Star Trek Beyond has received glowing reviews from all corners of the web and press circuit, and I’m a little floored as to why. It was an enjoyable show, sure, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a great film. That said, Justin Lin presented an all new side to Trek, and I found myself appreciating a film I had nearly dismissed since the very first trailer was released.
I’ve been putting this review off for a while now, having seen the movie over a week ago, in the hopes that my thoughts on it would either soften or harden. Neither has happened, and I’m left to express the notion that the film was simply ‘okay.’
But let’s talk a bit about why the film worked, and why it was so enjoyable. It was the freshest take on the Star Trek formula of the three Kelvin timeline films to date, and as such it felt like a really good episode of a television series. Perhaps not a Star Trek television series we’re familiar with, but one inspired from the series. And that’s awesome. Sure, it wasn’t the epic science fiction experience you should get from a Star Trek film, but it was an experience nonetheless. A high-octane romp through the universe, as only Kirk and his crew can get away with.
The film does see the Enterprise crew going to distant races and extending the all-inclusive fellowship that Starfleet has to offer races with warp capabilities. That was probably the best way to start the film, for me, as it shows the audience that they want to keep the original purpose of the Enterprise’ 5-year mission a priority in this new timeline.
But man, the plot was flimsy, and the twist at the end was extremely foreseeable. Never once did it feel as though any of the characters were in any real peril, considering the consistency of their quips and the speed of the story. The only true loss in the film, the destruction of the ship itself, was spoiled in the trailers.
The actions of the antagonist were never explained, nor was his ability to harness a fleet of hive-like ships that work as they do. Why was there a motorcycle on the USS Franklin, and why was it working after all those years? And Jaylah’s ability to multiply things seemed incredibly convenient and overpowered. Let’s not even mention how Starfleet was able to defeat an entire army of those ships at the end.
Still, the film had me smiling from start to finish, and I can’t knock a good time. Jaylah was a great addition to the team, and I hope she makes it into the fourth Star Trek film in this timeline. Say what you will about J.J. Abrams previous two Trek films, derivative or not, they were better movies. This may have been more impactful to the lore of the franchise as a whole, but I found much of it to be a tad too silly and action-centered for my taste.
Geekritique
Awesome review.Star Trek beyond acts as an intermediate breathing space for bigger challenges come in my opinion.I reviewed Doctor Strange today here: https://nxtbondreviews.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/doctor-strange/
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Well it seemed that the technology he used was ancient technology left behind. It even talks about that. That he found a way to extend his life, probably recruited or killed others that crash landed there to be the rest of his army, and used the technology he’d discovered to create the hive network. And it makes sense to disrupt the single disrupts the hive. And his actions were explained. They were stranded in on that planet and no one ever came and he watched most of crew die. He began to feel like the Federation didn’t care, and being alone in space like that, something Kirk was dealing with too, can mess you up. Send anyone a little cuckoo. He grew up in a time of war, and sometimes when people grow up like that they don’t understand peace. They don’t know how to function in it. He wanted war and that’s what he was trying to bring back.
I liked that everything that shows up in the movie has a purpose, from the motorcycle to the music. And it’s the future, who knows how long stuff keeps working there. I mean they got a 100 year old crashed ship to fly, why couldn’t they get a motorcycle to run? It was probably a lot easier to fix. And maybe Jaylah had already been fixing it before they even showed up. She’d fixed a lot of other stuff and seemed pretty tech savvy with the hiding of the ship and the multiplying herself with cool holograms.I don’t know, when I watch something like this the only thing that ever bothers me is if they don’t stay consistent. If they like change their story and things don’t line up. But the rest, they’re in the future, traveling the galaxy, and capable of doing things we can only dream about right now, it’s all about suspending your disbelief and just enjoying the ride. And that was seriously the most badass rock concert ever! I loved it when it was like the crew couldn’t help but kind of nod along to it as they were fighting the bad guys. Loved it so much.
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I’m not a huge fan Star Trek, but Beyond does “kind of / sort of” like an old episode from the series. I mean the acting is good, the visual are slick, the action is there. So those are some good things. Is the best movie of this new “reboot franchise…no it isn’t. To me, its middle. It was better than Into Darkness, but it wasn’t better than 2009’s Star Trek.
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Personally, this just became the best Star Trek film after Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. And that’s because, like Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek Beyond is all in the character.
Which surprised me, given Lin’s filmography. With these things, it’s easy to be biased based on the source material, but all I can do is to at least try and be fair. But this would be why I enjoyed Star Trek Beyond so much:
Most of the positives outweigh the negatives. I had this theory that audiences will be more impressed with a creative use of a formula, rather than creating a new formula entirely. That and Star Trek Beyond being the only Star Trek film to take place during the original series, rather than being a prequel or sequel. Plus, the political themes one comes to expect from Star Trek felt more cohesive than the way Star Trek Into Darkness did it. And by splitting the team, Star Trek Beyond becomes a series of mini-adventure films that function together.
Another thing is that the basic mantra of Star Trek was fulfilled, “explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no one/man has gone before”. Seeing the Enterprise crew in the midst of what they do best, rather than pursuing some revenge mission, felt more like the kind of story that I wanted to follow.
With regards to the plot reveal – the worst thing is that I’m not sure if it were meant to be predictable. The Enterprise’s destruction was pre-known, but what I appreciate about it is that it means the crew don’t survive without something being lost along the way. And that also gave us the final time-lapse shot of the Enterprise-A being constructed and warping-away; it might possibly be the best shot in any Star Trek film.
Krall – or Cpt. Edison – felt like Rodriguez from Skyfall; a former agent of the protagonist’s agency, whose turned against them after a perceived betrayal, who for some reason has all the knowledge and technology they need at their disposal. The third act felt a little bit self-indulgent – almost as if the Sabotage sequence were only included just for the balls of doing it. Which wouldn’t be so bad if the third act weren’t so rushed at the same time. Also, Lt. Cmdr. Scott saying “lassy” every time he addressed Jaylah became very annoying very quickly.
As it stands, I loved it. Though with Lin claiming to be too busy to direct Star Trek XIV, I can only wonder what kind of film Star Trek XIV will be, based on whoever ends-up directing it eventually. But so long as Star Trek XIV don’t cure death at the end, we’ll probably be fine. But there we are.
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Those are some pretty solid reasons to enjoy a thing. I think I just have a thing for things that follow a more logical route, as opposed to action-packed. But the thing is, people liked it. And that’s a good thing.
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