Star Trek: Reunion

Star Trek The Motion Picture has always been my favourite Trek movie. There, I said it. Sure, it’s slow, some would say ponderous; but it’s also to my eye visually the best looking and most thought provoking entry in the entire series. The human adventure is just beginning... indeed.

I remember enjoying Bionic Bob’s fanedit take on TMP, being purposefully in the style of the TV series, something which he continued to do for every classic Trek movie thereafter. Here, however, TM2YC focuses more on just streamlining the movie experience by tightening the narrative and rather impressively, adjust a couple of effects sequences and perform some nice colour correction.

Naturally STTMP is a movie which is rife for fan-editing; even being a fan of the movie in both its theatrical and directors cut, I openly admit that I too have thought about editing it. However, pleasingly, I no longer need to think about this movie with a faneditors hat on, as TM2YC has basically re-edited this most spectacular of journeys into a faster paced but equally as fascinating movie and I honestly can’t think of anything bad to say about it.

Technically, as has become the norm for a TM2YC edit, this is spot-on. From the perfectly balanced audio track with no hard audio cuts in ear shot, to a quite stunning picture (I watched the DVD version) , Reunion is a pure pleasure to watch from start to finish. Granted, knowing the film particularly well does mean that I was aware of fan-made audio transitions during such musically powered scenes as the cut down introduction to the Enterprise, but they were never detrimental to the viewing experience. Indeed, when you consider just how important a character Jerry Goldsmith’s stunning score really is, it’s to the editor’s credit that they managed to re-edit these scenes so successfully.

One of the main highlights for me was the work executed on Vulcan right at the beginning of the film. This is honestly the best the scene has ever looked, and is far better than the added effects in the director’s cut. I really can’t applaud TM2YC enough for this. Quite excellent.

So, for me I now feel quite spoiled when it comes to the choices in front of me as to which version of Star Trek The Motion Picture to watch. I can have the whole experience of Robert Wise’s sweeping, bold original vision complete with slow yet beautiful shots of the Enterprise in space dock; or I can go the classic TV series route with Bionic Bob’s fun The V’ger Incident, or now I can have a streamlined version which holds onto everything the original version had going for it, but in just over 100 minutes.

Any self respecting Star Trek fan needs to see this. It’s as simple as that

I've always liked Star Trek TMP, despite it's flaws, but I've never been an avid fan of either the TV show or the movies. I couldn't put my finger on everything that's been cut but it works wonders to speed up the narrative and improve the dynamics between the characters. I followed the topic in the forum so I knew there'd been a lot of new fx work and rebuilding of the audio track, which has all been flawlessly intergrated into the film, I must say, impressively so. As a casual Star Trek viewer I know a few of the scenes that have been cut but they're all good choices and only help to improve the film. The video and audio editing is unnoticeable, you really would need to be a rabid fan to spot where the cuts have been made and I can't think of any of the edits that drew attention to themselves. The narrative flows well, much better than in either the theatrical or director's cuts (IMHO), and it honestly looks the best I've ever seen it look, all the time the editor spent getting it to look this gorgeous has, without doubt, made this my go-to version for whenever I watch STTMP from now on. Which is going to be more often than it would have been before watching this fanedit. This is very impressive work from TM2YC.

As others here have done, I'm now adopting this is as my go-to version of the film. It's about as definitive as I'm ever likely to see it.

So much so that I just re-watched in lieu of the fancy (and expensive) 4K UHD copy I've had sitting, unwatched, on my shelf for many months now.

I'm old enough *Sigh* to remember the pre-Star Wars Days when there was NO Trek other than the original show. Sure, there were some comics, a couple of books and a few toys and models...but that was it. For fans of the fantasy and sci-fi in the UK there was mostly just Doctor Who, Blake's 7, the odd Trek repeat and whatever Hammer Horror or vintage monster movie you could catch late on Friday BBC 2.

Its funny to think of now but in the pre-VHS days I would ask my school librarian to order in the ST Episode 'Fotonovels' and (like many other fans) record the occasional repeat on these things called ''Cassette Tapes.' Then I could experience a full-length audio episode whenever I wanted - better still, be lucky enough to have an audio recording COMBINED with a Fotonovel...Audio Visual heaven!

As Long as you didn't mind instances of your dad piping up about how this was 'A lot of rubbish' as he passed through the room!

I waited with GREAT anticipation for the Motion Picture to the reach our local screen and when I finally saw it my reaction was, well, complicated, to say the least. It was certainly great to see the old cast back and it really did look great. It felt bigger and more epic. But I was still a kid and, once you'd seen a Death Star trench battle, the pace just felt waaaay too sloooow.

Growing up, my appreciation of the film has grown considerably. I've read a great deal about its troubled, time-constrained production and very much enjoyed Wise's Director's Cut which was a step in the right direction. Especially as I was now ready to view the MP not as a long-form episode of the TV show but as a cerebral 2001-esque science fiction film in the truest sense.

TM2YC has perfected STMP for me and its now fulfilled its potential. THIS was the way it should have been seen originally. Its been tightened up even more and there are all sorts of subtle touches and grace notes which enhance it while keeping its DNA related to the original show. I loved this and if you've always been sniffy about the first ST movie then you should see this and consider a serious re-appraisal.

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.

Fascinating, Captain. It appears that our first reunion on the big screen was more interesting than the original Starlogs suggested. TM2YC has imperceptibly yet compellingly improved the narrative of our journey.

Well, damn it, Jim. Give TM2YC a medal or something. This ensign has saved our audience from falling asleep during the movie!

Aye, sir. We've got warp speed now. She still has technical difficulties, including some blurring on the bridge and obvious resolution changes, but she'll deliver where it matters.

Course heading, captain?

Thataway. (Or, to paraphrase Kirk, when choosing between this edit and the theatrical release: THISaway.)

Note: The source material has serious flaws, both narrative and technical, which prevent perfect marks for this outstanding edit. One detail that could have been improved is the flatness of the (compressed) audio. The clarity of separation between dialog and sound effects could have benefited from higher-resolution audio rendering.

Note 2: Thank you turntheradioxoff for adding subtitles.