Star Trek: Reunion

The biggest tragedy regarding Star Trek: The Motion Picture is that it had the potential to be a masterpiece. If it hadn't been for its slow pace and 130-140 minute running time, I truly believe TMP could've been a worthy theatrical entry for the Star Trek franchise. Some people feel that the reason for the excessive length was because it was trying too hard to be the next 2001. I'm not so sure about that, as the logic that goes on in this movie is pretty faithful to the show. My personal opinion is that Robert Wise was simply the wrong person to direct a film about the Enterprise crew, talented though he may be. Musicals like The Sound of Music and West Side Story are Wise's bread and butter, and while the slow pacing may work for a musical, it wasn't necessary or appropriate for an adaptation of a popular sci-fi TV show.

Whatever the reason, the 103-minute runtime of TM2YC's edit was a big drawing factor for me in deciding to see this edit. Did TM2YC's cut finally give this film the justice it deserved? Well, in answer to my own question, just about.

I should note, though, that even in this edit's truncated form, there are still a few instances where the scenes go on for longer than they should. The introduction to the enterprise, for example, now only contains 6 wide establishing shots of the Enterprise, and yet, I still felt like the scene only needed two. There's another scene that occurs later on that suffers from the repetitive reaction shot/establishing shot/reaction shot/establishing shot/reaction shot/establishing shot editing pattern that was so deadly to the original cut. Still, these incidents happen so much less that it's hard to call it a problem anymore. I'm also curious to see if a second viewing will make these two issues invisible.

Overall, this is a true improvement over the original version, and if I want to prove that Star Trek: the Motion Picture really could've been a watchable movie, Reunion is one edit I'm happy to use as proof.

Loved it, far superior. I think you could have cut even a little bit more out for pace, but love it as is.

This is an edit that I've had on my hard drive for many years, yet for some reason never watched. Well, now I have & it's as technically well crafted as any TM2YC fanedit.

However, I think it could've been pushed one step further, since a lot of shots of special effects for the sake of special effects still exist. For example, Spock is still shown sensing V'Ger out in space, so that likely could've been used to cut around some of the longer shots of the Klingons firing on it.

I also don't completely agree with the removal of the "is Spock still loyal" subplot. When he's on the ship, it's properly conveyed by the crew that, even for Spock, Spock is being uncharacteristically anti-social. That subplot (and the payoff of Spock's single tear) feel organic to Spock's arc. Similarly, I could've stood to see Kirk being a little more argumentative. Kirk's protective of the enterprise & is out of practice, so likewise dealing with those character tics plays well into Kirk's arc.

All in all, I probably prefer BionicBob's version since it gets us to Ilia's assimilation faster, but as a movie-length edit. this was pretty good. It's a TM2YC edit, after all, and the technical acumen injected into the movie is worth the watch alone.

Haven't watched TMP in years (decades!) but this was so much less painful than the last time I watched the extended director's cut. In fact, the virtues of this movie are on full display, including the delight at getting the cast back together, the lavish production design, groundbreaking score and the stunning visual effects. TM2YC's editing highlights each of these and makes it easy to see how this was Roddenberry's vision for an entirely new Star Trek series. With how different it is from the rest of the film series, it's tempting to view TMP as a non-canonical hiccup, but this edit makes it impossible to reject the film outright, particularly with how much its tone shares with early seasons of The Next Generation (which also borrowed liberally from the abandoned Phase II series). If, like me, your favourite TOS character is Bones, there's a lot to love here, with his more caustic lines from the original version stripped away in favour of good old fashioned irrascibility.

As one of the few who enjoys TMP, I really enjoyed this edit even more. I think TM2YC nailed his intention perfectly and captures the heart of the original series. Definitely will be my go-to version from now on.