Star Trek Beyond

Released: July 2016

Director: Justin Lin

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 122 Minutes

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Genre: Science Fiction, Action

Cast:
Chris Pine: James T. Kirk
Zachary Quinto: Spock
Karl Urban: Leonard McCoy
Zoe Saldana: Uhura
Anton Yelchin: Chekhov
John Cho: Sulu
Simon Pegg: Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
Idris Elba: Krall
Sofia Boutella: Jaylah

For decades, Star Trek has and still is a foundation for solid story telling.  For good storytelling, you need good and memorable characters, and Star Trek has provided those for 50 years.  The characters of Star Trek are so ingrained in our pop culture that everybody knows them, even if they haven’t seen Star Trek.  Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Chekhov and Sulu are some of the most iconic characters ever conceived.  The original series did things that nobody ever thought possible and it pushed boundaries and ideas that few people had seen.  We all owe this to the legendary Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.  For 50 years, the crew of the starship Enterprise has entertained audiences world-wide and become a part of our collective consciousness.  Through several TV series and 13 movies, we have experienced a fictional world where humanity has become united.  Star Trek has always been optimistic about our future as a species and the hope that we can work together for a better future.  As a result, Star Trek is one of the most influential and popular franchises in the world, because it speaks to so many people on so many levels.  So, for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, director Justin Lin and Paramount Pictures released Star Trek Beyond, the third entry into the rebooted franchise starring Chris Pine.

Star Trek Beyond opens as we see Captain Kirk attempted to be a diplomat between two species that seem to be at war with each other.  After unsuccessful negotiations, Kirk returns to the Enterprise and they head towards a massive space colony called Yorktown for some much needed shore leave.  Shortly after they arrive, an unknown vessel enters their sector with an apparent survivor of an alien attack.  Alarmed at this new development, Captain Kirk volunteers to search for the survivor’s missing crew in uncharted space.  Shortly after exiting a rocky nebula, the Enterprise comes under attack from a mysterious, yet extremely violent alien race.  With the ship disabled and the crew being captured by Krall, the leader of the alien invaders, it’s a race against time for Kirk to find his crew and escape the planet.  As far as stories go, this one is pretty standard fare for Star Trek.  I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, it’s not.  It’s simple, easy to follow and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.  The problem is for most people, it’s nothing they haven’t seen before, in Star Trek or any other science fiction film.  That’s really the only downside to the story.

Characters have always been at the heart of Star Trek, and this film is no different.  We are all familiar with the original crew of the Enterprise: Kirk, McCoy, Spock and the rest of them.  Beyond gives a couple of new characters this time around that are pretty memorable.  The first is the film’s villain, Krall.  This guy commands an entire “swarm” of tiny ships that devastate the Enterprise.  He’s looking for an ancient weapon that will help him achieve his vengeance against the Federation.  There’s a lot to this character that isn’t revealed until the end, so I won’t say anymore.  The other addition is Jaylah, a new alien lady that is strong yet vulnerable.  She has this innocence about her that is really compelling, and yet she’s not afraid to take on the enemy with her impressive fighting skills.  Idris Elba is an amazing actor, especially if you’ve seen shows like Luther.  He’s got this astounding presence that’s really hard to match.  His performance as Krall is astounding.  Elba knows how to play threatening characters.  Sofia Boutella plays Jaylah and she’s great.  She’s physically capable of handling herself in the role.  Her character’s relationship with Simon Pegg’s Scotty is wonderful.  Jaylah is a mechanic/engineer of sorts, so that gets the attention of Scotty and they become a team.  Everybody else is definitely on point.  Chris Pine IS Kirk in the new movies.  Zach Quinto is great as always, with Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban and Zoe Saldana delivering equally strong performances.

With Justin Lin taking over the director’s chair from J.J. Abrams, he infuses the film with his own unique visual flair that’s also consistent with the other films.  The action is intense.  Krall’s attack on the Enterprise is really engaging(ha!).  It shows how outmatched the Enterprise really is.  While the film has it’s slower moments, they aren’t bad at all, and actually add to the sense of urgency that the film is trying to get across.  That’s also why the film is only 2 hours long.  You’ve got to make it exciting while still making the audience care about the characters.  There’s some really good stuff that happens on the planet surface too.  There’s gun fights, and there’s a pretty decent motorcycle sequence that’s exciting.  The visuals in the film are absolutely stunning, especially when you get a good look at the Yorktown space station.  Wow.

With all that being said, the film does suffer from some drawbacks.  It definitely borrows elements from other Star Trek films, like Star Trek III.  This isn’t the first time the Enterprise has been destroyed, but it doesn’t have the same emotional impact that the destruction of the ship had in Star Trek III.  While I definitely like the main villain, his motivations for what he does aren’t explicitly clear, not even at the end of the film, so you’re left wondering why he was doing this in the first place.  As far as Star Trek villains go, Krall doesn’t even come close to Kahn.  Very few villains do, though.  He’s still better than Dr. Soran from Generations, that’s for sure.  Aside from that, it’s a perfectly decent film.

Now, two actors had passed away prior to the film’s release.  Leonard Nimoy, who played the original Spock and had appearances in the last two films, passed away during the writing process for Star Trek Beyond.  They wrote in a nice little tribute scene for his character.  It was a very touching moment.  The other one, Anton Yelchin, was tragically killed in a car accident.  He had finished his scenes in the film before he died, so had one last completed film.  Sadly, he died before the film’s release, so he couldn’t see the final film.  I think he and Leonard Nimoy would have been very proud of the film.  Nimoy was a legend in the film industry, and Anton Yelchin was getting really good, so it’s a shame that neither of them lived to see Star Trek Beyond fully realized.  I think it’s a fitting tribute to both actors and is a very solid and enjoyable entry into the franchise.  I personally recommend it.

Final Score: 9/10.

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