Stag

Minor spoilers below - if you care

Did anyone see this fan film (or whatever the hell they are calling it)? I watched it yesterday and I have to say I was pretty disappointed.

With all the hype that has been surrounding this project I expected alot more. This was poor compared to New Voyages and I don't think New Voyages is that great (but they are improving).

I think the excitement surrounded all the TREK alumni acting in this film and Tim Russ directing. Well, the acting was what you would expect in a fan film - wooden and bland.

It seemed like they had all these actors standing around off stage and chose them to fill roles as if they were choosing sides in a dodgeball game ... "Hmmm, what role can we use Cirroc Lofton in? Oh how about Gary Graham, where can we plug him into the story???".

The direction was fan film quality as well. Tim Russ cannot tell a story...why is there a NCC-1701-M that looks like the TOS 1701? I know why but you really had to figure it out.

The SFX are certainly not broadcast/film quality but appear to be cartoonish in many respects. This did not bother me as much since I know it is a fan production and I expect less in that regard.

Soooooo...

The positives:

It is good to see the TREK alumni. We are getting to a stage where this may be the last time we see many of these actors on film due to their age/health. It is also good to see some of the newer TREK actors like the aforementioned Cirroc Lofton. I did not recognize him at first, expecting to see the lanky teen from DS9 for some reason. The funny thing is when he shows up, he looks like a young Avery Brooks but as he appeared in later seasons in DS9 - goatee and bald head - but sounds just like he did on DS9.

The actress who plays 7 of 9 in the alternate timeline - hot hot hot - in a trailer park sort of way.

The SFX, a couple of nice surprise moments. Plus expected quality of this sort of film.

James Cawley - yeah the Capt. Kirk from New Voyages, plays a different role in this production, but shit, I still thought of him as Jim Kirk of New Voyages.

The New Voyages Enterprise bridge set is used...always looks nice to me.


The Negatives...

Acting - sheesh, pretty shitty considering most of the speaking parts are by professionals.

Direction - uneven, quick cuts in some places, the pacing is too quick, gaps in the story (which may be due to an over zealous editor, but one would presume the director is involved) and certainly Tim Russ did not get the best out of his actors.

Too many TREK alumni, not enough for them to do.

Guardian of Forever ... again

Time travel/changes in space time continuum ... again

Starfleet uniforms...why can't anyone get the red uniforms from the TREK movies TWOK through TUC correct. They always look like they are made from the wrong material, cut wrong, hang wrong. Look pretty cheap.

Overall considering the hype, the delays and the people involved I am disappointed, I give it a score of 4 out of 10.

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Brikar

The uniforms used in those movies were ridiculously expensive and very uncomfortable for the actors to wear while filming. To look that good, they had to be made out of this nasty thick material. A bunch of costumes were stolen from "The Final Frontier", and the cost something like over $100,000. And I can't imagine a fan project having the kind of professional costuming of a major motion picture, regardless of how many (relatively) big-name actors are involved.

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Bean

I guess this is an element of films that is easy to overlook. It's not anywhere near as simple as "does it fit the actor". That's probably the LAST consideration for costuming in alot of cases. The costumes, especially in Trek movies, are more like props.

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Cymro

I don't understand why though, really, I mean it seems to be made of the same stuff we make dress suits out of today, and I don't get how it could look any worse on Camera if it were made out of cheaper materials that looked the same.

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