Title – Star Trek: Beyond (2016)
Director – Justin Lin (Fast and Furious)
Cast – Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella
Plot – Captain Kirk (Pine) and the crew of the USS Enterprise run into trouble when they are marooned on a distant planet that is harbouring the human hating Krall (Elba) whose dastardly plan could threaten the lives of millions throughout the expanses of the universe.
“Unity is not your strength. It is a weakness”
Review by Eddie on 27/07/2016
For a series that was rebooted in such promising fashion with the J.J Abrams directed 2009 film, the freshly polished Star Trek franchise is slowly dying a sad death on the back of Abram’s lacking 2013 sequel Into Darkness and thanks to Justin Lin’s newest addition simply titled Beyond, this wannabe Star Wars competitor needs a mighty warp speed boost with the already announced 4th film to stay relevant and appealing to audiences who won’t likely be remembering this latest addition in the months, yet alone years to come.
Despite quite positive reviews, responsive audience reactions and far from terrible opening weekend box office figures, I found Beyond to be a thoroughly so-so experience that has neither any of the first films character strengths, humour, emotion or action memorability that made the 2009 film such a popcorn munching joy.
It’s hard to know who’s exactly at fault for such a bland overall production but the majority of Beyond’s weaknesses stem from Sean Pegg and Doug Jung’s script, which seems to have suffered from Pegg’s recent flow of average works and director Lin, whose found great successes with blockbusters from the Fast and the Furious franchise as well as a couple of rip roaring Community and True Detective episodes but can’t infuse Beyond with the spectacle it needed to go toe to toe with modern day audience expectations and with a lacking finale (complete with awkwardly included classical music) the whole narrative of Beyond feels undercooked with an equally bored looking cast.
With all the films majors players back once more, Beyond sees the continuation of the staleness that started to develop in Into Darkness from the cast and where key cast members like Chris Pine, Zoe Zaldana and Zachary Quinto all succeeded initially, it’s not hard to see that they seem tired of their roles now with only Karl Urban’s Bones improving from the 2009 original. In regards to the films newest additions, Sofia Boutella as the determined Jaylah does well with limited opportunities while Idris Elba’s Krall performance deserved more airtime with a character that feels far more interesting on paper than what we actually get here and when his plan feels as half-baked as it does, there’s never any real sense of what could be lost or gained in the fight between good and evil.
Forgoing what makes the series so appealing in theory, whether it be the varied characters, exploration of space (most of the Beyond’s runtime takes place on a dodgy looking set) or stunning spectacles, Star Trek: Beyond is a largely unmemorable experience that feels like another step backwards for a series that should now be hitting its peak. Should Star Trek’s next adventure be as mediocre as this series entry, it’s likely audiences will not be along for the ride for much longer, killing a franchise that should be living long and prosperously for many moons to come.
2 “lassies” out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
good points in argument, anyway today I will make a visit in cinema. 🙂
Look forward to hearing your thoughts!
E
I enjoyed this better than Into Darkness, actually. But I do wish the villain was more realized.
Yeh despite Elba’s best efforts it just never really felt fully realised did it. A major disappointment.
E
I keep going back and forth over whether I should see this in the theater or wait to rent it from Redbox, it can’t be worse than Into Darkness, so maybe it’s worth it?
I honestly found it worse than darkness but i do seem to be the minority on that one.
E
It’s funny, I thought this movie was great! Just goes to show how subjective the movie going experience can be. All your points were well made though, great review!
Thanks Woolong. I did want to enjoy this one as its a series that has a lot of potential but i fear for it now going forward.
E
Reblogged this on GUM | Growing Up Millennial.
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Ah, shame, I was really excited for the new additions to the cast. Still, I have high hopes that Bryan Fuller’s TV series will put the franchise back on the right trek!
Me to Jade. I do feel like the 4th film could be a winner we will just have to wait and see.
E
Seen only as a summer blockbuster with all the familiar tricks, it’s enjoyable enough. But as a movie adaptation of the original TV series, it’s a watered down version. The franchise has made no intentions in going boldly where no man has gone before, so after the 2nd movie I’ve pretty much given up on expecting anything more out of this franchise.
Yeh i hope but dont trust in this franchise anymore.
E
Nice review Eddie. It’s not as good as the first two, but still enjoyable as is.
I wanted to enjoy it mate but found it really lifeless.
E
I enjoyed it more than the previous two, especially Into Darkness and the ridiculous Wrath of Khan rip off scenes. I found the movie a fun time and I enjoyed Sofia Boutella’s new character. It is nowhere near the heights of a Wrath of Khan, First Contact or The Voyage Home but it’s the best they have offered so far.
Glad you liked it so mate, I’d be very surprised if this one ends up fondly remembered but I am no expert when it comes to the things of Trek.
E
Well allow me to pull out my Vulcan ears lol. But seriously I have resigned myself that the reboot movies or “Kelvin universe” are always going to be Trek-lite and blockbuster strong. Hopefully there will be a return to real Trek with the new TV series.
I think the to show could be a real winner mate.
E
Hope springs eternal
Excellent review. Even as a summer blockbuster the film fell short. And finally Star Trek has been turned into a soulless-plotless-video-game with set-pieces “stolen” from other better popcorn films such as Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy. As aforementioned the formidable abilities of Idris Elba were masked under deep make-up for most of the film. Even if it was to be a latter second act Elba’s presence was given away in the trailer so why not build his character up from the beginning. Plus, the “rogue” agent storyline was done much better in Into Darkness which I actually enjoyed as a spectacle, despite its shortcomings.
**latter second act reveal
I think we pretty much agree completely on this one mate.
E
Didn’t have the opportunity to see new Star Trek yet, but it seems as if it’s as lacklustre as I predicted… Sadly enough.
Yeh I wasnt really anticipating it to much but after the solid reviews i thought id give it a go.
E
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