Review by John Delia
A very impressive, dramatic and exciting Star Trek Beyond opens this weekend and for trekkies, sci-fi enthusiasts and action film lovers it’s a perfect getaway. Overflowing with superb CGI effects, “fast and furious†explosiveness and settings beyond the beyond, the film should do very well in attendance at the box office. Best seen in the IMAX 3D format, the film jumps off the screen and drives you into the story as it gets played out in a galaxy of the future.
It’s been some time since the USS Enterprise has returned to earth and the crew of the magnificent craft are ready to take another trip into the vast outer regions of space. Headed for the Yorktown space station they arrive on the space cities deck. Soon after an unidentified non federation space vessel with Kalara (Lydia Wilson) on board asks for help and tells them that her ship has been stranded and needs rescue.
Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) jump into action taking the Enterprise along with their new passenger Kalara to an uncharted area of space. There they meet with the dangerous leader Krall (Idris Elba) who has been searching for an artifact who he believes is in the hands of Kirk. So begins a space adventure that leads to almost certain death for Captain Kirk and his valiant crew members.
Taking a different tactic than the last episode, Justin Lin, noted for his Fast and Furious films, ups the action turning it into a wild space ride. His penchant for speed now includes outer space cycling, wrecking the huge USS Enterprise, taking the crew of the Federation space ship into a world of danger and depicting a city at the far reaches of the galaxy. Very skill conscious he makes the city elegant, majestic and opulent with imaginative sets and props to assure that his audience can relate to the ‘future’. Oh, and one of the best things he does, stops the light flairs that J.J. Abrams’s notorious for in his action films.
The stellar cast turns the film into a memorable experience with actions and persona’s that are fitting of those who made Star Trek character icons of space adventure. Pine has improved on his mannerisms and vernacular of Captain Kirk as performed by William Shatner in the original series and films of the space odyssey while Zachary Quinto has done the same with his Commander Spock that Leonard Nimoy breathed life into. Even Karl Urban’s Doctor “Bones†McCoy has become more irritable like the character DeForest Kelley depicted back in the 1960’s.
Still searching for just the right persona, Simon Pegg does his best to give Scotty the Scottish brogue that made his character the boisterous voice of the ships engineering department. He has improved however and that’s a good thing, especially in the comic relief much needed in some of the more dramatic scenes. Still not Nichelle Nichols, but still a very attractive member of the crew Zoe Saldana does give the film that special needed touch of felinity on the deck of the Enterprise. She’ part of the brain trust and as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura and most recently the love interest for Spock.
Newcomer Lydia Wilson as Kalara, the pilot of the stranded space craft that gets permission to land at space city Yorktown, looks very much like an alien in her weird faced costume that seems like her head has been turned inside out. She’s a crafty space creature that lures Kirk, Spock and Bones to her planet.
Coming into the movie about a quarter of the way thorough is one of the most dynamic characters to appear in a Star Trek film. Sofia Boutella plays Jaylah a much needed soldier in the main cast and we find her on the distant planet that has lured Kirk and Spock. There’s very few members of the crew that are included in the action scenes and she’s a breath of fresh air when it comes the fighting. She has been living inside the crashed USS Franklin on the distant planet and her character becomes an integral part of the story. It’s almost a slam dunk that she’ll appear in future releases of Star Trek.
As the first credits roll there’s a dedication to the recent passing away of Leonard Nimoy. He appears in the film as the old Commander Spock in photos given to his younger self played by Quinto. It’s a touching gesture for the man who carried the series, along with William Shatner, for 80 TV episodes in 1960’s and 10 movies that followed.
In addition, also remembered is Anton Yelchin who plays Ensign Pavel Chekov in the film and the two previous Star Trek movies. He’s featured as a major player in the movie and does a very good job of depicting the memorable Chekov the USS Enterprise navigator originally played by Walter Koenig in the TV series. He had 65 credits to his name for films like the recent thriller Green Room, playing Quintin in Rudderless, the title character in Odd Thomas, the title character in Charley Bartlett and many more. Much like another sad loss Paul Walker, Yelchin died this year in a freak accident involving a vehicle. He will be missed.
Star Trek Beyond has been rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence. There’s also some scenes of peril so be cognizant of this when deciding to bring immature children to see the film.
FINAL ANALYSIS: An exciting film all around that entertains. (B)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella
Directed By: Justin Lin
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence
Running Time: 2 hours
Release Date: July 23, 2016
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Released in: 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D