Review: STAR TREK BEYOND Goes Above and Beyond

Several critics and so-called movie connoisseurs have asked whether or not a third STAR TREK installment is necessary. That question is beside the point. Do we need 500 years of Hercules tales? The real question is: Does this entry in the series work?

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It does. The boys and girls of STAR TREK are back in town. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) struggles with growing older. Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) faces his own mortality. Per usual, Sulu (John Cho) and his indomitable poker face make the captain's chair look good. Lieutenant Uhura (Zoë Saldana) is formidable and idealistic. And Doctor 'Bones' McCoy (Karl Urban) is a doctor, damnit! Collectively, this crew defend themselves from a hostile alien, Krall (Idris Elba), on a hostile alien world.

Simon Pegg and Doug Jung have written a funny screenplay that director Justin Lin has turned into a fun movie. Spock funnels his fear of death into cliche platitudes, forcing a toothy smile from the most jaded and least ticklish audience member. Having previously directed for THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise, Lin keeps a rapid (or furious) pace. He rollicks from gadget to gadget, reveling in the newness, coolness and novelty of space-inspired technology while you watch in excitement, like a child dizzy from too much candy, bouncing in your seat with pupils wide as saucers.

BEYOND also aims to explore its characters more deeply than before. Captain Kirk undergoes another coming of age which, with help from the makeup and hair department, Chris Pine handles beautifully. Additionally, Pegg and Jung attempt to reveal character by pairing the characters in unconventional ways. They introduce Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), bright expert technician and fighter with a sweet and vulnerable heart, and partner her with Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott (Simon Pegg) for the majority of the film. Jaylah and Scotty are a comic double-act with Pegg playing the buffoon and Jaylah the savvy straight man. In the remaining pairings, however, we learn very little.

And what we do learn is uninteresting. Spock tells Bones that he respects, admires and considers him a friend. This could have remained unsaid. Sulu is revealed to have a male partner. Somehow, the moment feels underwhelming. Pegg and Jung also miss the opportunity to define Uhura, a character often reduced to eye candy. The lieutenant spends the movie defending the merits of community and family to the violently individualistic Krall. But the script leaves Saldana spouting idealistic musings like a college freshman in Ethics 101. You never get the idea that Uhura is a real character as opposed to a mouthpiece for the moral of the story, a way for the writers to drive the themes home.

In comparison, Krall's reasoning is so well-explored that his murder and cruelty sound reasonable. Pegg and Jung outdo themselves with Krall. So does Elba, who gives a dynamic and enigmatic performance. Interestingly, Krall, the richest character, is only possible because BEYOND is the third installment. The movie can highlight the villain because STAR TREK and INTO DARKNESS developed the characters so well.

In BEYOND, the U.S.S. Enterprise crew gains new and shiny technology yet keeps the same old, dirty, deeply planted friendships and guts they've shown over the lifetime of Gene Roddenberry's enduring creation. And the movie is at its best when it returns to form and focuses on the ingenuity and grit of its characters - when hand-to-hand combat, fist fights, and Kirk riding a motorcycle through an alien land saves the day.

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STAR TREK BEYOND in theaters worldwide. Rated PG-13. For tickets, please visit the official website startrekmovie.com or bit.ly/STBtix. See the official trailer below.

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