Star Trek: Reunion

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.

This is the most professional fan edit I have ever seen. I don't know TM2YC personally, but I would not be surprised to learn that TM2YC's a professional film editor.

The movie is beautiful. The color pops and the effects are outstanding. Combined with the Goldsmith score and the high concept but sparse sci-fi plot, this feels like what a Star Trek art film would look like - less of a story and more of an experience. The narrative that is there has been deftly edited by TM2YC, who makes it as exciting as possible given the original material. And the opening credits are great. I guess I could have done more with a bit more character conflict between Decker and Kirk, but that's a minor quibble and is more a matter of personal taste.

As other reviewers have pointed out, opening the film on Vulcan was a brilliant move. This is Spock's journey and we see that so much more clearly now. Also, thanks for removing those awkward bits about Ilia swearing an oath of celibacy (wtf Gene...).

This film provides a nice bridge between All Our Yesterdays (my preferring stopping point for TOS) and The Wrath of Khan, as we see Kirk and Spock in transitory stages of their lives, with Spock finally gaining inner peace and Kirk beginning his midlife crisis.

It's no Wrath of Khan or Voyage Home, but this is the best this film will ever be.

TM2YC shared preview clips of this edit as he overhauled The Motion Picture from stem to stern. It was fun seeing how each scene got many patches, color grading and new FX added. How would they all play when the finished version assembled them all together?

Pretty great it turns out. The biggest changes are in the first two thirds of the movie where unneeded scenes are cut and others reshuffled to fix continuity. The narrative skips along smartly (& bet you never thought "skips along smartly" when you thought of The Motion Picture before). It's a real pleasure to see the colors looking so vibrant and natural. All the new button sounds are a gas, a lot of fun, and add to the story which, let's face it, is mostly on the bridge.

Star Trek Reunion has many tiny changes that you'd hardly notice on a casual viewing but they add up, like an Adywan edit, on a subconscious level. The movie has never looked better and the narrative is less like a vapid "serious" drama and more like a Trek episode.

There's not much to criticize. Personally I would like to see even more trims to the last third of the movie, which is still a little slow, talky and corny. Some of the added FX are more successful than others but they're all up to 1970s level of quality. Mostly the video and audio edits are spotless and flow without effort.

My top rating for audio/visual quality is about improvement to original footage even though some shots are unavoidably in lower resolution. I'd give the original movie a 5 or 6 for enjoyment so Star Trek Reunion is a starship sized upgrade in that department.

I really wanted to love this edit, or should I say I was hoping it would give me a renewed appreciation for the old Trek movies I adored as a kid. Unfortunately it didn't, and I just don't know if I'll ever watch it again because JJ Abrams' reboot is just so damn good!

Having said that, what has been done here is inspiring! TM2YC has done an amazing job resurrecting an old classic, and this by far the best way to view it. It really is a great edit, and vastly improved my experience watching ST The Motion Picture again. If anyone wants to watch it this should be your first preference! Nice work TM2YC :)