Star Trek the Motion PictureDirected by Robert WiseStarring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Stephen Collins, George TakeiStar Trek the Motion Picture: Movie B-, DVD A- Before the new Director's Edtion DVD of Star Trek the Motion Picture, I had not seen the movie since its original theatrical release in 1979. I was six years old at the time. I can't say I remember liking it too much, but most six year olds probably wouldn't. I actually didn't remember anything about it at all. I didn't even remember that the theme music was the same as what they would later use for Star Trek The Next Generation (I kept wondering why that music was playing in all the TV adds). I saw all the subsequent sequels either at the theater or on video, and I watch reruns of the original, and new episode of TNG, but for some reason I never went back and revisited The Motion Picture. Actually I do know the reason, it's because I always heard how bad it was. I'm not sure why, but everyone seems to want to pretend the first movie never happened. I decided to watch this DVD anyway, and I was not disappointed. The movie is really not that bad. Yes, the costumes are not that good, and yes it does take Captain Kirk and Scotty about fifteen minutes to ride that little shuttle out to the Enterprise, but really the movie is not bad. It's a little long, maybe a little slow, but not as horrible as everyone makes it out to be. I actually found the story to be fairly interesting. I like how they used something familiar, the Voyager space craft, and turned it into something that would fit into the futuristic world of Star Trek. I also thought the cast worked really well together. It was good to see all the regular character able to reform the relationships they had on the original series. I also like the integration of the new captain, Stephen Collins, and Ilyia. I thought the rivalry between the two "captains" worked well. The Directior's Edition DVD is an excellent package, and hopefully the rest of the Trek movies will get the same treatment. Since I have almost no memory of the original version, I can only say that the touch ups and new effects look very good. The special features include a couple comparisons and it looks like the new effects were put to good use. There are several interesting documentaries, trailers and TV adds. There are also some deleted and alternative scenes compiled from both the televison version and the original 1979 theatrical version. There is certainly enough extras to entice any Star Trek fan. Review by Sherry Read my Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan review Read my Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock review. |
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