It's been three years since we got Benedict Khan-berbatch in Star Trek Into Darkness and the Enterprise crew is back for another high-thrill adventure in deep space. Star Trek Beyond, the third installment in this reboot trilogy, is the first to not be directed by J.J Abrams. ST Beyond is directed by Justin Lin.
The interesting thing about this Star Trek is that it takes place three years into the Enterprise's original five-year mission. For those of you who haven't watched Star Trek, the Five Year Mission was led by Captain James T. Kirk and was meant to "explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man had gone before." The Original Series was canceled after three years, so we never got to see how the voyage ended. This film leaves the possibility open that we can see that.
Star Trek Beyond, more than any other Star Trek film, made me wistful to go on an adventure. I think that's what it is at its core: an adventure movie. The whole point of Star Trek is the adventure. Humanity advances to the point past the arguing and the hate and we reach out to explore the vast unknown. I think this film really nails that feeling. Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov have really become a family at this point in the franchise. They work well together as a team. You can tell everyone on the crew respects each other now. They're all (finally) on a first name basis. One of the highlights for me was watching Spock and Bones' interactions. We've seen Kirk and Spock's relationship grow, but not Spock and Bones. In the Original series, Spock and Bones had a bantering relationship. They would poke fun at each other. It was great and we finally get to see that in this film. The casting in these films is perfect, although Bones is a lot more down home than I ever remember him being. The crew in this film is the most competent we have seen them. They seem to be able to solve any problem.
However, their competence feeds into the biggest issue I have with the film: Krall, the villian. I think Idris Elba is a terrific actor. He's been in a bajillion films this year, but I don't think he was properly utilized. He wasn't scary and he didn't affect the crew personally. He does one terrible thing in the film and after that he's not even a threat. I will say though that the way his crew is defeated is the greatest combination of awesome/stupid that I've seen since Pacific Rim (which also stars Idris Elba). I loved it, but it might be a bit divisive. Nero destroyed Vulcan, Khan got Kirk killed and Krall...mildly inconvenienced the crew for a few days. The stakes in this film aren't high.
I really liked this film, though. Jaylah was a breakout star and I really hope she joins Starfleet in the next movie, maybe even the Enterprise. Also, Star Trek Beyond had more than one touching moment, from seeing Sulu's husband and daughter to the sendoff the filmmakers gave to Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin. I actually teared up when I saw what happened to the Enterprise. If you're looking to feel awesome and adventurous this week I would definitely recommend Star Trek Beyond.
