Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: December 7, 1979

6.4	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 134 Ratings

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MasadaJul 30, 2019

Awesome special effects barely save this movie from it's dull and dialogue-heavy pace.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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SpangleMar 17, 2016

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is by no means a trainwreck, but it is also just not very good. Overlong with a nonsense plot, Star Trek certainly drags at times and really would have been well advised to pick up the pace. The special effectsStar Trek: The Motion Picture is by no means a trainwreck, but it is also just not very good. Overlong with a nonsense plot, Star Trek certainly drags at times and really would have been well advised to pick up the pace. The special effects look dated, but for 1979, they are not too bad. At times, they are quite bad, but at others, incredibly impressive. The acting comes in and out. Moments are comically bad due to bad delivery, but at others, they really do a solid job. All of this being said, Star Trek is still quite a fun film that does entertain for the most part. For me, this one is better than the original Star Wars for that reason. The decent special effects, solid acting, and entertaining aspects of this one, are all improvements over its sci-fi franchise rival. Above all, the world and characters it introduces seem intriguing enough for me to keep trucking through this series. All in all, a non-disaster of a start.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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Rox22Sep 23, 2013

To be fair, for its time, it wasn't that bad. It was a big step up from the original series in almost every regard, writing, effects, "acting" and overall plot. But, it was far too slow paced that almost all the magic gets sucked away whileTo be fair, for its time, it wasn't that bad. It was a big step up from the original series in almost every regard, writing, effects, "acting" and overall plot. But, it was far too slow paced that almost all the magic gets sucked away while you are waiting for something interesting to happen.

Overall:
I give it credit for what it is: the first of many and paving the way for the rest of the franchise to follow. The movie might have sucked a little, but at least it stood for something.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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WalkingDead5640Jun 8, 2014

It doesn't capture all of what made the original series so brilliant. Many might say it's a long screensaver. I think it tried to be 2001: A Space Odyssey, epic and almost feels like a Disney world ride. That said it does have some remarkableIt doesn't capture all of what made the original series so brilliant. Many might say it's a long screensaver. I think it tried to be 2001: A Space Odyssey, epic and almost feels like a Disney world ride. That said it does have some remarkable stunning visuals, some tension, good soundtrack and SFX and decent enough story. Anyway it's still Star Trek, so no hate.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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ZerpnosMar 5, 2017

Star Wars efsanesinden sonra ortaya çıkan Star Trek efsanesi biraz daha uzayda araştırma amaçlı bir film olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Star wars gibi aksiyon veremeyen film bana göre kötünün iyisi olarak izlediğim filmler arasında yer alıyor. İkiStar Wars efsanesinden sonra ortaya çıkan Star Trek efsanesi biraz daha uzayda araştırma amaçlı bir film olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Star wars gibi aksiyon veremeyen film bana göre kötünün iyisi olarak izlediğim filmler arasında yer alıyor. İki filminde aşırı Fanboyları kavgalar içinde tutuşurken iki seriden de keyif almaya çalışan biri olarak beklenileni veremediğinin düşüncesindeyim.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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amheretojudgeJun 26, 2018

a misguided plot dipped into a space-fest..

Star Trek : The Motion Picture The makers takes too much time to sink their teeth in their characters and the surrounding offered to them, leaving them spending away their first act which isa misguided plot dipped into a space-fest..

Star Trek : The Motion Picture

The makers takes too much time to sink their teeth in their characters and the surrounding offered to them, leaving them spending away their first act which is clearly not feasible as they suffer for it latter on their second act which grows obvious as it ages on screen, creating an enormous amount of pressure on the last act to pull it off, which they do, but it isn't glorifying enough to save the almost sunken ship. It is rich on technical aspects like visual effects, make-up design and production design but is short on editing. Robert Wise's execution is appreciative but it could have been a lot better and so could have been the screenplay by Harold Livingston which never even attempts to seek the attention of the viewers. The returned characters have hold on to their roles especially by Leonard Nimoy and William Shartner, although the maturity seemed to be missing in there. The writer uses the magnitude of the characters and their chemistry among each other and chooses their moments wisely which helps the feature survive for a bit longer period. Star Trek : The Motion Picture is a misguided plot dipped into a space-fest of unknown creatures and regions whose well written characters are the only thread to hold on to.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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AmyBeneventoDec 9, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Some viewers say that this movie is boring with its endless panning of the ship and other scenes. I agree that scenes are way too long, but I did not find the movie boring. However, I would like to edit out about 30% of the movie. There are too many long pauses between dialogue, and the camera drags along a scene way too long.

While I prefer movies that are too slow (this one) than too fast ("action–action–action" millennial movies), this was the slowest movie I ever saw in my life. I could leave the movie and go to the bathroom, and when I came back, the screen was still showing the same thing. Heck, I could take a shower… go shopping… take a weekend trip, and still, same frame.

The movie left me cold. Something didn’t work right with the characters. It was like they were all constipated and uptight. Kirk lacked his typical backbone and seemed confused throughout the show. He didn’t take command. They didn’t show how awesome he was as a Captain.

What I *did* like was how they introduced the cast, one at a time. They showed what each character was like during the 5-year lapse before they each re-enetered Starfleet. For example, when asked, “What are you going to do now?”, Kirk responded “I’m just going to go home.” He seemed defeated.
Spock was first shown with long hair on Vulcan, entered the Enterprise with a haircut, but still wearing his Vulcan attire, a black cape.
Bones came on with a full beard and civilian clothes, well dressed.
Scotty unfortunately grew a mustache.

I didn’t understand Spock's yo-yoing. When he was a young adult, he was more emotional (with Uhura as his girlfriend). During the Original Series, Spock was, well… the Spock we all know. Then, in “The Motion Picture”, he’s emotionless, even after he refused the “Be Emotional-less and only Logical” ritual on Vulcan. In the later movies when he got older, he was much more emotional. When he’s an old man and visits his younger self, he made peace with his human side, and even embraced it. However, in this movie, Spock was funny when he finally was his old self and said to McCoy, “As typical, your ramblings are insignificant” after McCoy insulted him.

McCoy was the only character who was himself. Maybe Scotty was too.

When they showed the ship’s red alerts, I was surprised it was now in English. In the original series, it was just a red light, which I would think is more advanced than English in a multi-cultured and diverse crew… and not just multi-cultured or multi-global, but multi-galaxy-ed! English, really?

The transporter malfunction was an intense scene. The sound of the screams were well done, very creepy. Cool how the visual was left to imagination, similar to the awesome effects that Hitchcock used to do. Now days, they would show it—a glob of flesh and blood melted in a pool on the transporter floor. I did like when they revealed that “V-ger” was Voyager. When Kirk rubbed the dust off the “ova” in the word VOYAGER that was on the 1977 ship, that was cool. It reminded me of the scene in PLANET OF THE APES when it was revealed they were in a NYC subway.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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liamexeOct 8, 2022

The criticisms of this movie that have been made are mostly similar and reasonable. The old pun "Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture" neatly sums them all. And for significant stretches of time, this movie is indeed "slow." Many people haveThe criticisms of this movie that have been made are mostly similar and reasonable. The old pun "Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture" neatly sums them all. And for significant stretches of time, this movie is indeed "slow." Many people have probably seen the parody vids of Kirk gazing lovingly at his old ship while the camera wanders about the Enterprise for about five minutes, or later when the crew arrives at V-ger and we are given an endlessly long look at an uninteresting blue screen special effect. I would suggest to just watch the TV shows instead works way better than a movie but not all movies are terrible.… Expand

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