In the third instalment of the newly rebooted series, we sees Kirk dealing with daddy issues, Spock being logical, Bones being grumpy and Scotty being Scottish. In-between all this we have a movie that feels very much like an episode from the original 60’s series but just amped up to blockbuster level that manages to be one part clever, one part funny, one part action-packed and all Star Trek.
Three years in to their five year mission to explore strange new worlds and Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk is having that classic first world problem of being bored at his job. He’s stopped bedding aliens, he can’t decide to whether to wear the yellow commander’s shirt or the other yellow commander’s shirt, and he’s come to the realisation that he’s a year older than his father ever lived to be. Oh yeah, this sounds like the kind of excitement you’ve come to expect from this reenergised franchise. Thankfully though Kirk’s mundane existence is about to be shaken up by Idris Elba bringing a swarming sh*t-storm of f*ckery upon Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise.
Those worried that J.J. Abrams space-jumping from the series would have an adverse effect on the quality of the film can rest easy as Justin Lin, the man most famous for giving us no less than four of the Fast & Furious films, takes the helm and gives us, a surprisingly solid Star Trek film. He’s managed to honour the original Trek series whilst still giving us that kinetic action that we come to expect from the two previous instalments - even if it is a little subdued in direct comparison. Lin does brings his Fast & Furious eye to film the USS Enterprise flying in ways you’ve never seen before, with cinematography that sweeps through ships and gives you more than one moment of vertigo.
On top of this, the designs are all kicked up a notch in every aspect; from new uniforms to the new aliens, from spaceships to planets to planets that house spaceships; it really is some impressive Sci-Fi. One thing that both writer Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin should be credited for is giving us an exciting Star Trek film that’s true to the heart of the original series and manages to avoid some of the familiar beats that plagued the last two films: there’s no Red Bull Space-Jumping, no one getting promoted due to just being in the room at the time, no Kirk getting chewed out for being reckless and virtually no lens flares. Beyond does use another Beastie Boys track, but in the best possible way. The film also handles the deaths of both Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin in a dignified way, plus introduces the franchises first ever gay character in a manner where it doesn’t feel like tokenism, nor is it the singular trait that defines the character.
We have the world’s leading bad-ass Idris Elba in a role where he is completely unrecognisable bar his unique gravelly voice but is never-the-less a sh*t-ton of awesome. He does suffer from bad-guy-exposition-syndrome which does kind of feel a little bit lazy but in the same breath is probably just paying homage to the villains of the original TV series. I mean, there is no legitimate reason for Lieutenant Uhura to be walking around with him whilst he explains his masterplan other than to further the plot. There is also the occasional plot hole, however all of this is forgiven thanks to the inclusion of Sofia Boutella playing a new kick-ass alien warrior by the name of Jaylah, not to be confused with J-Law.
Overall, the quality of this Star Trek series has remained consistent over the last three films. I wouldn’t say that they have gotten better as they have gone along, they’ve just remained consistent - but when the 2009 reboot set the standard so high that’s nothing to acid-snot sneeze at (don’t worry, I promise that will totally make sense when you see the film.)
Star Trek Beyond gets Four out of Five Stars (or Four out of Five swarming sh*t-storms of f*ckery)
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