Watched.
STAR TREK THE FIRST FRONTIER is a fan film that chronicles the adventures of Captain Robert April, the first captain of the USS Enterprise.
Most recent modern Trek fan films usually have incredible CGI FX but the live action portion is awkward... as the cast is mostly just fans playing Trek and not trained actors (this is not a knock down, if given the opportunity I was happily join a Trek fan production to be a performer
) But with First Frontier, it is sort of the opposite.
The live action stuff is excellent. A strong cast that fully embody their characters. I believed their performances. More and most importantly, I liked this crew.
The direction is mostly excellent. There is some great staging and scene framing. The lighting and set production design is amazing for the low budget. There were a couple of scenes where the editing between the static wide shot and the close up hand held is a bit jarring. But overall, the live action stuff is truly impressive.
The FX is more a mixed bag.
Most noticeably is the Audio Mix. It is all over the place. I constantly had to turn my volume up and down throughout the film. Some scenes the dialogue is very difficult to hear. There is also a lot of audio popping throughout the film.
On the positive side, James Horner's Wrath of Khan score is masterfully used in many places and really elevates the material.
The practical model fx is also a bit mixed. The static shots look really, really nice. But motion shots, like the Enterprise or a Shuttle moving through space look very dodgy. Also, the close up shots of the Enterprise only reinforce the fact that it is a model, as it lacks texture and fine detail compared to model used in the original series.
The CGI is also mixed. The space composition shots are beautiful. The CGI ships are mostly good. The CGI enhanced aliens and phaser shots are all a bit janky. But I do love the actual practical alien design! It has a great 1950's monster/Mars Attacks look.
There is quite a bit of green screen work in the film and while most of it is decent, there were a couple of action sequences where it falls short. But again, I must stress, for the tiny budget, it still has charms.
Final thoughts... while the technical side has issues and may not be quite on par with other current Trek Fan Films, it is the human side that wins out. The script is solid and the actors are excellent. As I said, I really grew to love this crew and I would happily watch more adventures about them. For me, a fun and enjoyable watch.