RedLetterMedia Reviews "Star Trek" (2009).

[Big Orange]

You know RedLetterMedia, the psychotic, elderly reclusive online reviewer who sounds like a heavily stoned Richard Nixon and has a pechant for kidnapping vice girls? He's gotten round to reviewing the relatively recent JJAbrams Star Trek.

[Srelex]

I can't stand his voice, so what did he say?

[adam_grif]

I can't stand his voice, so what did he say?

It's like an hour of content, and I'm just going from memory, but:

- He liked it overall. He said that it wasn't very Trek like, but was still good.
- He liked the new cast.
- He points out that the characters are all essentially exaggerated caricatures of their TOS selves.
- He points out the same plot points that don't make much sense that everyone else does.
- Points out various cannon things that they changed, but takes the position that most of these changes were justifiable to make the film more palatable for the 99.99% of the audience that don't give a shit about that stuff.
- Says it's more like old starwars than it is like old trek
- Compares the new, fast-paced, shakeycam, high octane trek to the old, slow, low budget stuff, but seems to be ok with both.

[Channel72]

An interesting point he makes is that this movie is more similar in spirit to the 1998 Lost in Space remake than an actual continuation of the Star Trek franchise. He's right, in the sense that this movie is basically just TOS nostalgia with an extreme makeover and crazy action sequences. I also liked his point about the lack of a recognizable Trek-style "warp core". Instead, engineering looked like something you might find in a modern submarine, complete with piping and pressure gauges. He thinks this design decision was made so that the audience would realize that "okay, this is the engine."

[Gramzamber]

I also liked his point about the lack of a recognizable Trek-style "warp core". Instead, engineering looked like something you might find in a modern submarine, complete with piping and pressure gauges. He thinks this design decision was made so that the audience would realize that "okay, this is the engine."

Which shows he's an extremely lazy researcher, since any quick search on google on the subject will reveal that the engine room being filmed in a brewery was purely because they went over-budget, and the intended set design was supposed to look fairly similar to the TMP version.

[Big Orange]

Which shows he's an extremely lazy researcher, since any quick search on google on the subject will reveal that the engine room being filmed in a brewery was purely because they went over-budget, and the intended set design was supposed to look fairly similar to the TMP version.

Interesting, can I have a link please?

With this sort of easy to avoid research goof I start to wonder why millions (or hundreds of thousands) of nerds can swallow so-much of RedLetterMedia's BS (as flawed as the SW PT and TNG movies were). And other importent, half-developed things got ditched to save on money and time, such as the Klingon Empire's Rura Penthe penal colony where Nero and his men were imprisoned on and then escaped (explaining why Nero annihilated half the Klingon fleet offscreen).

But I agree with his gist that Star Trek XI got away with more similar crap than the less well received Nemesis did due to the generally younger cast and being set in the more pulpy TOS era.

[OsirisLord]

Which shows he's an extremely lazy researcher, since any quick search on google on the subject will reveal that the engine room being filmed in a brewery was purely because they went over-budget, and the intended set design was supposed to look fairly similar to the TMP version.

Interesting, can I have a link please?

With this sort of easy to avoid research goof I start to wonder why millions (or hundreds of thousands) of nerds can swallow so-much of RedLetterMedia's BS (as flawed as the SW PT and TNG movies were). And other importent, half-developed things got ditched to save on money and time, such as the Klingon Empire's Rura Penthe penal colony where Nero and his men were imprisoned on and then escaped (explaining why Nero annihilated half the Klingon fleet offscreen).

But I agree with his gist that Star Trek XI got away with more similar crap than the less well received Nemesis did due to the generally younger cast and being set in the more pulpy TOS era.

There is actually a deleted scene in the Special Edition DVD that shows Nero being interrogated by Klingons. It does conveniently answer the question of what Nero was doing for twenty five years. However as SFDebris pointed out, they shouldn't get credit for that scene because it was never in the actual film, and you don't get credit for things that aren't in the movie.

This also goes for the backstory comic mini-series that explains Nero's motivations.

[Uraniun235]

- He points out that the characters are all essentially exaggerated caricatures of their TOS selves.

Besides this crucial highlight, I think another big one was the suggestion that this is going to be the way movies are for many years - the idea that because movies have so many more competitors now (chiefly The Internet, it seems, but also the increasingly more-available library of past movies and television), nearly every movie is going to scramble to pick up absolutely as much of the audience as possible, even if it means spelling everything out for everyone in the most unsubtle way.

(Childish as it might be, I liked the segment about the main characters all having the "NotGays".)

[Stofsk]

(Childish as it might be, I liked the segment about the main characters all having the "NotGays".)

The what?

[Gramzamber]

http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Enterp ... reality%29

In the appendices section is a note on the reasons for the use of the brewery as well as some nice concept art.

Which shows YOU are an extremely lazy researcher, since if you actually watched the fucking review, you would surely have realized that he was rationalizing that particular imagery rather than the alternatives, not "lol he didn't kno anything". He also talks about how that decision may have repercussions in sequels.

I did watch the review, and at no point do I recall RLM mentioning the budget problem. He made it a point to incessantly drone on about how the engine room look was chosen specifically to cater to dumb hollywood cinema audiences because the TMP look would've been beyond their understanding.

Even if you are over budget, there's several choices they could have made. Why this one of all the options?

Because it was the cheapest?

but hey it is much easier to blindly insult people than to actually hear out their arguments and *gasp* understand them.

I'm simply pointing out that he questions why this decision was made without bothering to look up a wiki in two seconds that'd give him the answer. Whether the decision was sound or not is another matter.

[Uraniun235]

(Childish as it might be, I liked the segment about the main characters all having the "NotGays".)

The what?

That's the way RLM put it, but basically it was about how he felt the movie went out of its way to establish and reassure that the main characters are in fact heterosexuals. Kirk is scoring with babes and craning his neck to leer at other women, and Spock is making out with Uhura.

[Ghost Rider]

(Childish as it might be, I liked the segment about the main characters all having the "NotGays".)

The what?

That's the way RLM put it, but basically it was about how he felt the movie went out of its way to establish and reassure that the main characters are in fact heterosexuals. Kirk is scoring with babes and craning his neck to leer at other women, and Spock is making out with Uhura.

Hell it wasn't even just that.

Kirk: Leers at women and notices every single one.
Spock: He gets it on with Uhura...just because. Oh wait, releasing emotions.
McCoy: Has a wife mentioned.
Scotty: Mentions tits.

Only Chekov and Sulu, but he makes a humourous point that no cares about Chekov and Sulu is obviously going the way of Takei.

While it's a bit overdone on his part, it does have a worth of mention because you have to wonder, why? Are the writers so afraid that if they don't mention something that the people will presume that McCoy, Spock, and Scotty are somehow gay?

Interestingly he does preface that point with the poster and mentions that if they had McCoy where Uhura was, people might come up with "Three Guys, One Ship.".

[Srelex]

Eh, probably just conincidence.

[Gramzamber]

I figured the divorce thing was more to establish McCoy as a crotchety bastard complaining about something right from the start.
As for Spock/Uhura, I doubt the writers cared about Spock's sexuality, but it probably was to give Uhura something to do along with minor character development for Spock.

Oh and tthe whole Takei is gay so Sulu must be gay joke has gotten really old.

[RedImperator]

If cost was that big an issue, they could have left out engine room scenes entirely, or had Scotty working his magic from a control room. You certainly could have done without the "Scotty in the cooling water pipes, oh noes, pointless whirly blades" scene. I don't actually mind a more industrial look for the engineering spaces, and since none of what we saw was identified as the actual warp core, I'm sure they could build one for the next movie, but they are up shit creek if they can't film at that location again.

[Channel72]

This is the only (mostly) positive RLM review I know of. Considering that Simon Pegg helped generate some buzz about RLM's original Phantom Menace review, I wonder if "Plinkett" felt obligated to be a bit softer this time around.

[Bounty]

they are up shit creek if they can't film at that location again.

[Scotty walks into new Engineering set]

"Aye, I love what they'd done with the place"

[movie continues]

[Jim Raynor]

This is the only (mostly) positive RLM review I know of. Considering that Simon Pegg helped generate some buzz about RLM's original Phantom Menace review, I wonder if "Plinkett" felt obligated to be a bit softer this time around.

Which would be rather lame and pathetic, if that's true.

[Prometheus Unbound]

This is the only (mostly) positive RLM review I know of. Considering that Simon Pegg helped generate some buzz about RLM's original Phantom Menace review, I wonder if "Plinkett" felt obligated to be a bit softer this time around.

Which would be rather lame and pathetic, if that's true.

doubtful.

Pegg doesn't like Star Wars and has passive-aggressively attacked it in interviews before.

[Srelex]

The Prequels he doesn't like definitely--I think he is a fan of the OT, or at least was.

[Prometheus Unbound]

The Prequels he doesn't like definitely--I think he is a fan of the OT, or at least was.

You could be right. I've only seen a couple of times he's done it and each time it has been about the prequels specifically, rather than "Star Wars".

Either way, I don't think the 2009 review from RLM is a secret hand shake or nod to Pegg's views etc.

There's lots of people out there who are jaded by the prequels. I also get the feeling that if he reviewed the OT (pick one of the elevnty versions out there) it'd be mostly positive.

[Oskuro]

and since none of what we saw was identified as the actual warp core

Because we totally didn't see the ejection of multiple cores into the black hole.

For those who hate Plinkett's voice, I'd say this time around he eases on the creepy voice, at least on the first part, and, again, he makes interesting points about film making in general.

I'm a bit disappointed he failed to mix some Sylar references in there though.

[Uraniun235]

I'm a bit disappointed he failed to mix some Sylar references in there though.

Eh, not everyone watched Heroes.

[Stofsk]

And those that did regretted it.

[Oskuro]

Except for those wise enough to pull away after the first season.

But, c'mon, when Spock is choking Kirk he totally has the Sylartm face.

Speaking of wich, funny how RLM points out the amount of choking Kirk suffers. And I also liked his enumeration of recent movies that are remakes, reboots, or sequels. It's a bit scary (and nice how when he is talking about the lack of new franchises, we get the posters for District 9, Moon and.... and something I don't remember now).