Film Review: Despite Few Flaws, “Star Trek: Beyond” is a Smart, Epic Thrill Ride

By Editor July 18, 2016 10:00

By Anthony Hernandez

With a smart script brimming with deeper, more thought-provoking conflicts, and a solid plot bookended by some of the most epic action packed sequences you’ll see all year – Star Trek: Beyond is arguably the best blockbuster to be released this summer, despite some minor flaws (all quibbles, in the grand scheme of things). Avoiding everything that made its predecessor Into Darkness, to put it nicely, “mediocre” – Beyond brings the reboot franchise back to form, while reminding us of the legacy of the original crew, and paying homage to the show that started it all – way back in the 1960’s.

It has everything you’d expect from the new franchise – fun, flashy visuals mixed with lots of dazzle and some eye-popping action set pieces (particularly the film’s incredibly loud, wonderfully over the top finale) and a lot of self-referential fan service that should engage both your everyday moviegoers and die-hard fans. Even some of the set pieces are delightfully hokey (without being distractingly so) and filmed in such a way as to pay homage to the original show’s cardboard and plaster sets that, by today’s standards, give it a feeling of low-budget nostalgia. Even the actors now seem firmly grounded in their roles with their third go at it – especially Chris Pine, who has shed his boyish, foolhardiness for a more dignified (albeit tired) captain Kirk, who can still kick alien butt better than anyone.

Without spoiling too much – Star Trek: Beyond follows the crew of the Enterprise, well into its five-year mission, as they explore the outer reaches of known space. After a quick stop at the beautifully realized Starbase Yorktown (an outpost positioned on the fringes of Federation space) the Enterprise – after assisting an alien in distress – journeys through a nearby nebula where it is suddenly (and terrifyingly) destroyed by a powerful, unstoppable wave of unknown aliens. With most of the crew captured, and some of our main players split and stranded on an unknown planet with no apparent means of rescue, they find themselves in conflict with the merciless Krall (Idras Elba) – an enemy who has a well-earned hatred of the Federation and its values.

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The film isn’t perfect (but it doesn’t need to be) – there are a few flaws that thankfully don’t really distract from the overall experience. In particular, however, some of the hand-to-hand fight scenes seem a little too staged and maybe go on a little longer than they probably should. Though, a more slightly glaring flaw has to do with our villain. At first, we’re terrified by Krall and his army of drone ships, capable of ripping apart a starship with ease; but as the film progresses into the second act, we’re looking for a clarity in motivation and a wee-bit more backstory. We don’t really get it until the beginning of the third act. While this isn’t anything more than a film-nerd’s quibble, it was the only piece of Beyond that – to me – stuck out.

That being said, character development is this film’s strongest point, due to a wonderfully written script partially-penned by Simon Pegg (who also does a fantastic job playing the ship’s chief engineer, Montgomery “Scotty”). Sometimes, though, director Justin Lin (of Fast and Furious fame) substitutes Krall’s villainy for depth. It’s there… it’s just kind of hidden.

The conflict in Beyond is two-fold. We have the outer plot – focused on stopping Krall from annihilating the peaceful, freedom loving Federation in favor of a galaxy steeped in chaos and endless conflict. Then there’s the inner plot, which is again two-fold, split between the choices both Kirk and Spock must make about their own futures – and in turn, the future of the Enterprise and her crew. The inner conflict these two men have is never actually shared with the other, and both are left to come to their final realization completely on their own.

In fact, without giving too much more away, this separation of Kirk and Spock is not only a physical separation due to plot, it’s also inward – caused by a relationship that is strained because of outer influences. One is greater than the man; the other is the man himself. Even Krall has his own inner turmoil, while himself being the catalyst for the outer conflict. There is much more going on with these characters than meets the eye – and as if the epic space battles and incredible visuals weren’t enough to bring me back for a second viewing – the character struggles and the little nuances (again, thanks to the script) spread throughout definitely warrant another go.

All in all, Star Trek: Beyond is everything you’d expect from a summer blockbuster – except that it does (nearly) everything right – including just being downright fun to watch. A definite must see.