Film Review: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

"This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun, and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man... where no one has gone before." - William Shatner

After 25 years of success, the Star Trek franchise released its sixth feature film, once again uniting the original cast of the series with director Nicholas Meyer.  This is the final film with the original Enterprise crew, and it remains one of the best.

The film literally starts off with a bang; the explosion of Praxis is still one of the most awe-inspiring special effects I have seen, showcasing a pair of giant subspace shockwaves ripping across space.  The film immediately delves into moody, dramatic political tension, before the shockingly violent events that hurl the Enterprise crew into a frantic struggle to rescue their own members and discover the truth.  It all culminates to a thrilling climax.  A few bits of quirky humor, and an endearing farewell, round off what must be the darkest and most intense Trek movie of the lot.

The story for this is an interesting one:  it mirrors the Cold War in many ways, but also incorporates Shakespearean lines (as seen in the film's title) to dig up strong themes of the future.  Fear and uncertainty of the future drive the villains through the treachery, which contrasts heavily with the Enterprise crew's valor, and ultimately drives an excellent mystery-ridden plot.  Characters remain endearing and well-rounded in this film, and the events they go through are harrowing enough to make you care for them.

This film features quality photography and editing.  Acting and writing are strong; even at their age, the original Star Trek cast members' performances still hold up, while Christopher Plummer plays the most deliciously fun and distinctive villain since The Wrath of Khan.  This production has good-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects.  Music is extremely moody and intense, with a few upbeat parts, and I love it that way.

A few cuts of this film exist now.  The original theatrical cut is respectable as it is, but I've always been fond of the various home video cuts, which extend a number of scenes and bring more insight on the particulars of the story's conspiracy.

The Undiscovered Country has always been a favorite of mine for its intensity and impressive action, but it's also full of heart and intelligence.  Recommended!

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Very Good | Story:  Very Good | Film:  Very Good)

This film is on my Top 100 Favorite Films list at #66.

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Film Review: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

"What does God need with a starship?" - William Shatner

After a good, successful run of four films, William Shatner himself steps in to direct the fifth Star Trek feature film.  With the title of The Final Frontier, and with the premise of a God-seeking adventure, you'd think this would be the most epic and profound Trek movie of the lot.  Sadly, as of the time of this writing, it's considered the worst Trek movie of the series, and for some viewers, it might even be ranked as one of the worst movies of all time.

Even I won't deny that the film has its issues.  The special effects are strangely gaudy in this film, lacking in refinement or quality.  The acting is at its cheesiest, with jokes and anecdotes thrown out profusely throughout the picture.  Most viewers will also take issue with Sybok's character - you'll find out why about halfway through the picture - and the overall plot, which comes off as messy and directionless.

The film is not without charm, however.  I personally always enjoyed the comedic antics of the three main characters, especially during the opening mountain climbing scenes and during their madcap pursuits in the Enterprise's interior.  Action is frequent and will be pleasing for non-discerning Trek fans.

As ambitious as the story is, it runs through a rather formulaic plot, with little room for quality character development.  Themes should be present, but generally aren't.  It's as straightforward and simple as a Trek movie can be.

This film is captured with okay, never great, photography and editing.  Acting and writing in this picture is never a serious affair; the script gets the job done, but after so many revisions, it has undoubtedly lost something along the way.  The cast members do the best they can with their material.  Similarly, the sets, props, costumes, and special effects do their best to make the picture work, but are not without weaknesses.  Music might be the biggest standout here.

The fifth Star Trek film never struck me as being a terrible film, for I have found it enjoyable.  However, it is a haphazardly-constructed film with issues that most viewers will find distasteful.  Trek fans might want to check this out once, but for everybody else, not recommended.

3.5/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Average | Film:  Average)

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Film Review: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

"Admiral, we have found the nuclear wessel.  And Admiral...it's the Enterprise!"  - Walter Koenig

In Star Trek II, the Enterprise crew confronted Khan at a great expense. In Star Trek III, they confronted Klingons in a frantic bid to bring back Spock, at great expense. So naturally, in the fourth film of the classic Trek saga, with the Enterprise crew hanging around planet Vulcan in a captured Klingon Bird of Prey, they had to find their way back home. This film turns the voyage home into an adventure all on its own.

The film starts off pretty straight-faced, immediately tossing the Federation and Earth into peril to prompt the Enterprise crew to deal with it. The crew's solution - to travel back and time and save the whales - proves to be utterly ridiculous, but the film plays with so much tongue-in-cheek humor that it becomes a comedy classic. There are a few visually impressive moments, as the Klingon Bird of Prey skirts along Earth's oceans, but most of the fun in this film is the lighthearted fish-out-of-water comedy. What could be more hilarious than watching 24th century space explorers slumming around 20th century San Francisco, struggling against a seemingly-primitive society to solve high-tech problems? Some of the funniest and most endearing jokes include seeing Chekov roaming with with his Russian accent, asking where the "nuclear wessels" are. It's always a blast to watch Spock trying to get the hang of cursing, and ultimately using his nerve pinch on an annoying punk. And one of my favorite scenes is Scotty visiting an industrial plant, trying to use a 20th century computer by speaking to it.

The comedy makes the film entertaining throughout, but there's still enough problems and peril to make it roll evenly and effectively. It's a little derivative, but still a well-structured plot with quality characters. The film gets a little pushy with the whole "save the whales" theme, but it fits in the light and fluffy context of the overall picture.

The film looks good, with solid photography and editing. Acting is still great from the classic Trek cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and the rest get even amounts of screen time to express their tongue-in-cheek humor with phenomenal results. Writing is quite witty. This production has some fine-looking sets, props, costumes, locales, and special effects. Music is really boisterous and happy-sounding, but strangely catchy.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Very Good)

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Film Review: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

"My God, Bones...what have I done?"

"What you had to do. What you always do: turn death into a fighting chance to live." - William Shatner and DeForest Kelley

With the rip-roaring success of The Wrath of Khan, the studios greenlit the third classic Trek film with Spock himself as the director. The problem is, with the way the last film ended, Spock couldn't be in the actual film. It was only natural that the next step in the series was to bring Spock back; hence, the search.

The Search for Spock starts off a bit brooding, but quickly taps into the right adventurous spirit as the Enterprise crew becomes renegades and gives the Federation a hilarious slip. From then on, with bad run-ins with Klingons, the stakes are raised very high, and the struggle becomes quite epic. A few scenes stand out as being fairly epic and jaw-dropping. It is an entertaining thrill ride overall.

My only beef with the film is that it still feels very small-scale. A lot of it might be because pitting the Enterprise crew against one small greedy band of Klingon rogues, led by a rather flat one-dimensional villain, just doesn't compare to everything we've already seen in The Wrath of Khan. Let's face it, Khan was too good of a villain, and nothing Captain Kruge does can outstage that. Not even the constant raising of the stakes, and confrontations with death, are able to elevate the film above and beyond the limited confines of its own plot.

Despite those quibbles, the film still does the best it can to one-up most things, and still deliver the best story it can. The classic Trek crew remains a fun, endearing, and well-rounded group of characters, and their adventure follows a solid plot structure. Themes of rebirth, initially introduced in the last film, are reinforced here.

This film boasts solid, steady photography and editing. Acting is not bad: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and the other classic Trek cast members reprise their roles with good nuance, and with a little more tongue-in-cheek attitude. Christopher Lloyd plays the villain quite memorably, even if the character is a two-bit scumbag. This production has some really good-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects. The music score has more of the same from the last film, and that's not bad.

On its own, this film is fun and satisfying, but understanding its story may rely pretty heavily on seeing The Wrath of Khan first. As such, it's best recommended as an immediate follow-up.

4/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Very Good)

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Film Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

"Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very  cold...in space!" -  Ricardo Montalbán

The Star Trek feature film debut had its fair share of ambition and spectacle, but was a lumbering beast of a film that proved bewildering and somewhat dull. It makes for a decent space opera, but in their wisdom, the filmmakers realized that they needed to spice things up for the inevitable sequel. Even at the expense of kicking Gene Roddenberry - the revered creator of the franchise - to the curb.

Thus, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan came into fruition. Coming after the classic Trek episode Space Seed, this film brings back Khan Noonien Singh as the story's nemesis, and the whole thing becomes a rocketing thrill ride from then on. Space battles are fairly simple and short, but they are still quite spectacular to watch, especially with the colorful backgrounds of the Mutara Nebula. The pacing is even throughout, and the film boasts some remarkable iconic moments that all audiences can recognize and relate to.

The story is appealing; even though there is plenty of action and peril in the movie, it has enough breathing space for quality characterization and theme development. A good chunk of room is left for Kirk contemplating his old age and mortality, and thanks to the parallels of the Genesis torpedo and the film's ultimate solution, strong themes of death and rebirth emerge very subtly. Even without such elements, the characters come off as being well-rounded and enjoyable. The story covers some fascinating concepts, and is well-structured.

This film is shot and edited with quality precision. Acting is phenomenal: while it is always a joy to see William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and the rest of the crew in action, Ricardo Montalbán steals the show as the villain, with a powerful and iconic performance. Writing is great, featuring plenty of great memorable lines. The production has a fine array of solid sets, props, costumes, and special effects (costumes in particular are much improved from the last Trek picture). Music, despite deviating from the classic Trek themes, has a catchy melodic charm of its own.

Of this film, I can say this. Of all the Trek films I have known, this still the most...endearing.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good)

This film appears on my Top 100 Favorite Movies list at #40.

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Film Review: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

"Each of us... at some time in our lives, turns to someone - a father, a brother, a God... and asks...'Why am I here? What was I meant to be?'" - Leonard Nimoy

It took a good ten years to adapt Star Trek, one of the best and most famous sci-fi TV shows of all time, for the big screen.  When they finally did, Star Trek:  The Motion Picture premiered to showcase a big, bold, extravagant spectacle, and a story that promised to be the end-all be-all Trek adventure.

The problem is, watching this film has always been a weird experience.  Despite the gorgeous model work and special effects, there really isn't much action to this, and the pacing overall is rather slow.  Even at its smartest, the Star Trek series and all its future incarnations always had an adventurous spirit embedded with its stories; this movie strips away the adventure in favor of a strict and somewhat cold piece of hard sci-fi.  There's little warmth, and certainly no real bang, to this picture.

That being said, it still has its merits.  The interstellar odyssey through the V'Ger cloud could be seen as something wondrous and awe-inspiring.  The biggest draw to this film will be its story, which showcases a very clever high-concept premise with strong overarching philosophical themes of existence, purpose, and the human spirit.

The plot holding these concepts up is a pretty standard affair, but is stretched rather thinly due to a number of lengthy scenes that could have easily been cut from the film.  A lot of screen time is devoted to endless beauty shots of the Enterprise, there's a weird and silly scene where everybody's trapped in a wormhole for some odd reason, and there's a seemingly-pointless scene involving a transporter accident.  What really throws me off, however, are the characters.  The original cast is all here - Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Dr. McCoy, Uhura, Checkov, Sulu, Scotty - but Spock is the only one of the lot who actually feels like a main character.  In this movie, it's Decker and Ilia who take the center stage, and they go through a romantic spiel that borders on being sappy.

Photography and editing are generally good in this film.  Acting is disappointingly dry from the classic Trek crew, possibly because they're not given much to do as they are in the sequels.  Leonard Nimoy is easily the biggest standout here; William Shatner does the best he can to make Captain Kirk cool again, and DeForest Kelley throws out some occasionally crass and witty lines.  As the true main character, Stephen Collins comes off as rather dull.  Persis Khambatta might be the best and most interesting performance here.  Writing is not bad, especially regarding the high-brow aspects of the film, but it lacks a certain personality overall.  This production has some rather gaudy costumes, but most sets, props, and special effects are great.  Music is great too.

In the same fashion as 2001:  A Space Odyssey, I have to really be in the right mood to watch this film.  Both 2001 and Star Trek:  The Motion Picture are space operas with very big special effects and very big ideas, but aren't that big on character building.  As a Trek film, this first feature can be a rather dry and bewildering experience, especially if you're looking to see the original Enterprise crew in action.  As a piece of intelligent sci-fi, with a pair of entirely strange new characters in the lead, it can be an interesting and rewarding experience.  Especially for the Director's Cut of this film, which is a little more evenly-paced, and features some smashing new special effects.

It's worth a look for interested sci-fi fans and most Star Trek fans.

3.5/5 (Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Pretty Good | Film:  Good)

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Writing Prompt: Starting With Someone Else's Sentence

In my last writing group session, we had an exercise that was simple enough and probably could be done at any time.  However, it does have challenges of its own.  Basically, we flipped one of a few possible different books, picked a random short story or chapter, and read the very first sentence in that section.  Then, using that sentence, we make our own story.  It doesn't have to be the same content as what's in the book; we just needed to use that one sentence as a starting point, and make it our own.

Flipping open one book, I came across a story that started off with this:


Like heat-seeking missiles, they’re always the first to find you, even in the thickest throng of partygoers.

This story went on to describe how a bunch of guys honed in on the narrator to leech off of his screenwriting skills.  I wound up turning it into a story about a bunch of drunk guys honing in on a hacker to make him hook them up to a virtual reality dreamland.  I couldn't finish that story in time, and am still working on it, but I hope to post it here when it's ready.  That's basically all there is to it.

Do be aware that this is meant as an exercise only.  If you do make a full-blown story out of this prompt, using someone else's opening sentence,  you really must change the first sentence so as not to plagiarize or steal that sentence.  Especially if you're considering publishing your finished story commercially.

So, find a book of any kind, open to the start of a story, and use the first sentence as a starting point for your own story.

If you're having trouble finding a good starting point on your own, here are a few openers in my own collection of books that might help you:

• The assassin slung the bag concealing his weapon over his shoulder and walked down the steps to the rickety wooden jetty.
• Being fat had its obvious rewards.
• Beyond the Indian hamlet, upon a forlorn strand, I happened on a trail of recent footprints.
• I dressed a bit more speedily than normal on that snowy, windy, bitter night. 
• Everything was the fault of the damned acrobat.
• It was a dark and stormy night.
• It was a hard jolt for me, one of the most bitterest I ever had to face.
• A long time ago, nearly thirty years now, I had a friend who was waiting to be discovered.
• The most important things are the hardest to say.
• The naked man who lay splayed out on his face beside the swimming pool might have been dead.
• There's a guy like me in every state and federal prison in America, I guess.
• The stones moved.
• I wasn't surprised to learn that my father had died.

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