Okay, so I decide that it's time. For years I have not watched a single Star Trek film, with no good reason to back up the decision. So the first Star Trek film seemed like the natural place to start. WRONG. This film is a waste of 2 hours, and I've checked with my friends who are big Star Trek fans, and they say that this film could easily be avoided, make no dent in understanding any other part of the franchise, and make everyone a whole lot happier as part of the deal. Unfortunately I am a completist and felt a need to start at number one.
So what makes the film bad? The main reason this film is a pile of shit is that it is 2 hours and basically nothing happens. I could easily sum up the first hour of the film with the phrase - they travelled to a big blue planet. Along the way we get lots of self congratulatory comments about getting the gang back together, and far far far too many external shots of the Enterprise, one sequence lasts around 7 minutes, and that's it, just showing off a ship with no dialogue. Let's face it, we've seen the enterprise before, and it's a fairly smooth structure, not that much going on. Admittedly it's a lovely model, Douglas Trumble's involvement is a sure fired reason to praise the special effects, but there really is only so much you can take.
Shatner is another problem. Now I know there's not much you can do about the star of the show when it comes to adapting it for the big screen, but the man can't act. To me his acting style is very much similar to that of a young amateur Shakespearian actor who feels the need to put emphasis in places that the dialogue should add natural emphasis. In short it's laughable. On the plus side, Kirk is such a proud and pompous character that it kinda works. The rest of the cast I have few issues with, and all do their jobs with aplomb.
The story is about a large blue mass that is moving toward earth, looking to swallow it up like it had done other planets, seeking information on the universe before destroying it. The Enterprise must go investigate this mass and conclude what to do. They spend the majority of the film getting there, with no excitement along the way, and when they get there very little changes. There are questions about Spock's loyalty to the mission, and a few times when the ship doesn't work properly, but other than that it's fairly pedestrian. The planet turns out to be a computer of sorts, which of course means Spock communicates with it the most. There's a twist (kind of) and a message which wouldn't have been too far out of place in a Hippy commune, and then that's that.
This film suffers from being dull, something that they thankfully solved for the next film in the series. It was a failed attempt to capture the Star Wars Market, when instead they should have been creating their own market. This film would have made a great opening 20 minutes of another film, but really they couldn't stretch it that far. Unfortunately, whilst I am ultimately glad to have seen it in order to get me on my way to watching more Star Trek films, It leaves me with no desire to ever watch it again, and if I didn't know better was to come, then I'd be very tempted to give up now.
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