Star Trek Beyond Review
Finally I got the chance to see Star Trek Beyond, the third in the reboot series with the new cast, and while I believe my review is going up too late to say anything you probably haven’t already heard about the film, I thought I’d give my opinion. I’m in the minority that says that Star Trek (2009) is pretty good, and not one of the best of the franchise, and I actually preferred Star Trek into Darkness (2013) with the exception of the scenes where they ripped off Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). However I have to say some of the strongest moments so far of the rebooted series lie in Beyond. There’s also a great original story, like the 2009 reboot, and a close feeling that resembles The Original Series.
So let’s talk some positives. Justin Lin portrays J.J. Abrams’ style very well. At times it feels just like J.J. is back in the director’s chair. The shaky-cam which he has used before in the Fast and Furious franchise was never used to a point of nausea, and the action scenes were well done. The film flies by and entertains all the while. Perhaps my favorite parts of the film were the more personal moments. When the crew gets separated after an attack by Krall, the villain of the piece, we get to see Sulu and Uhura’s relationships grow, the banter between Bones and Spock is the closest we’ve gotten to the original cast, and Kirk and Checkov’s duo is a great pairing. Seeing the late Anton Yelchin used so prominently in this film, whereas I felt he got shafted for the most part in Into Darkness, was bittersweet. I took for granted just how well he could perform, but then again I haven’t seen him in much outside of Trek, with the exception of the abysmal Terminator: Salvation (2009). He will be missed in future Trek ventures. But the best relationship was the one between Scotty and new character Jaylah. Her yin to his yang, her fighting style vs. his engineering lifestyle was fresh and new. Simon Pegg also had a hand in writing the script this time, and his character of Scotty gets better and better with each entry, and his writing style was a great fit for the film. We also get to see more personal developments with Sulu getting a husband and a daughter, Uhura and Spock still having something of a relationship, Bones and Kirk starting to resemble more of their drinking talks like before, and everyone else more easily fitting into their classic roles of engineer and navigator/science officer. It was also great to see the nods to the passing of Leonard Nimoy and the film’s overall nod to the 50th anniversary of the inception of the long running series.
It’s not perfect, however. The villain, Krall, is nothing short of serviceable. Idris Elba does his best to add a little bit, but it’s never enough to make him a remarkable villain. Also there’s an exciting extended action sequence that feels like the end, only to have a completely unnecessary fist fight. The big end sequence is excellent, and easily beats everything that we saw at the end of Into Darkness, and for me it also beats the end of the 2009 Star Trek. Another problem I had was the middle. While it brings out some good character moments, it does feel a bit slow at times.
Wow, that looks like I only had a couple of nitpicks. Still, though, the weakness of the villain, is enough for me to have a whole couple points taken off, but I liked how the characters split was similar to that of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) where we got a few characters that split off and share scenes that normally don’t. For example, I loved seeing Scotty and Bones together trying to get the transparent aluminum and Checkov and Uhura asking where the nuclear “wessels” are. I guess I can just sum it up like that: Star Trek Beyond is at its best when it’s having fun, the same way The Voyage Home was at its best when it was having a ball with the 80’s San Francisco setting. Whenever Beyond tries to show a darker villain and force it’s McGuffin plot device it doesn’t perform as well. So for what it’s worth, I liked it a lot. Again it’s bittersweet to see Yelchin so recently after his passing, and it was a nice touch to put a final note on the Leonard Nimoy Spock, and there is a final celebratory cry out to the original cast at the end that brought a smile to my face and made me want to re-watch a couple of the classic episodes or Wrath of Khan or Voyage Home. And for a film that’s just in time for the 50th anniversary, you can’t ask for much more. It made me excited to see future ventures, it made me remember my favorites in the franchise, and satisfied me. Oh, and I want to hang up the poster that pays homage to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) in my bedroom it’s so cool.
My rating, 8/10.
