Star Trek Beyond Review
PG-13: Sequences of Sci-Fi Action and Violence
Paramount Pictures, Skydance Pictures, Bad Robot, Alibaba Pictures, Huahua Media
2 Hrs and 2 Minutes
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, with Idris Elba, and Sofia Boutella
The first leg of the USS Enterprise's five year mission takes them into uncharted territory. There the Enterprise is nearly destroyed and strands Kirk and his crew on a remote planet with no means of communication. Kirk must then work with the elements to reunite his crew and get back to Earth.
REVIEW: In 2009 my dad introduced me into Star Trek with the release of the first JJ Abrams film. He was pretty much welcoming me into his little Trekkie world with what was rather to be one of my favorite films of that year. Then Abrams Into Darkness came out in 2013 and it was just an update reversal of Wrath of Khan than an actual original Star Trek film. It was just a summer blockbuster sequel for that year that didn’t do much with character or story. It was good and it was fun but it wasn’t a Star Trek movie like the first one was. Now we have Star Trek Beyond written by Simon Pegg and directed from Justin Lin of Fast & Furious 3, 4, 5, and 6. Will this be in the vain of 2009’s film or 2013’s film?
THE GOOD: Right off the bat with the introduction to the film, Justin Lin’s director perception of Star Trek is very similar to JJ Abrams but in a way much better. You see Lin capture what made his last 2 Fast and Furious films great and applied it to this Star Trek film which is (as Vin Diesel famously says) family. You see the bond that the members of the U.S.S Enterprises have amongst each other and you feel for them. We don’t even have to say how good the cast is in this, because they’re as familiar to the roles to we are with the characters.
The action in this film is amazing. Undoubtedly Star Trek Beyond has some of the best action sequences to be seen this year behind Captain America: Civil War. For the first two acts and some of the third, each action sequence has a different level of creativity behind every single action sequence and its incredibly fun to watch especially in 3D.
The script written for this film by Pegg and Doug Jung is as tight as the one Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote in 2009. There is a certain love for the characters that Jung and Pegg put into mind and dated it back to The Original Series. Not only this is like an episode of Star Trek, but is a heartwarming tribute to the Original Series of Star Trek and when you see it, you’ll feel it.
THE BAD: As much this film is a joy to watch, this has major flaws that most summer blockbusters fail to accomplish; an exceptional third act and a worthy foe. The villain of this film is good looking Idris Elba, who looks like a turd covered in pigeon goo. That’s how odd his makeup is and also his character. His character Krall is the same as the previous villain as the first two villains in the franchise. Even upon watching all 3 Star Trek films in the same day, its so easy to notice the same type of third act the film has and it’s just a generic disappointment. It feels as if the film ran out of fuel that it decided to sort of copy and paste the last act of Into Darkness and extend it.
LAST STATEMENT: With a tight script and great direction from Justin Lin, Star Trek Beyond is a perfect combo of blockbuster Summer movie and a tribute to fans of the source material that will live long and prosper.
Rating: 4.5/5 | 93%
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