Star Trek Beyond★★★★1/2
You Go, Enterprise
Faster and Furiouser
RIP, Anton
The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
It should come as no surprise that I am a huge Star Trek fan who comes by the fandom genetically. (I was named Amanda for a reason, after all.) But there's been contention in our familial ranks over whether the newest movies actually remain true to the franchise. (My mom can't stand Zachary Quinto, and thinks he makes a terrible Spock. I disagree, but am not going to argue with my mother. I also come by my stubbornness genetically.)
I was totally on board with the first movie in the new series—Star Trek—but was then super disappointed in Star Trek Into Darkness. My biggest peeve: Why, when you've created a completely new universe/time stream with endless possibilities for stories, would you re-do what is possibly the most well-known and well-loved Star Trek movie (i.e., Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan)? Why would you not seek out new stories and go where no movie has gone before?
Thankfully, Star Trek Beyond took a lesson from the failure of its predecessor and gave us fans a new, new movie. Of course, it still sticks with the most basic premise of all Star Trek movies and TV shows—the crew of the Enterprise (/Voyager/Deep Space Nine/etc.) work together to battle the evils of the universe—but it felt fresh. And really, really fun.
I particularly enjoyed the renewed focus on the crew, and how they all work together. There's obviously a lot of focus on the main three—Kirk, Spock and Bones—but the rest of the crew got more screen time than in previous movies. There were also more nods to the crew's relationships, both with their fellow Starfleet officers and their partners, which I enjoyed. (Sulu's family is PRESH.) Additionally, I think the filmmakers did a great job at showing what a diverse and complex universe these people live in, which I think would make Gene Roddenberry, and his reasons for creating this world in the first place, proud.
Of course, these new movies are action-oriented, and Star Trek Beyond didn't disappoint in that arena either. Directed by Justin Lin, the film was full of space battles and chase scenes. (Fast and Furious on a galaxy-size scale? YES PLEASE. It's like this movie was made just for me.) There's one scene that I wish I could watch over and over again; it's such ridiculous fun. (If you've seen the movie, I'm thinking of the "Sabotage" scene.)
If you, too, were disappointed with Into Darkness, but don't yet want to give up on Star Trek, definitely check this one out.
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