Watch Star Trek: Of Gods and Men For Free

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

A Major Disappointment

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

As a fan of the Star Trek Universe, I may sound biased in this review. But this is an honest and unbiased review...This movie is definitely not for everyone, there are many tongue-in-cheek references to the original Star Trek which may leave many confused. But the better knowledge of the Star Trek series you have (all of them preferably), the better understanding you will have as to how great this movie is.Star Trek: Of Gods and Men is based in the original Star Trek universe primarily. The Enterprise bridge layout is based on the original series, the plot lines are as well. But the cast of the movie, of which are from different Star Trek series, perform excellently. From Nichelle Nichols' attitude as Nyota Uhura, to Alan Ruck's revival of Captain John Harriman. Everyone in this movie does an incredible job playing their parts, whether it be their original characters, or an entirely different one (Chase Masterson as an Orion Slave Girl, need I say more?).The thing to remember as you enter this movie, is that it is a fan film. It is on a VERY limited budget, and for what they did with what little resources they had, it is a masterpiece. An absolute labor of love that they painstakingly built from the ground up with little resources, and no corporate backing. The movie may have it's flaws here and there, but that is what makes it great.

What we have here is an extended, unbearable New Voyages episode, complete with James Cawley (AKA Elvis Kirk), who evidently bartered use of his sets for a cameo appearance as Captain Kirk's nephew and a comfy seat at the conn for pal Jeffery Quinn. Too bad he didn't farm out his CG team either, because the outer space visuals in this production would make the "Space Rangers" (1993) effects crew snicker. Fidelity to Trek vessels aside, these shots are the computer age equivalent of a third grader with A.D.D. nearly puncturing the margins of notebook paper with ballpoint blue lasers and whirly explosions to depict spaceship wars.Here's what happens when the typical fanboy script with hackneyed dialogue is actually produced, but somehow attracts an array of Star Trek luminaries: Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig must have realized this could be their last stab at committing their iconic characters to the screen. Tuvok directs and brings on Voyager chums Ethan Phillips and Garrett Wang. Alan Ruck is the one I felt the worst for; he's the canon likeness of the USS Enterprise-B captain with one on-screen appearance to his credit, but a clear grasp of Paramount's non-existent desire to produce new Captain Harriman material. As such it's easy to figure why he would volunteer his time to a fan production; an opportunity to insert himself once more, however unofficial, into Trek lore. Unfortunately instead of a straight Enterprise-B adventure (which this should have been with his participation, period), he's mired in a barely watchable stageplay with no character development whatsoever. By the end of the movie, we have no clearer impression of who Captain Harriman is than we did at the end of his scenes in STAR TREK: GENERATIONS. What a waste. I really thought it was going to be something special to rival the official Star Trek movies as "the one just for the fans" that Paramount never quite pulled off. Not the case. In fact now I understand why this sorta "came and went" with barely a whisper. All the ship drama occurs on the New Voyages Constitution-class Enterprise. One scene even drags out in the transporter room for what seemed like twenty full minutes! The wooden direction casts professional actors like Walter Koenig and Alan Ruck in an amateurish flare, akin to deer in headlights. To its credit, there are some nice location shoots like Vazquez Rocks and a couple of gardens that serve as the planet Vulcan. Initially I was impressed when Charlie X showed up and I thought they'd gotten the original actor, but he isn't. The DVD case is interesting. One quote describes this as the "... most intelligent and thought provoking Star Trek movie ever created." I don't know about intelligent, but it definitely provoked my thoughts, as evidenced by this review. I suppose if the only Star Trek one has ever seen is the TNG eps where Ro and Guinan turn into kids and quell a Ferengi takeover of the ship, and the one where Dr. Crusher's dead grandmother's Scottish boyfriend's ghost shows up, OGaM could seem like the most intelligent Trek ever, but sadly this is one disc that will sit on my shelf for years until I feel the urge to punish myself for being a fan, or whenever I want to make my friends stare at my TV in horror... before getting their MST3K on.

Nichols (no relation) carried the lead well. She reminded me how much I wished that they had done more with her character back in the day, but the politics of the time wouldn't allow.Possible Spoilage FollowsA tad heavy on the "geek stuff", but as they said, it was dedicated to the fans. (I wonder if the whole idea started with two geeks arguing about who would win in a fight between Gary Mitchell and Charlie X.) Still, when it comes to geeky nit-picking I should be the last to throw stones.I thought Uhura and Mitchell never met, but I guess you could fudge it (as with Chekhov and Khan,) and say that they were aboard the Enterprise but had yet to be promoted to bridge crew. Still, I shouldn't have to work that hard. And that thing about the Guardian failing to insulate our heroes from the time line change, had they been able to follow Charlie through the gateway they still would have been powerless to stop him and we would have no story. Did the Guardian know this and let them be transposed, but protect their memories?The FX were amateurish, decent models but they didn't move right and the rendering was poor, Still the climactic battle was a guilty pleasure for anybody who played "Star Fleet Battles" way back when.Koenig was great as always, but the rest were uneven, the two exceptions being the deliciously unreformed Klingon XO and the Green Chick. At least we got some eye candy, both Harriman and Mitchell both had great taste in helmsmen too(maybe thats where the FX budget went.) With all it's flaws It still mops the floor with many "official" episodes and almost all the odd numbered movies. It will have to hold me over 'till the new movie comes out. I am a little disappointed that Abrams isn't geeky enough to have a before-the-transformation "good guy" Gary Mitchell riding along with Kirk, but hopefully Uhura will finally get her due. She was the reason I knew that I was straight at the age of 5.Peace and long life

I'm surprised that the premise behind this thing never occurred to the producers of any recent Star Trek series. Nevertheless, I'm pleased to see actors from The Original Series, The Movies, Deep Space 9, Voyager, and Enterprise.I am also pleased to see William Wellman, Jr. take over the character created by Robert Walker, Jr in the Original Series Episode "Charley X" Although the acting is kind of wooden, the story holds up to any DC Fontana standards, although elements of the story are heavily borrowed from episodes of The Original Series and Star Trek: Generations.Scotty is mentioned as being "Missing" - Which is in continuity with the Next Generation episode "Relics" where Scotty is rescued from a Dyson Sphere. Spock is mentioned as if he is readily available - A nice trick in case Leonard Nimoy decides to make any cameos in parts II or III of this little production.This story uses elements from the original series stories "Charlie X," "Mirror, Mirror" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" - Including a clever reproduction of the Guardian of Forever.The set pieces in this thing all look great, but where this fan film staggers is that the special effects all look like Effects from Pre-Windows computer games- The Enterprise "M" starts and stops in the establishing shots of "Synchronous Orbit" - As if the rendering had defects in it.This is unforgivable since Star Wars episode III used store-bought A.M.D. Opteron computers to do some of post production, and that work was done in some living room right at Skywalker Ranch. So I will accept no excuses about the special effects and CGI shots, I have seen much better work from people who have much less. These are incredibly lousy shots. The computer models are alright, but the movement and rendering is just horrible- I am hoping that the project gains a technician that can re-create the vomitably horrendous outer space and effects shots- And while they are at it, they can work on the colour palette and make it more consistent. Vulcan looks like any East LA Backyard!Finally, as far as continuity, I accept most of the story like I would accept any Next Generation story, except for the Guardian of Forever would have kept the three principals on the planet instead of ejecting them into the alternate universe.But even with this huge continuity flaw, the story moves fine, and I can't wait to see the next II episodes.I like this film a lot more than "The New Voyages" - Which have hardly any redeeming value beyond the costumes and sets that were recreated with great detail: Making Trek is much more than how good the set looks or how well the costumes fit the principals... The trick of Trek is to make the viewer BELIEVE in this future. I believe this story, whereas "The New Voyages" were only good for a belly laugh.