Film Review: Star Trek is Back and BEYOND!

I am a HUGE trekkie! My mom raised me with the Original Series, which might make me have more in common with the Baby Boomer generation than my fellow Millennials. Spock and Kirk were one of the first relationships I witnessed for its nuances and compromises. Thus, Star Trek has my heart for furthering my fascination with relationships and love, and I am happy to say Star Trek Beyond carries further the chemistry between the characters that made everyone fall for the original series.

Let’s be honest! Star Trek Into The Darkness felt exactly like its name: a trek into the darkness. It felt unoriginal in plot and delivery for how big a scope Star Trek is in terms of fans and financial backing. I am happy to say that Star Trek Beyond delivers in visual effects and in making you fall more in love with the current cast’s versions of these legendary characters. Chris Pine is fantastic as Kirk. He has the same scintillating charm as the other films, but presents Kirk as maturer and stronger than ever. In Beyond, you will feel like, Kirk is a captain! Meanwhile, Bones (Karl Urban) will always be the star and humor for me. I am a Bones fan, and this film elaborates more the quirky relationship he has with Spock: another fan favorite duo that is often overshadowed by the Kirk-Spock friendship. Seeing Bones’ dry, emotional humor counter Spock’s rationale will put a smile on anyone’s face. What was interesting about Spock in this film is that it explores more of his emotional turmoil/ love for Uhura.

I was happy to see Spock and Uhura explored further as a relationship because, in the others films, it was treated as a given and not a development. The relationship exploration is not enough to become a highlight of the film or bring too much depth to the pair, but it satisfies enough curiosity as to why this pair is truly attracted to each other. Moreover, it adds to the human, grounded sentiments that made Star Trek: The Original Series so endearing. For me, whom is also a Star Wars fan, I turned to Trek for the love and chemistry between this team that had chosen to go on the craziest, most dangerous, but rewarding mission into the unknown. While Star Wars felt like a giant story of escapism, Trek felt like a novel about a team trying to figure life and each other out. In some ways, Star Trek Beyond amps up that feeling by separating the team and developing new dynamics between characters that were either unseen or unfelt like, Bones- Spock, Spock- Uhura, and Jaylah and Scotty. Ahh yes, onto the new cast!

The new additions, Krall and Jaylah, were really good and felt like a strong foundation to further the cast’s growth as their own characters. Idris Elba as Krall was excellent and felt more credible, original, and connected as a villain than Benedict Cumberbatch’s Khan. Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) was fierce! She can kick booty and carry a one-liner quicker and cooler than anyone. which is to be expected by this actress whom stole the Kingsman film. Her interactions with the fellow cast especially, Scotty felt welcomed. Admittedly, it was hard to see Anton Yelchin on screen, when we all know the tragedy and insanity of his abrupt passing. His scenes were good, but will carry a slight pinch of somberness.  Overall, the plot of Star Trek Beyond was good, but still carried its glitches.

I had mentioned in my X-Men Apocalypse review that by now, we know what we are getting with these films. Though Star Trek Beyond felt like the best and cleanest of the trilogy, it still had its minor plot-holes that you, as a viewer, must sweep under the rug to fully embrace the experience. Yet, again, we are going to Star Trek Beyond for the characters, and writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, give viewers more reasons to love them. I would highly recommend Star Trek as my movie pick for this weekend, and maybe you can see Ghostbusters after! lol! I am still so sad at how underestimated this film has been. Ultimately, Star Trek is a great, action-packed blockbuster with enough heart to make you invested in U.S.S Enterprise’s team.

Star Trek Beyond comes out in theaters on July 22, 2016.