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locker_monsterI saw Star Trek Beyond today and you know what? It wasn't that bad. I certainly enjoyed it more than Ghostbusters (not that Ghostbusters was really bad) and it was definitely much better than Star Trek Into Darkness. No re-hashing of old storylines here, thank you very much.
The theme of the movie certainly lives up to the spirit of exploration that's embedded in the heart of Star Trek, but it also slaps on some showy summer movie antics that made me roll my eyes. I will be so happy when the new Star Trek show premieres. The franchise needs to get back to telling smaller stories.
The only quiet moments come at the beginning of the movie when you see the crew right in the middle of their five year mission. You would think it's all fun and adventure all the time, but Kirk rightly points out that it can get kind of boring and monotonous, too. Space is endless so it feels like the mission has no end in sight. For some reason, the movie has Kirk contemplating leaving the Enterprise because of this. I suppose the idea has its justification, since this Kirk isn't Shatner's Kirk and he never set out to join Starfleet to be an explorer, but it's still an odd character beat. I just felt it could have been played up more. See, the Enterprise is utterly destroyed in the opening of the movie. It should be sad and Kirk should be watching his beloved ship burning up and breaking into a million pieces with great sadness, but we don't get that. There's no regret, no sadness, no sense that he's bummed at all. Sure, he's worried about saving his crew, but he's a ship captain and he just lost his ride. So yeah, that whole sub plot for Kirk could work a bit better.
Also, the villain's motivation for wanting to destroy the Federation is a bit wishy-washy. Poor Idris Elba, stuck under all of that make-up. They do put a twist on the villain - he's actually human and not an alien - but the whole "the enemy is actually the same species as the people he's attacking" thing was done in Star Trek: Insurrection with the Son'a and the Ba'ku, so it's not exactly original for a Star Trek film. I also don't understand why Krall waits as long as he does to strike out at the Federation. If he can easily destroy one ship with his swarm of drones, then why doesn't he just use that to take out the Yorktown? Why wait for this lost thingy that's part of a bigger weapon to randomly show up?
Anyway, plot holes aside, the movie does remember to use all of the crew in the story. A lot of the focus is on Kirk, Spock, and Bones, of course, but Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov all get a moment, too. Actually, I felt that Scotty had the most to do, after the main trio, followed by Uhura (though she's still mostly a love interest) and then Sulu. Chekov gets to run around with Kirk, but his defining trait in the movie is that he's a bit of a ladies' man. The really nice thing they did was address Leonard Nimoy's death in-universe. Spock receives news of Spock Prime's death and it weighs heavily on him during the movie. Spock actually has this great conversation with Bones about Spock Prime and trying to live up to his example and you got the sense that it was also Zachary Quinto talking about Leonard Nimoy at the same time. At the very end of the movie, Spock takes possession of some of Spock Prime's belongings and one of things included is a picture of the original cast from one of the movies. So, it's a nice kiss to the past, as it were, while looking to the future at the same time.
Oh, and the whole thing that Sulu is gay now is a very quick thing in the movie. The crew go on shore leave and Sulu's daughter and partner are there to greet him. He picks up his kid and the three of them walk off. Kirk smiles as he watches them leave. That's it. It's just a sweet little scene of a man reuniting with his family. The daughter isn't named, but I hope it's Demora Sulu, who was introduced in Star Trek: Generations.
Speaking of references, since Simon Pegg was one of the co-writers, you do get a lot of little references to things from Star Trek's long history. Krall used to be a MACO, who were introduced on Star Trek: Enterprise, and his ship, the Franklin, is an NX class like Archer's Enterprise. Even the Xindi get a mention. Scotty has a joke about a giant green hand as the reason the Franklin disappeared and Kirk has a passing line at the beginning of the movie about how he ripped his shirt again. I actually thought it was a neat that the Franklin is from an era just after Archer's Enterprise. You get Scotty talking about polarization of the hull plating and phase cannons and the uniforms are a modified version of the jumpsuits worn in Enterprise. It's small things a general viewer wouldn't care about, but a fan will definitely notice them.
I've never seen anything of Justin Lin's before, so I'm not familiar with his directing style, but I could have done without the sequence with Kirk on the motorcycle. First off, why is there a motorcycle on the Franklin? Who takes a motorcycle with them into space? The motorcycle is used as a distraction while the crew is rescued, but it's like the scene is only there because Lin directed a Fast and Furious and they wanted something with wheels in the movie. Thankfully, the movie did not turn into a Fast and Furious in space. There are some smaller ships that can be piloted, but they weren't filmed in a manner that was not within the realm of possibility (for a spaceship). The other thing I didn't like and thought was totally stupid was the use of Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" to destroy Krall's drones. The music is used to disrupt some kind of signal and this leads to a sequence of the Franklin blasting out the song while flying along a wall of drones like a surfer tackling a wave. I mean, great song and it's a classic example of Star Trek technobabble, but my god, it made me roll my eyes. Ugh, summer movies. You have to have explosions and pop music.
Random thoughts: Since when is the Enterprise capable of a saucer separation? Or maybe it was always able to do that but they just never did it on the Original Series? Engineering finally looked like Engineering and not some giant white monstrosity. That was one of my gripes with J.J. Abrams' take on the sets. They never looked like they belonged on a Starfleet starship. They do some fun stuff with the orientation of the corridors as the ship is getting knocked around. I don't get why Kirk wears a different uniform when he's aboard the Yorktown talking to the commodore. Is it a dress uniform? Lin does feature the Enterprise in some different camera angles that was kind of cool, but there are also some weird cuts between scenes.
The movie is dedicated to the memory of Leonard Nimoy, but they also have a dedication for Anton Yelchin. Man, I don't know what they're going to do for the next movie. They aren't recasting Chekov, but do you write the character out? Have a random line about how he was promoted or transferred? Tough decision no matter what they do.
I say Star Trek Beyond is a solid B. Maybe it was rushed so it could be released for the 50th anniversary, but at least we got something to celebrate the franchise.
The theme of the movie certainly lives up to the spirit of exploration that's embedded in the heart of Star Trek, but it also slaps on some showy summer movie antics that made me roll my eyes. I will be so happy when the new Star Trek show premieres. The franchise needs to get back to telling smaller stories.
The only quiet moments come at the beginning of the movie when you see the crew right in the middle of their five year mission. You would think it's all fun and adventure all the time, but Kirk rightly points out that it can get kind of boring and monotonous, too. Space is endless so it feels like the mission has no end in sight. For some reason, the movie has Kirk contemplating leaving the Enterprise because of this. I suppose the idea has its justification, since this Kirk isn't Shatner's Kirk and he never set out to join Starfleet to be an explorer, but it's still an odd character beat. I just felt it could have been played up more. See, the Enterprise is utterly destroyed in the opening of the movie. It should be sad and Kirk should be watching his beloved ship burning up and breaking into a million pieces with great sadness, but we don't get that. There's no regret, no sadness, no sense that he's bummed at all. Sure, he's worried about saving his crew, but he's a ship captain and he just lost his ride. So yeah, that whole sub plot for Kirk could work a bit better.
Also, the villain's motivation for wanting to destroy the Federation is a bit wishy-washy. Poor Idris Elba, stuck under all of that make-up. They do put a twist on the villain - he's actually human and not an alien - but the whole "the enemy is actually the same species as the people he's attacking" thing was done in Star Trek: Insurrection with the Son'a and the Ba'ku, so it's not exactly original for a Star Trek film. I also don't understand why Krall waits as long as he does to strike out at the Federation. If he can easily destroy one ship with his swarm of drones, then why doesn't he just use that to take out the Yorktown? Why wait for this lost thingy that's part of a bigger weapon to randomly show up?
Anyway, plot holes aside, the movie does remember to use all of the crew in the story. A lot of the focus is on Kirk, Spock, and Bones, of course, but Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov all get a moment, too. Actually, I felt that Scotty had the most to do, after the main trio, followed by Uhura (though she's still mostly a love interest) and then Sulu. Chekov gets to run around with Kirk, but his defining trait in the movie is that he's a bit of a ladies' man. The really nice thing they did was address Leonard Nimoy's death in-universe. Spock receives news of Spock Prime's death and it weighs heavily on him during the movie. Spock actually has this great conversation with Bones about Spock Prime and trying to live up to his example and you got the sense that it was also Zachary Quinto talking about Leonard Nimoy at the same time. At the very end of the movie, Spock takes possession of some of Spock Prime's belongings and one of things included is a picture of the original cast from one of the movies. So, it's a nice kiss to the past, as it were, while looking to the future at the same time.
Oh, and the whole thing that Sulu is gay now is a very quick thing in the movie. The crew go on shore leave and Sulu's daughter and partner are there to greet him. He picks up his kid and the three of them walk off. Kirk smiles as he watches them leave. That's it. It's just a sweet little scene of a man reuniting with his family. The daughter isn't named, but I hope it's Demora Sulu, who was introduced in Star Trek: Generations.
Speaking of references, since Simon Pegg was one of the co-writers, you do get a lot of little references to things from Star Trek's long history. Krall used to be a MACO, who were introduced on Star Trek: Enterprise, and his ship, the Franklin, is an NX class like Archer's Enterprise. Even the Xindi get a mention. Scotty has a joke about a giant green hand as the reason the Franklin disappeared and Kirk has a passing line at the beginning of the movie about how he ripped his shirt again. I actually thought it was a neat that the Franklin is from an era just after Archer's Enterprise. You get Scotty talking about polarization of the hull plating and phase cannons and the uniforms are a modified version of the jumpsuits worn in Enterprise. It's small things a general viewer wouldn't care about, but a fan will definitely notice them.
I've never seen anything of Justin Lin's before, so I'm not familiar with his directing style, but I could have done without the sequence with Kirk on the motorcycle. First off, why is there a motorcycle on the Franklin? Who takes a motorcycle with them into space? The motorcycle is used as a distraction while the crew is rescued, but it's like the scene is only there because Lin directed a Fast and Furious and they wanted something with wheels in the movie. Thankfully, the movie did not turn into a Fast and Furious in space. There are some smaller ships that can be piloted, but they weren't filmed in a manner that was not within the realm of possibility (for a spaceship). The other thing I didn't like and thought was totally stupid was the use of Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" to destroy Krall's drones. The music is used to disrupt some kind of signal and this leads to a sequence of the Franklin blasting out the song while flying along a wall of drones like a surfer tackling a wave. I mean, great song and it's a classic example of Star Trek technobabble, but my god, it made me roll my eyes. Ugh, summer movies. You have to have explosions and pop music.
Random thoughts: Since when is the Enterprise capable of a saucer separation? Or maybe it was always able to do that but they just never did it on the Original Series? Engineering finally looked like Engineering and not some giant white monstrosity. That was one of my gripes with J.J. Abrams' take on the sets. They never looked like they belonged on a Starfleet starship. They do some fun stuff with the orientation of the corridors as the ship is getting knocked around. I don't get why Kirk wears a different uniform when he's aboard the Yorktown talking to the commodore. Is it a dress uniform? Lin does feature the Enterprise in some different camera angles that was kind of cool, but there are also some weird cuts between scenes.
The movie is dedicated to the memory of Leonard Nimoy, but they also have a dedication for Anton Yelchin. Man, I don't know what they're going to do for the next movie. They aren't recasting Chekov, but do you write the character out? Have a random line about how he was promoted or transferred? Tough decision no matter what they do.
I say Star Trek Beyond is a solid B. Maybe it was rushed so it could be released for the 50th anniversary, but at least we got something to celebrate the franchise.
