MOVIE REVIEW: Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Directed By: Justin Lin

When Into Darkness came to an end three years ago it promised something in the future that longtime fans of the franchise had been looking for; adventure and exploration of the unknown. At the end of the second JJ film we see the crew of The Enterprise setting off on a five year mission to explore the unknown reaches of space. This left fans hoping that the next time we saw these guys on screen that it would be at some point in that exploration and that we would see them take on adventure rather than the apocalypse. Apparently the fans were heard, and although this films stakes may still be too high it still succeeds as a true adventure film.

After two movies with this crew their characters have been fully established and this time around we are popping in on them smack dab in the middle of a five year mission. The crew answers a distress call that they think will be a simple rescue mission but quickly turns into something much larger and life threatening. The call leads them to a mysterious and abandoned planet where they find themselves ambushed and most of their crew abducted. Now Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and a handful of other popular crew members must find a way to save their shipmates and escape this planet and the people who hold it. Unfortunately for them the force in control of the planet has other plans for the crew of The Enterprise. 

I should let it be known that I did not grow up a fan of Star Trek, my dad is a lifelong fan but his love of Star Wars struck me more as a young child. Over the years, and thanks to JJ's films for making the property more accessible to me at the time, I have come to really enjoy the franchise (though I have yet to dive into the shows) so I was always slightly confused by much of the vitriolic hate for his two films. After seeing Beyond I can at least understand where they are coming from now. In a time when every blockbuster is an "end of the world" scenario it is refreshing to see something operate on a much smaller scale.

A large reason this was able to happen was a shake up in the writing and directorial duties this time around. Rather than Roberto Orci writing and JJ Abrams directing (as it was the first time films) they went a different route and got long time Trekkie Simon Pegg (who plays Scotty in the films) to pen a script that captured the essence of the classic shows and films and Justin Lin, who is best known for the Fast & Furious movies, to direct. This may seem like an odd pairing but when you see the finished product you know it was the best match. Pegg's knowledge and love of the franchise paired with Lin's ability to make a huge movie revolving around a small story (that's really what most of the Fast movies are) allowed them to craft a film that is pure adventure and intrigue. 

Aside from those changes much of the remainder of the crew stayed the same. Everyone aboard the Enterprise reprises their roles just as good as ever. They give some more development to Sulu (John Cho) and a handful of other smaller characters as well which was simply good world building. The main additions to the cast were Idris Elba as Krull, the powerful force holding the planet, and Sofia Boutella as Jayla, an alien creature who has been living secretly on the abandoned planet. Both are great in their roles, even under all their make-up, and I am excited to see more of Jayla in the future.

I'd like if more science fiction movies of the future take note of some of the things this movie does phenomenally well. For example: This film takes place entirely off of Earth, which becomes key to why the story is so spell-binding. I find it much easier, and more entertaining, to engage in an adventure story revolving around space exploration when that story doesn't actually take place on our planet at all. It allows us to buy into the world they have created, showing Earth every fifteen minutes is just a reminder that everything we are seeing is just fiction and that's no fun. 

I wish I could tell you more about how this flick captures the essence of the old shows or movies or how this story compares to those of the past, but I can't. As someone who doesn't know the property nearly as well as its countless die-hard fans all I can tell you is that in a summer where so many blockbusters have been disappointing, Star Trek Beyond exceeded my expectations by far. Its a purely fun space adventure that succeeds off of our deep love of science and science fiction. It's hard to believe many trekkies haven't gone to see this yet but to anyone else looking for great summer entertainment this should be at the top of your list. 

** It is also worth noting that, as one of his final performances, Anton Yelchin was once again fantastic as Chekov. That guys charisma was like none others.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!