[Movie Review] ‘Star Trek Beyond’ feels like an episode of the TV show

The totally random Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) in "Star Trek Beyond." (United International Pictures)
The totally random Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) in "Star Trek Beyond." (United International Pictures)

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? If you like Star Trek.

Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? No.

Score: 2.5/5

Secret ending? No.

Running time: 122 minutes (~2 hours)

Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) in "Star Trek Beyond." (United International Pictures)
Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) in “Star Trek Beyond.” (United International Pictures)

“Star Trek Beyond” is a science fiction action movie that’s the third in the rebooted “Star Trek” franchise. It sees the crew of the Starship Enterprise struggling to survive after crashing on an unknown planet. It stars Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Karl Urban (Leonard McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Nyota Uhura), Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott), John Cho (Hikaru Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Pavel Chekov), Idris Elba (Krall), and Sofia Boutella (Jaylah). It is rated PG-13.

“Star Trek Beyond” is, well, like a jumbo episode of the TV series, assuming that they used the current cast for a television series. If you want more of the same interactions, it delivers on that aspect… but otherwise it feels bland and run-of-the-mill, and even the title feels like there was very little effort put into it. Don’t be fooled by the title – “Star Trek Beyond” doesn’t go beyond anything except what we’ve seen before.

Bones (Karl Urban) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) in "Star Trek Beyond." (United International Pictures)
Bones (Karl Urban) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) in “Star Trek Beyond.” (United International Pictures)

Highlights

The pairings

Act One sees the crew being involuntarily paired off on an unknown planet, and it affords us an interesting set of interactions, since these are characters that don’t normally talk to each other if they were on board the Starship Enterprise. You’d be surprised at how quirky their conversations can get, or the kinds of bonds that they forge with each other, although those bonds are promptly forgotten soon after.

More of McCoy in "Star Trek Beyond." (United International Pictures)
More of McCoy in “Star Trek Beyond.” (United International Pictures)

Letdowns

Where is the introduction and establishment and building of emotional bonds?

“Star Trek Beyond” assumes that you’re a Star Trek fan, and throws all the characters at you as if you already knew them inside out. But the issue is that it alienates new viewers to the franchise, since it requires a hefty amount of explanation to establish these characters. We hardly have time to build any sort of empathy for the characters before they’re thrown into life-threatening situations once again. Their endangerment is too fast and too sudden for the audience to care, resulting in hollow action scenes.

Mostly earthbound for a film that has the word “Star” in it

Wouldn’t you expect a lot of starfaring for a show with the word “Star” in the actual franchise? Sadly, that’s not what happens. There are maybe all of three trips before everybody gets stranded on a planet that is not Earth. And it’s an awfully small planet given that everything seems to be within walking distance. True, there are teleporters, but it’s not like you know the scale of the planet to understand how much time this actually saves. It’s a disappointment because you didn’t come to watch “Space Astronauts Stuck on Random Planet,” you came to watch “Star Trek.”

Stakes feel inconsequential

There’s the villain’s plot, which amounts to “destroying as many planets as possible.” That’s rather unimaginative in a film about exploration and wonder, and not once do you believe that he’ll succeed. The film also feels like it might be a groundbreaking entry (due to the events that occur in the film) in the series. Then everything goes back to status quo at the end. There’s even a scene where you literally see the status quo being rebuilt. With no real stakes, there’s no good tension, and no dramatic impact of anyone’s actions.

A villain that’s poorly fleshed out

So Krall (Idris Elba) is the villain of the piece, which again, “Star Trek Beyond” expects you to know before entering the cinema. He goes around maniacally capturing people with his own personal army before revealing what he truly wants. For all intents and purposes, he’s another psychotic alien that the crew meet. Only at the end, minutes before the climax, do they reveal his backstory and provide some motivation for his actions, in what is meant to elicit some sympathy for this tragic character. Except that it comes too late, too suddenly, and feels like some artificially inserted aside to give depth to a boring antagonist. In the end, it doesn’t matter.

The totally random Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) in "Star Trek Beyond." (United International Pictures)
The totally random Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) in “Star Trek Beyond.” (United International Pictures)

“Star Trek Beyond” doesn’t head to the stars, is a boring trek, and certainly goes beyond nothing.

“Star Trek Beyond” opens in cinemas 21 July, 2016 (Thursday).

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