For a franchise celebrating its 50th year, Star Trek is riding high. Following the red-hot reboot film directed by J.J. Abrams and its sequel, the latest film in the franchise, with Fast and Furious veteran Justin Lin at the helm, has the challenge of keeping that momentum going while satisfying longtime fans of the original television shows, some of whom were dissatisfied with the creative decisions of the last film to bear the Star Trek moniker, Into Darkness.
By title alone, it’s assume to see that Star Trek Beyond is aiming for something different. In style and tone, it resembles the original television series more closely than the Abrams films. This results in a surprisingly fun, enjoyable thrill ride, but one that thankfully doesn’t shrimp on the epic scope and dramatic action fans of the rebooted films have come to love.
Here, we find the crew of the Enterprise drifting through space as it seeks out another area of the galaxy to be explored. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is still wrestling with the legacy of his late father and figuring out his place in the universe. Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) is torn between his love for Lieutenant Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and his feelings of devotion to the dwindling race of Vulcans he considers family. Other returning cast members include ship engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg), pilot Sulu (John Cho), ship doctor McCoy (Karl Urban) and navigator Chekov (the late Anton Yelchin).
Compared to past entries, the story here is simple. The crew receives a distress call from an alien captain whose flight crew has crash landed on an abandoned planet in an uncharted system. The noble Kirk promptly launches a rescue mission, but quickly runs afoul of the villainous Krall (Idris Elba), who bombards the Enterprise in search of an alien artifact that is the key to a world-destroying weapon. Soon the crew members finds themselves spread out across a mysterious planet with only their wits and the bonds of friendship to guide them, though the assistance of the enigmatic Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) certainly helps too.
The great joy of Star Trek has always been the camaraderie and banter between the crew, and this entry doesn’t skimp on great character interactions and humorous dialogue. The script, written by Pegg and Doug Jung, crackles as it whirls an amazing variety of set piece action sequences at the audience, but the film never feels stuffed or overwhelming because it’s still so grounded in its characters. I love Pine’s young, inexperienced and self-doubting Kirk, a captain who still manages to be an inspiring leader despite his insecurities. His bromance with Spock continues to be an affecting one. I also love Pegg’s Scotty, whose thick Scottish brogue never fails to amuse, and Urban’s McCoy, whose cynical reactions to almost every situation get tons of laughs. The balance fells almost perfect, but other characters are given little attention. The much ballyhooed decision to make Sulu gay is a complete non-event, and it’s especially sad seeing Yelchin’s Chekov so underutilized given the actor’s untimely death. I felt these characters earned the attention the others got, but it’s always a tricky task balancing the development of so many well-known faces in the span of two hours.
As fine as the script and performances are, I really think the star of Beyond is the art direction. This is simply a jaw-droppingly gorgeous film, filled with bright colors and scenic locales. The planet that fills much of the film’s run time features everything from verdant green forests to dark caves and rocky mountains. This natural beauty is contrasted expertly with the grand floating city of York Town, itself a marvelous and sparkling creation. Thomas E. Sander’s production design is Oscar-worthy, and I doubt we’ll see a better looking film this year.
The story itself is the weakest aspect of Beyond. Its flaw is not in its simplicity; I actually rather enjoyed the lack of complex backstory and lightness of the plot. But, as the film progresses, the pacing does begin to drag, and this is especially true when the motivations of Krall are revealed. Although he could never live up to Khan, Krall is far from a bad villain, and he’s intriguing enough to help reverse the trend of stale, uninteresting baddies that populate the vast majority of summer popcorn flicks. But I felt his arc to be convoluted and his backstory confusing. I was left with lots of questions, and, unlike with Khan, I don’t think Krall was meant to be so mysterious. Although Elba does a fine job with the character, I felt the way he was written to be the sole confusing spot in an otherwise easy-to-follow tale.
Star Trek Beyond is a balanced and polished thrill ride from start to finish. Its numerous callbacks and tonal homage to the original series should satisfy longtime fans, while its breathtaking action, stellar performances and grand production design should pull in newer fans. It may not boldly go where no film has gone before, but it’s more than good enough to have me along for the ride.