As if the whole frightful thing were my fault just because it brought me hope, the Ranting Economist woke me up twice during the night to groan about how dreadful the new Star Trek movie was. In fact he is currently ranting about it on the phone.
Yes, the new Star Trek is dreadful; and no, there is no way to save a planet from a supernova by transforming its exploding sun into a singularity, the premise upon which the plot of the movie lays. A premise, I might add, that was not worked into the plot as it would have been were this actually a good movie; but one that was spelled out to a young Captain Kirk by an old Mr. Spock, played by the one, the only, the true, the Leonard Nimoy. Yes, yes, yes, the plot is brought to you by the cliché of time travel; here without any of the usual plot restrictions of the collapse of “All-Time” should a character encounter his future/past self in the present (huh?). Moreover, the whole time travel premise of the plot, such as it is, is never explained, not even through the lazy device of narration.
Suffice it to say that the whole movie is a series of clichés loosely strung together into an incoherent and pedantic plot. Given this, an interesting question remains as it pertains to me and the Ranting Economist: How come neither of us got up to walk out of the movie theater as we’ve done countless times in the past when confronted with this level of doo-doo? And moreover, why was I buoyed by the whole thing even though I should have left the movie retching in tandem with the groans emanating from the Ranting Economist?
Weeelll, I can’t speak for Curtis, but for me, at least, it’s because of the hope “theng”. The entire raison d’être of the movie was to set back the clock in order to resurrect the old crew, albeit with new actors, and start a new franchise with the ones, the only(s), the old, the tried, the true, and the much beloved characters of the one, the only, the first Star Trek. And although this is a transparent ploy to make more oodles of money for the ST franchise precisely by tapping into the kind of nostalgia I have for the old show, it, pathetically, does bring me hope.
Curtis left the movie cursing and spitting hellfire; while I left filled with joy because now Hollywood could actually go back to the “past” and make more movies featuring the crew of the original, who, to those of us who grew up watching them, are like family, the kind you want to spend time with. The fact that neither Curtis nor I left the theater before the end of this shuddersome movie is a testament to the character development in the first series. It was that alone that kept us seated; and knowing my husband the way I do, that truly is an amazing feat. Now, if the next movie is this bad, I too will be spitting hellfire. But here’s to hoping....
or a black hole, as Mr. Spock had to explain to the viewing audience who might not have come into contact with the word “singularity”; even though chances are that if you’ve never come upon the word “singularity”, your grasp of the concept of a “black hole” might be somewhat limited as well, even more limited than that of those lay people who actually have come upon it.
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