This film maximizes what I believe to be the fundamental flaw of the Star Trek series. That is, its excessive focus on embroidery and limited attention to story. About 30% of the entire series of tv shows and films revolves solely around organizational behavior and images (such as the starship enterprise in spacedock before its voyage and the crew in their armani-like uniforms). The rest is silly bickering and drawn out dialogue. In the case of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a major weakness is the storyline. I won't give any of it away, but most viewers agree that the ending, in which "all questions are answered" was disappointing at best, and, at worst, an insult to cinemagoers. Even more ridiculous was the fact that this movie was released two years after the blockbuster Star Wars, which many of star trek's pseudointellectual fans regard as inferior because of its stunning action sequences (despite the brilliant writing and dialogue), but clearly prompted Paramount to rush out this expensive flic. And it looks like a $35 million (in much more valuable 1978 dollars) tv show. Captain Kirk has a large staff of officers on a spacious bridge, and it literally takes 10 minutes to carry out each decision "Mr. Sulu, one quarter impulse power..." "Aye sir, one quarter impulse power" or "Uhura, get me starfleet command." One wonders if its really progress that the 23rd century became so bureaucratic. This stands in sharp contrast to Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, which definitely cuts through the red tape--Han Solo can get the millenium falcon at light speed and shoot half a dozen tie fighters before the enterprise even gets out of the garage. I can't give anyone a reason not to see this film, and its been played quite a bit on the TNN cable network, along with its slightly faster paced sequels, so give it a try if you're into sci fi movies.
Review of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
