August 28, 2002
Well, I guess if Lucas can mess with the original three Star Wars flicks, Paramount can do the same with its SF movie series.
Unlike Lucas, Paramount added by subtracting -- namely, about 10 minutes of gratuitous special-effects shots. Some effects were recreated (V'Ger's second torpedo, the first probe, V'Ger's planet-killers and the formation of the V'Ger landmass) and while they're definite improvements, the fact that they're 22 years newer shows. Maybe if they'd re-worked all the shots...
The story is intact -- a couple scenes that were added for television in 1983 were edited back out -- so there are no surprises like Jabba's appearance in A New Hope. All in all, I'd say this new version of ST:TMP has moved up slightly in my list of movie preference -- it now beats out the ninth installation (Insurrection) and the cute-but-annoying fourth movie (The Voyage Home), where it was formerly kept out of the basement only by the abysmal fifth flick (The Final Frontier).
If your local video store has it, go ahead and rent it. If you're a fellow Trek-geek, grab yourself a copy. In addition to the improved version of the movie, there's a second disc of features that make this a worthy addition to any geek's collection.
Update: On disc two, one of the guys in charge of the new effects said they limited themselves to creating effects that could have been done in '79. Maybe it's just because I know they're new. I need a guinea pig...
