STAR TREK 2… EVERYONE’S JUST WAITING ON JJ

I love how the prevailing wisdom that JJ Abrams had nothing to do with the script problems in STAR TREK and only improved everything with his presence and lens flares. This is a sentiment I've heard echoed in many places other than here, BTW.

He had TONS to do with that script, something this article makes very clear. If you have big problems with the movie ( I don't; as a non-Trek fan, I enjoyed the crap out of the movie, plotholes and all) don't blame it all on Orci and Kurtzmann and absolve Abrams of all guilt. C'mon guys, you know movies aren't made that way.

Good thing the article doesn't express the sentiment of that prevailing wisdom.

I think Sebastian points out that you didn't jump on the bandwagon of that prevailing wisdom, Renn.  I think he's just kinda directing it at people in general.

I want this sequel pretty badly, but trying to cram something as complex as one of these into such a short time frame doesn't make sense, no matter how important a summer release may be. The fans who have to wait and hope for more deserve better than this cold, slapdash approach.

I'm with you there Bobby no sequel would be better than a poor one, see The Matrix and Pirates of the Caribbean for example.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian OB 

I love how the prevailing wisdom that JJ Abrams had nothing to do with the script problems in STAR TREK and only improved everything with his presence and lens flares. This is a sentiment I've heard echoed in many places other than here, BTW.

 

He had TONS to do with that script, something this article makes very clear.

Yeah, reacting to the general consensus, not the article.

To be fair, the reboot struck a nerve with the nerds...and everyone else who goes to the movies too. That sequel will be a monster hit no matter where it ends up and put some real butt-pain to its competition next year...except for The Dark Knight Rises.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian OB 

I love how the prevailing wisdom that JJ Abrams had nothing to do with the script problems in STAR TREK and only improved everything with his presence and lens flares. This is a sentiment I've heard echoed in many places other than here, BTW.

 

He had TONS to do with that script, something this article makes very clear. If you have big problems with the movie ( I don't; as a non-Trek fan, I enjoyed the crap out of the movie, plotholes and all) don't blame it all on Orci and Kurtzmann and absolve Abrams of all guilt. C'mon guys, you know movies aren't made that way.

I guess that depends what parts of the script he had a hand in. There was some almost unforgivably lazy and stupid plot shit in there definitely, but it was the characters that made the movie work and the material was solid enough in that area for the cast to shine.

The problem with the script is that it favored action and excitement over logic. In my opinion, it was clearly designed to be everything Star Trek films hadn't been up to that point, and if that meant depending on coincidences and glossing over plotholes to keep the momentum going, that was what it was going to do. They probably could have easily fixed a few glaring problems (Nero's feeble motives for his personal vendetta against Spock for instance) , but the writer's strike probably played a hand in that not happening.

That said, if this film is similarly lazy for no other reason than the studio rushing to a release date, that would be unfortunate.

Let's also not forget that a large chunk of the movie was shot with an incomplete script due to the WGA strike. Quite literally--they were shooting while people were picketing outside. Ortzman and Kurci were on set, but in a producer capacity only. Much of the day-to-day was improvised, since they weren't allowed to write anything down. There were reshoots after the strike was resolved, but that was trying to slap a band aid on a wound. The script was slapdash, yes, but people were forgiving because Abrams--as a director--still managed to deliver an entertaining and at least halfway coherent adventure film. 

That said, a year to put together a sequel and there's no script sounds like a recipe for the same result. People were forgiving because of the circumstances last time; it won't cut it twice.

Again this is mostly plot mechanics stuff, which I agree weren't particularly good. The script favoured action and excitement over logic, but to its credit I don't think it favoured those things over the characters.

I want this sequel really bad...but I want it to be done right. I'd rather not have one than get one that is hastily put together and not as enjoyable as the first one.

I'm surprised there would be suggestions that this movie could be rushed after there's been hardly any news about it over the past two years. I assumed that the lack of news was a sign that the writers were developing the hell out of the script, which bodes well for the possibility of a sequel with better writing. I enjoyed the characters and performances in "Star Trek", but the plot really pissed me off. I was almost moved to tears by the opening sequence. As the movie went along, I started getting excited as there seemed to be a very real possibility that this could be the best Star Trek movie yet. Then Nimoy showed up and explained the Nero character's back story and I knew that despite all the things this movie did right, in the end it would be but a spot on the ass of the best older Star Trek movies. What a bummer that was.

Really like this thread so far. Its on the right nerve. Orci and Kurtzman have to be watched like a 5 year old playing with paint chips. Abrams gets a pass based on his execution but that Star Trek turned out halfway decent to good was shocking considering.

Here is hoping they have what it takes.

With that said they have been very confident and patient in getting a sequel out there and I wonder if it will hurt the demand/anticipation.

Another thing is where is the drama now once the reboot has been done? Spock didn't quite work for me but wasn't terrible so I am curious how they handle psycho Spock (as Devin pointed out in his review) in the sequel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul C 

 

There was some almost unforgivably lazy and stupid plot shit in there definitely, but it was the characters that made the movie work and the material was solid enough in that area for the cast to shine.

So it was exactly like the TV series!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cylon Baby 

So it was exactly like the TV series!

Come on. Everyone knows TOS was the ultimate in hard sci-fi.