Star Trek Beyond
by Simon Pegg & Doug Jung
Paramount Pictures
Star Trek Beyond is a fun movie that is also a mess. There are a lot of explosions and fights. There’s a pretty straightforward plot that actually sort of makes sense (this movie is much better than Star Trek: Into Darkness). It has a great cast but, as my daughter said, “It was good, but not great. I mean, it was enjoyable, but not Star Trek enjoyable.”
Beyond has a plot of sorts, and the plot involves most of the crew being captured by a bad guy, Krall, played by Idris Elba under tons of make up and prosthetics. There are several moments in which Krall puts his face right up close to Uhura’s face and I just wanted to say, “Girl, you know I love you and Spock, but that’s IDRIS ELBA under all that make up. Smooch him! DO IT!” simply because, hello, who wouldn’t want to kiss Idris Elba? Anyway, Krall is a super bad dude who causes the Enterprise to crash on a planet. The few survivors have to Foil His Plans.
The entire plot basically serves as a mechanism by which Kirk can deal with his “I’m almost middle-aged” guy problems. He’s about to turn older than his father ever lived to be and he’s bored with being Captain. Of all the characters in the franchise, Kirk is arguably the least interesting, and his angst is the least interesting angst possible. For crying out loud, Kirk, you’ve only been the captain for three years. If you find exploring space boring, then for heaven’s sake, get out. I’ll miss your piercing blue eyes but Godspeed, dude.
I have a theory that this whole angst sub-plot summarizes why the new Trek movies are fun but don’t inspire me to the same levels of devotion I feel for Star Trek: The Original Series and Next Generation. Those two series were driven by a shared love of exploration. Both series had action, but what excited and drove the crew was the thrill of not knowing what they would encounter next. The new movies aren’t about exploration; they are about action and adventure. This leads to a lot of great action – I mean, when director Justin Lin wrecks a starship, he really wrecks that sucker. But without the commitment to exploration and to science, without that sense of not just thrill but awe, the franchise is hollow.
What the new franchise does have going for it is a great cast and this movie gives everyone in that case something awesome to do. There’s an entire sub-plot involving Spock coming to terms with the death of Ambassador Spock (played, of course, by Leonard Nimoy) that plays out as a lovely tribute to Nimoy and the character he created. These moments also unintentionally play tribute to actor Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov and who died just before the movie was released (the credits include a dedication to him, and J.J. Abrams has said that he will not be recasting the character with a different actor).
Of course Idris Elba rocks his make up as only he can, and I enjoyed the new character, Jaylah, a survivor who fixes things and, well, she can describe herself perfectly:
“They told me it would take the edge off,” she says, surveying a large quantity of empty glasses that were previously filled with alcoholic beverages. “I still have an edge.”
You sure do, honey.
The best scenes in the movie are those in which characters try to solve problems – you really get a sense of how smart each character is, and how important teamwork is to the success of their endeavors. The value of teamwork is present in most Star Trek offerings, but it’s explicitly spelled out in the movie since Krall tries to break their loyalty to Starfleet and to each other. If you are into competence porn, then the sight of a group of people working together to solve an insolvable problem is much more thrilling than all the fight scenes put together. I must also praise this film for a truly excellent use of a certain song and a lovely moment that I won’t spoil that happens at the very end of the movie and that pays tribute to the theme of teamwork and found family.
I am a huge, huge fan of the Uhura/Spock romance. I’d love to see more of it, but it’s unnecessary since these two actors convey so much in a few brief lines and glances. I love the way they communicate with each other and the way they show respect and caring for each other even when they are fighting. I also love it that while Uhura might get frustrated or upset with some of Spock’s specific actions or attitudes, she’s never trying to make him “more human.” She loves him the way he is and they just have to work out the details of what that means. I get the sense that even if they broke up permanently, they would still, in a sense, be a couple – their connection is so strong, and their mutual respect and concern for each other is so great, that they will always be looking out for one another. Any time this couple shares the screen or talks about each other to other characters, the movie levels up.
Every time I go to one of these new Star Trek movies, I have a good time. I enjoy the cast and I enjoy the competence porn – while the plots may be dumb (I’m looking at you, Into Darkness) the characters are not, and seeing them be resourceful and creative and clever is always a rush. I also enjoy the humor.
However, I never leave the movies thinking, “Wow, I can’t wait to see that again,” or “I can’t wait for the next installment!” because the stories have no weight. They are as airless as cotton candy. I don’t care if the Enterprise blows up, because that happens in Trek movies (old and new) with alarming regularity. I don’t worry about the cast, because I’m reasonably sure they are coming back for the next movie unless something dreadful happens (oh, Anton, we will miss you so much). I don’t worry about the plot, because it has no consequences for anyone I might care about.
If you are going to see this movie at all, you will want to see it on the big screen since it’s full of action set pieces. There’s some pretty obvious green screen – even my tween daughter said, “Sometimes they went a little too heavy on the CGI.”
This movie is fun, but forgettable. Yes, I enjoyed the Spock/Uhura romance and the competence porn, but those positive elements are tiny islands of time in a vast sea of action that, for all it’s spectacle, was boring. Other than the Enterprise crashing, the action scenes are hard to follow and overly reliant on green screen, and most of the movie is one action set piece after another. Fewer explosions and more character time, and a greater sense of the joy of exploration (in the new franchise overall) would have shifted the movie from “meh” to “marvelous.”
Star Trek Beyond is in theaters now and you can find tickets (US) at Fandango and Moviefone.
Ye gods, I need more competency porn in my life. Similarly to the new Trek, the engineering bits were the best thing about Apollo 13.
@Ez
“The Martian” is on DVD now, I think.
I should have watched the Martian before reading the book. The book was competency porn everywhere and I was mad that the movie simplified soooo much. I get why, but it definitely affected my enjoyment.
I enjoyed this movie the most of the recent theatrical reboots (review up at http://thearmchaircritic.blogspot.com/2016/07/star-trek-beyond.html )
For better or worse, the nature of movies makes them focus on the action. If you have a sci-fi series with over a dozen episodes in a season, you can take a break from the action to have an episode mainly about negotiations, or romance, or even comedy. But if you only make one movie every three years or so, the audience isn’t going sit through an extended exploration of a nebula — they want explosions! And action! And so on.
There will be a new STAR TREK series coming to television (and online) in early 2017. That may provide more in-depth science fiction than any movie can deliver.
About the Martian book vs film–I was also really unhappy with how simplified the movie was, at least the first time I watched it. Upon rewatching, I think it’s a terrific movie.
Wait… they’ve got Kirk being bored with exploring space?
Welp, it certainly is in keeping with this timeline’s utter failure to actually understand the character. o.O
Meanwhile, The Martian was delightful and it was SUCH a relief to have an SF flick that was all about the awesomeness of SCIENCE winning the day.
I think you hit on the reason I was disappointed in this movie, Carrie. Despite all the spectacle, it was surprisingly lightweight, like a one-hour TV episode stretched out to two and a half. They made much better and more authentic use of the individual characters than previous films (Simon Pegg wrote himself a great role as Scotty, and I was so glad they made more use of Urban as McCoy, as he channels DeForest Kelley perfectly)I found it hard to focus on the story. It was a lot less engaging than SW:TFA which disappoints me as I was a Trek fan first. But the SW franchise seems to be paying more attention to what the fans are saying on social media and using it to improve the overall tone of the franchise. I was also distracted by what I felt were a number of callbacks to Guardians of the Galaxy (sets/locations reused, concepts reused, similar use of old rock n roll, etc)so that at times I felt vaguely confused as to what movie I was actually watching. Overall it was a good movie, vastly better than the previous two, but still lacking the heart of the original characters.
@jimthered I understand the need for ation, sepecially in films aiming to be summer blockbusters, but the best movies manage a better balance between action and character moments, hell they manage to make the action character driven.
I gave this movie a D. Not only did the studio spend billions on ho-hum special effects, but even worse, the script cost $1.98. AND those items which should be big on suspense, are not. For example, it’s a big deal when Spock laughs, but it’s a throwaway in the movie. And once again, the world’s future is determined. . . you guessed it: a fist fight between two men. Yawn. I will give you this, however. Even though the fight would have resulted in hospitalization, for once, we see an actual bruise the next day on one of the characters. It’s little and alone, but it is a bruise, even though it changes in size and color during the scene. To me, the proof of the poorness of the script is in its McGuffin, Alfred Hitchcock’s name for the thing that both sides want, but the audience doesn’t really care about. It’s an excuse for the conflict. In this case, the baddie has been looking for
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
a weapon for decades. What does it do? Beats me. No one I talked to knew. When we finally see it used, it is the equivalent of a spray top. Major let down.
Bottom line for this movie: little suspense, too heavy reliance on the same proven aspects of character, little creativity.
The studio should apologize to the audience.
Lynda —
that bruise is actually real, y’know. Idris hit Chris by accident, so they had to leave it in. Chris said he saw it coming at him in slow motion. oops.
Spurlock — I keep hearing people talk about how great Bones is in this film. It makes me think of reviews for the first two movies saying that the top three billing went to Kirk / Spock / Uhura instead, while Urban is awesome– unfortunately I do think it came at the cost of a lot of screentime for Uhura.
I’m still annoyed they couldn’t find space for Dr Marcus at weapons tactical or something.
–
While I agree with the overall review (I’m mixed on it myself), can I just say how impressed I am with what Justin Lin & team was able to accomplish on such a contracted time? All the interviews I’ve seen talk about how they made the film with 60-70% of the regular time for a movie of this magnitude. Several cast members mentioned that he never had time to have dinner, probably didn’t sleep, he was busy filming first unit all day and then first unit would go home and he’d shoot second unit all night, until the first crew came back the next morning. I think he was still tweaking the film almost literally to opening day.
Also starring badass John Cho. Always a win. RIP Selfie.
I enjoyed it….but weeks later I’ve realised what was missing and for me it was a stronger storyline for Jaylah. She had great potential as a character but despite her pivotal role in the rescue she was quickly sidelined at the end…and rewarded by Scotty…not Kirk?! Surely his role as Captain?!
And I need more Uhura. Always.
I agree completely with this review BUT the other pairing that really worked and was terrific was Spock and McCoy.
I saw this last night. I confess I was sitting there towards the end thinking “just get to the station already where he will almost kill everyone off but be stopped at the last minute”. I mean, I know these things are, by their nature, predictable, but I was a bit surprised to be feeling a bit bored, and like the film was going through the motions.
I also thought Jaylah got a rough deal. Her power seemed to decrease as the film progressed; she started with a bang, but then the men took over and the bad-ass woman with clever traps and the “home” she had repaired with minimal resources ended up being rescued, then allowed to plug a stereo in (after Scotty tried and failed) and sitting on her own before being “allowed” to enter StarFleet. I mean, it could at least have been “we told Star Fleet about you and they would be thrilled to have you” or something!
Honestly.. even I felt the same way. The movie is good for a one time watch but not great. I also notice many compare these with marvel’s movies which is not good.
***Spoiler Alert*** Yes, Kirk suffered a crisis of purpose in this film, but found his first best destiny by fighting for his crew. Spock also contemplated a different path from Starfleet, but found his true home before the credits rolled. Thanks to this nice setup, I am psyched and ready for the next movie in this series. I love and respect characters more, if they stumble and falter before they find themselves. I love how Kirk was totally humiliated in the opening sequence and wondered if he was not suited for the job. I love that Uhura has Spock whipped. Their romance works for me. Uhura is character with many facets, that cannot ever be pegged down.
Jayla and Bones stole their scenes and were just the right spice for this movie.
Spock and Uhura have a great relationship largely in the sense that they are mutual, equal partners in it. I would not describe Spock as “whipped.”