Star Trek: Beyond

Spoiler free review: I was lucky to go to the premiere in San Diego at comic con... the night was amazing but it ended with a super fun movie. That's the best word to describe it... fun.

The difference with the past 2 Trek movies was that unlike the original films we didn't bond with this cast over 100 or 200 episodes of slower paced TV. These guys were just tossed into it. This movie gives us an idea what a show with them would be like. It's impossible of course to do. But it was such a nice break form the overreaching drama from Into Darkness.

This is still serious and has tearful moments and sincere motivations from characters... but it's also fun. Some people forget the original trek as Justin Lin told the crowd at the premiere that the original series was fun. It was funny. It was a pure comedy at times. and he's right. This movie takes all the elements the series was... (serious, funny, action, fantasy) and mixes it into one giant movie. Including the Shatner like fist fight.

Loved it.

Dialogue from Simon Pegg and Doug Jung was absolutely natural to the characters and everyone had their moments. The scenes of different characters sharing moments with each other was great.

New characters Jayla is terrific. Sofia was great in the part.

It's sort of a typical Justin Lin movie too as in the set pieces, action scenes fx were simply amazing... breathless... the character moments fantastic, warm, sweet... the story was very good but some holes and confusion at times but it's so worth having that for the pure fun this is.

I was a bit surprised by the number of negative reviews this movie received on IMDb. The main complaint seemed to be that the film had too much action?! Anyone old enough to remember seeing 1979's 'The Motion Picture' on the big screen is a unique person... most of us fell asleep. Fortunately, 'Wrath of Khan' saved the day in 1982, with lots of action and a recycled, but disturbingly menacing villain.

C'mon folks... even the original series didn't get too deep and meaningful. It was the more action-oriented pilot featuring strong characters that knew how to have a laugh every now and then that got it the network green light. This is exactly what the reboot movies have been like up to now. Admittedly, there hasn't been a classic in the bunch yet, but the potential is certainly there.

In my view, the reboot films are one really scary villain away from producing a classic. With TNG it was the Borg. Doctor Who has the Daleks. Both races completely inhuman, really nasty, seemingly indestructible, and hellbent on destroying (be it assimilation or extermination) everything in their way. Boldly going where Trek has gone before, so to speak.

With two great movies under it's belt, the latest installment in the Star Trek reboot has some big boots to fill. I was skeptic when I heart J.J. Abrams was not directing it and the writing was done by Simon Pegg and Doug Jong. Fortunately, it turned out to be a solid trek film.

Star Trek Beyond begins with the Enterprise and it's crew on a five year research mission in uncharted space which was assigned to them at the end of the previous movie. Kirk is struggling staying focused as captain of a starship and he is doubting himself if this is the life he wants to live. The Enterprise takes a break from exploring in a massive star base called Yorktown. The star base receives a distress call from an alien woman who lost it's crew on a distant planet. Of course the Enterprise is the best ship to help the alien woman and search for the crew. But this search and rescue mission turns very ugly when they encounter one of the most ruthless villains who's hatred of the Federation puts the whole enterprise crew to the test.

I think they did a marvelous job again and made a Star Trek movie just as great as the previous two installments. The villain was not as interesting as Kahn but the movie makes up for it by focusing on the characters. The story lays more focus on new development like the bond that grows between Bones and Spock and the new female alien character Jaylah (Sofia Boutella, who did a marvelous job) which Scotty encounters. The third act of the movie is the best (with an excellent soundtrack, Beastie Boys and Star Trek mixes very well!) and they once again pull out all the stops with visual and sound effects.

The only caveat I have with this film is the slow start and the main plot being a bit simplistic. Sometimes it feels just like a regular Star Trek episode, but then again that is also one of it's strengths.

So definitely check this one out if you liked the previous two Star Trek films, it's a solid and very entertaining journey.

Boldly going where no man (or woman or non-bianry) has gone before, climb aboard the Enterprise and let it fly and soar, as old friends gather, reunite, off to battle and to fight, strange new worlds, civilisations to explore.

There's a square Pegg in a large round hole, without any passion or any vision and without soul, a ridiculous accent, leaving nothing but lament, a veritable irritant, annoyance and own goal.

That aside, failing to build on the previous epic and nowhere near as enjoyable.

Before I write a review I like to browse through the other comments posted first. To surmise, many have got it quite right, this is not the best Star Trek movie, but it is a good one. The story is reasonable, although there are plenty of plot holes that you have to overlook and not delve into them too deeply. I also think that the size of that deep space station is just OTT even for that century, it is far too advanced! Anyway, get over the minor flaws and you will begin to notice that they are starting to focus more on character development and interaction of the personalities within the crew. It is what real fans enjoy the most, including the odd bit of humour.

As for the highly negative reviews on here, please start to put your rankings in perspective, this is by no means a shocking movie and definitely is fit to join the Star Trek Universe. It really winds me up when people rank this movie in the same breath as some of the real shockers we have seen in the last few years!