LOL! Yeah. Leonard Nimoy =/= Leonard McCoy. Nice catch - my bad.

 

I have never been a Star Trek fan. My father always has been and once in a blue moon I'd watch some of the original episodes or movies with him, but that was a long time ago and I barely remember those times.

So when I saw this movie on Saturday with my dad and my sister, I was blown away. I was grateful that I didn't have to know 50 years of Star Trek canon to understand this movie.

The movie had an epic feel to it, and unlike the recent Star Wars movies, it did not suck.

The story was pretty straightforward and the acting was top notch, except for a few moments where I expected Spock to cut open someone's head. Chris Pine was the standout for me. He just has a natural charisma and swagger that held my attention.

The action was great. There was nothing over-the-top or Michael Bay influenced. This was truly a character-driven picture in my mind. The special effects were astounding, perhaps the best I've seen in a sci-fi movie.

After thoroughly enjoying the movie, I went home. Around 3:00 in the morning I saw an episode of Star Trek on the CW titled "The Doomsday Machine." I really enjoyed it and noticed some phrases and actions that appeared in the movie. When I told my dad I liked an old episode he said we should watch "The Wrath of Khan."

We'll be watching that later.

So this new Star Trek movie has gotten me interested in watching the old series.

 

It was great because Abram's wasn't a trekkie, he didn't have to throw in all the nerdy shit that regular joes woudn't understand and the space battles were off the hook.

 

..

Spoiler

They promoted him because he stopped the attack on earth. He beat the no-win test(Kobayashi Maru). Tried to promote peace with the romulans.

"Kirk got a commendation for "original thinking", and later commented wistfully that his stunt "had the virtue of never having been tried." Kirk would later defend his "cheating" by arguing that he didn't believe in the no-win scenario."


The ship were just built and still needed a crew.
All of the other starfleet ships and officers were in some battle.
The officers that were on the ships full of cadets were still rooks or werent the battle type

Pike made Kirk First officer because of his warning about the attack on Vulcan. Not to mention Kirk was just lke his father..

 

The movie was lovely- exceeded my wildest expectations (although to be honest, I didn't have very high ones walking into the theater).

There was also eye-candy galore.

It almost made me want to go watch the old Star Trek episodes.

Almost.

But then I realized that William Shatner is no Chris Pine. And Leonard Nimoy couldn't quite follow up Zachary Quinto.

 

Star Trek ends the weekend with $79.2M.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/weekend-prediction-star-trek-65m/

 

Exactly what I was going to say to all of you guys bitching about the battlefield promotion. Pike was more a man of the heart, and he trusted that Kirk would do a good job.

Spoiler

I like the fact that Pike ended up crippled anyways, to a lesser extent than he did in ToS, but still crippled.

 

Regarding the battlefield promotion:

Spoiler

Technically, Kirk should've been in the brig for the whole fucking movie, because he sneaked aboard the Enterprise when he was supposed to stay on Earth. Also, the whole 'Acting Physician' thing was a load of bullshit contrived to get Kirk aboard the ship, or so I think. Not much of a trekkie, see. Anyway, there were better people to give the promotion to, like tested officers, not some green rookie who's just like pops.

I caught a few discrepancies in the movie, but I'm not going to be nit-picky and bring scientif theory into this. In any case, did anyone else think

Spoiler

The corvette scene

was awesome? :awesome Beastie Boys' Sabotage + Car Chase = win, IMO.

 

My two cents: Pike had immense respect for Kirk's father, and was the one who originally asked Kirk to join Starfleet, thus, in a situation where any other captain would have sent Kirk to the brig, he listened to what he had to say (it only helps that he was right and ultimately saved all of their lives) and gave him the benefit of the doubt. To throw the dude in jail when he succeeded in saving an entire ship would be ludicrous. You can say that he didn't deserve to be promoted, but that was Pike's decision and in the heat of the moment he did something that most captains wouldn't do - and it paid off beautifully.

Now, whether it's bullshit that Spock stepped down and left the Enterprise in the hands of an unproven cadet-turned-officer is still debatable... but I don't think it took away from the movie at all.

 

He had to.
Order 691 or something. Not to mention Kirk was a better choice than him at the time.

 

I realize he had to as he was compromised by the situation or whatever, and then Kirk was the only First Officer within range, but still... my point stands - Kirk was unproven and left in control of a ship on the verge of a battle with forces much stronger than his own.

 

Kirk wasnt unproven. He was one of the best cadets in the Academy.

There is a reason that everyone cites Kirk.

 

He was already going to graduate early.
The entire crew was made up of cadets. Kirk was the best of all of them. And seeing how the situation needed the best Pike made him 1st officer.

Best in his class.
Highest scores.
Beat an No-win test scenario.
Saw an attack no one else did.
Helped save Vulcans.
Saved Earth (Humans were always favored) And the Federation.
Kept the crew alive.
Pike liked him.

And just how long after the attack did his promotion take place?



Kirk was one of the youngest Starfleet officers to become Captain.

 

Before he was put on Academic Suspension he was close to graduating early

 

There's a simpler explanation:

Star Trek without Captain Kirk is like mexican food without beer.

 

Egads. It's motherfucking Kirk. And motherfucking Spock. Could the movie have ended with any other satisfactory conclusion than Captain Kirk and first officer Spock flying away on the Enterprise? No.

The movie was fun as shit. A great reboot that sucks in legions of new fans while still satisfying most of the old ones.

I can't tell if these promotion arguments are more like banging your head against the wall or arguing HP canon with Taure. Eh, what's the difference?

The movie was better than pretty much every expectation. Near perfect blend of humor, drama, character introduction, and action. See it if you haven't.

 

Actually in the military Chain of Command does not stem from rank but from duty position. There are a couple of possible and very realistic reasons for Pike to give Kirk the position of First Officer.

1: The crewman that were Officers weren't "Command" Officers. A combat unit won't grab a crewman from a support unit to fill a command position. A Lieutenant in the Infantry will become the leader of a Combat Brigade before the Colonel in charge of Medical Support will.

2: Not to needlessly disrupt the existing Chain of Command. If Pike had made Sulu First Officer, then someone underneath Sulu would have to take his position, which would be filled by the man under him, and ongoing.

I don't really see an issue with Kirk being picked as First Officer, though I agree being made permanent Captain of the Flag Ship was unrealistic. I think they should have shown StarFleet getting decimated a bit more, and spoke a bit about how pretty much every other high ranking Officer had been killed.