Paramount Pictures
After sitting through the dismal Star Trek Into Darkness and all of its “he’s not Khan” bull — we all knew he was Khan before Benedict Cumberbatch finally said his name was Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaan — I really wasn’t sure if I was interested in seeing another Star Trek movie. They basically remade Wrath of Khan and flipped the script to have Kirk seemingly perish while Spock watched helplessly … but he didn’t so it wasn’t going to be possible to remake The Search for Spock as the third movie. And with J.J. Abram abandoning ship to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens, many were wondering how the franchise would bounce back.
I have to say it has bounced back quite nicely under the direction of Justin Lin and the writing of star Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. In Star Trek Beyond, we first see Kirk (Chris Pine) trying to negotiate a peace treaty between two warring civilizations. It doesn’t go well, but the artifact he hopes to present as a peace offering holds some interest for someone names Krall (Idris Elba). Luring the Enterprise to a desolate planet on the other side of a nebula, the ship is attacked, and the crew is separated, forced to survive on the strange world either as captives of Krall or his prey, so that he can get his hands on the artifact and carry out his mission. Along the way, the crew encounters Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), who has her own bone to pick with Krall, and has to solve the mystery of how a Federation ship ended up on the same planet.
Some people have not taken to this particular iteration of Star Trek because it’s not in that more cerebral mold that Gene Roddenberry envisioned when he created the original series. Even the subsequent series that followed over the years opted to wage battles with words more than deeds until it was necessary to fight fire with fire. The new film series has always been more about action and spectacle and Star Trek Beyond is no exception. We are given a few moments of humanity, especially when it’s acknowledged that Ambassador Spock has died, and the banter between Bones and Spock is just as funny as ever. Jaylah is a terrific addition to the series as a kick-ass alien who takes no guff and knows her stuff, becoming a huge asset to Kirk and company when it comes to confronting Krall. Krall, however, is the weak link. Not that he’s a terrible villain like John Harrison/Khan in the last movie, but there are too many questions about him — that I won’t discuss in this review as to avoid spoilers — that aren’t really answered satisfactorily. (And perhaps it was the lousy, extremely dark projection at my screening that impeded some of that information.)
Aside from that, it’s great to finally see the franchise cut its bonds to the original series (no doubt Nimoy’s passing helped push that forward, although there is still a nice nod to the original crew), and while it still may not be “classic” Star Trek, it’s still a rip-roaring good action flick with an entertaining story and some awesome special effects. While the moments that acknowledge Nimoy are touching, there is still a bit of melancholy hanging over the film as Anton Yelchin’s Chekov has quite a bit more to do this time around than he has in the previous film. (Both actors get touching dedications after the main portion of the end credits.) It’s sad thinking we’ll never get to see him again (and Abrams has said that they will not re-cast the role, so Chekov is most likely gone forever now as well, at least until the next reboot).
Star Trek Beyond does indeed go above and beyond the last film, and perhaps is even better than the first. (And with the visual homage to Star Trek the Motion Picture on the movie poster, it seems they may be treating this as a “first” film in the series.) And with a fourth film already greenlit (with Chris Hemsworth somehow returning to the role of the late George Kirk), it looks like this Enterprise crew will be able to complete their “five year mission.”
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