Star Trek: The Motion Picture
A Review by Joe Chamberlain
Starring William Shatner; Leonard Nimoy; DeForest Kelley & James Doohan
This is the film that Star Trek fans waited for ten years for. They were so
thrilled that Paramount made the damn thing that fans went in droves to see
it, and made it a hit. At least that's my theory, because nothing else about
this movie could explain its success. I could be being a little hard on this
film -- for its day the special effects were amazing -- possibly the best
that had ever been in a film. The problem is that it's now 20 years later
and the special effects don't stack up quite as well today, so this film
needs a little more to hold an audience. Unfortunately, it doesn't have it.
Now before I get thousands of angry letters from Star Trek fans, I have to
point out that I am a big fan of the series. As a matter of fact, I still
remember going to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture when it was released
back in 1979. I, like everyone else in the theater was thrilled with the
movie. That was then, and this in now. I usually like to judge films on
their own merits, but it is extremely hard to do so when dealing with the
Star Trek franchise. It seems as though you can turn on your TV any hour of
the day and catch a rerun of the original series or one of its spin-offs. So
Star Trek: The Motion Picture almost has to be judged by the quality of the
writing that has come before and after it. Even in comparison to the sequel,
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, which is arguably the best of all of the
Star Trek films, Star Trek: The Motion Picture pales in comparison. I was
shocked as I screened this movie in order to review it. I hadn't seen it in
several years and I was astounded as to how draggy it was. From the extended
sequence of music before the opening credits, to the long flyby shots of the
Enterprise as Kirk sees it for the first time this movie gives boring a new
definition. To be fair, the Enterprise flyby shots were included to give
millions of Trekkies the chance to see the restyled Enterprise and marvel at
what ten years of special effects advancement and many millions of dollars
can do in terms of a facelift. Unfortunately, after almost twenty years of
these movies we all know what the Enterprise looks like, so it just amounts
to extra minutes of pointless nothingness.
I'm not even going to get into the Klingons, who ten years earlier had
looked like humans who hadn't bathed in a few months and then go from that
into having a spiny ridge down the center of their heads. I guess the
make-up artists were so concerned with impressing the audience that they
forgot to bother watching the original television series.
OK, on to the plot. A huge cloud is heading towards Earth, wiping out every
thing in its path and the only vessel that can reach it in time is the newly
refitted U.S.S. Enterprise. Star Fleet gives command back to James Kirk
(William Shatner) and he and the gang go off to save the galaxy. Another
thing that I should point out is that the first half of this movie is just
like one big reunion show with the typical "Hi, how are you? How long has it
been?" Now that was fine and dandy when the movie first came out, but kinda
monotonous now. One high note of this movie is that Willim Shatner gives one
of the most understated performances of his career -- this isn't saying that
he still doesn't give overacting a whole new meaning at certain points, just
that he keeps it to a minimum. Of course many might argue that it is just
that quality that made Bill Shatner the star he is today.
The plot is weak, and the movie is slow to the point of tears at some points
in order for director Robert Wise to get in as many special effects shots as
he could. It is obvious that the producers figured that between the
spectacular special effects and the reunion aspect of the movie, the
audience wouldn't care if there was a plot. I'm not going to gripe anymore
about this movie -- did a mention the uniforms? -- They all look like they
are wearing pajamas. I'm not saying that this is a bad movie, although, it
is far from being a good one. It's just that the years have not been kind to
it. Combine that with the fact several of its sequels have been many times
superior (Start Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage
Home) and you get the feeling of being a little cheated by people who made a
name for themselves because of the top notch writing so long associated with
Star Trek. If you are a Star Trek fan who wants to get a little nostalgic,
it's not a bad choice. If you aren't interested in nostalgia, or not a
particularly big Star Trek fan, do yourself a big favor and watch Star Trek
II: The Wrath Of Khan -- a better film (albeit darker) in every respect.
No where near as good as some of its sequels 5/10
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Have I Seen This Movie: Yes
And What Did I Think?: This was a big event back in 1979. Ten years after the original series ended, Trekkies brought back Star Trek by going in droves to the conventions and showing their love for the series. There was a short-lived animated series in the mid seventies, but this was the first time the crew was reunited after cancellation in 1969. And what the fans got.... well it was a bit of a disappointment. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was an overblown special effects movie that needed some serious editing. More time was spent to show all the cool special effects for that time period, and in effect the story was sacrificed. Not only that, but the ship, the uniforms, and just everything in general looked plain and drab. There was none of that old humor and friendship between Kirk, Spock and Bones. The pace was too slow and could put you to sleep through most of it. This film was also too techincal for the average person who wasn't familiar with Star Trek. Unless you're a diehard fan (like me), I'd suggest starting with the second film. Luckily, Star Trek II was made a few years later and was 10 times better. This paved the way to the biggest moneymaker franchise in history. While, I'm not a big fan of this film, I respect it because it is a huge stepping stone that led to 8 more movies, and 3 more televison series. The human adventure surely did begin here and lived long and prospered.
I give Star Trek: The Motion Picture 2.5 out of 5 stars
Review written July 13, 1999
