Vulcan A


Or at least a solid B, if not B+.

'Star Trek' 2009 poster depicting the Enterprise heading into warp

I’m talking about the new Star Trek film, of course. My general complaint is that it seemed to trade an explicit, extended focus on Star Trek’s signature — a future where humanity is united in the exploration of space and not, say, riven by deepening social divides, enslaved by technology, or stranded in a post-nuclear dystopia — for action and special effects and what even non-geeks now refer to as origin stories. The previous series (and movies, especially) weren’t necessarily short on conflict, it’s true, and with a sparkling Enterprise bridge that more than one critic has compared to an Apple Store showroom it’s not like director J.J. Abrams grittied up Gene Roddenberry’s baby the way some fans feared might happen in the age of the brilliant, recently concluded reinvention of Battlestar Galactica. I get that the flashy stuff is necessary to compete as a summer blockbuster, or just plain cool in its own right (save for some of the bloodier scenes), and that what Roger Ebert in his review called the “narrative housekeeping” is necessary for the characters’ introduction — period, to casual viewers, and (with fingers crossed) plausibly within established continuity for Star Trek fans. Like I said, it’s at least a solid B from my perspective, overall an exciting relaunch of a cultural institution, but I’ve had respectful arguments with friends who liked and disliked it more than I did, mostly around the fact that, let’s face it, it can’t and probably shouldn’t be the original.

Update: My further musings have finally been posted. Catch ’em before we hit another wormhole!



Related: NCC-1701-DVD Eau de Kirk What’s Future Is Prologue

5 comments:

  1. If a Vulcan A is a B, What is Vulcan for A?

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  2. I don't... It's... No, a Vulcan A is... sigh... You never heard Bones say, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" Read it real fast-like. See? Vulcan A. Okay? Wordplay! And if that doesn't work for you, I did say "or" -- "Or at least a solid B, if not B+." Look, I don't speak Vulcan. Maybe a little Interlac, and I sight-read some Kryptonian, but...

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  3. "... and I sight-read some Kryptonian." I meant Kryptonese. Sorry, geekdom!

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  4. Haha! Didn't mean to get you riled up! Just wanted to have some fun with it

    Vulcan Eh!

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  5. It's not a problem, Benny. I tried to overreact as much as possible for effect. If you'd like, we could head to the pub for some Romulan L.

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