It was the 3rd movie and 3 years into their 5 year mission, and Kirk is already bored. We never had the same sense of them exploring many different places because everything was compressed into 2 movies and the cast were doctored into the roles from the start.
I get this criticism. I think, in a way, the first two movies promised us the five years mission and them finally becoming a crew and explorers, but beyond robbed us of that because it essentially put the characters to the 'end' of it all
directly, without letting us see an ounce of what had happened in those 3 years. Without making us care about it.
We didn't really see all these missions, thus what made the characters tired and homesick. We only just saw them going into their first five years mission at the end of the previous movie and then nothing. It's hard to truly get the characters and their motives because the narrative doesn't really give them enough space and screentime to express that, and it's a pity because it does have potential.
Even them losing their ship didn't make me as emotional as they maybe expected.
Funny enough, some people were joking that the destruction of the ship symbolically came across as Lin, thus the new creative team, destroying everything JJ&Co did. .. why would anyone get that idea?
He's not bored. He's depressed. There is a massive difference and connects with him getting older and out living his dad. It is a part of his arc.
Yes, I also think their goal was to explore the fact that the characters were tired and discouraged a bit because..it happens. They dreamed about being on a spaceship when they were at the academy, but now that they are finally on it and achieved the job they wanted to have, they may start to question if it was truly worth it or what they really want to do with their life.
There is also the added stress of space.. living your life on a spaceship with no sun signaling the beginning and end of a day must be, no pun intended, alienating at one point.
Routine, doing the same things everyday and seeing the same people..you might end up forgetting, a bit, why you liked that thing so much.
With Kirk, specifically, we never saw that aspect explored, why he wants to be captain? It is to prove he's as good as his dad was, or because he truly found a purpose and inspiration as a person by working in starfleet?
The way he watches Sulu with his family. .is Kirk longing to go have that too? Or maybe just the idea of the simplicity of it. Maybe the responsibility of being the captain makes him feel alone too because he has many friends there, but at the same time he will always be their superior and someone who can send them to their death. This puts a distance between him and those he cares about, thus his family on the ship.
Having your birthday always tainted by the fact your own dad died that day, and you possibly think that it influenced your whole childhood, is real too.
In the end, he's more at peace with this fact too and he doesn't hate Mccoy too much for that surprise party with the crew ^
I think Spock probably started to feel like he had less a purpose on the ship doing what any science officer could do..and he felt guilty because it seemed like the other vulcans were doing something bigger. He kind of wanted to sacrifice his happiness because of the pressure of being alive when many weren't. And even between him and Uhura, perhaps he got insecure about her feelings because she was stressed, tired and homesick too (and maybe she wrongly felt like she was holding him back and didn't want him to stay just for her), and he maybe was subconsciously trying to find a way to shake things up and remind each other why they were together and it mattered too.
A lot of couples that are together since years go through this phase in real life before advancing their relationship with something like marriage or starting a family or some other big project together. So, again, the idea isn't far-fetched or without potential.
I think beyond
did have potential. The personal crisis of the main characters isn't nonsense. We take for granted that being in starfleet must be always interesting and exciting, but the movie reminds us that they are 'human'..and it is ok.
The issue is that they didn't invest into this aspect enough. The movie itself doesn't explore those character motivations and povs nearly enough, even for the standards of this genre. Everything is, for the most part, only suggested, implied. Both issues and resolutions happen off screen.
Maybe, just maybe, this is an aspect JJ would be able to fix a bit. He kind of always puts himself from the perspective of the audience that doesn't read the script, thus cannot know any nuance and details not expressed on screen. In fact, in the previous movies he added some small moments to develop some aspects better.
With Beyond, a lot of the stuff the creative team and cast said about the characters and their arcs is too subtle in the movie, too implicit or not developed at all. And it's, again, a pity because the story had potential and there are good moments that have heart. It's just that, maybe, the director didn't care enough. Idek.
Probably, the fact they didn't have a lot of time to make the movie hurt it too. And also, I'm realistic enough to understand that what you can do in a TV show, you can't do in a movie. It is hard to squeeze everything in the constraints of a movie. And it is hard to not have expectations that the movie may not satisfy. We just want to see more of these characters and have many things explored more, but sometimes the creative team might not even have the chance.
This isn't me giving beyond, and the creative team, a pass because I still think some choices were dumb and a waste, and I still think they could do better but their own biases (and a bit of that 'new creative team insecurity') probably are to blame. I'm just saying that, in general, the movies can't satisfy every expectation fans have (and you can't please everyone, of course).
