Review of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) by Valtteri M — 10 Jan 2011

Star Trek ("The Original Series" as it has been later referred to as) ran for only three seasons in the later half of the 1960's. Creator Gene Roddenberry tried to continue his magic by producing an animated series a few years later, but it was also cancelled after two seasons. So what started the process of Star Trek becoming one of the most memorable franchises in history?

In 1979 Robert Wise directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture. A film that started a line of legendary sequels and gave Star Trek a new boost. Even so, it's significance in movie history can never change the fact that it's a bad film.

Instead of shooting for a thrilling drama, Star Trek: The Motion Picture goes for some sort of a 2001: A Space Odyssey style work of art - becoming an utter failure. Endless lines of painfully long images of space and space ships with Jerry Goldsmith's score playing on the background. This - and I mean nothing else - goes on for the first two hours, and after this, an exciting unexpected ending is supposed to recover all the damage done?

It's fascinating how the characters have developed after the series. Mainly due to the fact that they are ten years older. The main cast has been resurrected, you see. And the film actually works okay as a first chapter of a longer saga. But as a motion picture of it's own - as the title so boldly claims - it bites the dust hard.