Hello dear reader, it’s that time again. Yes, do try and contain your excitement but for the fourth time in under a week, its film review time. Or if you must, blog number 58. But before I get into the meat and bones of why you’re all here, I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who takes the time to read these ever so slightly comical and dare I say it, informative, bloggy things. I do enjoy writing them and as long as that continues and there isn’t anyone out there of the opinion ‘If it blogs, we can kill it’ I will be more than happy, giving my ever so important assessment of what I go and see on the big screen.
Now, normally I like to start out one of these reviews with a little background on the franchise, the director or even the actors in it. Sometimes all three, but given that there really isn’t that much I could write, that the awesome public (that’s you) don’t already know. So I’ll just give you a few basics to bring you up to speed and refresh the memories a tad. The Captain of the Enterprise is a lovely young man called James and believe it or not, his dad is Thor. His best friend is alien called Spock, who also works on the Enterprise. He has pointy ears that don’t pick up the Freeview Channels and to the best of my knowledge he’s died at least once. There’s a Medical Officer who once tried to kill Jason Bourne, cosplayed as a very violent judge and has also turned up in Middle Earth ridding a very nice horse. The Chief Engineer pretends to be Scottish and has an assistant that once played ALL the Oompa Loompa’s. We also have a very nice Communications Officer that occasionally likes to wear either green make up and hang around with an angry raccoon or blue make up and with a director that once killed Leonardo Dicaprio with an ice cube. Sulu and Checkov (R.I.P.) sit at the front and do all the driving and pointy weapons stuff and anyone seen wearing a red top will almost certainly end up dying before the end credits roll. Oh and of course, when it comes to the Star prefix, Trek is better than Wars. Lights blue touch paper and retires…
So 2016 is the fiftieth anniversary of the Star Trek and all things that ‘boldly go’, which I always think sounds like having to use the toilets at a music festival. Along with Star Trek Beyond there is also a new series in the works called Star Trek Discovery. This is due to hit the screens on CBS and Netflix in early 2017 and will have a twelve episode story arc that is being overseen by Hannibal’s show runner Bryan Fuller. Not much is known about it at the moment but I wouldn’t mind betting that they’ll be splitting infinitives before you know it and getting into more trouble than a Ferengi in an Acquisitions Anonymous meeting. However, I’m getting off the beaten track here. Star Trek Beyond is why you’re all here so without further ado and further distraction I give you my most humble opinion on what will almost certainly go down in history as the greatest Star Trek film released this year.
It’s Okay. Right, thank you for coming and don’t forget to tip your waiter before you leave…
There is of course a bit more to it than that and simple describing it as okay is a little bit of an injustice to be honest. This is the third movie in what I’m reliably informed is called the Kelvin Timeline. Now, the first two movies have their detractors, for various reasons. The first film basically reset the clock and with the help of some wibbly wobbly timey wimey bits and bobs, effectively made every single Star Trek series and film, which had come before it, redundant. The second film was on a hiding to nothing when they decided to use Khan as the antagonist. Even with ‘swoony swoon’ Benedict Cumberbatch they were never going to recapture the glory of what is widely regarded as the best film in the entire Star Trek series: The Wrath of Khan. So where does that leave Beyond? Well this time around the director’s chair, that was vacated by J.J. Abrams, has been occupied by Mr Fast & Furious himself, Justin Lin and screenplay duties were handed over to Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. Which is a fairly good base to build upon. Although Mr Pegg’s acting choices recently have been a little bit erratic, he does have form when it comes to screenwriting and you can definitely see the comedic touches spread throughout the film. The action is served well with Lin at the helm and he even manages to crow bar in a motorbike and some stunts for Kirk to show off with. Bad guy duties are provided by Idris Elba, who plays Krall and without giving the too many spoilers away he has a history with Starfleet and feels as if has been abandoned by them. There are other notable mentions that should be given to Sofia Boutella, who plays Jaylah. She also has a history with Krall and it’s safe to say that they won’t be exchanging Christmas cards any time soon. Jaylah is a very strong female character. She isn’t written as a damsel in distress or as a hindrance that needs to be rescued every five minutes. In fact at times it’s the complete opposite and the she has to help those pesky men out of trouble. My only complaints with her character are that she doesn’t seem to have any lines with any other members of the female cast and for some reason, not passing understanding, every time Scotty talks to her; he uses the word ‘lassie’. And when I say every time, I do mean every time. I'm not sure if Simon Pegg was trying to set a world record here, when he was writing the screenplay but it did start to grate on me just ever so slightly a lot. Other shout outs (down with the kids) should go to Zachery Quinto’s Spock and Karl Urban’s Bones. They spend quite a bit of the film together and you can see their chemistry on screen.
To sum up beyond I’d have to say that the third time was indeed a charm and if I’m being honest I think I enjoyed this more than its previous two films that came before it. It’s certainly a lot funnier and seems to have had more care and attention put into it with regards to the big action set pieces. That said, the final showdown between Kirk & Krall has enough issues with gravity to make Sir Isaac Newton weep. There is a nice nod to the original cast and a special ‘we will miss you’ Leonard Nimoy moment that’s worth mention. If rumours and Comic-Con are to be believed film four has already been given the green light and should be hitting our screens at some point over the summer of 2018. J.J. Abrams, who has had a producer hat on for all three of the new Star Trek Films, has given at least two interviews recently where is has stated that he wants to bring Chris Hemsworth back as Kirk’s father and that he will not be recasting the role of Anton Yelchin’s Chekov. However they deal with his untimely death I do hope that it’s done in a respectful way and it isn’t used as some throw away plot point to help push the story along. Star Trek Beyond continues the franchise with a step in the right direction. With a bit more polish and some tidying around the edges it could have been a contender for five stars. It does come up short in a few areas though. Namely, a bit more about Krall and exactly how he finds himself in the position he’s in far more importantly how he looks the way he currently does, would have been nice. My other main problem with Beyond is that the Star Base ‘York Town’ that plays a pivotal role in the plot it seems to have defences that are about as useful as mud flaps on a tortoise.
With the original Star Trek films it tended to be the even numbered films that were good and the odd numbered that repeatedly missed the mark. With the new films it seems to be the other way around. So I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the next Star Trek film turns out to be as good as The Voyage Home or as bad as The Final Frontier. Phasers set to wait and see…
Twitter Review:
Star Trek, Spoilers & Space Opera. Idris does dark & moody and Kirk and co do square jawed heroes.
#ThreeIsTheMagicNumber
Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2660888/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvq3y8BhZ2s
http://www.empireonline.com/movies/star-trek-beyond/review/
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