Just what I expected

Best movie of this year hands down!

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Having been one of the shows that was part of my childhood and growing up, the original 'Star Trek' still holds up as great and ground-breaking, even if not perfect.The first 'Star Trek' endeavour, 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture', was and still is heavily criticised by critics and the opinions on fans is a mixed bag of passionate defence and extreme hate. Personally belong in neither extreme. 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' is not as bad as its reputation, but it is a deeply flawed (even for the first 'Star Trek' film and everything has to start somewhere) and paved the way for better 'Star Trek' films, apart from the critically derided 'The Final Frontier'.Starting with 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture's' flaws, the pace definitely could have been tightened with the first half being particularly ponderous and aside from the visuals uneventful. This part could easily have been trimmed down and considerably shorter rather than being an effort to disguise that there was not enough story to justify the overlong length.Casting is uneven, with subtlety once again eluding William Shatner and very little done with the Enterprise team. Stephen Collins seems out of his depth as Decker in a role that didn't seem that difficult, instead seeming underwritten. Persis Khambatta spends much of her screen time looking awestruck. Some of the script is too patchwork and talky.However, 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' looks amazing, a big improvement over the production values of the show. Whereas the production values were one of the original series' few faults, the production values are where this film most excels. It is beautifully and atmospherically photographed, with a '2001: A Space Odyssey' (which is quite a compliment) influence and awe-inspiring special effects. The music by Jerry Goldsmith adds hugely, it's rousing stuff and the main theme is iconic. The sound effects have a suitable eeriness.Much of the script is intelligent and thought-provoking, while the more plot oriented and character-driven second half has the delightful interaction, conflicts and development that made me a fan of 'Star Trek' in the first place, this element was always one of the original series' biggest strengths. There is a thrown in and underwritten subplot, but there is an astonishingly clever and shocking subplot and a suspenseful climax There is a '2001' grandeur to Robert Wise's directing.While the Enterprise crew disappoint and Shatner refuses to reign in, the rest of the original 'Star Trek' crew are on top form and their interaction a delight. Can never get enough of Leonard Nimoy or Spock.In summary, could have been better and the criticisms are valid but there are a lot of things to admire that makes the film much better than its reputation. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Of all the Start Trek Films this was the least entertaining. The fact that no established writer wanted to write the script should have been the first sign to producers of a pending disaster. The story was choppy and appears to have elements of several of the TV story lines twisted within the script.The actors we stiff. That has always been the norm for Shatner, but even Nimoy, Doohan, and Kelly just didn't seem to have the chemistry that they had in the TV series or even the later films. And this film, coming off the heels of Star Wars, had to make the special effects even more special. Unfortunately,without a good story, the special effects are meaningless and Trumball and Dyskstra just couldn't carry the whole film. It's a good thing the had better success with Wrath of Khan or we may not have had the Star Trek culture that we have today.

Often times when a hit TV show makes the jump to the big screen, that show loses one or more key elements of what makes the show a hit in the first place. This was exactly the case with Star Trek: The Motion Picture.The core of Star Trek: The Original Series was its thought-provoking plots, spectacular action, subtle humor, and character development. This first motion picture only succeed in one of those areas. Let's quickly examine each of those areas to see where this move succeeded and failed:Plot: The plot of this movie is a very well-defined script that (without spoiling anything) produces an incredible surprise ending that very few viewers likely saw coming. Essentially, the Enterprise is sent to investigate a strange cloud-like phenomena that is wreaking havoc on the galaxies. While invesigating, they find that the phenomena is more intimately linked to themselves than they could possibly imagine.Action: While this film contains some spectacular special effects, it ultimately is bogged down by long, and rather boring, periods of pure dialogue. Though some people are amazed by the endless panning shots of the "new" U.S.S. Enterprise, I found it to be way too overdone.Humor: This aspect that was so popular in the Original Series is severely lacking in this first film. The entire movie has a very serious tone that does not include much witty banter or light moments.Character Development: In my mind, the ultimate success of the entire Star Trek franchise hinges on the notion of character development. By using an ensemble cast, the Original Series was able to develop their auxiliary characters (albeit not as much as they should have!) into important members of the show. This movie, however, focuses too much on "foreign" characters (those not seen in the TV show).To conclude, while Star Trek: The Motion Picture featured a thought-provoking plot that harkened back to the days of the Original Series, it also strayed too far from the core of that show to be considered a classic film. Even the drab grey/white uniforms conveyed a serious, non-fun feel to the entire picture. If you want to get acclimated to the Star Trek universe, do not start your quest with this film (instead, skip to the second movie). However, if you could care less about the cannon of the show and want to watch a thought-provoking sci-fi film, than you will likely enjoy most aspects of this movie.

Below average acting (probably from everyones experience with the animated series) and waaaaaay too much dialogue. The strange plot surrounding a massive vessel called the intruder doesn't help either. This has the distinction of being one of the most boring movies ever made.