Written by: Kevin Berge
Star Trek Beyond: This Time, We Switched Out Lens Flares for Rainbow Colors (Image Courtesy of: youtube.com)
Quick Take: Star Trek Beyond is another solid entry in the rebooted Star Trek universe with fast paced action, solid acting, and engaging dialogue. However, it fails to make much of a lasting impact thanks to a disposable and generic plot.
***This review is for a movie currently in theaters; therefore, the review will remain spoiler free. No direct references will be made to plot points though allusions will be made to character moments and development. Read ahead at your own discretion.***
We live in the reboot era of Hollywood. Everyone is looking to ride the coattails of a formerly created franchise with mixed results. The rebooted Star Trek universe has been one of the most successful reboots in terms of commercial and critical success. However, it still suffers from the "why does it even exist" problem.
The Star Trek universe has been a deep and expansive canon for filmmakers since its creation by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. Its expansive mythology has spanned a wider net than most any other franchise including Star Wars. The Star Trek reboot only takes advantage of the original beloved characters.
Following the adventures of James T. Kirk, Spock, and the many memorable personalities of the original crew of the starship Enterprise, the reboot franchise retreads familiar ground though followed the ideas primarily of J.J. Abrams. Even with how good Star Trek (2009) was, I always get the nagging feeling with these movies that they are unnecessary.
The Star Trek brand was always about more than one crew. In fact, the original crew only have a few great moments in their name with much of the brand's fervent attention coming from The Next Generation crew instead. Why Abrams had to retread the stories of the past rather than begin his own story with a new unique crew is hard to pin down.
Moving beyond this frustration though, the Star Trek reboots have always been reliable, and the latest film, Star Trek Beyond, is no exception. This action heavy third installment is reliable, fun action that sheds the reboot franchise's more contained stories to finally begin exploring the universe. In many ways, this is the most Star Trekkie film of the reboots.
In that way, the film both succeeds and fails. It is a fun loving adventure against a new foe, but it is also a disposable film, closer to an extended episode of a TV show than a full scale film experience. The movie also still falls into the tropes that come with the Hollywood reboot style.
We live in the reboot era of Hollywood. Everyone is looking to ride the coattails of a formerly created franchise with mixed results. The rebooted Star Trek universe has been one of the most successful reboots in terms of commercial and critical success. However, it still suffers from the "why does it even exist" problem.
The Star Trek universe has been a deep and expansive canon for filmmakers since its creation by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. Its expansive mythology has spanned a wider net than most any other franchise including Star Wars. The Star Trek reboot only takes advantage of the original beloved characters.
Following the adventures of James T. Kirk, Spock, and the many memorable personalities of the original crew of the starship Enterprise, the reboot franchise retreads familiar ground though followed the ideas primarily of J.J. Abrams. Even with how good Star Trek (2009) was, I always get the nagging feeling with these movies that they are unnecessary.
The Star Trek brand was always about more than one crew. In fact, the original crew only have a few great moments in their name with much of the brand's fervent attention coming from The Next Generation crew instead. Why Abrams had to retread the stories of the past rather than begin his own story with a new unique crew is hard to pin down.
Moving beyond this frustration though, the Star Trek reboots have always been reliable, and the latest film, Star Trek Beyond, is no exception. This action heavy third installment is reliable, fun action that sheds the reboot franchise's more contained stories to finally begin exploring the universe. In many ways, this is the most Star Trekkie film of the reboots.
In that way, the film both succeeds and fails. It is a fun loving adventure against a new foe, but it is also a disposable film, closer to an extended episode of a TV show than a full scale film experience. The movie also still falls into the tropes that come with the Hollywood reboot style.
Scotty wrote the movie, so he made sure this time he got the girl. Well, he got to become friends with her at least. (Image Courtesy of: trekmovie.com)
Star Trek Beyond follows the Enterprise crew onto a beautiful new planet where they must defeat a new evil villain who wants to take over the universe. It's all fairly standard affair which is a bit of a shame. Star Trek was never solely a show about defeating bad guys and making peace.
This is a universe driven by exploration which comes in so many forms. One of the best Star Trek film, The Voyage Home, does not even have a villain while the series has been stronger on TV with numerous episodes far more driven by character development and questions of the morality of space diplomacy.
Much of this movie seems to suffer from the typical Hollywood tropes. It's fun action with reused characters that is well made but ultimately disposable. It has become easy for filmmakers now to avoid making truly terrible movies, but they more often miss the mark in making great ones as well.
Despite my complaints, the film has many impressive upsides. The cast is still spectacular. Chris Pine (Unstoppable) gets to play up more of a mature and cautious James T. Kirk in this movie and does so extremely well, still carrying the Kirk charisma. Zachary Quinto (Heroes) is the star here, matching the complexities of Spock that made Leonard Nimoy so beloved while also selling the best of the film's humor.
Karl Urban (Dredd) is perfectly snarky as Bones McCoy, leading to the best interactions in the film between him and Quinto. Zoe Saldana (Avatar) also has a strong role in the film with Uhura playing an active role throughout. Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), John Cho (Harold & Kumar), and Anton Yelchin (Fright Night) are less central to the action but are great in the roles.
Beyond the dynamic between Spock and Bones, this film is dominated by the scene stealing Jaylah played by Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) who is both a commanding and fun presence. Idris Elba (Luther) is wasted in the film as a villain who is only given more than one dimension in the final act of the movie.
This is a universe driven by exploration which comes in so many forms. One of the best Star Trek film, The Voyage Home, does not even have a villain while the series has been stronger on TV with numerous episodes far more driven by character development and questions of the morality of space diplomacy.
Much of this movie seems to suffer from the typical Hollywood tropes. It's fun action with reused characters that is well made but ultimately disposable. It has become easy for filmmakers now to avoid making truly terrible movies, but they more often miss the mark in making great ones as well.
Despite my complaints, the film has many impressive upsides. The cast is still spectacular. Chris Pine (Unstoppable) gets to play up more of a mature and cautious James T. Kirk in this movie and does so extremely well, still carrying the Kirk charisma. Zachary Quinto (Heroes) is the star here, matching the complexities of Spock that made Leonard Nimoy so beloved while also selling the best of the film's humor.
Karl Urban (Dredd) is perfectly snarky as Bones McCoy, leading to the best interactions in the film between him and Quinto. Zoe Saldana (Avatar) also has a strong role in the film with Uhura playing an active role throughout. Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), John Cho (Harold & Kumar), and Anton Yelchin (Fright Night) are less central to the action but are great in the roles.
Beyond the dynamic between Spock and Bones, this film is dominated by the scene stealing Jaylah played by Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) who is both a commanding and fun presence. Idris Elba (Luther) is wasted in the film as a villain who is only given more than one dimension in the final act of the movie.
If we can just get Quinto and Urban on board, I think we can make a Star Trek: New Original Series TV show work. Doesn't even need Pine. (Image Courtesy of: weliveentertainment.com)
While the accomplished Abrams took a step back for the third installment, the directing is still solid by Justin Lin (Fast Five) who has an eye for action. He keeps the film moving forward though perhaps could have helped slow things down to give the characters more room for growth.
The writing in this film particularly in the dialogue is some of the funniest in the franchise. That can be attributed to the combined efforts of Simon Pegg and Doug Jung (Confidence). That humor occasionally came at the expense of real peril and story development, but everything felt very Star Trek.
This film is also an impressive technical feat with some of the best science fiction details to date. The Enterprise, Yorktown, and Altamid are all unique landscapes that look beautiful. The make up is also impeccable particularly for Jaylah whose distinctive look is one of the film's biggest highlights. Clearly no expense was spared for the construction of the film, an investment that hopefully doesn't hurt a film that has already been struggling at the box office compared to predecessors.
As a whole, my issues with Star Trek Beyond are issues with the franchise in general. While all the actors were fairly perfectly cast, the franchise is now slacking a bit to move beyond being disposable action. This is a shame because creativity combined with this cast could truly help this new Original Series cast outshine their predecessors.
The movie itself is well made from start to finish, an easy use of two hours. It is just hard to say whether I will remember much of what I've seen in a few week's time. It is not as if Star Trek has always been a universally excellent franchise. In fact, the reboot franchise's consistency far surpasses the originals.
However, we still have yet to have a Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, or First Contact from the franchise that solidifies the reboots as necessary inclusions into the canon. Until that point, these films will begin to blur together and become derivative which is a shame for a cast clearly embodied the original tenants of the series.
The writing in this film particularly in the dialogue is some of the funniest in the franchise. That can be attributed to the combined efforts of Simon Pegg and Doug Jung (Confidence). That humor occasionally came at the expense of real peril and story development, but everything felt very Star Trek.
This film is also an impressive technical feat with some of the best science fiction details to date. The Enterprise, Yorktown, and Altamid are all unique landscapes that look beautiful. The make up is also impeccable particularly for Jaylah whose distinctive look is one of the film's biggest highlights. Clearly no expense was spared for the construction of the film, an investment that hopefully doesn't hurt a film that has already been struggling at the box office compared to predecessors.
As a whole, my issues with Star Trek Beyond are issues with the franchise in general. While all the actors were fairly perfectly cast, the franchise is now slacking a bit to move beyond being disposable action. This is a shame because creativity combined with this cast could truly help this new Original Series cast outshine their predecessors.
The movie itself is well made from start to finish, an easy use of two hours. It is just hard to say whether I will remember much of what I've seen in a few week's time. It is not as if Star Trek has always been a universally excellent franchise. In fact, the reboot franchise's consistency far surpasses the originals.
However, we still have yet to have a Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, or First Contact from the franchise that solidifies the reboots as necessary inclusions into the canon. Until that point, these films will begin to blur together and become derivative which is a shame for a cast clearly embodied the original tenants of the series.