"My dad joined Starfleet because he believed in it. I joined on a dare."

Filmology Rating: 2.7 out of 4

Star Trek Beyond is the third installment in a rebooted Star Trek franchise that has no foreseeable end.  We join the Enterprise crew about halfway through their 5 year exploratory mission into deep space.  The crew members are leading as normal of lives as can be expected while floating through space, with on-board romances, comradery, and the listlessness that is to be expected after so much monotony. After a supply stop at Yorktown, the Enterprise is sent into a Nebula to help rescue a marooned alien ship.  The Enterprise is attacked, being disassembled and crashing onto a previously-undiscovered planet.  This planet is home to a new enemy, one with a deep hatred of the Federation, who will stop at nothing to return to a Federation planet to destroy it and everything it stands for.  

Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) has been contemplating his life’s worth as he reaches a birthday making him one year older than his father ever got to be.  Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) has learned of Admiral Spock’s (Leonard Nemoy) death and has broken up with Lieutenant Uhura (Zoe Saldana).  Bones (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Checkhov (Anton Yelchin) are going about their duties as normally as can be expected while stealing scenes from our leads. The introductions of Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) and Krall (Idris Elba) almost seem welcomed as any change in scenery. 

The characters in this installment are more fully fleshed out, giving us views of sides we don’t usually get to see.  After three years together on a space ship, this is to be expected, but Pegg has written these nuances in beautifully.  We get to see characters interact more deeply than we have before and in new configurations. The major flaw in this film, as in many franchised action films of the past ten years, is an incomplete villain.  The character of Krall understandably detests the Federation, but the details of how he is alive so many years after he disappeared are very fuzzy and brushed over.  

As far as the action is concerned, there are some good elements but nothing that stands out as spectacular.  The largest action scenes, the Enterprise being deconstructed and Kirk rescuing Jaylah, don’t seem to hold the weight they deserve for the scale of their importance.  Both could have been bigger, longer, more intense.  They don’t kill the film but they don’t raise it to greatness, either.

Justin Lin has taken the reins from JJ Abrams to direct the latest Start Trek film and, as always, has done a good job of integrating his style while honoring the tone and nuances of the original director.  There are definitely scenes which ooze Lin’s style: cameras circling around two characters in combat, intense damage to vehicles, characters flying through space to get to each other.  Lin also manages to keep true to Abrams’ vision by using details, such as using the Beastie Boys in a pivotal moment, to honor his previous work.  But Lin has proved with Beyond that he can make a big movie with big stakes and keep control of a large cast and large story and make it appealing to many.  He also manages to bring the story back to the sense of the original television series: one of exploration and discovery. 

Rating: See It

-Megan

The gang is pack for their third installment in the most recent Star Trek series! A surprise attack in unexplored outer space completely destroys the Enterprise and forces it to crash-land on a mysterious world. The attack came from Krall (Idris Elba), a dictator who derives his energy by sucking the life out of his victims. Krall needs an ancient and valuable artifact that was aboard the Enterprise. Left stranded on a planet they know nothing about, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and the gang must battle Krall while trying to find a way off this hostile planet.

I have loved the previous two films in the most recent Star Trek franchise and have been looking forward to another one ever since the last one came out. I can’t get enough of these movies! If the series ended (which I hope it doesn’t) with just these three movies, then it would go down as one of my favorite trilogies to date. While the third installment Star Trek Beyond isn’t quite as good as the previous two, it was still a fantastic movie! If a fantastic movie is the “worst” one of the three, then that is saying something about the other two….

One of the best things that this series has going for it is the fantastic chemistry between its cast. In the original series, the cast and the characters were one of the most important qualities of the franchise. They were people that you loved and cared for and this series is no different. Each actor has a tough job on their hands; remake and bring to life the original character and also bring a fresh new spin on things. I can’t stress enough how perfect each one of them execute this. This crew has one of the best chemistries that I have ever seen. You have got to give credit to the writers in this series. Not only do they bring a fresh and entertaining take on everything, but they pay homage to originals as well. Simon Pegg (who plays Scotty) co-wrote this movie and he did an awesome job! One thing that I liked in Beyond is that it focuses on different friendships that haven’t been stressed in the past. Beyond explored the friendship on Spock and Bones and gives these two a decent amount of alone time. For those of you who aren’t fans of the original Star Trek series, these two characters are friends but have a lot of friction and clash a lot. The writers do a perfect job of doing this while also adding humor and heart to the situation.

Now this is the first one in the series where J.J. Abrams hasn't directed; he produced and still had some influence but the reigns where given to Justin Lin (Fast and Furious movies) this time around. He did a great job but I did think that some of the action was a little too shaky at times. With the Fast and Furious movies, they are just that…. fast and furious. Star Trek and what Abrams previous did was a lot of stylized action and wide takes that panned over the situation. Sometimes to me the action felt too rushed in this movie; while very much entertaining still, but a little too rushed.

In addition to the amazing characters, we are introduced to Krall (Idris Elba) and Jaylah (Sofia Boutella). While Krall takes a while to build and doesn’t full reach his potential in the last act. While yes he is strong and powerful as soon as he is introduced, you don't care about him and understand his motivation until the end. Then his character really gets good. Jaylah however was always spot on. She had great emotion, depth, humor, and added to the chemistry of the others very well. Her character also looked really cool as well! Again, awesome job to the makeup department and all the work they do on the different species and alien beings.

Know when I said that I didn’t like Beyond quite as much as the first two (Star Trek Into Darkness is my favorite) it is because that it didn’t have quite the emotional payout that the previous two did. In the movie Into Darkness, Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan was brilliant. He was an evil, ruthless, smart, powerful, and even likeable character that had a fantastic backstory. With him I felt like there was more emotion and when the big finale came, it was very emotional. With Beyond I never really felt that strong emotion like I did in the first or second.

Overall, this was really a great movie! Probably is that the first two were fantastic…. I’d definitely recommend seeing it and if you haven’t yet, watch the first two first! Beyond offers great action, lots of laughs, a good story, and brilliant acting and characters. Go see it!

Rating: See It 

-Nick