Summary
When investment is high and so much is at stake how can someone deliberately set out to trash a movie production?
Analysis
In the 1970’s there was a cartoon show, “Star Trek” and I am sure many fans will rejoice that they now have a sequel. It’s a pity they didn’t let Pixar do the production. The Cartoon would have been better written and all the characters would have made sense.
With so much at stake one has to wonder were are the writers and producers of, “First Contact?” Where has the writers and directors of the Borg Programs gone? The Star Trek about saving the whales had more going for it then this joke.
What we have here are actors doing caricatures of how other actors did their job. It reminds me of the times William Shatner used his Captain Kirk to make jokes in other people movies and TV productions. Then there are the predictable if not feeble efforts at using characterizations to do 1960’s slap stick. The character of “Scottie” being sucked through the plumbing for example; writing does not get any weaker.
If one is a fan of the MTV way of shooting and editing then you are likely to enjoy the special effects. If your intellect is beyond that of a 14 year ole you can at least sit and watch the pretty pictures and try some effort to make sense of them. On the other hand if you are a fan of poorly edited music videos you are going to love them.
As a professional media producer and fiction author I have to openly wonder about the pointless continuity breaks. To experienced professionals such breaks are nominally something to be at lease embarrassed about and at most to have one’s employment terminated. For people who attend university and study media art professionally continuity equals credibility and the absence of credibility in media production; fiction in particular, is the central mark of the amateur or incompetence. In Hollywood it is common for people who have never spent a day in a media school to step in and make decisions about creativity. Most have business degrees. Many have been really good car salesmen. I am made sad to have to report: it looks like their interference has trashed the new Star Trek movie.
When I studied still photography I had to at one point train in using effects to enhance the composition. While it was nice to learn how to apply effects it was painfully clear that if your basic composition did not stand alone special effects could not fix it. The same is true in fiction. If your story stinks then no about of effort in movie magic is going to fix it and this is why Star Trek the Movie Again is a pathetic waste of time and money. They should have just re-released Star Trek The Movie again. They would have saved millions and not wasted anyone's time.
My rating is based on how long it takes a movie to make it onto the $5 DVD pile at Walmart. Typically 12 to 26 months depending on genre and cast. I give the new Star Trek "6 months" to make it there.
