Captains [DVD] [2011] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

[I watched this on EpixHD and will certainly buy it once available on DVD]

Shatner is a living spectacle of his own accord. He is controversy and entertainment wrapped into one. And unfortunately, his package deal sometimes comes off a bit pompous and egotistical. Few people really like someone who may revel in the enjoyment of his own voice. Shatner at times does this, and yet... if you can get past that veneer, underneath you will find a very fascinating and earnest man. He is someone who lucked into a legendary role that has made him supremely famous, something that for a long period he derided, yet eventually relented and embraced. He is flawed, he knows he is flawed, but he admits it openly with sincerity. I admire him now, more than I ever did.

"You either love him or you hate him," is how I've often heard Shatner described. And in various on-line forums that I've had the pleasure to read, you'll see a wide range of polarized opinions about him. Love him or hate him, he played a very important part in the world of Star Trek. He is essential.

NOTE: There's a review of this movie up on the New York Times website, worth a read. The author hit the nail on the head saying that Shatner's "genial, relaxed self-absorption is a large part of his charm."

So, "The Captains"... Shatner is typical Shatner in some respects, and yet he is also so much better than that. He usually behaves as alpha male, and yet he is ingratiating with his guests. He loves to talk about himself, and yet he is also genuinely interested in others. Making this film was a very humbling experience for Shatner and you can see it in the content. There are a few rather blatant ego stroking moments that were no doubt purposefully left in after editing, as Shatner not only wrote but directed this production.

It's true that not all of these interviews are created equal. Some of them are all too brief and miss some important aspects. Some questions are raised in common across the guests and yet not all of them are fully heard. But you know, this couldn't have been a perfect work. It required a certain amount of liberty from the guests, who were allowed to influence the flow. Of all the interviews, I found the one with Patrick Stewart the most touching. The one with Avery Brooks the most endearing. The one with Kate Mulgrew wonderfully surprising. And the one with Scott Bakula delightfully honest. There wasn't much to do with Chris Pine, because he's so young and doesn't have nearly enough experience to contribute on the same level. But what we got was reasonably good.

The whole package deal is simply wonderful. We get what appears to be very candid and revealing interviews with key actors from the Star Trek genre, hosted by a deeply colorful man. This is the best off-screen Star Trek related material I've ever watched. It touched me in many ways, despite having to overlook some of Shatner's self-fawning. I will own it and watch it again and again, no doubt about it. It's the perfect send-off for the "old school" Star Trek franchise.

This is one of the most oddly paced documentaries I've seen. The genius/madness/wackness of Shatner ground on me, initially, like nails on chalkboard, and his blatant interruptions of guests, not to mention somewhat horrendous "beat-poetry" with Avery, made me reach for my remote, finger hovering over the stop button.

But I came back to it, for what I would estimate as the last 3/4, and to say it redeemed itself would be an understatement. Like any eccentric character, you have to warm up to Shatners antics, and look for the sincerity amongst the ego. He'll interrupt Patrick Stewart, who is making a profound thought verbal, with some inconsequential question about the smallest of detail, yet tie it all together before its over with and give everyone enough latitude to truly make the interviews two-way. This is a unique but highly interactive interview technique, and as I saw more of it, I grew to like it.

There are some moments, as mentioned before with Avery, that leave you chuckling uncomfortably, but the majority of interactions between Shatner and his fellow captains are earnest, heartfelt, painful, uplifting, and humorous. Pine is the weakest link, but his time on this earth is a fraction of the others. Scott Bakula's catharsis with Shatner about divorce was poignant, and Stewart's earnestness about the love of his craft left me misty-eyed.

Speaking of misty-eyed, the shots from the convention really reminded me what I think most of us that love Star Trek are in it for: the celebration of the ideals and universe that Roddenberry imagined and many have developed into the mythos we have today. As quirky as Shatner is, he works the crowd with such expertise and mastery, you can see the mythical leader Kirk come out in what throughout most of the documentary appears a heavy-set, tired man. Add in the tangible love from the fans, the electricity in the air, and the cameo by Stewart, and you feel like you are in the crowd.

Shatner wraps it all up with an insight that seems so basic to the rest of us, but is brutally honest. The self-discovery portion of this film punctuates the ending to what started as an odd journey and ends with him saying out loud what we all know: if you are receptive to it, Star Trek can change your life.

I've got to give credit where credit is due! Actor William Shatner came up with an inspired idea in the documentary "The Captains" which adds a missing piece to the legacy of television's longest running space saga. Uniting the six actors that have been featured as Captains in the show's various interpretations, the movie would seem to have all of the elements necessary to make it essential viewing for Star Trek fans. I'm not sure, however, that Shatner (taking a writing and directing credit) hits his mark squarely. Expecting new insight into the franchise with marketing that promises an "exclusive behind-the-scenes look at a pop culture phenomenon," I actually thought the film had surprisingly little to say about Star Trek itself. If anything, the documentary's primary subject is acting as a craft and as a career with many of the face-to-face conversations seeming like a low-rent "Inside the Actor's Studio" but without the flair. Don't get me wrong--I would still recommend this to fans, it just fails to fulfill some of its promise.

At the heart of the film is Shatner himself. He is, at once, the film's most valuable asset and one of its primary weaknesses. He travels the globe (as far as England anyway) to sit down with Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, and Chris Pine. Shatner, as a persona, is as lively as ever. As an interviewer, however, he lacks a bit of focus constantly bringing any conversation back to what seems to be his favorite topic--himself. It is sometimes awkward, sometimes endearing. At the beginning of each interview, he seems to want to introduce some deep philosophical concept to make the casual get-togethers seem as if they are fraught with meaning. One of my favorite moments is when he is absolutely incredulous when Stewart says he was in an adult theater piece at the age of 12 (with bulging enthusiasm, "How did you get into a play with adults?" as if it were a strange concept for a budding thespian). Other odd moments include him singing along to Brooks' piano playing and the strangely sexist bend his interview with Mulgrew hits.

Through it all, though, Shatner is an enthusiastic guide. The interviews lack some insight, as I've mentioned. He is, after all, only sitting down with the individual participants for a couple of hours each. The footage from the Star Trek convention is fun enough and he tries to pepper the interviews with humor (arm wrestling, cardboard boxes). It's all light and pleasant enough without being particularly revelatory. Bonus points for adding Christopher Plummer to the roster (Why? Because he could). An entertaining film that misses out on its enormous potential, I'd still give it a look if it sounds at all interesting. Shatner so wanted to make a meaningful piece, but it really lacks any depth in actual relationship to the Star Trek franchise. And it certainly seems disingenuous when Shatner claims to have finally made peace with being James T. Kirk on the flight over to interview Stewart. Convenient timing! You truly have to be a Shatner fan to appreciate most of the movie--and if you are, enjoy! About 3 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 10/11.