Let me start by saying that I always liked the Star Trek universe since I was a kid but found myself more of a Star Wars fan due to obtaining the originals on VHS as a kid and falling in love with them instantly. My first experience with Star Trek as a kid was watching the film Generations on television as a kid and instantly becoming hooked, especially seeing Capt Picard and Kirk team up along with the Enterprise crashing and Kirk's death. Those moments as a kid had a profound impact on me, and it also benefitted that I grew up in a family that were Star Trek fans. With Generations being my first encounter with the Star Trek universe, I went backwards and watched all the William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy Trek films as I got older and became more of a Star Trek fan. While the first Star Trek movie wasn't necessarily great, it was Wrath Of Khan through The Voyage Home that caught my eye with the Kirk team and Undiscovered Country (Final Frontier sucked). All the Capt Picard movies outside of Nemesis were solid films with Generations holding a special place in my heart but the best Picard film going to First Contact hands down. A lot has been said about the new Star Trek series of films made by JJ Abrams starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto with general moviegoers greatly enjoying the films while the purists of the original movies and televisions shows despise them for their abandoning of the slower paced and more character and plot driven narratives in exchange for faster paced and intense action. I personally found both Abrams Star Trek movies to be extremely well made films particularly his 2009 Star Trek movie that received large amounts of praise as well as criticism for establishing a new timeline that wipes out the original one pissing off many of the Trek fans from the earlier era. Star Trek Into Darkness while quite entertaining as a summer blockbuster suffered from relying alittle too hard on past events to drive it's storyline such as essentially redoing the Wrath Of Khan storyline but swapping the characters fates at the end of each movie that actually comes off as being a beautiful parallel. Going into Star Trek Beyond, I was still excited for it but sad that the studio didn't wait for JJ Abrams to complete Star Wars: Force Awakens for him to return to direct this movie but having seen the film now and reviewing it, I can say my worst fears of switching directors as it usually turns out to be a decision leading to disastrous results has been proven wrong as Star Trek Beyond not only lives up to being one of the best movies of the summer but also an improvement over it's predecessor placing it right behind the 2009 Star Trek movie as being the top titans in the new batch of movies.
Star Trek Beyond has much of what made people fall in love with Star Trek in the first place long before JJ Abrams movies came into play with his newly makeover films for the franchise. Whereas the last two Star Trek movies moved at a quick pace with lots of intense action while making the characters appear more hip and likeable to non fans, Beyond takes the story and characters to a more personal level slowing the pace down and allowing for more personal moments between the main characters to be exchanged along with characters and the plot being more fleshed out. The film also feels like a homage to the 50 year history of Star Trek, particularly the older Kirk films that starred William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. One of the best decisions for this sequel is the writers and director Justin Lin taking the helm after Abrams left to do Force Awakens returning to the roots of what made the older films so appealing to fans as well as the television show. The film regains the feel of an epic Scfi adventure while slowing the pacing down and giving each character in the film moments to truly shine. The film is more emotional in comparison to the previous two films in the new set of movies as this one shows Spock's reaction upon hearing the death of Ambassador Spock played in the previous two films by Leonard Nimoy, and him coping with that loss. It also shows Kirk being emotional about his birthday as it represents the day his father also dying heroically saving the lives of everyone on his ship including him and his mother. The film also deals with the breakup between Spock and Uhura while showing the two still caring about each other very much. The problem with Star Trek Into Darkness is despite it being a solid sequel to the 2009 film, it was too much like Wrath Of Khan in regards to borrowing the general plotline whereas this one brings back the freshness of the 2009 movie while taking things to a more personal level with the characters. Perhaps the replacing of Into Darkness writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof with costar Simon Pegg, and Doug Jung was a smart move as the script feels more fleshed out and not as rushed as the previous installment did, even the climax is more satisfying than the ending of Into Darkness where Spock punches Khan and Kirk automatically is brought back to life with little to no trouble. Beyond centers it's plot within it's 5 year journey where the crew of the USS Enterprise find themselves put to the ultimate test when their Enterprise ship is attacked and ultimately destroyed by a new ruthless enemy who places them and the Federation at stake.
Directed by Justin Lin who helmed the middle sequels to the popular Fast And Furious franchise most notably Fast 4,5, and 6, Lin's directing style remains similar to that of JJ Abrams with the previous two films in regards to juggling the films giant action set pieces such as the destruction of the Enterprise. That sequence although running a tad long is spectacular to watch on the big screen and ultimately devastating to witness as someone who've grown to know these characters and their journeys on the ship. Chris Pine once again turns in a fine performance as a young but wise James T. Kirk, making him feel like a perfect choice to play a young William Shatner. The Kirk in this film compared to the previous two has molded into a great and experiences Captain, who cares deeply for his crew and will fight for them as he views them as more than just his friends but his family ultimately. Zachary Quinto does a fantastic job playing a young Spock as one feels his grief in realizing that Ambassador Spock whose his older self has died. That subplot is beautiful because it shows the filmmakers paying their last respects to Leonard Nimoy as the actor passed in real life a year before this movie's release. The bromance between Spock and Kirk is in full effect here as their friendship arc was completed at the end of Into Darkness when Spock finally realized what the true meaning of friendship meant when Kirk died saving the crew including Spock's own life. Zoe Saldana does a nice job once again as Uhura giving the film a strong female character to Kirks crew as well as filling the roles of being both the damsel in distress along with being a complex for Spock. Karl Urban unquestionably steals the show as Bones boasting some of the films best lines as well as having a much more significant part in this entry compared to the previous two films. Simon Pegg brings the wit and humor to the film as Scotty, providing the laughs while adding a dose of humanity to the script with his off screen co-writing credits along with John Cho doing his thing as Sulu. Idris Elba does a very nice job playing the films antagonist making him feel bigger than Eric Bana's character Nero from Star Trek 2009, and right behind Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as Khan. Anton Yelchin shines once again as Chekov, making audiences happy to see him yet sad as this will be the final performance audiences will see him deliver as the iconic character due to the actor passing tragically last month. The soundtrack by Michael Giacchino once again shines and adds to the excitement of the movie (I get a kick out of that opening music everytime), with the bringing back of the song Sabotage from the films first opening is a nice throwback to that film making the entire trilogy come full circle despite reports of a fourth movie coming.
Overall Star Trek Beyond is an exciting entry in the popular Star Trek franchise that honors a 50 year legacy of a popular cultural franchise while not shying away from the blockbuster action that made the last two resonate so strongly with mainstream audiences. If you are someone who grew up watching the 1960s television show along with the original Kirk and Spock movies, then you will find comfort in knowing that this movie takes it's time with the plot in comparison to the previous two films while giving each character their own personal moments to shine such as the scene between Bones and Kirk where they are discussing Kirks birthday, his fathers death, and why he chose to join Starfleet along with Spock mourning over the loss of Ambassador Spock in a beautiful tribute to Leonard Nimoy. It's quiet moments like this which will go a long way to warm the hearts of the older Trek fans who found the new trilogy underwhelming in the story and character development department. The film maintains the same kind of style and insane action which made the newer films popular but chooses to slow things down a bit to feel more like the old days (perhaps as a strategy to please the purists this time). If you are someone who got brought into this universe through the newer films produced and directed by Abrams then you will still remain a fan after watching this movie as it delivers on the action but also gives you more of an emotional connection with these characters that audiences have grown to know for the past 50 years. Beyond not only works as a beautiful wrap up to a strong trilogy of films but it also feels like it was a film that was made for the purists giving them more of what they want to see from these new films. If there was one main criticism i would give rhe movie its that it ran alittle slow at times in the middle but beyond that it moved at a pretty steady pace and some of the cinematography was weird with the 180 degree frames. As much as I would have liked to see JJ Abrams in the directing chair, Justin Lin taking the reigns wasn't a bad decision as he juggled both the ensemble of characters with the action perfectly. The film is most def worth seeing in theaters especially on IMAX with the large scale action sequences it contains. Once again, Paramount does it again and gives another worthy film to add to the popular Star Trek universe and one that will probably win over a few detractors this time. Thumbs up.
8.5/10
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