Star Trek with no spoilers whatsoever

[trinityvixen]

It is a truth universally acknowledged that movies are made in order to make money. With all the various outlets for media, it's easy to lose track of the bottom line behind movies. Or, perhaps I should say that it's all too easy to see that and only that when you see a bad movie. We've gotten cynical in this age of the pre-sold audience; we recognize that we're seeing the same thing over and over because Hollywood has determined that they make the most money off of imitations of things we liked versus taking chances on ideas not yet validated by billions of box office dollars. So while they desperately try to cater to our whims, our whims become more whimsical and hard to please because we're, frankly, bored of the things we like. We want to like new things. It's a very awful sort of cycle we've perpetuated as the investment in a movie becomes more costly and risk, well, more risky.

The point is that we know, no matter how good, how enjoyable (a better term than "good," I find) a movie is, it's only there to make money. Yes, there are auteurs, artists, etc., but the bottom line is money. Part of that vicious cycle I mentioned is that we are savvy to this fact and ignorant of it at the same time: when the movie is moving or engaging, we imagine it was made to entertain us, first and foremost; when it is bad (especially when it is poorly adapted from the pre-sold material), all we can think of is that the creators only wanted our money and duped us with the promise of a good flick that they couldn't care less about developing.

The point of all the pontificating under that cut is this: when a movie comes along that is so transparently a vehicle for making lots of money and yet you watch it and you don't care--nay, you are pleased at the idea of it making money, and even gasp! sequels!--that is a very special movie indeed.

Star Trek was that movie, folks. I was lucky enough to see it yesterday, and I was absolutely floored. Not since Iron Man has a movie caught me so completely and pleasantly by surprise. Perhaps more so than Iron Man given that my expectations for it were high and were met, whereas Star Trek looked like a freeway pile-up from its trailers and turned out wonderful.

There's plenty I can say about individual aspects of the movie that I liked or disliked, but to say anything other than I enjoyed it would be to spoil it for those who haven't gone. Suffice to say my marketing spider-sense was totally bamboozled; I forgot about how this film was supposed to be a starter for a franchise and just went along for the ride. It was a great ride.

Perhaps it helps that I'm not a Trekkie/Trekker. Your mileage, depending on your Trek-love, may vary. Overall? This was the best way I could think of them doing this reboot, and it was made with such respect and gratitude to the source material and the fans, which I consider the most important part. Because the Trekkies/Trekkers rescued the world of Star Trek from oblivion more than once, and really, you guys deserve the standing ovation. So I hope that this is what the new movie feels like to you. I hope it feels like JJ Abrams and Co. going, "We love you. We love what you love." Because that's the impression I got.

Part of what makes the comparison to Iron Man so apt for me--apart from the fact that I left both it and Star Trek with my face sore from smiling--is that sense of reverence for the source material. Even though I know this movie was given the go-ahead because someone thought it would make money, in the end, the people who made it preserved and respected the source material at heart even as they made it their own. That's movie magic.

So, if you've not already made plans, make some. I'm probably going to end up seeing it again this weekend with my mother for Mother's Day (if my sister doesn't get her to the theater today). It's totally worth it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the only other movies that look like they will be even half as good this summer are Up and, maybe, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We'll see what the rest of the summer brings us.

Comments

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Last I heard, on the super-DVD versions--the HD-DVD sets as were and the Blu-Ray had them. Either way, I have the set my mother wants and I'm happy to borrow them from her if needs be.