REVIEW: Getting Stranded With "Star Trek: Beyond" A Pretty Good Time - East Idaho News
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REVIEW: Getting Stranded With “Star Trek: Beyond” A Pretty Good Time

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It’s pretty obvious that the recent run of “Star Trek” movies is not your father’s “Star Trek”. The thoughtfulness and philosophy of the older “Trek” incarnations with amped-up action and a starship full of quippy dialogue. The latest helping, “Star Trek: Beyond” is the quintessential contemporary “Trek” film, an action-packed romp that tries to make up for its lack of intellectually stimulating content with a lot of gunplay and giant fireballs.

The story picks up three years or so after “Into Darkness” and James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) has lost his enthusiasm for space exploration. But he agrees to take his crew out on a rescue mission only to be ambushed by a monstrous bad guy named Krall (Idris Elba).

Krall’s nursing a serious grudge against the Federation, and he’s come up with a plot to make them pay. Meanwhile, Kirk gathers his officers together and teams up with Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) to rescue his buddies and throw a monkey wrench into Krall’s machine.

”Star Trek: Beyond” fits squarely in the middle of this current “Trek” trilogy, quality-wise. It’s not nearly as buoyant or as crackling with energy and fun as the 2009 “Trek” reboot. It’s also not as haunted by the ghost of “Star Trek” past as “Into Darkness” was. “Beyond” still pays homage to old “Trek” by stranding the crew on a strange planet. And as long as they’re stuck on said strange planet, “Beyond” is a good time.

Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, left, and Chris Pine as Capt. Kirk, lead the cast of "Star Trek Beyond," which opens in theaters July 22.
Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, left, and Chris Pine as Capt. Kirk, lead the cast of “Star Trek Beyond,” which opens in theaters July 22. | Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures

”Beyond” has some great elements. The interplay between Spock (Zachary Quinto) and “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban) is especially enjoyable. The script, by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, is full of witty dialogue for the actors to dig their hooks into. Elba provides a menacing villain as Krall. The cast is completely at home here, both with their own characters and with each other.

Justin Lin takes over for J.J. Abrams in the director’s chair. Lin, best known for his work on the “Fast and Furious” series and his visual stamp is all over this flick. The camera flies around like a bored, hyperactive child, even in dialogue scenes. In fact, there were times when Lin’s camera movement got a little distracting. But the man knows how to keep things moving, and he specializes in kinetic action set pieces that make your eyeballs dance.

While there’s plenty to enjoy, this movie also has some pretty big flaws. The story is predictable as the rising sun. You can see every single plot point coming long before it gets here. As awesome as Elba is as Krall, the character’s motivations are a re-hash of something you’ve seen many times before. And the crew doesn’t have nearly as many scenes together, and part of the fun of this “Trek” series has been watching the crew interact and bounce off each other. I missed seeing those big scenes with the whole crew present.

”Beyond” makes up for these flaws by having staging some fun scenes between Spock and Bones, as well as some fun interplay between Scotty (Pegg) and Jaylah. And I loved the way they found a story-based reason for including a Beastie Boys song. But once the crew goes off to face Krall in the climactic battle, “Beyond” becomes just another mass destruction-filled blockbuster.

But, all in all, “Star Trek: Beyond” is a pretty good time and you can definitely find less enthralling ways to kill two hours. As long as you go in hoping to be entertained and not looking for thoughtfulness, philosophy or social commentary, you’ll be pretty happy.

3 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Thanks to Fat Cats in Rexburg for providing screenings for movie reviews on EastIdahoNews.com.

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