Rating: 
Summary: Of What Is and Will Never Be
Review: ST:The Motion Picture has always been a conundrum. On one hand it was written by Gene Rodenberry and dealt with many of the issues that made the tv show great, spock's search for pure logic or his place in the universe, kirk's one true passion - being the captain, a plot (obviously) similar to episodes such as NOMAD, and a FANTASTIC musical score. And yet it misses on so many marks. It is extremely boring for the middle 45 minutes, has very little of the humor from the series, forces the moments that should be suspenseful but aren't (like the wormhole scene) and if you figure out what v'ger is early you can't help but sit through on hour wondering how come kirk or spock didn't figure it out a whole lot sooner.Sadly Robert Wise, an excellent director, was always working from newly updated scripts, which only proves that while Gene Roddenberry is responsible for creating Star Trek, it was always best in other's hands (Gene Coon, Harve Bennett, Nicholas Meyer). This movie despite all it's flaws could have been great with more planning, less gee whiz put you to sleep special effects, and better editing. But it will never be and Star Trek and science fiction fans are stuck with the fact of (another) blown opportunity. It will be interesting to see if Robert Wise can do anything with his quest to re-edit the movie. Yet despite it all someone at Paramount had the sense to give it one more shot with Harve Bennett at the helm. The best part of the movie is of course the score. And if you can fast forward past the idiotic looks on the crew's face for about 15 minutes as they watch a blue glow - v'ger, and accept it's failures and realize what it was trying to achieve than it's worth watching again. If however you are stuck on what it could have been then rewatch The Wrath of Kahn. Three final thoughts. I must be the only one who actually like the uniforms, well i'm not a fashion designer by day (or night). Secondly, if you have ever read Roddenberry's adaption of the movie you will probably enjoy it, but once again long for what could have been. Roddenberry was famous for rewriting history so of course the book comes out better. Finally, to all the critics of that 7 minute shot of the enterprise, go back in time to when the movie came out and tell me you didn't think it was cool at the time. Eleven years in the waiting, a little indulgence is allowed (and twenty years later that's why they have fast forward on the vcr.) The extra star in the rating is for the music!
Rating: 
Summary: Wow... look at that ship... keep looking.
Review: The special longer version has 12 minutes of additional footage, and boy, can you feel it. The film clocks in at a mind-crushing 2 hours twenty-three minutes. I'm not a critic of movies going on as long as they need, to tell a good story. But a great deal of the first hour of the movie are loving shots of the Enterprise. Over it, under it, around it, in all of it's glorious glory. The ship is panned over so much by the camera it feels like some sort of pornography. Later, we get the Space Odyssey / acid trip treatment as the Enterprise soars through various exciting colors and shapes for a very. long. time. I mean a long. time. An hour could be cut out of this movie with no ill effects. The extra twelves minutes wasn't needed, better costume design was needed. For some reason the crew is wearing t-shirts with short sleeves and enough cleavage to let the men's chest hair flail out. Why not just stick with the outfit from the TV show? Luckily by the next movie they gave the crew uniforms that didn't make me embarrassed for the cast. As for the plot, well, again, it could condensed into a forty-seven minute episode of the original series. I hate to bring up plausibility, but is the basic premise that Voyager VI has traveled the entire distance of the galaxy in three hundred years? And could a probe really gain such a mind-blowing amount of information in that time? And Voyager fell into a black hole which sent it to the other side of the galaxy near the machine planet? First, let's just fix that up by saying wormhole, instead of black hole, but I just don't buy it could have gotten back that fast. Yes, I know all the rules of the Trek Universe hadn't been sorted out yet, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. The only interesting thing I have to wonder is if the Machine Planet could have something to do with the Borg. If I had watched Voyager I would probably know the answer to that. The other major plot hole that bothered me was that the whole reason the Enterprise had to be rushed together was that it was the ONLY SHIP IN THE AREA. The Hell?? The Federation only has one ship, a semi-inoperable one, guarding Earth? Isn't this like America having one jet somewhere in Idaho to protect the entire country? Lame! Also, Kirk kinda comes off like an arrogant buffoon in the movie. The new Enterprise captain, Decker, gets ousted, of course, when Kirk decided to take control, and personally I saw Decker's side a lot better than Kirk. Especially once Kirk manages to almost get the Enterprise destroyed a few times because of his lack of knowledge about the 'new' Enterprise. Over all, a pretty bad movie. Boring shots of ships and space, not very exciting, or thought-provoking, and does not age well from the very tail end of the 1970s. I'd avoid it unless you're a Trekker that needs every Trek movie on tape or if you have a thing for hot, leggy, bald chicks. Or if you want to develop something for leggy, bald chicks. The trilogy of II, III, and IV just blows this out of the water. Get those and Star Trek: Generations, and call it a franchise.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek ¿ The Motion Sick Picture¿
Review: I love Star Trek beyond belief but this first outing is a testament to one's patience as it was just bone-achingly slow. "Damn it, Bones, we need to stop this thing now!! But before we do that, let's take a shuttle to the Enterprise" (because the transporters are conveniently down) "and show broad, wide, sweeping shots of the Enterprise that eats up so much screen time that it's a wonder that this mysterious cloud hasn't consumed us whole by now!!" In fact, Kirk seems so caught up by the majesty of the Enterprise that it's a wonder that he seems to be in such a hurried rush later. Oh, and don't get me started about the acting in various scenes. My favorite is the Enterprise's reaction to the cloud's effect on the visual screen--it just seems to be a shocked, drunken stupor and you can almost hear the "Wow...that was not good, right?" coming from every face in the room. The wormhole scene...owwwwwww. Tension is simply caused because you are waiting for someone to spout off a line, NOT because you're actually worried about the meteor hitting the ship. The costumes are painful to watch and it's easy to tell who is male or female in THIS chorus line. Thank heavens for the dramatic costume improvement from Star Trek II onwards. There are some good moments, but if you're looking for something to nap and wake up occasionally for plot, then this is your flick.
Rating:
Summary: Overlong but interesting first big screen outing
Review: At the time many were so glad for a new Trek, that we ignored the flaws in this ambitious undertaking. There are many, not the least of which is a plodding pace that prevents the movie from ever building up any momentum. Every time we are on our way, something stops the action. Much time is wasted explaining how the gang got back together. The "protaganists" are given little chance to do much protaganizing, and the ending is a rehash of an old '60s episode. Ambitious effects make the Enterprise look better than perhaps any version before or since, and later scenes portraying the intruder are spectacular, if a bit slow. The high point of the movie is the soundtrack, that mixes a sense of wonder and danger using many unusual sounds and orchestration to achieve a perfect otherworldly effect. There will be a director's cut DVD soon, that has some newly reworked scenes and effects, and it will be interesting if some of the flaws are corrected in that version.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Star Trek in tradition of series.
Review: This much maligned Trek film is actually a lot better than most people give it credit for being. It takes too long to get going (the scene showing the external view of the Enterprise for what seems like a day and half is hard to sit through) and everyone looks like they're wearing pajamas, but other than that its actually a pretty good movie. It isn't as good as Treks II, III, or IV, but it's light years beyond any Trek movie made after that. However, it is the most like the original series and will likely go unaprreciated by anyone who didn't like that series. However, ironically fans of the series seem to be its harshest critics. Star Trek the Motion Picture was released with much fanfare to eager Trekkies who'd been starving for more Trek for over a decade. As it was, it clouldn't help to be a let down. But when seen with more realistic expectations it is a enjoyeable film. I would recommend this film to anyone, but Star Trek fans most of all. I would especially encourage fans of the original series who have seen this film and didn't like it to see it again. I used to hate this movie too and now I enjoy it much.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek - The Unfinished Motion Picture
Review: I saw ST-TMP when it was first released in December of 1979. I had eagerly awaited the movie's release because I have been a fan of Star Trek since the original series. The movie, as I have come to find out, was released in a hurry and was not finished as it should have been. Now, I am eagerly awaiting the release of the new DVD "completed" version, and I'm hoping that it will be better than the original. Most people I have discussed the original with say that it is just an updated version of the "Nomad" episode of the original series. Indeed, there are many similarities evident, both in the book and the movie. BUT... I've seen the movie many times and still enjoy it every time. I guess you have to be a true Star Trek fan to understand it.
Rating:
Summary: CARBON-BASED UNITS CREATE WINNING ENTERPRISE
Review: It's difficult to fathom now, but until the release of STAR TREK II three years later, 1979's STAR TREK - THE MOTION PICTURE was considered the best STAR TREK movie ever. While audiences were duly impressed by it's state-of-the-art special effects and majestic Jerry Goldsmith score, the film is primarily remembered now for introducing one of the series' most popular characters, the wylie Ensign Perez, into the STAR TREK lexicon. Fans of the show eagerly responded to the gentle warmth and good humour of the Ensign, yet the merchandising potential of the character has largely gone unexplored by the powers that be. I can still remember the adrenalin rush seeing the film gave me in '79. With a new director's cut coming on DVD, fans will have the chance to re-evaluate the picture's merits. Personally, I love the film for it's thoughtful, compelling storyline and almost non-stop action. The only way the picture could be improved upon would be to restore some of the "lost" Ensign Perez footage. Rumour also has Goldsmith's closing credits music being replaced with Elton John's "Rocket Man," to give the film much more of a "feel good" ending. The new version should bring the film back in a BIG way. If you've never seen STAR TREK - THE MOTION PICTURE, prepare to be rewarded "beyond the dreams of avarice." This is a special film that occupies a special place in the STAR TREK pantheon. Many thanks to the finest crew in Starfleet, especially Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Perez.
Rating: 
Summary: This is one of the best Trek movies out there. Hurry up DVD
Review: Some people, like my brother, will dis on this movie. However, I enjoyed it. But it seems that the DVD is taking a long while to get here. But the Disc News says it's worth the wait
Rating:
Summary: A very under-rated movie
Review: I think most people may not have liked the first Tek film as much as the others is because expectations were too high. It also did not have the elements of the show that the Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock had, but looking back now it is a good film in it's own right. It was slower-moving, but I takes a lot of hard work to make the transition from small screen to silver screen. Case in point: X-Files Fight The Future. A huge cloud is vaporizing everything in it's path, and the only ship capable of intercepting it in time is the refurbished Enterprise, with a new captain and crew. But Kirk takes command, and brings along his old bridge officers. The takes a while to get moving, but it is an interesting first look at the movie series, and still an enjoyable experience.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting as an artifact, but a weak movie.
Review: This is easily the weakest of the Trek movies (yes, V was an overbudgeted episode of TOS, but I will give Shatner credit for trying, at least.) A friend of mine calls it "Star Trek: The Motionless Picture." It's the only Trek movie I know that most people don't want to see. And now, with the Special Edition DVD being prepared, we know why. Paramount, in their infinite wisdom, apparently simply tossed the first assembly up on the screen. That's right, folks, this video is literally ALL the scenes and cuts Bob Wise was going to use, basically the second draft of a novel. You've got a lot of cutting to do, but there's a good job buried in there. This was apparently mentioned in the original interview footage that was going to be on the DVD, but Paramount is apparently cutting it heavily, trying to erase just how close they came to killing this franchise dead. If you're a hardcore Trekkie and nothing more, save your money for the (probably) Special Edition DVD. The movie's being edited, special effects are being added, and what we'll see will probably be at least fifteen minutes shorter and, I'm betting, a star better. Bob Wise is no slouch, check out his "The Haunting" (no, not the Liam Neeson version! The GOOD one, the black and white one made in the 60s!) Plus, they can toss all the TV pilot crap that was in it. If you're a film student, you should buy this AND the DVD, because it'll be an interesting lesson to compare the two. The movie, as it stands, reeks. As I said above, the DVD version will probably be better. It's WHY it's better that's worth paying attention to.
| 
