Obsessed With Film

Greatest Movie Scenes #54 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN

So, this week we found ourselves a new Spock for J.J. Abrams’ re-boot of the Star Trek franchise and the response from people has been very quiet indeed. Not many people outside the Star Trek fanbase seem to care at this point and even those who are fans of the show don’t seem to have much to say on it.

Is it because we don’t really know the guy who’s playing him? That is probably it. Gonna be real interesting to see who they get to play Kirk. The chemistry between the two actors could make or break this film.

This week’s great movie scene had to be from Star Trek and what else could it be than the awesome scene near the end of possibly the best Star Trek film… The Wrath of Khan. BIG, BIG, BIG SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS FILM BEFORE…

A great emotional scene involving the death of Spock which was so well handled by director Nicholas Meyer and smartly acted by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. It’s not over the top, it’s not to sentimental and it’s not too cheesy… it’s just note perfect. This is the sort of death that Shatner should have received at the end of Generations but hopefully with the new reboot film, they will give him some sort of small cameo which will be a fitting end to his incredible Star Trek legacy.

categories - Greatest Scenes

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JJ Abrahams? I know he’s earned some SF cache with Lost but he has yet to prove he can tell a really good story -Lost has been meandering, slow and increaingly incoherent. The thinking behind this choice by Paramount seems to be, get a younger “more edgy” approach to Star Trek. Look at Wrath of Khan if you want to see what Star Trek needs -what made it great in the first place. It isn’t better SFX, it isn’t a more “edgy” visual style, it isn’t a more hip approach. It’s a damn good story. Do that and you won’t have to change anything else. Problem is, the folks who have run Star Trek into the ground won’t admit they’ve been screwing up so they’ve decided to instead blame the traditional fans and “reach out” to a new audience. Well, that’s pointless if you don’t have any good stories to tell -a new audience won’t stay for flashy camera moves and “edgier” storytelling. In six months the euphoria will wane and any “new” fans will desert Abrahams’ Trek too. The new coat of paint Abrahams puts on won’t do it. And if he does bring better stories, (which I hope he does!) then the question becomes, “Why did we need a ‘reboot’ in the first place?”
The last season of Enterprise, which was showrun and written by Manny Coto (the guy behind the new Battlestar Galactica and 24) were the best damned Trek in nearly ten years when, ironically he and his partner on BSG were making DS9’s Dominion War storyline during the 1990’s. Enterprise’s ratings actually improved during that ten week period, but of course the decision to can it had already been made. And where was Rick Berman during the last season of Enterprise? Nowhere to be seen, since the studio had announced the show would be cancelled. For the previous thirteen years nobody could touch Trek unless it was over his dead body, but all of a sudden he had NO problem stepping aside and letting someone else run the show for the last season…so he could then turn around and say, “Hey, I wasn’t in charge of the show when they cancelled it. It was those other guys they brought in. It certainly couldn’t have been me!”

The biggest problem Star Trek has had is Rick Berman. He’s been the “showrunner” for the franchise since Gene Roddenberry died. Not surprisingly he’s not been able to get work on any other property other than Star Trek. His casts since Deep Space Nine have complained about his management, with the epitome of that vitriol being expressed by Jolene Blalock on Enterprise. The Star Trek idea doesn’t require a “reboot.” Throwing 40 years of continuity out the window is hardly an answer if you haven’t fixed the problem -vapid stories and terrible editorial decisions.

Comment by JaySmack | July 29, 2007
Yikes … JaySmack feels pretty strongly about this!!!

Of course, he’s right.

“Khan” is the best “Star Trek” movie because it had a wonderful, complete story filled to the brim with brilliant character moments and philosophies that paid off at its conclusion. To date, it’s really the only one of the films that I can truly stomach on repeated viewings.

I have never been much of a fan of the franchise, which I always considered better in concept than execution. I have no doubt that Abrams and company will fuck it up even more than Berman ever could.

Comment by Ray | July 29, 2007
“Yikes … JaySmack feels pretty strongly about this!!!”
As I do about pretty much everything. Full-throttle or none at all, that’s me.

“Of course, he’s right.”
Naturally I couldn’t agree with you more!

Abrahams has one handicap that he’s not smart enough to see: Orci and Kurtzman. The two geniuses who wrote the script for Transformers and The Island. Now, I’m a huge fan of the 80’s version of Transformers, the only real Transformers, have been since I was seven. But nobody seemed to want to listen when I said Orci/Kurtzman were not only hurting TF, but cinema in general with their BullSh*t writing. Transformers is the simplest concept in the universe -it’s idiot-proof! But they decided a movie that should have been about robots in a war instead needed to be about, “a boy experiencing his manhood through his first car.” This is the same kind of arrogance that led Rick Berman to f*ck Trek up, then turn around and blame the “old” Trek fans for not wanting to tune in every week to watch his crap. And as for Orci-/Kurtzman, keep in mind many people, on this board no less, were cheering them at the time they were coldly plotting to murder the Transformers franchise.
Everyone was so jazzed to see some new CGI-techniques they just said, “Who gives a shit if Transformers is any good? We’re just looking for an e-ticket ride of a movie! Bring on the CGI!” I think now that the Bay-induced retardation these folks were under has passed, and they all are scrambling over one another to deny being in love with the turd of a flick, hopefully we can now talk about Star Trek without a bunch of retards saying, “Who cares, all we want is special effects!”
People are already having misgivings about Orci/Kurtzman, because they have a track record of two shitty movies (Island, Transformers) and one half-way decent one (Mission:Impossible 3). CGI may have induced people to accept the shitstorm of Transformers, but it won’t work with Trek. Only a story can save you. But we already know these guys can’t do it. Now that these idiots are about to bury Trek once and for all maybe people will listen next time a fellow geek tells them that some moron screenwriter or *sshole director raped their beloved franchise.

Comment by JaySmack | July 29, 2007
Whilst watching the Transformers, I really got a sinking feeling for Star Trek. I am now very worried… very worried indeed.

I was willing to let them off over The Island as it felt like Bay wanted it to go that shitty action direction in the second and third act but the Transformers has proven them to be really crappy writers.

Comment by Matt Holmes | July 30, 2007
[...] re-running in U.K. cinema’s but then came that Spock casting so I decided to go with Star Trek for last week instead, so originally I pushed this back a week to next [...]

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