6 Star Trek Films Actors Hated Filming
2. Star Trek: The Motion Picture - William Shatner
The film, despite being a visual masterpiece, has serious pacing issues. This was something that struck William Shatner in the weeks following the film's completion, right up to the premiere itself. The movie lumbers awake like a sleeping beast, startling in its beauty once up and about, yet undeniably taking its sweet time to get there.
Shatner recalled viewing the premiere and thinking 'Well, that's it. We gave it our best shot, it wasn't good and it'll never happen again.'
Clearly, he was proven wrong as The Wrath of Khan would hit theatres three years later. However, Shatner never truly learned to love Star Trek like many of his co-stars, enjoying the fame it brought him yet resenting the typecasting as well. For the Motion Picture, the film had been tasked with hiding his age and slightly larger build since his time on the series. Thankfully, Nicholas Meyer was able to present a movie in the years that followed that embraced the ageing cast.
As to whether or not he felt differently about the film in the years that followed, his reaction remains somewhat the same. He has said that he can appreciate its beauty but not its pacing.