My Movie Review on Star Trek Beyond · 3:56pm Oct 27th, 2020
Salutations, everyone.
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for my 190th film analysis, and the 10th installment of my "Spook Spectacular", I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Star Trek Beyond".
Here's the rundown of this adventure:
During its third year out in space, the Enterprise makes a stop at a Starbase called Yorktown for a scheduled shore leave and to resupply. In the midst of this, Kirk has been struggling to understand what it means to be commander of a Starship. Along with that, Spock's relationship with Nyota Uhura has begun to decline and he's considering resigning from Starfleet.
However, when Yorktown receives a distress call from the planet Altamid, the Enterprise is assigned to go on a rescue mission. But, it turns out to be a trap concocted by an emerging threat named Krall, who has a particular interest for a relic in the hands of Starfleet called the Abronath.
Trapped on a planet that's like a prison, Kirk and his friends, along with a newcomer called Jayla, must escape Krall's world and stop him from destroying the universe.
Will our heroes foil Krall before it's too late? Or not?
I didn't originally intend on making this movie part of my "Spook Spectacular" series. As a matter of fact, I completed this review long before the Halloween season came around. But, I was also intending on making it my 190th film analysis, and so I saved it until I completed my reviews on other movies to reach that very number. Looking back on it more, I found it to be a perfect entry for the Halloween season since Krall is quite a scary and intimidating force to be reckoned with.
As with the previous reboot Star Trek movies, this film was something that I had quite a lot of fun watching. Looking back on it more, this one helped me become familiar with the overall roles that Kirk and company have played in life and what Starfleet is about.
However, there was one element of the movie that I was far from fond of and felt that the movie would've been better without. That element being the scene with Hikaru Sulu, his partner Ben, and their daughter. It not only disgusted me, but it was completely unnecessary and gave little contribution to the overall story. It was pretty much an example of Hollywood needlessly pushing political correctness and it alienated the appeal Star Trek has had towards Christianity and Conservatives over the years.
It didn't make me like Sulu any less, I think he's a great character. But still, wasn't Sulu confirmed to be a straight character in the original series?
Despite this negative, the film was still an absolute treat.
The direction by Justin Lin, and the story by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, made this movie so enjoyable.
The team not only managed to capture the spirit originated by both the movie's predecessors and the classic Star Trek installments, but created a Star Trek movie that was surprisingly unique and fresh. The cinematography definitely wasn't the same kind that was used for the ones directed by J.J. Abrams, but that's okay because it aided the film in being a unique successor. Lin and the writers also showcased a surprising knack for humor, as well as an astounding sense of emotion, heart, thrills, high stakes, and unpredictability. The scenes dedicated to the late Leonard Nimoy were likewise some of the film's best moments. Along with that, there was even a side dish of nicely-done dialogue.
In addition, the music composed by Michael Giacchino was as magnificent and emotionally compelling as ever. A prime example comes from the scenes addressing the death of Spock Prime, because the music Giacchino composed for those moments was so powerful that I felt my heartstrings get tugged.
Finally, the performances of the cast, casting, characters, and character development were fantastic. I love that Lin and the writers paired characters that hardly got to interact with one another in the previous movies together for this one. In this case, during their imprisonment on Krall's planet, Kirk was teamed with Chekov, Spock was teamed with McCoy, and Uhura was teamed with Sulu.
The teaming of Spock and McCoy was my favorite out of all of them. Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban did a phenomenal job portraying their characters, and the chemistry that Spock and McCoy shared was fun. Likewise, Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana gave perhaps their best performances as Kirk and Uhura to date, and Simon Pegg definitely wasn't shy about giving his all since Scotty's role in this movie is larger compared to the Abrams-directed Star Treks. As a plus, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty all had dynamic development.
The additions of Idris Elba as Krall and Sofia Boutella as Jayla were enjoyable too. Elba was literally perfect for the role of Krall, because under all of that make-up and costuming, he created a villain that was instantly compelling and three-dimensional. Boutella also did a brilliant job at bringing to life one of the most awesome female characters in the Star Trek universe, as well as one of the most unique. To top it all off, both Krall and Jayla had excellent character development.
In the end, minus that one scene I mentioned at the beginning, "Star Trek Beyond" was a top-notch successor to the Abrams-directed films, as well as a fantastic Star Trek film.
So, I rate "Star Trek Beyond" 4½ out of 5 stars.
(Also, rest in peace Anton Yelchin. Your work as Chekov in the three Star Trek films was truly amazing and you'll be deeply missed)
To Paramount: I encourage you guys highly to please make a sequel or more to this film and its predecessors, because I believe the films of the Kelvin timeline deserve far more than just three movies. To me, there's an endless amount of possibilities to work with. I deeply hope that the next Star Trek movie in development is a sequel to this film more than anything else, that's for sure.
This is definitely my favorite film in the Kelvin timeline. Also, it pays tribute to both Anton Yelchin and the legendary Leonard Nimoy.
Maybe they thought it made for an amusing meta-joke considering the actor that played Sulu in the original series, George Takei, was gay.
Definitely my favorite of the Kelvin movies. At the very least it's the one that feels the most like Star Trek.
5386980
You're pretty on point. As a matter of fact, it was mainly to be a wink to Takei's homosexuality and to serve as a dedication to him. The only thing was that, ironically enough, Takei disliked the idea. Largely because he felt that, if they wanted to incorporate a gay character, they should create an original character instead of making Sulu gay.
5386983
What makes a Star Trek movie feel like Star Trek to you, exactly?
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5386983
Was I reasonable in what I felt was the film’s only detractor?
5387074
Not sure. Maybe it was the interactions between the crew or that it felt a bit less adrenaline fueled than the last two.
5387767
Funny. In every Star Trek installment I’ve enjoyed and loved, they’d each have an equal amount of adrenaline and a great balance in tone.
5387768
Yeah, but the last two felt really high-octane, if you know what I mean. Star Trek is no stranger to action, but the last two Kelvin films felt really...well, fast is the only way I could describe it. Really pulse-pounding.
5387773
I see what you mean. Of course in retrospect, I thought this film was pretty fast and action-filled too.