If only all the summer fun popcorn blockbuster movies were at least as good as this.

Star Trek Beyond isn't the best movie in the rebooted franchise so far, but it still offers a lot of fun. The beginning is a bit slow and for some reason Urban's Bones was a bit annoying this time and the script thinks it's slightly funnier than it actually is, but the story is good, the pacing is good, the twists are good, the acting is good. I liked the smaller, TV episode like, setting. And "Sabotage" cracked me up and was definitely a magnificent highlight (if you're gonna do some deus-ex-machina solution thing you better do it fun and cool like this). Bring on more Star Trek please!

***1/2 / ***** (B-)

B- is liking it a lot?

Yes.

Star Trek Beyond

This wasn't very good. I cannot say I genuinely like any character in the film. The action is very choppy and just not very interesting or cool. The story isn't bad but it is also a bit small-scale. Quinto, Urban, and the Yelchin play three of the most annoying characters in the film (annoying face/voice, weird delivery in a trying-to-be-leading-man role, awful Russian accent and pointless character), and then there's the bland Jim Kirk. I just don't see what's so appealing about all of this space talk crap. That white alien chick didn't sit right for me. Elba's character was cool as the villain until it is realised that he is a Trekkie. Simon Pegg was the only one in the film worth watching. He was humorous and his accent actually works.

D+

Not really. A B- at school is not exactly a great grade. It is a decent one, just a notch above average. Not "a lot".

Agree.

However underscoreaxiom also states



3.5 stars is pretty good.

That's the problem with using 2 grade systems next to each other. Jack Sparrow was doing this before and it's confusing too (for me).

I'm not even sure how to translate 3.5/5 to a letter grade, it could be anything from a B- to a B+ I guess.

Let's cut the shit; _axiom loved the film but he is too much of a snob to admit it in grade form.

Yeah using two grades was quite confusing for me as well. I did it only because rest of the folks here seem comfortable with letter grade but I am used to number grade in general. Admittedly I was also jumping the gun with sentences like "it was a good movie" and "it was a great movie" without grading it first because while I do like a movie when comparing it to other movies that you liked in the same year the grade might come out lower.

It's what makes it great. ST was never about grand scale stories. Some of the best episodes are self contained ones and the previous ST movies (before the reboot and before they went for generic Hollywood popcorn flick scheme post First Contact) were also rather small scale (as they could've easily been a 40 minute episode too). So as a ST fan I appreciated they went for a bit more "original" feel this time. It certainly was an interesting approach from today's standpoint where every sequel need to be bigger, better, flashier, more louder than the one before - and an approach I admired.


He didn't seem like a fan of ST universe to me.



OK. Basically what stars mean to me are what grades you get in the educational system I've been accustomed to.

* - F
** - D
*** - C
**** - B
***** - A

There are no + or - or 1/2 anywhere to be find, but I like having 1/2 to somewhat differentiate between, let's say, a pure C or a pure B movie. So I could've went with a 1/2 meaning a + of the lower grade or a - of the upper grade. I went for the - of the upper grade, as that made more sense as there cannot be A+ (the concept of A+ is pretty stupid to me anyway).

So I got:
1/2 - F-
*1/2 - D-
**1/2 - C-
***1/2 - B-
****1/2 - A-

Which completes my ratings system. Also going down from A up until C it pretty much covers the usual percentage range of grades here too (when you convert stars into percentages of the max total).

The usual ranges:
90 - 100 % is A
75 - 89% is B
60 - 74% is C
50 - 59% is D
0 - 49% is F

My movie range
100% A
90% A-
80% B
70% B-
60% C
50% C-
40% D
30% D-
20% F
10% F

No stars (or letter grade) means it's a worthless piece of shit not even worth getting a star or a letter.

Though I really don't see why my ratings bother you all. Just because something to you sounds like it should've been better rated than it was, doesn't mean we all have the same grading standards. I see a shitload of A's, A+'s for rather average movies on WOKJ and I just don't get it. As I get older only a handful of movies I've seen remain as having that "this is fucking incredible piece of art, not just a movie" effect on me and those movies deserve my A and set the standard for me. So getting ***1/2 stars or getting to 70% of what is pure brilliance to me is a pretty damn good grade.

He was part of the Star Wing Commander Enterprise Fleet (or whatever the fuck it is called) is what I meant, smart-ass.



Yeah, not to me. It preserves its nerdy nature. I don't care about the franchise at all, so I want it to grow, to get away from its roots as much as it can - to become sexier and louder like a Fast/Furious movie in space - and Beyond didn't do that for me.

Yeah, not to me. It preserves its nerdy nature. I don't care about the franchise at all, so I want it to grow, to get away from its roots as much as it can - to become sexier and louder like a Fast/Furious movie in space - and Beyond didn't do that for me.[/quote]
One Star Wars franchise is enough.

Star Wars ain't sexy.

Star Trek Beyond was a blast for me, loved pretty much every bit. I liked Into Darkness too, thought it was quite good, but Beyond tops it for me. The chemistry between the actors feels very good, the score is great, and the effects are just the best they can be. Just like Into Darkness it has a great opening and Pine is simply perfect in the Kirk role. The rest of the cast also feels so natural in their starfleet roles. The banter between Spock and Bones are highlights, and Boutella is great in her role. I already liked Lin's Fast and Furious films, and after this I have to call him one of my favorite directors right now. Point of critique would be Elba, who plays a very replaceable role for me, and while executed fine the last one-on-one scenes between Kirk and Krull/ Edison are the weakest part of the script for me. Still Beyond solidifies itself in top echelon of films this year and right now has been the best 2016 film experience for me.

A-

I am glad you enjoyed it. I expected such a review given your love for broad, mainstream blockbuster crud.

Probably because they're the most inconsistent thing on WOKJ.

I'll try to be more predictable so you can be happier.

Well, with a grading system, consistency is paramount. It is not about what grade you give (I would guess nobody actually cares about that), but that your grade matches your comments.

It does match. It just doesn't match on *YOUR* scale.

Oh, come on. You've been called out so many times with regards to grade/comment consistency of your grading "system". Sort it out.

I don't care.

You're so obsessed with appearing to be a cool customer. It is very funny. Keep it up.

Yeah. That's me.

Oh, man! What a cool response!

It's a great song.

So having watched the whole series again I feel this is good but STID was a better than this. Beyond has more fun but the story is much more weaker and while I don't mind the smaller stakes the crew gets too long stranded in the island/planet and then they come back and seem to be easily beat the space station which also comes as weird. Having said that there are some great moments here the rescue of the crew, the beehive sequence are done really well.

B+