STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE was on HBO last night. It's one of those movies where if its on TV, I get sucked into and end up watching the rest. I turned on the tube about 10minutes in so my night was shot, haha. I know I talk the Trekkie talk on here, but really I'm not that big of a Star Trek fan. Atleast not a fan like most Trekkies/Trekkers are. I find myself enjoying the franchise from a different angle than the majority of fans, I think.

With that said, ST:TMP is a great film! It's by far the strongest story of the mythos and the closest to Gene's vision as I think it ever got. While crazy aliens and space battles are fun, that's not what Star Trek is about. It's about a future where the petty crap of human behaviour has been shed (like greed and war). Look at what we as a species could achieve!! Also, I think people forget that The Enterprise is not a military vessel, it is a SCIENCE vessel, just like the rest of the Federation. This was lost, I think, with Next Generation and later installments. The concept is great - just exploring the universe seeking only knowledge and understanding - not colonization, money, glory, etc.

ST:TMP leaves the semi-campy style of the 60s TV show and is grounded more in 1970s Sci-Fi - an era of Sci-Fi I'm quite fond of. 70s Sci-Fi seemed more conceptual and intelligent. Whereas the 80s era (which include STII-VI) was, well, in the 80s - so more action and glutonous storytelling. ST:TMP stands on its own. It transcends the Star Trek franchise and holds its own as a great solid Science-Fiction story as well as a GOOD FILM in its own right.

The story is brilliant, multi-leveled and intertwined with Timeless themes and symbolism. You really have to give the creators credit when they made the leap from the TV series to Film. Instead of rehashing old material or staying the course, they move forward and evolve. The TV show was "a 5 year mission" but only lasted 3 seasons (3 years). So there were 2 years of adventures we do not know about. The film begins a minimum of 2-1/2 years AFTER that 5 year mission ended and every character has aged and grown during that 4-1/2 year time span.

Kirk is now an Admiral and hasn't had any space time logged for nearly 3 years. Sure he's moved up the career ladder, but is he happy? Is he too old to be out there being a captain? Are his motivations for this mission pure or selfish? Even he doesn't know. Spock has left the Federation and spent the last few years on Vulcan going through an ancient ritual to completely exorcise emotion from his being; he is no longer the Mr Spock we remember. He fails the test and learning why he did is awesome. Spock evolves the most in this film and if you don't pay enough attention you'll miss the huge significance of his character change.

This is one of the things the Star Trek guys did RIGHT with the movies- they made the series age with the characters. It does not run from the fact we all age - it embraces it. The mission to explore and learn also includes the adventure of Life itself. As I get older, I relate to a lot of the themes in Star Trek more and more. It's really good stuff.

So even if you're not a Star Trek Fan, I highly recommend giving
Star Trek: The Motion Picture a viewing. It's one of the best sci-fi films out there and one of my favorite films period.