Viewed in
2011
Formats
HDTV
Premise
A decade after its cancellation, Captain Kirk and crew return in movie form!
Liked
Bringing the band back together.
Disliked
Lack of character development.
Hated
Sleep-inducing pace.
Thoughts
Yep, my friends were right, this was hard to watch. Remember the elongated opening shot of Mel Brooks' Spaceballs of a ridiculously long spaceship? Well, this movie sported a thirty minute sequence showing the Enterprise moving from point A to point B. No joke. This was one of the worst instances of film makers infatuated with special effects over everything else. Really shocking considering it was directed by Robert Wise.
The only good thing about the length was that it easily masked the other numerous flaws, such as lack of any interesting dialog or cool things for characters to do. The story felt more like an extended episode than a movie, though it had its moments of smart science fiction, like V'GER's origin. Not surprisingly, the then-expensive special effects did not age well.
The only redeeming quality was the reunion factor. While I didn't have to wait ten years for it to happen, but even I couldn't help but smile watching these people reunite on that bridge. It was totally cool to see the less famous recurring characters, Dr. Chapel and Yeoman Rand, back one more time.
I think even hardcore fans would admit that watching Star Trek: The Motion Picture in its entirety was a badge of honor of survival and endurance. If you're not a fan, don't bother with this bloated sloth.
What I would change
Shortened it by at least half an hour.
