New Startrek
Dec. 18th, 2011 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackMy impression of the Startrek reboot was that it was 70% very good, and 30% kind of annoying, and I couldn't decide if that was sufficiently good to enjoy it or not.
Several things that annoyed me the first time do fit into the plot when you watch carefully, but aren't presented clearly enough they _look_ consistent, even if they do.
Kirk's casual attitude in the Kobyashi Maru does make some sense. He's already taken the test twice, so he knows what's coming and isn't shocked by it any more. He immediately admits that he hacked the simulator, so he's not actually trying to hide it. The timeline diverges when Kirk Sr dies, so there's no guarantee Kirk's test is exactly the same as what he describes in Wrath of Khan. So it makes sense logically. But it doesn't make sense dramatically. There's no build up to suggest how impossible the test is, just a half-second comment by McCoy that's its really hard, which normally means "the hero is about to demonstrate his precociousness", not "prepare for futile despair".
Checkov stalls the ship, which means they have just enough time to arrive at Vulcan late.
Likewise, when the Enterprise arrives at Vulcan, there's a good reason they send down swordfighters to the mining rig: the transporters are down, the only way off the ship is to spacejump from Pike's shuttle, and they need to sabotage the mining rig to get communications back. But the explanation is passed over so quickly it _looks_ arbitrary.
It makes sense that Vulcan is destroyed: it makes Nero really evil. Except -- there's no buildup, so the audience is left going "huh, what?" rather than ":("...
But some things remain bizarre. The only starships that can reach Vulcan are all at Earth and all staffed by cadets? Aren't there any experienced officers at Starfleet academy training, engineering, on leave, etc (more than one or two per ship)? They all leave at exactly the same time? The whole red matter thing?
Several things that annoyed me the first time do fit into the plot when you watch carefully, but aren't presented clearly enough they _look_ consistent, even if they do.
Kirk's casual attitude in the Kobyashi Maru does make some sense. He's already taken the test twice, so he knows what's coming and isn't shocked by it any more. He immediately admits that he hacked the simulator, so he's not actually trying to hide it. The timeline diverges when Kirk Sr dies, so there's no guarantee Kirk's test is exactly the same as what he describes in Wrath of Khan. So it makes sense logically. But it doesn't make sense dramatically. There's no build up to suggest how impossible the test is, just a half-second comment by McCoy that's its really hard, which normally means "the hero is about to demonstrate his precociousness", not "prepare for futile despair".
Checkov stalls the ship, which means they have just enough time to arrive at Vulcan late.
Likewise, when the Enterprise arrives at Vulcan, there's a good reason they send down swordfighters to the mining rig: the transporters are down, the only way off the ship is to spacejump from Pike's shuttle, and they need to sabotage the mining rig to get communications back. But the explanation is passed over so quickly it _looks_ arbitrary.
It makes sense that Vulcan is destroyed: it makes Nero really evil. Except -- there's no buildup, so the audience is left going "huh, what?" rather than ":("...
But some things remain bizarre. The only starships that can reach Vulcan are all at Earth and all staffed by cadets? Aren't there any experienced officers at Starfleet academy training, engineering, on leave, etc (more than one or two per ship)? They all leave at exactly the same time? The whole red matter thing?
no subject
Date: 2011-12-19 09:59 am (UTC)The red matter thing is just bullshit.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-19 11:34 am (UTC)I think the explanation was "it was somewhere else". I mean, apparently it was dealing with some other crisis. They said what but not in any details. But the film fudges distances so much you don't really get a sense of whether they're far enough away they can't get there or what. It's not suspicious that _most_ of them are away. But that they don't keep any ships near earth and vulcan? I'm mentally comparing it to Hornblower, where even if most of the fleet is off somewhere, there'll be something near England doing something...
The red matter thing is just bullshit.
Yeah. They didn't even really try coming up with a concept...
no subject
Date: 2012-01-07 09:10 pm (UTC)