More 'Star Trek XI' Preview Reports

Some liked, it, some found elements unbelievable or just plain wrong, but everyone had an opinion after viewing the four-scene preview of Star Trek XI introduced by J.J. Abrams.

As reported by the New York Times, to justify its estimated $150 million budget, Star Trek XI needs to reach beyond the "die-hard fans of Vulcans, Tribbles and dilithium crystals." The four clips were explained and the reviewer asks, "Will the new 'Star Trek' erase our bitter memories of the last five sequels? (Not including 'First Contact,' which I now concede was a pretty good entry in the series.)"

Meanwhile, ComingSoon.net, after a detailed description of the four preview scenes, gave the thumbs up to Star Trek XI, saying, "Without being a diehard 'Star Trek' fan, it's hard to determine whether Trekkers will accept what Abrams is doing with this prequel, because that's really what this is, a prequel to the original television show. He certainly has kept most of the characters and traditions of the original Trek series and movies intact, using that history to establish the characters, their relationships and the technology. Frankly, I was amazed by how much footage Abrams showed at this presentation, because it really sets up the entire story of what the movie is about, clearly a new beginning for the franchise similar to 'Batman Begins' or 'Casino Royale,' which may be exactly what the "Trek" series needs right now."

UGO.com had mixed emotions (and harsh words) about the trailer and Abrams. "I saw four scenes. Two were terrific. One was holy crap I don’t believe life can get so good "effing" fantastic. And another was a thorough and malicious ass-raping of my childhood. As an aside, J.J. Abrams did nothing to dispel the myth that he is a turd."

Some of the comments from the UGO reviewer:

• "I wanted to shout out that it was idiotic of the studio to have the trailer attached to 'Quantum of Solace' on a Friday but not release a quality version to the Web until Monday. All that accomplished was to ensure that anyone who cared enough to check in on the appointed time was going to get his first glimpse of the trailer on a shaky and lame YouTube version. "

• "J.J. Abrams struts up like the smartest kid in Hebrew school. The first thing out of his mouth, the very motherloving first thing out of his mouth, is 'I've never been a fan of Star Trek.' WTF? Not only is this insulting and lame, it is rehearsed. He's said this in interviews fifteen times already. Maybe he thinks it is cute, but I just find it rude."

• The bar scene: "I just am having a hard time seeing Kirk as a whiny loser trying to pick up Uhura in a bar. I can't accept it. I just can't."

• The Spock/Kirk/Scotty scene: "If you are a true Trekkie, you know haw fantastic it is to see Nimoy as Spock one more time. I don't know if any closure is given to the TNG episode 'Unification II' (I kinda doubt it) but the decision to include Leonard Nimoy in this project is without question the smartest decision anyone on the team made."

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