Star Treck or Star Dreck?

As soon as you mention that you have seen the latest Star Trek movie the same question is raised. How was it? Meaning not just how good was the movie but how did it compare to the past. I’m sorry trekkers it just doesn’t have it. This movie tries to put as many high tech effects into a movie as if trying to get into the book of records. Star Trek started out on television where high tech was an expensive luxury that the networks and the studios avoided to keep the costs down. It was all about how much story you could get into the 45 minutes of program that you had in an hour. Going to better effects was great but look at the importance of the message. You should remember that Gene Roddenberry was trying to tell stories and using the concept that people on earth were not so different from each other. It was all of us against some people from other worlds. We all worked together and then we joined with those on other planets to advance all of us against some forces of evil. The story here is basic and could have been told better without some of the very splashy effects. Cinema for cinema may play well in the festival circuit but don’t try to force it on the majority of the public that just wants a good evening. Two people in line waiting to get into the film were women comparing the baby sitters they got for the evening. Did they want a fun evening out or a serious discussion of film style? When the shaky camera effect was at the start of the movie I knew that I was in for an evening of effect movie making. I have heard that even the director had to admit that he over did at least one effect. . It is enough to recognize the locales of the movie. When I read the credits I want surprise like is that were they filmed that scene? I did realize that part of the movie was made at Cal State University at Northridge, but not while I was watching those scenes. Yes I do know Vazquez Rocks when I see them despite all of the added effects. Some places are nice and since this one was actually in the original series it was a nice connection. Maybe the director’s cut of this movie will actually be shorter with more story emphasis and less on speed of camera movement. I found I was listening to the background music many times during the movie and I know that the best music scores are invisible and heard clearest during the credits. By the way, I talked to a blind attendee who did not have the same sense that the music was overpowering and that the actors’ audio downplayed. Maybe the theater I was in needed to be balanced better. I was sitting in the center of the theater. It was a good touch to use the original theme music if even briefly, but why run the opening and closing credits together? Did they think that we would leave if they ran the opening credits first? One comment I overheard covered not just this movie but ALL of the previews that were presented before it. “Now I see what the effect of the writers’ strike was and what was written “after” the strike”. I attend movies to have a fun time out. I do not want to see the technical side. I also find that I am going to fewer movies and enjoying them less.