I’ll try to do this justice in formal movie-review style:
More than any of the previous 12 big-screen Treks, Beyond seems to aim to be a movie first and a film second. It’s exciting, fast-paced, and a lot of fun, even for casual fans of the franchise – a near-perfect summer movie. But there are also some important themes buried beneath its frantic blockbuster action, and longtime Trekkies will recognize the soul of a true Star Trek story. In the end, Beyond logs a strong third effort in the rebooted timeline developed by J. J. Abrams in 2009 and 2013.
Much credit must go to screenwriter Simon Pegg (Scotty), an already-accomplished writer, director, and humorist, and to director Justin Lin (Fast and Furious frachise). The studio turned control over to them late in pre-production, spurring some excellent work on a very tight schedule. Pegg in particular seems to grok Trek on the gut level of a true fan (as proved in his insightful biography “Nerd Do Well”). The themes of finding meaning in life, balancing duty against fulfillment, and seeking peace versus conflict run through the story both subtly and overtly. This is much more of an ensemble movie than the first two, and each character gets a chance to shine in their own way. The cast performs with a comfortable camaraderie; Chris Pine (Kirk) and Karl Urban (McCoy), in particular, nail their roles. But there is also a sense of levity, of not taking everything too seriously, which befits a franchise that was always more pop-culture than pop-science. This is particularly true of the wild, technobabble solution at the climax of the movie that channels some Beastie Boys “Sabotage” to good effect. Only after the credits roll is a moment of silence held for the recently deceased Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin.
I have to say that, to my eyes and ears, the special effects in Beyond were the best of any Trek, and among the best I’ve seen in any movie. I saw it in a packed IMAX 3D theatre in Langley, squeezed in with my wife and lots of other fans, many in costume; everyone agreed that the visuals were stunning – particularly the interior of the huge space-city Yorktown, a mind-bending, perspective-warping, gravity-reversing tour de force that recalls some of the fun-house ideas presented in Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Adding to the panache were many background and throw-away shots of everyday Federation utopia that really made the future come alive.
Weaknesses? A few. The villain Krall doesn’t have as coherent a motivation as I would have preferred, although a late-story revelation does go partway to explaining his choices. There are some nitpicks about the source of his resources that might be alleviated by a second viewing. And the early-movie attack on the Enterprise, while brutal and well-staged, is a bit too dark and abrupt. (A quick tactical retreat by the crew might have avoided a lot of hassle, rather than attempting to match hostilities. Ironically, many fans have been frustrated over the years with critical plot points involving the Enterprise being overwhelmed by inferior foes without offering much resistance. In this case, they offered plenty of resistance, but it was futile.) Surprisingly given director Lin’s background, a few other action scenes also suffer from a similar lack of spatial and visual clarity. Finally, can we please have a Star Trek movie that doesn’t end in a fist-fight?
My rating? I’ll go beyond a B and give it a B+. Well worth your money. (For reference, I give Into Darkness a B+, Star Trek 2009 a B, and I rank all the films in this order: 2, 6, 8, 12, 11, 7, 4, 9, 3, 10, 5, 1.) I’m looking forward to seeing it again with my dad on Sunday, this time in non-3D for comparison.
Decker isn't a pedophile. Please don't confuse the actor with the character.
