In the capable hands of Fast and Furious director Justin Lin, the latest installment of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek Beyond, is without a doubt the best Trek movie since The Wrath of Khan – the finest of all the films based on the original TV series.
There is plenty of action while time is allotted to give beloved characters the growth and depth that they deserve. The story itself seems in some ways a reboot of Khan, but it is done in such a way as to seem very fresh and still explores new territory in terms of the crew’s mission and Captain Kirk’s (in a fine performance by Chris Pine) leadership skills.
It is hard to go into too much detail without revealing major spoilers here, but I will give away one thing that most everyone knows – the iconic U.S.S. Enterprise does get destroyed as part of a much larger nefarious plot by evil villain Krall (Idris Elba), who is reminiscent of Khan but also has unique qualities that make him a much different nemesis.
After a failed encounter to try to present a gift of peace to a group of unimpressed aliens who attack him, Kirk returns to the Enterprise disheveled and disheartened. The gift – an ancient weapon called Abronath – is stored away on the ship, and as Kirk licks his wounds he records a captain’s log in which he wonders about his crew, their mission, and his place as their leader. In a few moments it gives Kirk more introspection than we have ever seen before from the character, but also sets up the conflict that is about to come.
Their stay is short-lived because an emergency presents itself that only Kirk and his crew can handle. A survivor of a doomed spaceship comes to the space station asking for help to save her crew that has crashed on a planet inside a nebula. Kirk and crew take on the mission, but as they enter the nebula it becomes clear this was an ambush as they are attacked by a massive armada of ships that quickly decimate the Enterprise, causing it to start breaking up and crash on the planet.
Once on the planet the separated crew members struggle to survive and make sense of what has taken place. Interesting dynamics are explored when Kirk ends up with Chekov (the late Anton Yelchin whose scenes seem to have added poignancy), Spock and McCoy are thrown together, while Scotty (Simon Pegg also doing double-duty as co-writer) meets up with alien Jaylah (a terrific Sofia Boutella who steals every scene that she is in) who knows all about Krall and may be their best shot at defeating him.
To tell any more would spoil things too much, but let it suffice to say that the crew is as resilient as ever and is not going down without a fight. The situation gets quite bleak, and there are some disturbing scenes where people are tortured and killed, and some of the main characters are in imminent danger.
Despite all of that, the film itself is beautiful to behold, and even the crash of the Enterprise is handled like visual poetry; in that horrible occurrence there is the choreography of explosions and destruction that is unpleasant and yet thrilling, enhanced by Michael Giacchino's glorious musical score. Everything from the ship going into warp speed to the space battles and the exploration of the immensity of the Yorktown comes together in a cinematic tapestry that should make even the most ardent Trekkies think that they got the biggest bang for their bucks.
Star Trek Beyond continues the journey of these beloved characters and the mission they have been on all along – and, thanks to Roddenberry’s enduring vision, we all keep gladly wanting to go where no one has gone before.
Live long and prosper, Star Trek fans, and go see this film on the big screen in 3D to fully appreciate its magnificence.
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