Film Video Review: The Motion Picture (1/2)

[Ghost Rider]

Thank you. I've seen the movie twice. Once for the regular, once for the director's cut and really it is one of the most boring movies I have watched. And bravo on putting that very beginning bit in there.

[DaveJB]

I once read the script for the movie's original format - "In Thy Image," the intended pilot for Star Trek Phase II - and it's striking how structurally similar it is to the finished version of The Motion Picture. Unfortunately, in adapting it for the big screen, what they essentially did was to toss out a load of character development stuff (mostly related to the new trio of Decker, Ilia and Xon) in order to leave enough space for all the big special effects sequences, while only slightly altering the conclusion.

That meant that what we ended up with was a big, slow sci-fi movie with a TV style 5-minute explanation and resolution of the plot at the end, which utterly broke the flick from a pacing and structural standpoint. TMP may have had a load of other behind the scenes problems, but with that approach it was really doomed from the start.

[Prannon]

I dunno. I watched the movie again recently with a lot of the superfluous stuff edited out, and I thought that it was quite good, if slow paced. I could sense the character conflicts going on, what with Kirk's arrogance having to go up against Decker's superior knowledge of the refitted ship. It was satisfying to see Kirk realize that he was in over his head and begin to respect Decker's advice and opinion, and I got a sense that the two men truly respected each other by the end of the film. Even Bones and Spock got in on the development, with Bones tempering Kirk's pushiness ("Jim...you're pushing. You're people know their jobs.") and with Spock realizing that logic wasn't the end all be all of existence.

The movie's not the best, certainly not. But it is definitely not the worst. There was more attention paid to character development in this film than in many other films, that's for sure.

[Themightytom]

I seriously don't see a way to recover from having a drawn out scene of a transportter malfunction in which screaming offiers dissolve before our eyes, followed immediately by the humorous "Oh that doctor mcCoy, he won't use transporters scene."

But I DID always liike.. "THEY DRAFTED ME!"

They really screwed over the replacement triad didn't they, they straight up made them cannon fodder. Decker hung on to the end there but even he went out in a blaze of glory.

[FSTargetDrone]

I don't dislike the film, but the material isn't worthy of the acting (which I think is quite good).

I seriously don't see a way to recover from having a drawn out scene of a transportter malfunction in which screaming offiers dissolve before our eyes, followed immediately by the humorous "Oh that doctor mcCoy, he won't use transporters scene."

Wouldn't it have been a more powerful scene if they had simply transposed those events? I know I'm not the first to mention it, but imagine, we see the Bones' scene play out just as it did originally, immediately followed by the accident scene.

[Prannon]

I always figured that Dr. McCoy was just afraid to use the transporter after having seen (or heard) of the accident. No matter that others were being transported safely, he'd be the one to have his molecules scrambled and end up as mush on the pad.

[FSTargetDrone]

I always figured that Dr. McCoy was just afraid to use the transporter after having seen (or heard) of the accident. No matter that others were being transported safely, he'd be the one to have his molecules scrambled and end up as mush on the pad.

But then why didn't he say, "Did you see what just happened???" Kirk doesn't let on even a bit that he saw what he just saw and McCoy should have surely mentioned it. He couldn't have possibly been unaware of it.

No, it's a strange combination of scenes. Each of them being in the film in the order that they are just diminishes any tension, shock value, payoff, whatever. Not to say that rearranging them fixes everything. Instead, it would have been more effective to delete one of them. As presented, it doesn't work at all.

[Stark]

If the tone of the McCoy segment was changed from 'ho ho ho old people' it would have worked as it was; perhaps the crew could be stunned by the disaster or sheepish in the face of the exposed danger of the transporter.

[FSTargetDrone]

If the tone of the McCoy segment was changed from 'ho ho ho old people' it would have worked as it was;

That's the thing, Kirk's reaction simply doesn't make sense. Kirk was shocked and it seems way out of character for him to suddenly laugh off Bones' concerns. Two people had just died in agony a short time before and Kirk himself had to console Rand about it. It's almost like the scenes are in two different movies.

[Prannon]

But then why didn't he say, "Did you see what just happened???" Kirk doesn't let on even a bit that he saw what he just saw and McCoy should have surely mentioned it. He couldn't have possibly been unaware of it.

No, it's a strange combination of scenes. Each of them being in the film in the order that they are just diminishes any tension, shock value, payoff, whatever. Not to say that rearranging them fixes everything. Instead, it would have been more effective to delete one of them. As presented, it doesn't work at all.

Perhaps the only thing my argument proves is that it was a little easier for me to suspend my disbelief with this scene. To be honest, I'd been in Elementary School when I first saw the film, and I came to that conclusion back then. Even when I saw the film recently, I just ran with that assumption like it was no problem. Probably just my general naivite and low standards at work.

One has to admit though, that suspending disbelief over these two scenes is a little easier than some other Trek character shit that we've been asked to swallow.

[Big Orange]

A reasonable review; I don't actively despise The (Slow) Motion Picture, it's not as aggressively shite as The Final Frontier or Insurrection, but a fairly good story and good character moments did get lost under all that flabby ILM effects, odd moments, and pretentious naval gazing. As Bounty mentioned, The Motion Picture is a Star Trek oddity that has not been done before or since, it has a general mood that seems very "off" in comparison to the rest of the franchise and not entirely in a bad way. It is also odd to know that The Motion Picture made slightly more money than The Wrath of Khan, despite the latter movie being considerably more entertaining and dynamic.

[Bounty]

It is also odd to know that The Motion Picture made slightly more money than The Wrath of Khan, despite the latter movie being considerably more entertaining and dynamic.

The Motion Picture came out right after Star Wars, in the middle of an SF craze, and it was the movie version of a show with a very loyal following. It's hardly surprising it made buckets of money.

[FSTargetDrone]

One has to admit though, that suspending disbelief over these two scenes is a little easier than some other Trek character shit that we've been asked to swallow.

Quite so.

The Motion Picture came out right after Star Wars, in the middle of an SF craze, and it was the movie version of a show with a very loyal following. It's hardly surprising it made buckets of money.

And it's fortunate that it made as much and it did. If it hadn't been as successful, TWOK might never have been made.

[Big Orange]

I really liked the concept of V'Ger, although it was a concept better executed in The Voyage Home. TMP allegedly lulled Matt Jeffreys (TOS concept artist) to sleep.

[Darth Nostril]

Oh gods TMP, I'd almost managed to forget even watching this twenty years ago.
And people complained about 2001 being a bunch of special FX waiting for a plot to happen .....