Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Robert Mitchum besides being targeted by the bad guys gets to do little more than flee for his life. However those on-the-run scenes are some of the best chase scenes I've seen. When he escapes the clutches of the crime boss and hit's the crowded Macao streets, he really looks like a man fleeing for his life. And the chase on the docks through a jungle of fishing nets, damn impressive! And that's all von Sternberg's work.

Excuse me, wasn't that the story plot of the original Star Trek episode The Changeling?...I remember being so excited that ST had 'come back' and was on the big screen. Back in 1979 I seen STTMP at my local drive-in. I can't quite remember what I thought of it back then. But I image as a ST fan I approved of the movie, and yet I seem to recall thinking that it wasn't anything at all like the TV show.

There's good reason STTMP doesn't resemble the familiar television series that ran from 1966 to 1969, then went on to live long and prosper in syndication. I must have watched the original ST series more times than there were Tribbles on space station K7.

From what I read, producer Gene Roddenberry was hell bent to make the movie much, much, more serious than the often campy TV series that millions loved. I bet good ole' Gene was tired of hearing that his Star Trek TV was made for kids and that 2001 A Space Odyssey was real sci-fi. That might explain why Roddenberry ignored the pleas of the original cast members to have more characterization in the script.


From what I read all the cast members were unhappy with the focus of the film on special effects and quasi cerebral ideas. I say quasi cerebral as STTMP falls far short in it's attempt to doing something grand like 2001 or Solaris did. Let's face it, the original series wasn't always the deepest stories, and had plot holes big enough to drive a Constellation class starship through...BUT what made the show legendary was the personalities and interactions of of the Enterprise crew. Sadly that personal touch is missing in the 1st Star Trek movie.

I can't deny the special effects look great, especially by 1979 standards. But how long do I need to stare at the Enterprise in space dock? And how long do I need to see the insides of Vyager, with its endless imagery that puts new meaning into the phrase: 'enough already'.




There's scant few goose bump moments where the film makes me really care about what's going on. I just kind of watch scene by scene roll by...By far the most interesting ST character to me was Dr McCoy. Why did he leave Star Fleet, and what's up with that beard? A little of his (and the other's) backstory would have been nice, but we get little to none of that. The scenes of Spock on Vulcan would seem to be the most interesting and yet to me they were visually and emotional weak compared to the episode Amok Time.

I'll give the movie high marks to STTMP for saving the Star Trek franchise. Though I wish they would have stopped before those J.J. Abrams abominations disrupted the time line.