“Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was a complete disaster. In fact, it is so bad, I am amazed that Paramount even considered making “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”.
As a die-hard Star Trek fan, I eagerly awaited the release of the movie with great anticipation only to be devastated by the horrendous hack job that was before my eyes on the screen.
I thought for sure these bozos had killed the franchise and that there would certainly never be another Star Trek film in my lifetime.
But in all fairness, Paramount had to assume some blame for the final print. It was due to the fact that Paramount had promised theaters the movie would be out by December of 1979.
With just two months left and a tremendous amount of work remaining, the Paramount executives decided that the movie had to be cut together – even if it made no sense.
Script re-writes, fights with the special effects company, and a very uninspired wardrobe department were just a few of the glaring problems standing in the way of the movie’s completion.
The acting was sub-par by all of the actors, but this movie put a huge spotlight on Shatner’s overly-dramatic and choppy style of acting.
But the one line that really stands out belonged to the character Ilia. “My oath of celibacy is on record, Captain.” – I mean seriously? It was such a stupid line and right out of left-field.
It was never really explained that she was “Deltan” and it was a Starfleet requirement for her people to make this announcement when working alongside humans.
It was supposed to be a comic line delivered to attack Kirk’s known carousing. Delivered properly it would have been very funny, but her timing was off, and Shatner’s response absolutely killed it – dead on arrival.
Maybe her race should rethink their wardrobes and consider something a little more conservative rather than walking around in her pajamas. (Just sayin’)