that I had very few things to gripe about it. My nitpicks mostly concern the penal colony on the ice planet of Rura Penthe that Kirk and McCoy are sent to. To put it plainly, this part was a waste of screen time, because I never believed that either Kirk or McCoy were in real jeopardy. Apart from the fact that they were Kirk and McCoy, just look at them: Shatner was in his late-Elvis physique, while Kelley looked frail. I mean no disrespect to the two, just saying it would have been cruel to see them be sadistically beaten or tortured, and the filmmakers knew it. So the two got it easy while in what was supposed to be this scary planetary Alcatraz. Which rendered the whole episode kind of a joke and a big yawn.
Another thing: arming the convicts with laser guns to mine the rock? What happened to the "hard labor" part of their punishment? This is as tough as a Klingon gulag gets? The Soviets would have laughed.
Spock's mental interrogation of Valeris: while that scene is indeed powerful, and a little disturbing when he probes deeper into her mind for the secret location of the peace conference, it turns out that bit was totally unnecessary because right the next minute he gets the much-needed info from Captain Sulu...whom Spock apparently had been expecting to hear from all along!
One other thing: in the battle between General Chang's ship and both Enterprise and Excelsior, we see the Bird of Prey's torpedoes tearing into the Federation starships. Wait just a minute here. Aren't their shields supposed to, you know, defend against that sort of thing? Recall that in ST:TMP the Enterprise was able to withstand V'ger's colossal energy bolt. Yet here, mere Klingon torpedoes are somehow ripping through Federation shields like they were nothing. That doesn't make sense to me.
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Post by dANdeLION on Dec 28, 2009 17:37:06 GMT -5
Spock's mental interrogation of Valeris: while that scene is indeed powerful, and a little disturbing when he probes deeper into her mind for the secret location of the peace conference, it turns out that bit was totally unnecessary because right the next minute he gets the much-needed info from Captain Sulu...whom Spock apparently had been expecting to hear from all along! Yeah, but Spock also desired to know the depth of her knowledge so see how far in the conspiracy she was, and if she knew, that would mean she was still in contact with other conspirators who might also be on the Enterprise. Also, she has his hand-picked replacement for his spot on the Enterprise, and being half-human, he was probably quite upset with her when he found out she was a traitor. So yeah, Spock didn't need the knowledge per se, but I could see why he continued the mind meld.
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ram
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Post by ram on Dec 29, 2009 20:31:35 GMT -5
Ah, I see your reasoning, dANdeLION.
And it wasn't guaranteed that Sulu would have known the secret location. Come to think of it, how did he know? Weren't only the top brass supposed to have that info? Maybe I missed something in the movie that explains that.
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Post by thomasallencummins on Feb 3, 2011 8:43:25 GMT -5
Ah, I see your reasoning, dANdeLION. And it wasn't guaranteed that Sulu would have known the secret location. Come to think of it, how did he know? Weren't only the top brass supposed to have that info? Maybe I missed something in the movie that explains that. There's always something that can't be fully explained in a Star Trek film. I don't think the screenwriters really expect us to think about it all that much but who can blame us.
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Post by dANdeLION on Feb 4, 2011 21:18:12 GMT -5
Or, they do realize we will obsess over the movie until we find a flaw, so they go ahead and stuff a few red herrings in the plot.
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Post by thomasallencummins on Feb 5, 2011 6:15:02 GMT -5
Or, they do realize we will obsess over the movie until we find a flaw, so they go ahead and stuff a few red herrings in the plot. You may be more right than you think. Or less I'm not sure.
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