The Motion Picture

[Graham Kennedy]

I watched the Director's edition of the motion picture last night.

You know, the more I watch this movie the more I like it. I think a lot of the complaints about it arise from misplaced expectations. People say Wrath of Khan is a better movie than TMP. I think even making that comparison is absolutely absurd. It's like asking whether The Godfather is a better movie than Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Star Trek II is an action movie. It's a movie about good guys and bad guys, it's about firing torpedoes and phasers and all that good stuff. It's of the same stable as Star Wars and Independence Day and The Fifth Element. ST II is a really, really good action movie.

TMP is nothing like that. TMP is a philosophical discourse. It is literally about the meaning of life. It is of the same stable as 2001 : A Space Odyssey, or Solaris. Is it slow and boring? It's faster paced than 2001, and a hell of a lot faster paced than Solaris! It's a movie with meaning, deep meaning even. We might argue about how well it achieves its aims - some would laugh that I even compare it to 2001 - but to complain that there's no bad guy or phaser battles is to miss the entire point of the movie. It's the same as watching Schindler's List and complaining that for a movie set during a war there aren't enough battle scenes.

TMP also had an absolutely colossal impact on the Trek franchise one way or another. The theme music was used for the TMP theme. The Klingon battlecruiser built for the movie was still in use for Enterprise, 22 years later. The orbital office model was used through the whole of TNG and DS9. TMP was the first time Star Trek showed us the future Earth. It's the first time we see Starfleet command. It's the first time we see alien-looking Klingons. It's the first time we hear the Klingon language, the first time we hear the Vulcan language.

Does anybody else think this movie is sadly underrated?

[Tsukiyumi]

Does anybody else think this movie is sadly underrated?

Yep.







For the record, I really enjoyed Solaris; my attention span is longer than a few minutes between shiny things and explosions.

[Reliant121]

I love this film. I think the music scene on the V'Ger approach is awesome. and the deep meaning is fantastic.

Although i prefer Wrath of Khan because i like to see things go BOOM

[Tsukiyumi]

Don't get me wrong; I also like watching and making things go BOOM. I appreciate this film on a different level.

[Reliant121]

You could call this film more...sentimental

[Nickswitz]

I thought TMP was an excellent film and no one ever gives it enough credit because they think that there is nothing to life than big booms. And a lot of the attention span thing is "ADHD"
It's in quotes because it's not true ADHD but the parenets have led the kids to believe the have it so they can't stand watching something philisophicol.
You really can't compare TWOK with TMP
there two complete different generes within a genre
I loved both of them
Need to get them both on DVD

[Reliant121]

TMP was the first TMP era movie i watched. Epic. The first ever film i watched of trek was....dont hurt me...Nemesis....although i quite liked it.

First contact owns all though.

[Nickswitz]

well yeah
i love first contact
well, specificaly
i love E-E

[Reliant121]

Blurgh dont like E-E but love the film. it was BOOM with some introspection and character stuff.

[Nickswitz]

Ilove E-E and the akira class
guess wha5t they have in common?
They both make things go boom

[Reliant121]

I dont like the Akira either. funny isnt it.

I prefer TMP ships personally. although you certainly cant fault the Akira/E-E's destructive capability. for TNG, i like the Nebula or the Olympic. Nebula cause she's pretty bulk standard and Olympic cause she looks so....different.

[Nickswitz]

eh...
I like fast sleek ships.
but i think the old ships have a beuty in themselves

[Reliant121]

I like fast and sleek. But i just dont like E-E for some reason. and the Akira is not fast, sleek IMO.

the Excelsior is the best by far.

[Nickswitz]

Yeah
I like Excelsior

[Sionnach Glic]

The TOS movie era ships were, in my opinion, the best.

As for TMP, I agree that it is rather underrated, but I can't say it's a favourite of mine.