Klingons invade YouTube to give verdict on Star Trek film

Published on Wednesday 6 May 2009 21:14

IT'S a review, Jim, but not as we know it…

The new Star Trek film came in for glowing praise from an unlikely source yesterday – two Klingon generals.

In a video in the Klingon language posted on YouTube, generals Karloth and Sol'rac of the Imperial Klingon Expeditionary Forces laud the movie's special effects and recommend it to "Klingons everywhere as well as Earthlings".

The generals are played by retired shoemaker Stu Lucas, 64, from Weston-super-Mare, and ex-soldier Keith Blatt, 47, from Luton, who appear as professional Klingons at fan conferences around the world. And the good news for non-Klingon speaking fans is that their review comes with English subtitles.

While most people would assume "tlhIngan Hol" was a typing mistake, true Trekkers will recognise it as the proper name of the Klingon language, which Messrs Lucas and Blatt have spoken fluently for nearly ten years.

It was invented for use in previous Star Trek TV series and films, and is a complete language with a full grammar and vocabulary.

The film chronicles the early days of Captain James T Kirk and his crew on the USS Enterprise.

The Klingons give a special mention to Simon Pegg, who plays engineer Scotty, for his accent.

But they are disappointed at the lack of their own people in it, saying: "Great film, but where are the Klingons?"

Darren Bignell of lovefilm.com, which commissioned the review, said: "The Klingons are Star Trek icons, so we figured getting their take on the new movie would be enlightening, even if – in their native dialect – it sounded a bit phlegmy."