This is one of those blogs that requires an epic Khan-like scream from readers who are devout Trekkies. Based on Tarantino’s stated desire to write for Star Trek from the 1960’s episodes, and getting an apparent serious look from Paramount, there may be cause for concern. But first, we need to ask ourselves why Paramount, J.J. Abrams, or anyone else would consider adding Tarantino to the Director’s List of a Star Trek film.
His style is questionable for movie critics and for movie goers alike. Kill Bill was a violent gore fest using thousands of gallons of fake (we hope) blood with the “best” scenes featuring violence with swords hacking away and eyeballs being plucked out (OK, only one, but it was an important one). The more recent Hateful Eight wasn’t much different — people just had winter clothing to deal with. And of course there was Inglorious Basterds, Natural Born Killers, and Pulp Fiction. Somehow it’s hard to see how the direction of Tarantino can be worthy of the Star Trek genre.
It could be an act of desperation, seeing that Abrams preferred Star Wars to Star Trek, leaving the last movie, Star Trek: Beyond, in the hands of Simon Pegg and Doug Jung who wrote the screenplay and Justin Lin to direct it. The critics were kinder to it than the fans, many who are starting to believe the decades long space excursion is running out of ideas and quality actors. Chris Pine is getting older by at least 2 years between movies, but neither him or Zachary Quinto have been able to gain any traction in their careers aside from Star Trek so both have reportedly signed on for Star Trek 4.
Now for the Tarantino quote that demands you use your Star Trek TOS knowledge and comment on his statement about co-directing Star Trek 4: “The only thing that limited them was their ‘60s budget and eight-day shooting schedule. You could take some of the classic ‘Star Trek’ episodes and easily expand them to 90 minutes or more and really do some amazing, amazing stuff.”
I, for one, am glad that they took “Space Seed” out of the equation in Star Trek: Into Darkness to eliminate the possibility of getting it into Tarantino’s hands. But which of the Star Trek TOS episodes do you think Tarantino could actually do justice to, and which one’s should he avoid lest driving away hordes of Trekkies, even with Abrams input?
Here are some pro-Tarantino possibilities:
- “The Cage”
- “The Man Trap” (a.k.a. The Salt Sucking Creature”)
- “Miri”
And then there are the anyone-but-Tarantino episodes:
- “The Corbomite Maneuver”
- “The Menagerie” Parts 1 and 2
- “This Side of Paradise”
If you opt to be a contrarian, you can make the case that Tarantino getting his hands into the Star Trek may actually help it, based on the milquetoast last effort and the apparent apathy of Abrams to continue directing the films. His involvement may also work to tamp down his penchant for excessive violence and gore. (OK, I said this is for the contrarians.)
Finally, there are those who bristle at the idea of any modern director diddling with any Star Trek TOS episode. They do have a point. The original episodes were designed to be futuristic with a strong undercurrent of tackling modern social and cultural controversies. Today, all of that is out in the open, and the idea of futuristic space adventures is gone because creativity and imagination is gone.
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