Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Directed By: Robert Wise

Directing – 7

Wise’s direction was fine, but it wasn’t amazing. There are a few scenes that go possibly go on for a little longer than expected. Also, the first half was quite entertaining, while the second half was rather slow.

Cinematography – 8

The cinematography was good, but there are times where it does a not always work in some scenes, some parts in the film look a little unrealistic at times, but it does capture the feeling and massiveness of space.

Score – 9

The score is actually really good, but there are a few times where it does try to be bombastic in terms of certain reveals and scenes.

Story – 7

The story itself was fine, and I’m not not sure if this is true, but apparently it has a lot of resemblance to 2001: A Space Odyssey, I have yet to see that film, but I have seen clips, so I can see some of the resemblance. Also, a lot of the costumes are very cheesy, and it feels like a lot of the cast are wearing pajamas. I don’t remember too much of the dialogue, but it seemed fine enough to tell its story. Also, I’m not sure if this is just a director’s decision or something within the script, or maybe both, but like I said there are scenes that do carry on for a little longer than necessary. It almost feels like with some scenes one can maybe make a meal and, you may not miss anything. And it isn’t like a couple scenes, but more like three or four. It’s not a bad story/script its just some things could’ve been approached differently in terms of story.

Acting – 7

The acting was fine, I don’t think there were many bad performances, but some could’ve been a little better at times. Some times they can come across as straight forward, say your lines in a nice way enough to tell the story, but no more intensity or extremeness. The performances were a bit quiet, no one in this film was really a breakout star I would say, everyone seemed fine. It wasn’t bad, everyone was fine and believable, but not enough risk taking. A slight spoiler, when Spock returns to the Enterprise Kirk seems a little happy, but nothing like, “Oh hey! You’re back!” No big excitement just enough to help with the story. Another slight spoiler, Even Kirk and Deckard they kind of have a love hate relationship going on and even it feels a bit contained, for the most part. Th acting was fine, it wasn’t awful to the point where I was like, “Oh my goodness, the acting is awful.” Except for maybe a few instances, it was just nice, but it could’ve been a little more. There is also a couple scenes where some performances can come across as cheesy or iffy. Other than that, it was fine.

Post-Production – 7

For post-production, I can’t be too harsh on this because it did come out in the late 70s. I will say however, they did try to push the boundaries and do a little more, and it doesn’t always work. At times, it does work, some shots look incredible. Other times the effects look iffy.

Entertainment – 7

From an entertainment standpoint it was okay. The first hour of the film felt actually pretty entertaining. After that, it began to drag. The last maybe 20ish minutes were okay because of its story and certain reveals, but overall it was okay. Another thing, whether the filmmakers or fans disagree, it did seem like there was a lot of heavy inspiration from both 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars: A New Hope. Finally, the film overall was alright.

Final Rating

7.6/10 – Not bad. It was alright overall.