Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takai, Masel Barret, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins
Directed by: Robert Wise
Rating: PG
Genre: Science Fiction
1979

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary:The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is reunited as Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) takes command once again. The Enterprise is called upon to investigate and stop a giant energy field with an alien craft inside that is headed directly to earth.

Review:

Tim: One of the most popular television series of all time gets its introduction on the big screen. Its fun to watch the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise reunite, and give audiences the entertainment on a much larger scope. Many people find flaws with the first Star Trek movie, claiming it lost something in the transition from the small screen to the big one.

The film isn't too bad. Its funny now to watch the special effects, which at the time were revolutionary, and earned Star Trek an Oscar nomination. Despite the primative special effects, the film is still amazing to look at. You can almost feel the excitement everyone involved in the film felt, being able to do so much more than they were used to in their television series.

Now, it must be noted that I saw the Special Longer Version. I'm not sure exactly what that entails, but the film I saw was 143 minutes. That is too long to watch a film such as this. The film definitely had its slow parts. While the Enterprise first makes contact with the alien ship, you see sweeping images of the craft which was probably an attempt to show off the slick special effects. However, the scenes last forever... and you are just praying for some dialogue to come along and save you.

The film did have a number of positives. William Shatner was at his Captain James T. Kirk best, giving the only great performance in the film. The other actors all gave it their all, but most of the performances were dull and uninteresting. Leonard Nimoy had his moments as Spock, but all in all, a tad disappointing. Stephen Collins, however, did a very good job as Decker. I've always liked his work on the television series, Seventh Heaven, and I had no idea whatsoever that he was in any way associated with Star Trek. He's very decent in this role, and worth checking out.

The plot of the film is a bit slow, and not much happens in the film. An alien ship comes towards Earth, the Enterprise checks it out, investigates, and saves the day. Its not incredibly exciting or entertaining. The whole V-Ger thing at the end was nothing less than brilliant- however, besides the initial shock and realization, the idea is a bit hokey and dull.

This film spawned nearly a dozen sequels, so for that reason it does have some sentimental value. The film is worth checking out regardless, as it is interesting to watch the initial transition of the television series to the big screen. If you're a Star Trek fan, you have to check it out, and if you're a sci-fi fan in general, it wouldn't hurt to witness the start of it all.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Wars, Galaxy Quest