Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Review

I haven't done a series review in a while (not since last summer when I reviewed the last seven Batman flicks), so now seems like a good time to do another. Since another Star Trek movie is on it's way, now seems like a good enough time to review all the Trek movies. Personally, I've never been a hardcore Trekkie (usually been more of a Star Wars guy myself), but I've enjoyed the Trek series. I guess I'm what's typically called a "Casual Trekkie." In addition to seeing all of the movies, I'm reasonably familiar with TNG, TOS, and Voyager in the sense that I know most of the major story-lines, can recognize the main characters, and have generally been a fan. That said, don't ask me anything about DS9 or Enterprise (not very well-versed in those series). But even though I've never been a massive Trek fan, I've still always had an appreciation for Gene Roddenberry's (the creator of Star Trek) series and always admired what he accomplished with it. So, for the next 12 days, I will be reviewing every Star Trek movie from 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture to this year's Star Trek Into Darkness. Without further ado, here is Trek's first foray into the cinematic universe...

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the first film based on the legendary Sci-Fi series to hit theaters, arriving ten years after the end of the classic show. The film itself takes place three years after the USS Enterprise's original five year mission... this time called to investigate an unknown object clouded in a mysterious fog that destroys everything in it's path. The Enterprise's original Star Fleet Captain, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), now promoted to Admiral, returns to take command of the newly redesigned ship and lead the investigation. Former Enterprise crew members, and Kirk's personal friends, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), return as Science Officer and Medical Officer respectively to aid in the mission. With tension between Kirk and the ship's previous Captain, William Decker (Stephen Collins), the Enterprise crew works quickly to discover the secret of the alien object and stop it before it causes anymore damage.

There was a lot of hype surrounding this film in 1979, in addition to the series typical fan-base Sci-Fi found a renewed popularity after the success of Star Wars in 1977. In addition to the already mentioned actors, most of the series' original cast returned, including James Doohan as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, and George Takei as Hikaru Sulu. Series creator Gene Roddenberry produced the film, legendary sci-fi author Issac Asimov served as a scientific advisor, and Oscar winning filmmaker, Robert Wise (whose resume included films like The Day the Earth Stood Still, Sound of Music, and The Andromeda Strain), served as the film's director. With all of the talent on display both in front and behind the camera, plus a bigger-than-usual budget given to the film, you would think this film would be a Sci-Fi classic for the ages... if only that were the case. Even after 30 years, this movie is seen as something of a letdown. While a select few do offer this film some strong support, audiences and critics (both Trekkie and non-Trekkie alike) agree that the movie was not a success. Personally, I'm overall not a fan of this one... but there have been a few things about it I do admire.

Once thing I've always admired about Star Trek was it's ability to tell creative and challenging stories, even if lacking in money and resources. The Original Series, despite having an incredibly low budget and campy tone, made up for it's lack of production value with it's creative writing, endearing characters, and challenging-but-accessible scripts that tackled interesting ideas. This movie tried to be something special, I can definitely tell, and any of it's failures are not due to lack of passion or interest. In fact, I would say the main problem with this movie is exactly the opposite. It tries to do WAY too much, and while the film's script has some admirable and even provocative ideas, it's brought down by lack of development and abysmal pacing. Oh yeah, that last part is the film's biggest downfall... THE PACING IS UNBEARABLE! This movie just draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags until it puts you to sleep. There's no two ways around this folks, the movie is just plain BORING! It clearly some inspiration from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, but while that flick had a slow pace too, it works due to fully realized concepts, brilliant direction, game-changing effects, and an incredibly nit-picky attention to detail. The ideas Star Trek attempts to tackle here, ranging from philosophy, evolution, and religious themes are all commendable, but none are fully explored or developed. Even the actors, including the typically over-the-top William Shatner giving a more subdued performance, do little to liven up anything. When you're working with a script that provides little to it's characters, what do you expect? I guess they were trying to make Star Trek more of an experience than just a piece of entertainment, and while that was commendable, it clearly backfired. It's too bad, there was a lot of potential with it.

On the bright side the film looks pretty damn good, unfortunately it does little to add much to the overall experience. Working with a pretty high budget for the time, the filmmakers assembled some impressive models, sets, and effects... most of which hold up surprisingly well. The Enterprise received a makeover, but still retains the classic Star Fleet look made famous by the the show. You also get some neat trippy visuals and cool psychedelic moments. Sadly, this movie is a perfect example of why a film can't rely strictly on the strength of it's effects. As mentioned, the pacing is so slow, that being constantly subjected to ridiculously long takes with few cuts, that they loose their luster pretty quickly. They are impressive, but a movie can't survive strictly on it's visual effects, and this movie is proof of that concept. I will say that I did enjoy some of composer Jerry Goldsmith's musical score, namely the film's primary theme song that would eventually go onto be the theme for The Next Generation series. Unfortunately, even that doesn't add enough to make the film a success. It's too bad, despite the intense efforts of all involved, most of it just falls flat.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was an ambitious and commendable effort that just doesn't work very well. I admire this movie more than I like it, since I do truly and honestly believe that movies like this can and have worked before. Unfortunately, whether it was a troubled production, too many conflicting ideas, or just it's own ambition, it will probably forever be seen as a disappointment. If you're a sci-fi nut, you might actually might something to like in the flick, but for everyone else, it's a pretty tough watch. Fortunately, this wouldn't be the last we would hear of the franchise, and what would come next would be something else entirely...

My Score: 2 out of 5!