Look, I've talked my fair share about reboots, and how they have essentially taken over the modern movie industry. As everyone knows, there are plenty of terrible reboots out there that audiences need to avoid at all costs (looking at you, Ghostbusters). However, it's not all doom and gloom. There are a few great movie series which started as reboots and still retained the fans of the original movie or series while also gaining a new following. One prime example of this is the new Star Trek series. Way back in 2009, the classic series was rebooted with a new cast and crew but was still loved by many, partly due to the respectful way it treated the original franchise, showing that this was actually an alternate timeline, while also bringing in the late Leonard Nimoy as an older version of Spock. The movie was an instant hit, and was followed up with a sequel in 2013: "Star Trek: Into Darkness." Now, we have the third instalment in this series, "Star Trek Beyond," with new director Justin Lin at the helm. Unfortunately, the trailers didn't quite get off to the best start, with the first teaser causing many fans to fear that Lin was resorting to his background in the Fast and the Furious franchise for ideas, and those fears have stayed with many right up to release. Fortunately, I am able to say that this is not only an excellent movie for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, but perhaps the best movie in this rebooted series so far.
The plot of the movie sees the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise just under 3 years into their 5-year mission to explore uncharted space when they find themselves under attack by the villainous Krall (played by an unrecognisable Idris Elba) and stranded on a desolate planet. This is all pretty standard stuff for a Star Trek story but stands out through the way it finds time to give all of the main Enterprise members a chance to shine and have some great character moments. Some of these are not as substantial as others, with John Cho's Sulu only have a few great moments while piloting some of the movie's various ships, and Zoe Saldana's Uhura not doing much besides some intriguing exchanges with the film's villains. The same can be said for the late Anton Yelchin's Chekov, but he still has a fun dynamic with Chis Pine's Captain Kirk as the two are stranded together. The latter character is of course the stand-out performance in the movie and is given the most development of all. Pine delivers a suitably emotional and believable performance as it becomes clear that Kirk is still trying to figure out his place as Captain and whether or not he is worthy to be a part of Star Fleet. The other excellent dynamic the movie has is between Karl Urban's Bones and Zachary Quinto's Spock, and this is where much of the movie's humour stems from. The two have quite a few funny exchanges, with Bones' sarcastic personality clashing with Spock's literal and logical character, but they still have some emotional and personal moments throughout the movie. It's great that writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung managed to include all of these amazing moments for the main crew, while still implementing the humour and intense action this new series has been renowned for.
However, with every new instalment in a series comes the addition of new characters, both friendly and villainous. The movie has a couple of notable additions, including Sofia Boutella's Jaylah. This alien character is an excellent addition to the franchise, not only being an excellent warrior and sharing several funny moments with Simon Pegg's Scotty, but also being given a satisfying and emotional backstory that makes her motivations in the story believable. However, it is Idris Elba's performance as Krall, the villain of the piece, that is the real highlight of the new characters. Although he may initially appear to be a generic bad guy for the crew to face, hints are given throughout the story about his true nature and motivations. By the time these fully come to light in the third act, the character is far from typical and is instantly set apart from the other villains of the series. This is partly down to Idris Elba's extremely devoted and intense performance, with the actor clearly committed to the voice and mannerisms of the character, but still being able to show genuine emotion under all the make-up that he has received to make him look like an alien that belongs in the Star Trek universe.
The writing of the movie, however, is where I have my one major problem with this entry. Indeed, it's true that characters are consistently well-written and are each interesting in their own ways. It's also true that humour is implemented well into the movie throughout, with the jokes never feeling out of place and always suitable based on the characters sharing the dialogue and the situations they are in. However, where I do have a problem is in the pacing of the movie and the handling of various subplots, particularly near the beginning. The movie kicks off into the action very quickly, with little time being spent with the Enterprise crew on board the ship or the space station they later dock in. Therefore, the setting up of different plot lines feels very rushed as they are regulated to a single line of dialogue just so it could be raised again for a more substantial conversation later on. However, chances are you'll have forgotten that a fair amount of these lines even happened and thus won't be affected in any way when they are discussed at length. One example of this that I found is that (surprise, surprise for any fans of this new series), Spock and Uhura are having relationship troubles again! This is casually hinted at and spoken of around 10 minutes in for all of 2 minutes and then dropped for another 45 minutes to an hour. It became extremely clear that the only purpose this served in the movie is to allow for one of those character moments I discussed earlier. It would have been more satisfying, however, if these has been developed more thoroughly throughout the movie up to these moments, thus allowing for a more emotional impact for the audience.
However, where I cannot fault the movie in any way is in it's action sequences. The stand-out set piece of the movie is the much-hyped destruction of the Enterprise which has been heavily advertised in the trailers. Many fans cried out that this was unoriginal and may not entertain as much given that we've seen the Enterprise being destroyed in many Star Trek movies before this, including the first and second instalments of this series. However, I can promise that you have never seen it done as well as this. The sequence is constantly intense and heart-racing as you see the crew pulled apart and separated by Krall and his forces, instantly cementing them as a formidable enemy. The combat, both with futuristic firearms and hand-to-hand action, is excellently choreographed and the stakes of each encounter always feel high and real. There are plenty of other great set pieces strung throughout the movie is well, keeping a good mix and dramatic and action-packed moments. These sequences include the scenes with the motorcycle (don't worry, Star Trek fans, it surprisingly works and doesn't feel out of place), and the finale which has been shown off more in the most recent trailers and TV spots. As I said, many feared Justin Lin using his Fast and the Furious experience too much in making this movie. However, it's clear that, in the action department especially, he certainly used it to his advantage.
Needless to say, continuing the excellent work of the series so far, the visual effects in the movie are on point. The CGI used to create the Enterprise, the futuristic weaponry, and especially the creation of the newest Federation space station, Yorktown, is all beautiful and is guaranteed to make your jaw drop as you see it in action on the big screen for the first time. All of these effects look incredibly realistic and never break the immersion of the audience in what is actually happening on screen at the time. However, it is also admirable that director Justin Lin and the rest of the filmmakers opted to make use of practical effects and stunt work in addition to the use of CGI. I'm not saying that other movies do not use this as well, but, with all the recent advancements in modern computer effects, it can be difficult to resist just using CGI to create these stunts. However, the best example of the phenomenal stunt work and practical effects in use here are the aforementioned motorcycle sequence. All of the stunts pulled off here are incredible to watch and the use of practical effects work only help to make everything happening on screen seem much more realistic and believable. Well, as realistic as it can be anyway.
There's plenty of other aspects of the movie which deserve to be commended. All of the technical and set work in the movie is on point, with some superb cinematography work on display, particularly during the close combat fight scenes, such as between Jaylah and Krall's lieutenant. It is very easy to see what is going on in these scenes. The set design in the movie is incredible, with the returning Enterprise set among other new ship designs, the Federation space station and Krall's base of operations being the stand outs. It is remarkable that designers can give these areas such as distinctly alien feel, and yet still feel realistic and familiar to the audience. The make-up artists also deserve a special mention, with plenty of incredible alien designs made up with practical make-up. The stand-outs of these are of course Jaylah and Krall, but some cast members playing alien members of the Enterprise have also undergone incredible transformations. You'll see the ones I'm talking about when you see the movie. Finally, the soundtrack of the movie is excellent. Of course, the soundtrack is composed by Michael Giacchino, so this is to be expected, but this music is spectacular throughout the entire movie and matches up perfectly with every scene.
Very few franchises have been going for as long as Star Trek has. The series began 50 years ago and was revolutionary at the time, implementing ground-breaking special effects, and creating career-defining roles for many actors. It is only more incredible that, in 2016, the franchise has retained it's quality and is still an iconic part of the sic-fi genre. "Star Trek Beyond" is a fantastic addition to this rebooted series, and the franchise as a whole. Only a few underdeveloped subplots bring the movie down, but that is only a small gripe in a movie with some many well-done elements. With excellent character development across the board, a genuinely intimidating villain, and some extremely well executed visuals and technical work behind the scenes, this movie is well worth a watch. Even if you don't watch a great deal of sci-fi, chances are you'll find something to enjoy watching this movie.
Pros
Great character moments for all the main characters
Idris Elba's villain
Stunning visual effects
Phenomenal action set pieces
Superb technical work
The soundtrack
Cons
Some underdeveloped plot points near the beginning
Rating: 9/10
Release Date: 22nd July, 2016
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, and Shohreh Aghdashloo
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