Star Trek Beyond is a thrilling space adventure that takes
us on the third year of The Enterprise’s five year mission as the crew is sent
on a rescue mission that becomes a struggle for survival against a lethal
enemy. Justin Lin (Fast and Furious)
gives the franchise an energy boost with cast member Simon Pegg collaborating on
a sharp screenplay that honors the original TV series with its vision of a hopeful,
diverse universe (and emulating its retro uniforms) while reveling in the new
cast’s strong chemistry and comaraderie.
Idris Elba plays a mighty, nasty villain with an interesting past, and
while one wishes the film followed through on a couple situations and subplots
that could have elevated this to a great film, what we have is an entertaining
mix of action and character interaction that compares favorably with J. J.
Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek and should delight most Trekkie fans. Poignant, sentimental moments at the end are punctuated
by noting the passing of Leonard Nimoy (original Spock) and Anton Yelchin
(reboot Chekov).
