User reviews

First off, I'm a backer and I would donate again to see a Star Trek movie made with recognizable Star Trek actors, in the hope that it will spark a good series and revive the franchise (and wrest it back from the hands of Jar-Jar Abrams).

But on to the movie itself:

The aspect that I already knew not to expect much from was production value, as this was a low- budget crowdfunded project. Surprisingly, this is where the movie made a good impression: I fully expected the set and prop quality to be pretty much like it turned out, but I didn't expect a bad-ass Borg hand-cannon animation. That was really good (though the damage done with that cannon in the actual fights was close to nonexistent).

But the aspects I had the most hope for and that this whole project hinged on, really - the script and the dialogues - were really abysmal. The whole thing, from start to finish, felt and sounded like something written by a high-schooler with distant dreams of going to college to study film and maybe, just maybe, become a passable screenwriter or director one day. The over- the-top lines trying to sound dramatic or deep or bad-ass, the perfectly ignorable intrigue, the ridiculous hand-to-hand combat, the ridiculous character development (direct, blatant and boring descriptions of their past), the ridiculous poem-and- flashback stuff... this movie was so boring I walked away from it to do other stuff around the house about 4 times until I finished it.

For the love of all that is Star Trek, please bring in someone who can write and direct next time you try something like this (Tim Russ, by the way, could've stayed behind the camera for all the impact his character had - he barely said anything during the whole thing, he could've easily been mistaken for Chekhov's Imaginary Friend That Only States the Obvious).

And also, since this is a Star Trek review, I feel compelled to add a reminder - because way too many people seem to have easily forgotten - of what true Star Trek is about: "Space -- the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

Not war, not spaceships shooting lasers and photon torpedoes at each other, not political intrigue, not special commando teams doing "dirty work" nobody else can or will do, none of this is the essence of Star Trek. These kinds of things can be done under any other random sci-fi title one could come up with. No, Star Trek is about new worlds and new civilizations and about a ship exploring uncharted regions of the universe. That's why they called it a "trek". That's what needs to be brought back to life, not just the "Star Trek" brand name and superficial visual style.

So a crowd funded project has created a possible new Star Trek series called Star Trek Renegades. I'm a big fan of star trek so naturally wish them the best.

The quality of acting varied significantly. The use of close ups to hide what i'm sure were barren sets became quite apparent after a while. However their flaws and limitations to their production quality is something i'm sure they were all well aware of and therefore don't need every little detail to be pointed out. However considering that the web series pilot for Battlestar Galactica Blood and Chrome cost 2 million, what these folks accomplished with just $375k is an accomplishment unto itself and they should be congratulated for that.

But the show's inexcusable problems all begin and end with the script. The show lacks any meaningful character development. Am I supposed to be heart broken when an irrelevant character with two lines has died? I'm not sure and the story hasn't given me many clues. The show lacks all humour whatsoever. Light humour, camaraderie and banter is as essential an ingredient to star trek as phasers and vulcan neck pinches. Everyone needs to lighten up.

And finally, each star trek series has to inevitably focus on the elements that will separate them from the others then demonstrate those differences, and I don't think this quite did that, though they seemed to be trying. The differences should be made apparent enough that I don't have to go looking for them. What makes this space craft different and unique from the others? Is it faster? Does have some intrinsic value?

Prove to me in every way possible that this captain isn't going to be anything like anything we haven't already seen. So far she appears to have a chip on her shoulder and can fight an alien twice her size with ease, though I found that difficult to accept. However I was never sold on her ability to captain a vessel or to lead a team. Is she clever? Is she good at her job? I can't tell. I can't imagine why this crew is devoted to her. They don't appear to care about anything. Frankly I'd rather follow the borg into battle than to follow her.

The only character I had any sympathy for was icheb and even there they did the tragic amateur mistake of "telling" not "showing". At least he had a story to tell which was more than anyone else did.

But I shouldn't be too hard on them. They did an impressive job with such little resources. The core idea gave us a rag tag intimate crew like Firefly in the Star Trek universe, and has some strong potential. I hope this is a proof of concept for what could be a decent program if given a proper budget and a better script.

Where to start on this? Given its shortcomings, one wonders why it is getting attention. That is easy to explain. There are several generations of people who have been brought up on one version of Star Trek or another. There is definite interest in another TV series based on it. This is exacerbated by the huge shortcomings of the recent Star Trek movies which tore the established time line, characters and precepts apart and have lowered, yes lowered, the franchise to the level of the usual overwrought, adrenalin rush, commercially obsessed material that has pushed plot and idea oriented movies far to the periphery. As a result, there are a lot of people who want Star trek: Renegades to work.

The production obviously suffers from a low budget especially in comparison to the fully funded large studio Star Trek productions. The sound, in particular, is really quite bad. But it is not just a lack of budget. The production crew seems to be learning on the job with camera, costumes, lighting, CG, writing, the whole thing. There is a brew of clichés and lack of skill/time going on. That could improve with further efforts but there is a long way to go.

In terms of basic themes and ideas, again, there is potential but problems as well. We have a diverse crew of misfits being used as a covert operations force. Furthermore, there are people who are out to get them. This provides a huge stream future story ideas. It is a unfortunate that the pilot used an specific idea that is very tired and old in the nature of the threat, the inability of the establishment to deal with it and the techno-babble/quasi-magic solution. Nonetheless, it used that idea to effectively introduce a large number of characters which is a prime purpose of a pilot.

That brings us to the acting and the characters. This is very uneven. One hopes it could be sorted out. There is room for both hope and pessimism.

Here is a rundown of some of them.

Chekov - a useful link to the past.

Chekov's great grand-daughter - a weak character that could evolve into an interesting sub-plot but needs to be handled extremely carefully. A wimpy cadet who has a foot in the door to the highest levels of Star Fleet Intelligence could be a disaster. This could be another Wesley Crusher but worse. When in doubt, leave her out.

Tuvok - another useful link. He didn't have much material but he did fine with it.

Lexxa Singh - This is a major character and as things stand now, a train wreck and thus a serious liability for the whole concept. There was not a single thing about this character that was believably delivered. I don't want to dwell on it too much or blame the actress as the concept is flawed from the start. She came across as a semi-emaciated addict who somehow is supposed to be a fierce renegade with strength, leadership, etc, etc. Not buying it for a second. I'd start with changing the costume and make-up and seriously reworking her lines and delivery. Perhaps it can be salvaged but it is not just a matter of minor changes.

Alvarez - This character is very useful as a good guy who is not in the loop and can both bump heads with the main bunch and alternatively work with them. Furthermore, Corin Nemec did well with the material he had. Why they gave him a name like Alvarez is beyond me as he doesn't look like an Alvarez at all.

Lucien - Sean Young looked very uncertain of herself in this role. I am not sure why she wanted to do it. Over time and with better material, she should grow into it. The character is potentially fine. They just need to keep her technical stuff more realistic.

Zimmerman - Robert Picardo can effectively deliver this character in his sleep but there is not much for him to do and I am not sure why he is there.

Ragnar - Not great material to work with but Gary Graham had good presence and one can have confidence in him.

Icheb - another return from a previous series. This is an interesting character although with too many Borg related abilities. Acted well enough given the material.

Ronara - this one needs development but by no means a lost cause. The head shaking with the mental abilities could be portrayed better. Otherwise, she seemed to be the eye candy (no problems there!) and a few fill-in lines.

Fixer - another one that needs development but could work out fine.

The Breen - Interesting but did not do much. There is a LOT of potential there but they have to stay out of the trap of making him a continuous running joke.

The rest of the potentially returning cast had not much to do, were not paid much if at all and it seemed to show.

Because of some of the people involved, the way it is being funded and the effort made on a low budget, the next "episode" of ST:Renegades will be viewed with a good bit of sympathy and again be given the benefit of the doubt by a lot of people. On the other hand, the chances of a major studio picking this up are slight. If one did, the egos involved would rework it and replace many of the people involved and the result would be hardly recognizable. In many ways that would be good but I am sure the studios already have their own ST ideas and if they were thinking of going with a new series, they would follow up on those.

I will watch most anything related to Star Trek, so yes I'm a fan. However, this movie should never have been made. Why?

First, Acting: Of the entire cast, only Tim Russ seemed to realize he was acting and delivered his usual Tuvok performance. The other actors? Imagine a group of high school students practicing their lines in an empty hallway before the start of theater class . . . and there you have it. Think, wooden, emotionless, lines/humor that fall completely flat, no connection between the characters, etc. Walter Koenig and Corin Nemic were particularly bad, considering their potential. The main character, Adrienne Wilkinson? She has the look of a meth head stripper. I sure hope the actors donated their time (certainly wasn't their talent) because if they were paid, someone got ripped off.

Second, CGI: On the whole, the CGI was amateurish at best. I've seen better effects in other fan fiction movies of the Star Trek canon. During a couple of the scenes, I laughed out loud!

Third, Musical Score: There was a total disconnection between the score and what was happening on screen. Music should add to the experience of watching a movie--either in a subtle fashion or overt. The musical score of this movie was nothing but a distraction, as in, "Why are they playing that now?"

Net: This movie had potential, With improved CGI and music, and above all, acting, this could have been the start of something worth watching. As it stands now, it is a total waste of 88 minutes. As a contrast, watch James Cawley's Star Trek-New Voyages, and you can get a sense of what fan-funded Star Trek movies can be.

Pretty much like a 2nd rate SyFy Channel made for TV movie, with better CGI effects. Really glad that I did not pay money to see this! Made my popcorn go stale before it was half over. Most of the lines in this hack must have been read from chalkboards just over the shoulder of the person with his or her back to the camera. So much jumpiness in the plot that it seemed as if the bits of the film had been cut to the floor while editing, then swept up with a hoover and reassembled by kids in the daycare around the corner.

Nice to see a few of the old Star Trek faces but what the hell is the assassin guy from the original star wars doing in this movie? You know the guy with the metal helmet that looks like it's long enough to enclose a horse's nose. Oh well, I guess it must have been another bit of film swept up from the cutting floor, just from the wrong movie.

What an amateurish piece of crap. The plot, what there was of it, made no sense, there was no tension in any of the 'dramatic' scenes, the action scenes were boring, and you didn't care about any of the characters - particularly the ones they obviously wanted you to care about.

This appears to be a bad pilot, for what will inevitably be a disappointing series - unless they get better writers and directors. I can only assume the major actors didn't read the script first, or if they did, that they really needed the money. Judging by the special effects, they had some money to spend, but didn't spend it in the right places.

I noticed one of the spaceships had the same name as an important ship in the Babylon 5 series. I'm curious if this was a coincidence, or a connection of some kind.

This a non-profit movie made through Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, including several actors from the commercial Star Trek movies and series.

I'm not sure what to make of it. It's obviously much too good to be a "fan movie" but not good enough to be a Box Office Hit. Maybe it fits as a "Pilot" or "Pitch" for a TV-Series? The movie is very uneven. I would say ratings for different scenes range all they way from 3 to 9 out of 10. The transition between scenes could sometimes be smoother and some scenes also seem a bit "out of place".

The acting of the Star Trek alumni in the movie is generally good and I must say that the acting skills of Adrienne Wilkinson has improved from the clips seen in the supporter forums "exclusive clips area". It's actually quite good in the final movie. The casting of other characters is uneven with several persons fitting their roles and others obviously not.

I give Special FX 7/10. Most of the to times they are on par with commercial productions but the movie would for example have been better of without "the fire" in a few scenes in the beginning of the movie.

Background music is fitting most of the time, I would say 7/10. Sound FX are also good, as long as you can stand the sound of spaceships in outer space where there's no sound.

The concept behind the the movie is quite interesting and might, if pitched in the right way, be turned into a TV-series.

From an objective standpoint my overall rating ought to be a notch lower, but because I like the concept I give it 7/10 :-)

Okay, first off I want to say that as someone who was born and bred in a family of Trekkies( I would have been excommunicated from the family by my Uncles and Mom if they had not seen the love of TREK in meh) I am seriously amused by the critiquing of the sub par acting that is in this made for TV movie. I know most Trekkies want to forget...but the inescapable truth is that Shatner is the biggest HAM of all time, the only one who comes close to his level of HAM is the Great and Fabulous Adam West. You can tear apart this acting all you want, but the truth is this show reflects EXACTLY what the OG Star Trek was all about. I know it isn't done on purpose (hehehehe) but it is still as lovable as any of the Star Treks. I mean Come On Son, if you can find it in your heart to have a Trekkiesque love for Voyager, or delude yourself into thinking Shatner was anything more than a B actor (until his stint on Boston Legal and he owes a lot of that to his chemistry with Spader) than surely you can find it in your heart to show a little love for this Star Trek entry. Clearly it was an attempt to introduce a new series that never got picked up, but it still deserves a little love. It's worth viewing once just for the chance to see Xena's (Love me some Lucy Lawless) daughter playing Kahn's (Love me some Ricardo Montalbon even more) daughter. I've seen WAY better from the Trek Universe, but I've also seen Worse.

Star Trek Renegades

There are some people out there seemingly disappointed about STG. They were expecting a TV/Film product.

What those people seem to forget: all of this was done on a budget. Not a movie or big TV budget. People put their hearts into these projects; people backed this up because they believe in it.

So what is my personal view?

First of all, I happy we finally have Star Trek back, the Real deal. Not something that wants to

annihilate what us Star Trek fans have known since 1966 (1964, counting the original pilot :)).

Some special effects could surely use some improvement. But special effects add to the story. Acting? As always some actors stand out more than others, quite normal.

Story? Could the story be better? Perhaps. Now there is room to elaborate on what's behind all.

Is there room for improvement? Sure, tell me, WHICH show does NOT have room for improvement?

Someone put it out there, let's show CBS we WANT Star Trek back! Let's backup this project.

Hopefully we'll see guest appearances from Star Trek actors, reprising their roles.

Let's go where no Trek has gone before...

Qa'p

To start with the negative, yes it is a low budget made movie, the acting could have been better, the characters should have been more developed (as it stands they are a bit 2 dimensional portrayed), no actor really stands out, the effects.. well the effects are like the old Galactica style TV series, funny but a bit distracting at times and to top it all of, the camera and editing were below par for serious work.

However:

If you are star trek fan, i would definitely recommend it to you. the style is more raw, the atmosphere is less politically correct and has more place for real human emotions instead of that "we have evolved" BS. I love G.R's vision, but I must admit, I think his vision is a bit outdated, maybe even a bit boring anyone at times anyone ?. For real, we have moved away from Kirk and Picard by now.

I see it as a low budget example of how star trek should be continued. The elements for success are there, I hope these guys can get there act together, improve on all the basic fields, camera, acting editing etc..

I will definitely watch the next version if\when it comes. In the mean time i kind of hope that the "big" guys take notice what a small little gem this crew has set. well done guys, well done.

I think that if you are a Star Trek fan, you owe it to yourself to watch it.

enjoy.

For a low budget movie, it does have merit on costume and several set pieces. Unfortunately, it barely presents the universe of Star Trek in adequate manner. A lot of the scenes are obviously done with little effects, which make them painfully dreary as you can see the disparity in the background. It also tries to introduce a lot of characters who are sadly monotonous and hardly engaging.

Story follows a newly assembled crew to fight the impending doom. It's straightforward in nature, yet the movie overly complicates them with multitudes of subplots. At some points there are about three branching angles to showcase a bunch of tedious characters. It gets muddled very fast and it doesn't necessary explain the lore to audience well.

The worst part is none of the characters are capable of captivating audience, in fact they are honestly forgettable. It has the usual fleet commander, strange alien who cooperates for their own gain and typical femme fatale. All of them are interchangeable to other sci-fi extras. The acting is subpar, so is the script, these are not the material characters able to commandeer a series or movie.

As one might expect the production is not good as well. The only standout is the costumes, make-up, and probably a couple of crafty details here and there. However, what little it has is severely marred with irregular backgrounds and inferior effects. The camera pans too close or even jitters hectically to hide the abysmal surroundings, and it doesn't even hide them well.

The movie opens with intensity, yet the stuttered development and uninteresting characters make the experience dull. When the most memorable bits are Grant Imahara's cameo and awkward suits that reveal too much cleavage, you know Star Trek: Renegades operates on shoestring budget, wooden acting and unappealing script.

What's so alarming about this Star Trek Fan funded picture is how so underwhelming it is. A lot of nothing happens with bits of familiar Star Trek Jargon thrown in for good measure. I wasn't expecting Hollywood level special effects or even Next Generation level of production values, but I was expecting the dialogue to at least be good. Some of the acting is pretty bad, but when you are given bad dialogue its hard to say it with much conviction. The story is pretty silly, and the Villain has silly makeup with silly motivations . I didn't care for much of what was happening on screen. There is no one to like, no one to route for. Then, eventually the film just kind of ends. Perhaps Im being too harsh, but I don't think so. In better hands, this could have been soo much better. Again, it comes down to the writing. Give me a good story and all the other things wouldn't have mattered as much.

Star Trek: Renegades is a movie rife with mysteries. Is it worth watching Dr. Lucien (Sean Young) and Dr. Zimmerman (Robert Picardo) make out? (That was not fun.) Why, in the 24th century, is Dr. Lucien wearing eyeglasses?! How did so many Trek alumni plus a host of C list actors sign on to a project with such an abominable script at its core? Was it just for love of the show? Because they didn't do the cinematic legacy of Star Trek any favors. It's difficult to give a low score to any Trek movie because as a die-hard fan, I'm always hungry for new stories, new perspectives, and new lore from at universe. But I can't in good conscience give this movie a higher rating.

With a reported budget of $375,000, we can't really fault Renegades for its amateurish production quality. What was so jarring were the mystifying swings, scene to scene, from fairly decent CGI to what looked like clip art from MS Word 95. Even the lighting was garish and weird in places. I have never before noticed the lighting in a movie. The filmmakers clearly spent money on makeup as there are almost a dozen different alien races on view, including a new reptilian species and a single Klingon with oily skin. They should have thrown some of that money at a couple of decent writers.

Sci-fi fans, trekkers in particular, will forgive most anything except a terrible storyline. I was confused and disoriented ten minutes into this movie. Tuvok now works for Section 31, a secret intelligence division of Star Fleet, he but interrupts a prison fight to recruit Lexxa Singh in the full view of dozens of inmates and guards? So much for covert ops. Once this black ops team is assembled, the movie devolves into a parade of sci-fi clichés and plot holes. The deepest mystery of Renegades is what exactly is going on and why? I gave up the attempt when the Betazoid member of the crew, a woman who establishes early on that she doesn't possess the telepathic abilities of the rest of her race, suddenly uses MIND CONTROL powers (which have never manifested in any member of her species in the history of the Star Trek universe) to escape captivity. Still, I have to give the filmmakers credit for the attempt. It's clear that they love Star Trek and, like me, will always want more. But the writing has got to improve if Renegades is going to survive.

I wanted to like this, I kind of did but only because I love all things Star Trek. The acting was wooden (so was voyager at the beginning and the original Star Trek certainly was) the plot was a bit rough too but again so was voyager's pilot as was deep space nine so both of those things were viewed as a loving parent, a bit special currently but will get better with time. However the direction was dire. Weird close ups, rubbish effects, strange angles of shot to name a few things wrong. Frankly it felt a bit amateurish which is illogical captain. When you make a film that mocks other film genres this is how it will look. I'm hopeful it will get better and Tim will get into his stride. I want to like this and I'll be very forgiving due to that

TBH, I wouldn't give this a lower score because I really want someone to pick up the ST thread and go with it. This seems as likely a place as any, and was better than I had expected of fan fiction.

So I loved seeing all the familiar faces (I probably need to watch it again just because I was distracted by trying to figure out which ST series each person came from), and I thought sfx were not bad for a low-budget attempt. Even the acting was decent on the part of the veterans.

Really, what's wrong is just in the early and mid-levels of production. Costumes looked like everyone had to make their own to be in the show, with varying degrees of success. Same with make-up and hair -- are split ends a problem in the future? Camera work was also inconsistent, again like everyone took turns.

Post production, tighter editing could have saved some performances and wordy scenes. What it couldn't save was the inconsistent writing, which needed tweaking by someone more experienced in transitions.

So the story line is interesting, and the casting is decent. I did not care for Wilkinson, who seemed more pouty than defiant and not capable of the respect / fear she apparently engendered. But then I remembered her last name and that she's probably an augment and I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I was irritated by Sean Young's performance as seeming out of place, but the scene with Robert Picardo was believable and endearing. I wish there'd been more of him.

Not something I'd pay to go the movies for, but this is a great pitch / pilot, people. Somebody needs to pick it up.

Lots of good points and had lots of good potential, but left me feeling the void because, simply said, this one is not the Star Trek I was expecting. I have read many articles on FaceBook about Star Trek Renegades and each one had left me with the impression, the fans were true to have made this one become possible. So I was expecting a lot more than was delivered.

Acting: 3/10 Some acting was good, but most of it wasn't. Tim Russ was the director. Mr. Russ should have asked for help from Johnathan Frakes. There were parts of the movie that clearly jumped around and cause confusion and a blank in the train of thought during the playback.

Video: 9/10 The movie has great video quality. The darks were just right and colors were correct. However, speaking of Admiral Chekov's uniform, I'm thinking it was made for a dish washer, because the sleeves were way too short. Sort of had reminded me of high waters pants, if you know what I mean.

Audio: 5/10 The audio channels were not as distinctive as one would expect.

Final thoughts: Would I watch the next episode of Star Trek Renegades? I believe the first episode is a good start. I am with high hopes the series will become better and stronger as they continue to be produced.

Before I start Picking.. this is a watchable film, though I feel it will please the 'Trekkers', i feel it will fall short for the general Fans. Still good acting, fair FX, and OK story. Definitely made as a Pilot, of what? possible Web series or another movie?

This fan based film is a film directed by Tim Russ and stars many fine actors including; Adrienne Wilkinson, Walter Koenig, Sean Young, Manu Intiraymi. The story takes place nearly ten years after Voyager's return from the Delta Quadrant. Though I found the story good, inconsistencies with the original Star Trek abounds to even the novice. Voyager for one in the final episode was fitted to take on the Borg, yet the one Star Fleet ship shown, the Averez, seems basically powerless and incapable of rapid firing int eh first battle sequence. This is one dozens of inconsistencies a fan will find throughout this film.One scene has a ship cloaking yet it stay visible.

Sets were fairly good, yet somewhat incomplete and dark. An example is Star Fleet where the room is completely dark to the point there is no walls and actors step into the light. There is even one scene where it appears you can see the stage, whether intended or not. This could be 'Artistic Licensee' but one get the idea after a while that maybe the budget need a few more dollars. Definitely a few props would have helped in some of the green screens.

On the digital side where MUCH better than the typical Asylum Film but somewhat inconsistent, being really good one minute and not so good in other scenes. movie. Though it must be said that some are below standard. The Digital FXs are 'Fair' to 'Great.' Again when thinking overall..inconsistent seems to be only fault.

The music fits most of the time, but definitely not scored for this. Like allot of low budget films, the music is off the shelf. Being so it works OK for background but action or emotions the music needed to be, if not scored, at least enhanced. Also a few scene changes are affected when the background music stays the same. in fact some of the scene changes are a bit poor.. but again I am nic-picking

Overall, this is much more watchable than the typical 'B' movies "pre-produced" such as the 'Asylum Line'of films to mimic hot titles, Asylum's Atlantic Rim comes to mind. But still.... Hats off to all involved. This was a good, watchable film, good acting, FX which if not great, where good and a good story..... Should be interesting to see a follow up .. As for fan based.. hope they continue on....I for one can not wait for AXANAR, hope they overcome the 'low budget' problem of having to cut corners. Hollywood, look out...

I have absolutely no difficulty ignoring every single shortcoming of certain audiovisual aspects of this production that can all be explained away with one of two words: budget and copyright. What I can not ignore however is the amateurishness of several other aspects that do not require a high budget, only talent in writing and staging. The beginning is rushed, the dialogues lack substance - mostly because choreography is almost non-existent, people just stand or sit around awkwardly wherever -, the succession of some scenes is very mechanical - consecutive scenes inorganically delivering mandatory backstories in a manner that is violating rules of writing as basic as "show, don't tell" -, while others have absolutely no relevance for the plot, they just serve to deliver awkward one-liners.

All in all the entire delivery of the plot falls so flat, it fails to convey even a modicum of suspense, danger or urgency despite all the efforts of all those professional actors. Their characters are believable. What happens to and around them is not. If I wouldn't have seen some of the original actors reprising their former roles and some others who played favorite characters in other franchises, I doubt I would've stuck around for more than half an hour, and through all of the first episode (of two?) only four scenes brought forth an emotional response out of me that wasn't indifference or disdain, but actual resonance with the portrayed events.

Then there's the fact that the ever present moral dilemma each and every classic Star Trek episode came with is completely absent here, save for the last few minutes of the episode, which makes it a meaningless footnote instead of a source of tension shaping the episode. Therefore I'm sorry to say, but this is not just not a good feature length film/pilot/whatever, it's also not good Star Trek.

Renegades was an excellent Star Trek story, but with a new reimagined Universe, new uniform designs, ship designs, but many characters from various trek.

As a standalone Star Trek film it was an excellent fan film, qualitywise much better than "of gods and men".

It is about an hour and a half of an interesting Star Trek story, Pavel Chekov as head of Starfleet security needs to try to get into the gist of a problem, but he cannot trust his own department, so he employs a group of renegades, led by the daughter of KHAN, yes, that KHAN. Or, granddaughter, it doesn't really say where she came from, OR how she could be as young as she is 150 years after Khan turned into the core of the Genesis planet.

Maybe her story was planned to be told in a future episode. But shortly after this was made, CBS sued just about everybody who was making fan productions and nobody was allowed to use references to Star Trek. Also, CB has put forth a stupid rule that no fan production could be longer than 15 minutes or so. But this first pre-lawsuit entry included Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, Tuvok, Chekov, Admiral Paris, and Icheb, all played by the actors that played the parts. I thoroughly enjoyed the first entry, although it was a lot darker than any Trek I had seen, but it was done rather well.

After the CBS lawsuit, the second entry, "the Requiem", is not only 30 minutes shorter, but it was cut into two different 25 minute parts, part one and part two. Neither of which could, until recently, be watched at the same time.

Fortunately I was able to obtain both parts which I immediately loaded into my video editing program and Cut out the credits from part one and I joined them both together. So for the first time I was able to watch it as a coherent story. And as I didn't expect it to be as good as the first story with all of the new meddling by CBS, it was still good, although not as good as when they could reference Star Trek characters and stories.

There are even more Star Trek characters in the Requiem, but unfortunately their names all had to be changed, even their alien races had to be changed. But the second entry includes Jadzia Dax freshly cloned and back to life, NOG, Jake Sisko, Tuvok, Chekov, Uhura, Chakotay, Icheb, along with Gary Graham's shape changing "Ragnar". An alien girl which was originally Andorian lost her antenna, and all Vulcans had an ear-ectomy and became either humans or other races.

"The names were changed to protect the copywrong".

As a story it was adequate, but I didn't feel like the special effects or the production value was as good as the first entry.

But I still love these fan funded Star Trek shows, and Tim Russ is a very good director. Sometimes they don't get enough money to do the production as well as they could.

People who have no experience writing stories or directing television shows have come into this IMDb entry with their size 12 Martin boots to stomp all over it, and I just say they can go to blazes.

If you don't like it? Go write your own Star Trek show and find some money to fund it, and then find people who can act in it and directors who can direct it and special effects houses who will cheaply make you starships and other special effects.

Then we can go into your IMDb page and downvote it all to Oblivion. In the meantime, #ShutUp