Ready for what is now your near daily dose of Star Trek goodies?
Star Trek Into Darkness premieres domestically this week (is it Wednesday yet?), Wednesday night in IMAX, and Thursday night in theaters everywhere. I’ll be firmly planted in the seat of my nearest IMAX theater Wednesday at 8:00 PM, and if you follow me on Twitter, I’ll probably tweet my first impressions right after the show.
Interview with John Cho (New Sulu)
As far as goodies today, first up is an interview with “new Sulu”, John Cho on StarTrek.com.
John Cho had big shoes to fill on Star Trek (2009), assuming the role of Hikaru Sulu from George Takei. He pulled it off nicely, delivering a performance that tipped its cap to Takei while also sending Sulu in new directions. Now, with Star Trek Into Darkness, Cho returns as Sulu and, as anyone who’s seen footage from the movie can attest, he’s thrust right back into the action. StarTrek.com caught up with Cho for an interview in which he discussed Star Trek Into Darkness, filled us in on his other current and upcoming projects, and revealed that he’d love to played a Jedi in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars film, even at the risk of the universe imploding.
There’s good fun and info to be had there so go check out that full interview.
Interview with New Crew Member Joseph Gatt
Next, Anthony Pascale over on TrekMovie.com has in interview with Joseph Gatt, who landed a role on the Enterprise bridge for Star Trek Into Darkness and it’s worth checking out.
One of the more interesting new chraracters on the bridge of the USS Enterprise is played by British actor Joseph Gatt. Known previously for more physical roles (including playing a Frost Giant in Thor), Gatt landed a spot on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. In an exclusive interview wtih TrekMovie.com, Gatt talks about life on the birdge and about his “unique features.” Read on for details below, but there are minor spoilers.
The role he’s playing, and some other details about the character are interesting, head on over for the details.
Get Your Trek Fix
And finally, I wanted to mention that if you need to get caught up on the Star Trek film universe, iTunes has you covered, as does Amazon Instant, and with several of the films, Netflix has you covered as well. Below, I’ll list each film, where you can watch online, and give my star rating for the film.
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Available on iTunes and Amazon Instant (free for Prime users). The Amazon version is not the Director’s edition. iTunes has both the original theatrical cut, and the Director’s Edition. In this particular case, I highly recommend the Director’s Edition because it helps with what is a pretty terrible and lackluster edition of the Star Trek film franchise. Robert Wise was able to cut some material, and add in some other material that was originally cut, which had at least a tiny bit more of the Star Trek feel of camaraderie between the cast and crew. Most importantly, he shortened a little of the VERY OVER LONG beauty special effects sequences, which, yeah they were kind of cool, but gut-wrenchingly boring.
My Star Rating: 2 of 5 Stars (Director’s Edition could possibly get a 2.5 out of me).
iTunes (Director’s Edition)
Amazon
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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
This one is available on Netflix, Amazon Instant, and iTunes. The Director’s Cut is not a lot different from the theatrical cut, but it’s good. It simply has a couple of minor extensions to some scenes and is worth it if you want.
This is by far the best Star Trek film to date. I wrote a review which you may want to read, and we talked about it with Dan Benjamin on The MovieByte Podcast episode 42. I highly recommend that if you haven’t watched this film, or it’s been a while, that you do so now.
My Star Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
iTunes (Director’s Edition)
Amazon
Netflix
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Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
Not really my favorite, but it’s not unwatchable, and it certainly has it’s shining moments.
My Star Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
Netflix
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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
This film is highly overrated in the series in my opinion, but it’s not terrible, and it’s quite funny. And of course, one of the big things it gets right is the characters, their relationships, and more. It’s worth watching and I do watch it occasionally. And if someone hates Star Trek this may well be the one I recommend to let them know Star Trek isn’t just stiff sci-fi.
My Star Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
This is the second worst Star Trek Film. I’m extremely glad they didn’t let Shatner direct any more Star Trek films. You don’t have to watch this one to stay on friendly terms with me.
My Star Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
This is my second favorite Star Trek film. Funny how my two top films in the Star Trek franchise were both directed by the same person. Must be a coincidence…
My Star Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
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Star Trek: Generations
The first of the TNG era films did not impress.
My Star Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
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Star Trek: First Contact
Easily my favorite of the TNG films, as good as Star Trek VI, and not quite as good in my mind as Star Trek II though I can see how people would find this to be their favorite in the franchise. This is really good Star Trek.
My Star Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
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Star Trek: Insurrection
A lot of people don’t like this film, but I like it well enough. I think people hate on it way too much. It’s a solid film and gets a lot right, great character moments, and not such a bad story.
My Star Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
Netflix
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Star Trek: Nemesis
Another underrated Star Trek film. I really like this film in a lot of ways.
My Star Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
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Star Trek (2009)
I have my complaints, but not a terrible film, all things considered, and frankly, it seems like it was what Star Trek needed to get back on the map.
My Star Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
iTunes
Amazon
There you have it, some goodies, and a way to get your Trek fix while you wait on the new film.