On September 8, 1966, NBC aired the first episode of a little show called Star Trek. Created by Gene Roddenberry, the series followed the adventures of the crew of the starship Enterprise in the far future, whose mission was to explore the universe and spread the message of peace and unity started by the United Federation of Planets, which is like the United Nations of the future. That little show took off quickly, creating five TV shows, eleven films, and a massive fanbase that kept the franchise going over the past fifty years. Then in 2009, after a few years of dormancy, director J.J. Abrams reinvigorated the franchise with a reboot that created a new universe and brought back younger versions of the original crew. After Into Darkness, Abrams left to direct the new Star Wars film, bringing in director Justin Lin (Fast and Furious) to take his place while keeping a producer role. Does this film live up to the legacy? Let’s find out.
This film follows the crew of the Enterprise as they face off against the villain Krall (Idris Elba) while responding to a distress signal on an uncharted planet. Krall’s forces destroy the ship and leave the crew scattered across this new planet, forcing them to fight their way to safety while trying to figure out who Krall is and stop his plan to wage war against the Federation. The crew is divided into pairs, with Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) joining with Pavel Chekov (the late, great Anton Yelchin, to whom the film is dedicated to), Spock (Zachary Quinto) stranded with Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Mr. Sulu (John Cho) trapped in Krall’s clutches. It’s Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Simon Pegg) who joins the newcomer to the series, a badass alien warrior named Jayla (Sofia Boutella) who has been stranded on the planet for years.
Hearing how Jennifer Laurence inspired Jayla is actually quite amusing.
One of the first questions that any fan of Star Trek is going to ask is “Does it feel like Star Trek?” I’m happy to report that the answer is a resounding yes. Written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, both massive fans of the franchise, Beyond feels like a love letter to the original series in the best way possible. All the great character interactions are there, along with the great sci-fi elements and the sense of adventure that permeated each episode of the old show. Given that it’s the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, there are several nods to the original series (one of which almost made this reviewer tear up), but they never smack the viewer in the face or are inserted obnoxiously. They feel natural, but more importantly they feel respectful, giving the viewer the sense that true fans were behind the scenes working to make this film as good as it could be.
The main characters of this film are Kirk, Spock, and Bones, with most of the great character beats and funny lines going to them. However, each member of the crew gets some time to shine, though I wish we could’ve seen more of the warrior Sulu that was depicted in the Star Trek reboot or some more for Chekov to do. Krall starts out as a relatively uninteresting villain, but as the film goes on and the plot deepens he becomes incredibly sympathetic and somehow even scarier (as if Idris Elba needs any help am I right?). Jayla immediately makes her mark with the audience, and I certainly hope we see her in the already confirmed sequel (which will not be featuring Chekov in honor of Anton Yelchin’s death).
So the plot is good and the writing is good, but I know what you guys are wondering: this is a summer blockbuster, so how’s the action? Well guys, it’s pretty freaking cool. J.J. Abrams set a high bar, but Justin Lin nearly reaches it. While some of the hand-to-hand combat scenes are filmed a little too shaky cam-y, all of the space battle sequences are great, with the destruction of the Enterprise serving as an early high point. Krall’s ships are enough to strike both fear and awe into the viewer, with their swarming tactics ripping through ships like tissue paper. On the ground, Jayla gets the best action scenes, with one well-shot fight scene between her and a man from her past adding to the tension of one of the most exciting moments of the film. I must say, I was nervous about Justin Lin taking over the director’s chair, but after seeing his work in this film I think he did a great job and I’d like to see him back for the next one.
The film is also beautiful to look at, whether it’s the interior of the Enterprise or one of the stunning vistas on the planet. The best visual of the film in my opinion is the Federation station called Yorktown, which puts the artificial planet in Elysium (previously my favorite planet in recent sci-fi) to shame. Lin also incorporates CGI well, with only a few scenes looking a bit off or too fake. It all really shows the beauty of the universe of Trek, finally realizing the vision that Gene Roddenberry had all those years ago but couldn’t bring to life due to the technical limitations of the day.
The reboot of Star Trek was a great science fiction film that really took advantage of the possibilities of the franchise. While Beyond features some interesting concepts, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of that film (though it definitely surpasses the mediocre Wrath of Khan remake that was Into Darkness). Those who feel that these rebooted films have made the franchise too much like Star Wars will have plenty of things here that will support their arguments, but I would argue that this doesn’t matter. The reason Star Trek was so great wasn’t just because of the science fiction, the philosophy, or the moral dilemmas (which this film does have), it was because of the characters. We didn’t tune in just to see some diatribe about humanity, we wanted to see characters like Spock or Bones say these things and discuss these issues. Without the characters that we all know and love and the interactions and history between them everything else would fall flat, and if Beyond is any indication, the franchise is in great hands.
Star Trek Beyond is a film that finally breaks the mold of the middling summer blockbusters, providing good laughs, exciting action and the characters and ideas that we’ve all come to know and love from Trek. It sets up the franchise for a long and prosperous (ah, see what I did there?) future, and despite the tragic deaths of both Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin surrounding it, the sheer enthusiasm and joy for Gene Roddenberry’s universe shines through and leaves a smile on your face. Whether you’re a harcore Trekkie that actually watched Enterprise or don’t know the difference between a Klingon and a Romulan, Star Trek Beyond is a great adventure that will leave you satisfied.
My Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Star Trek Beyond is now playing in theaters.
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