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Star Trek Beyond


Star Trek Beyond

(Justin Lin)






The least ambitious Star Trek is probably the closest to the original series. Is that a good thing though? Kirk is at a crossroads in his life, he thinks he should no longer be captain of the Enterprise due to the redundancy of the missions. Nothing exciting happens anymore. QUE EXCITING INCIDENT.

To say a lot of this film is written generically is an understatement. The destruction of the Enterprise isn't shocking due to Into Darkness which saw it almost destroyed there. 85% of the film takes place on one planet, which reduces the scope of the story. The ambition isn't there, they leave that at the door while trying to focus on a more humanistic tale. I think the film suffers a bit from that. It feels like an 'episode' not a 'film'.

The set-up for Kirk to question his leadership is eye-rolling and used as a generic character arc moment when he comes to realize he needs to be captain. The same 'arc' is used for Spock, who also wants to leave the Enterprise and continue the efforts of future Spock (Nimoy). Things wrap up neatly for the characters as any episodic show would. I give credit to them for handling Nimoy's death poetically.

Karl Urban is given a bit more to do with the character of Bones. This is a much needed improvement as he is without a doubt, a highlight in the series. Saldana and Yelchin have less to work with this time. She is ultimately the damsel in distress here where Yelchin does absolutely nothing.

There were some pretty bad parts that are used for the sake of looking cool. The Beastie Boys' Sabotage sequence comes to mind, same with the motorcycle bits with Pine. The logical aspects of the sequences are thrown out the window. Finally we have the villain, whose identity is suppose to come as a shock I guess? It's pretty obvious from the get go who he is and what his purpose is. The film tries so hard to make it a moment of realization when it's simply the audience waiting for the film to catch up.

Not a bad entry, just a forgettable one. I think the series might be done for now that Abrams has departed and Yelchin is no longer with us. I'd be okay with that, despite it meaning the series goes out with a whimper.

....at least it's not a fan service story line...*Into Darkness*.