Star Trek Beyond





STAR TREK '09 is JJ Abrams' best STAR WARS movie.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS is also a STAR WARS movie. And outside of a saggy section on Kronos and a flat third act, I still like it. I like the cast. I like the characters. I think it's directed with a propulsive energy that sands over some of its weak spots.

I say this because, though I know I'll inevitably be attacked for defending STID, I recognize what those movies are. They are STAR WARS films wearing a STAR TREK skin.

STAR TREK BEYOND, make no mistake, is a STAR TREK film.

Some of you will hate it, and fairly. This is a movie where -- spoiler alert -- "Sabotage" literally saves the day. This is a movie with another major villain twist. This is a movie that begins with Kirk running away from funny little aliens, and drops another stupid "Dammit, man, I'm a doctor, not a--" joke.

But it's also a movie with an excellent first act, where Chris Pine really comes into his own as Kirk. Not the cocky blow-hard of the first two films; this is a wise Kirk, contemplative. It's a movie that finally elevates Bones to the same level as Kirk and Spock. It's a movie that pays tribute to Leonard Nimoy's death in a way that provides Quinto's Spock some real moments of character development and discovery.

And that's why it's a STAR TREK movie. For all of its action (and there probably isn't as much as you're expecting), it's a movie focused on character. Gone is JJ Abrams' wild ADD-riddled camerawork, and in its place is a more measured, steadier hand. Gone is a silly focus on Earth; in its place, a push forward, including the introduction of really fun new characters like Jaylah.

It's not perfect. The second act is saggy (and reminded me more than once of STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, though improving on that film). Krall's motivations are interesting (he isn't simply Nero, as some people had led me to believe), but they're held back so long that he spends 90% of the film as Evil Tyrannical Alien Guy.

But it's a reintroduction to what STAR TREK really is, and ends in a way that's both fitting as the closing chapter for this cast, and as a beautiful nod to this crew having been together for 50 years. And as a springboard into the many adventures I still want to see with this group of people.

It's STAR TREK, warts and all.

Are Khan and Alice Eve's character at least referenced to?

No. There isn't a single STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS reference.

Lame

I'm lost. Can I just ask what is Star Trek to you? Are we talking movies or tv?

Another solid entry in J. J. Abrams' rebooted Star Trek franchise, this time with Fast & Furious director Justin Lin capably at the helm. Though I suspect it is still too action-oriented, hard-edged, and militaristic to satisfy the most sentimental and traditionalist fans of the original 1960s television series' utopian quality and SCIENCE-fiction emphasis on exploration, it does move closer to resembling an extended episode of the CBS original: the diverting plot revolves around the USS Enterprise and her captain and crew on a faraway planet, with an emphasis on the ensemble's chemistry and survival via moment-to-moment ingenuity (fate-of-the-universe race-against-time melodrama only comes to the fore near the end). Though never spectacular, it is an enjoyable romp with exciting, muscular chase and fight sequences and a roster of returnees who now comfortably slip into their roles, with the best-in-show honor going to Karl Urban's sweetly grumpy interpretation of Enterprise doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy. The only anticlimax: Idris Elba, buried in prostheses and rather blandly snarling as an alien despot. This branch of the Trek media empire has now failed three times to match a tremendous actor—Eric Bana, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Elba—with an antagonistic role worthy of their intensity and stature.

B

Is there any explanation as to why Krall returns to a more human form upon landing on Yorktown? (Beyond a chance to show a bit more of the famous actor playing him?) Was he in control of his alien-reptilian appearance? Because I assumed he was "deformed" after using the aliens' life-draining technology for so many years.

He drained other people. The more he drains, the more his appearance reverts.

Ah, I did not notice any change after he drains the two crew members on the planet. Then he drains a person on the space station and becomes Idris Elba with Scarring.

I very much enjoyed it; better than the last one, especially because it wasn't a remake and no one said "Khaaaaaaaaan!" No lens flare either. Good characters, good story, kept me entertained.

I also think because he couldn't drain anymore humans, so he was draining aliens that deformed him. The more humans he drained, he started to revert back

Perhaps one day Star Trek Beyond might be vaguely amusing if viewed as a tone deaf parody of the original series, but as it stands it is an embarassment to the entire franchise. Mindless action in lieu of smart sci-fi. STB flat out sucks. *F*

I think I liked the first two more (particularly the first) but this is still incredibly fun and entertaining, and the cast is universally great. I thought Karl Urban and Sofia Boutella stole the movie. The script was also really sharp and tied everything together well. A-

Star Trek Beyond is not a Star Trek movie. The Star Trek brand is simply being slapped on a generic product. It's not even a sci-fi movie, it's a straight action movie.

Enjoyable, but definitely the weakest of the three movies IMO. The first act is really solid, but it starts to lose momentum fast once their stranded on the planet. Idris Elba was a weak villain and the finale wasn't very exciting. The whole third act was kinda meh, but overall it's entertaining. Karl Urban is great as Bones and I liked Sofia Boutella's character.

Pretty much.

B-

I was disappointed with this.

BJs B+

felt much more like classic treck than into darkness, BJ likes.

I liked it. I do agree it looks tonally very different from the last two movies, but that doesn't take away from the space experience this one provides. The main device and Krall seems really weak and the revenge part of the movie is not properly explored at the expense of metal cracking but it has a nice ending and you root for the good guys to win in the end. Compared to ST09 its slightly lower and maybe almost equal to STID and the cast is in good form (aside from maybe Elba who seems really restricted here).

6/10

Star Trek: First Contact A+
Star Trek (09) A+
Star Trek: Wrath of Kahn A+
Star Trek The Undiscovered Country A
Star Trek Beyond B+
Star Trek III: The Wrath of Kahn B+
Star Trek: Generations B
Star Trek Into Darkness B
Star Trek X: Nemesis B-
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home B-
Star Trek: Insurrection C
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier C-
Star Trek: The Motion Picture D+

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek III: Search for Spock
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek (09)
Star Trek X: Nemesis
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek Into Darkness

If only.

It's fine, but certainly misses the warmth and wonder JJ Abrams brought to the franchise. The movie's coldness makes it hard to build momentum. The prime example of this is at the beginning of the second act. Uhura is questioned by Krall, and a few cuts later she is escaping the compound with Sulu. Couldn't we have gotten a quick 30 second scene establishing that she and Sulu were together and planning something?

I do like what they did with the rest of the cast. Having wrote the script, Simon Pegg actually gets an entertaining subplot of his own. And Karl Urban gets to steal the show as Bones. Elba is also a pretty cool villain once his identity is revealed, which takes most of the movie.

Pine's face when "Sabotage" comes on is gold.

Just watched it. Liked it a lot. Still thinking about the grade but it's gonna be a good one. So here's one more positive review Lecter.