Discuss: Star Trek Beyond

A nice homage to the original Star Trek the Motion Picture poster

Karen: All right, the film is out, and since I doubt there are too many of you who are planning to see this, we're going to make this a "Fully Spoiled" post  -so when it comes to comments, say whatever you like.

So in other words -if you don't want the movie SPOILED for you, don't read any further, including the comments. 

Let me say I am not one of those old time Trek fans who hates the new films. Are they 'my' Trek? No...but I find them entertaining, once I got past the issues I had, such as  technical ones ( ex. the Enterprise being built on the surface of Earth), and the need for constant action.  I think they did a fine job casting them and I was hopeful going into this on Friday night that the cast would help carry me past any science inanities and the inevitable over-the-top action sequences. For the most part, Star Trek Beyond succeeded. I found it to be enjoyable. It's definitely an action movie first and science fiction second, but by making sure the characters are recognizable to us fans, it feels like Star Trek -just a Trek with a lot more explosions and running around than we're used to.

Karen: Both Kirk and Spock are going through turning points: Kirk is unsure why he joined Star Fleet and the mission has become too routine. Spock feels that he should be serving his people on New Vulcan. I thought it was telling that both men only reveal these feelings to Dr. McCoy, who is finally allowed to be played with a bit of subtlety by Karl Urban. By the end of the film, the trials they've faced  help both of them re-affirm their commitments not only to Star Fleet but to each other and their crew, which is central to the film. The sub-plot here is about connections, in this case how the Enterprise crew fits together and works together, despite all of their differences. This also extends to how the Federation fits together, but this aspect, while touched upon, is never fully examined and that's unfortunate.

Karen: The villain, Krall, was something of a disappointment. He has a muddled storyline whose reveal at the end still doesn't completely make sense (what caused his metamorphosis?). He despises the Federation and feels that the supposed unity of the government is false, and that it makes them weak. "Joining with the enemy" he sneers -but  Kirk points out that we change -we must change, to grow, to survive. It was one of the most Trek-like moments, and it came in the middle of a zero-G fist fight. But better then than during the dirt bike scene. Yeah, there is a dirt bike scene. So some of it is a little hard to take. And for the love of God, no more Beastie Boys, please.

Karen: But despite some complaints, it was entertaining. Spock and Bones together was fun. Urban gets to stretch more as Bones, not merely emulating DeForest Kelley at his most emotive moments but taking a cue from his quieter ones too. For the first time in these films we get a real taste of the Spock-McCoy relationship. Quinto's Spock has less to do in this film than previous ones. Honestly, he's a little too emotional I think. His Spock is coming off as just a really smart, nerdy guy and not a half-Human, half-Vulcan  struggling to control his emotions.  Scotty gets a lot to do, although nearly all of it is comedic.  Anton Yelchin gave us an exuberant and likable  Pavel Chekov, and he will be missed. Chris Pine seems to be comfortable now as Kirk, although it would be nice to see him in a film that had him acting more as the captain of a ship on an exploratory mission -the Enterprise gets destroyed fairly quickly here. I was expecting the new character, Jaylah, to be annoying, but instead she was quite a sympathetic figure and her self-sufficiency was admirable. If anything, Uhura and Sulu got pushed to the back this time. But maybe they'll do more in the fourth film. 

Karen: The Enterprise gets destroyed -again. I guess each crew has to do it at some point. But I could live without it. I can't deny the sequence was exciting though. And we did get saucer separation -sort of. Of course, next time they'll come back with NCC-1701-A.

Karen: I was surprised by the inclusion of the Star Trek: Enterprise -era ship. That series was almost universally despised by fans, I wouldn't think they'd touch it, but they went for it in a big way. 

Karen: I had assumed that Spock-Prime might pass on, so I wasn't shocked by his demise, but I still teared up when Spock looked at the display that showed Spock-Prime's (Leonard Nimoy's) image with his birth and death dates. I heard other people in the theater let out sighs. It was very moving. And again, towards the end, when Spock is going through Spock-Prime's personal effects, and sees the photo of the Enterprise crew, a shot I believe from Star Trek 5, well, my heart was in my throat.  It was very well done and a nice tribute to not only Nimoy but the original series in its entirety. Of course, when the credits rolled, there were acknowledgements to both Nimoy and Yelchin. Very nice.

Karen: One last thing: how about the mention of a "a big, green hand" grabbing the Franklin by Scotty, and that same hand in the credits? Nice call-out to us original Trek fans.