Star Trek Beyond Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

To boldly go where no man has gone before, even if the road gets a bit bumpy. Beyond delivers brain-numbing action, yet it still captures the spirit of the franchise.

Genre: Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi

Director: Justin Lin

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella & Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Run Time: 122 min.

US Release: 22 July 2016

UK Release: 22 July 2016

German Release: 21 July 2016

Here we are, the final entry - for now - concerning the Kelvin timeline movies, released two weeks ago in Germany, and I finally had some time to gather my thoughts to write them down. I will be honest: when J.J. Abrams stepped back to shoot Episode VII of Star Wars and was replaced by Justin Lin, I was worried. The reason is that Lin is better known in his directing career for having helmed all Fast & Furious films since the third, with most of them being mind-numbing action spectacles. Luckily, though it does include some F & F action segments, it also maintains what makes Star Trek such a phenomenon.

The USS Enterprise crew stops at a remote space station for a break during their Five-Year mission. A ruthless enemy named Krall (Idris Elba) ambushes and destroys the ship, stranding the survivors on a hostile alien world. Banding together with a fierce local warrior named Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), they race against time to stop Krall from unleashing a devastating weapon against the United Federation of Planets.

The best part of the movie is the narrative penned by Simon Pegg. The first one-and-a-three-quarter acts accurately capture the essence of classic Star Trek, even making self-aware comments on its episodic nature, loneliness, existential dread, as well as routine burnout of deep-space exploration. Then there is the stranded aspect, which pairs unlike characters together, creating fresh dynamics that break up the predictable A-plot/B-plot formula.

The pacing is excellent; the quiet, character-driven first act transitions smoothly into the hectic, survival mode, as the Enterprise gets destroyed at the end of the first / beginning of the second segment. The destruction of the ship itself is treated as a high-stakes tragedy, characterising the space vessel.

However, it also makes use of convenient plot devices, set to get the premise going where the writers want it to. On top of that, the end of the second chapter and the complete third one is one giant, simplistic action spectacle that trades intellectual storytelling for generic, CGI-heavy space fights, including zero-gravity hand-to-hand combat.

The opening monologue subverts the classic “Space, the final frontier” speech, while the banter between crewmates, especially that of Bones plus Spock, perfectly encapsulates the soul between classic characters. However, the villain's monologues are rather filled with one-dimensional clichés.

Chris Pine gives the most balanced performance of the bunch, finally showing a mature, grounded James T. Kirk. He moves away from the reckless hothead he portrayed in the previous instalments, accepting the captain’s chair with responsibility. His existential crisis is embedded subtly plus organically into his characterisation, making his doubts about the future and his own place as captain feel natural.

Karl Urban’s portrayal of Bones is, to this day, the best of all. He masterfully captures the essence of DeForest Kelley’s rendition of the character, paying respectful homage without simply copying him. Urban also manages to balance the emotionality of the character with great comedic timing. His unequal pairing with Quinto’s Spock creates a dry, entertaining humour, with the two constantly bouncing off each other despite being complete opposites. 

Quinto gives once again a solid performance as the Vulcan science officer, adding some notes of grief and mortality to Spock’s usual rigid logic. However, his vague breakup with Uhura at the beginning completely sidelines his female partner, while regressing their relationship.

A welcome change of pace is Chekov’s expanded role, which, in light of Anton Yelchin’s passing, carries a bittersweet note, serving as a reminder of this young actor’s talent. Having Chekov stranded with Kirk also underlines the latter’s growth as both a person and captain. 

Newcomer Sofia Boutella plays the alien Jaylah, stealing every scene she is in. Jaylah is stranded on the planet herself, forced to scavenge abandoned areas to survive. She eventually stumbles upon Scotty, represented by a brilliant Simon Pegg once again. As she helps him against Krall’s underlings, their relationship blossoms into a sweet, paternal and funny dynamic.

The weakest characterisation is that of the villain. While the last third serves as an intriguing eye-opener to Krall’s deeply seeded hatred towards the Federation, it ends up being too late by then. Idris Elba is completely wasted, as his magnificent performance is buried underneath heavy prosthetics, makeup, as well as some of the cheesiest dialogue lines a villain can have.

Camera-wise, the cinematographer Stephen F. Windon and director Lin went for a classic Panavision 35mm look, while also dialling back on the aggressive, distracting lens flares from the previous instalments. The picture is warm, defining intimate character plus dialogue segments. The sweeping shots around the USS Enterprise, as well as the tracking movements of the ships, give it a dynamic framing. Unfortunately, it also uses clichéd shaky cam during fights and chases, which makes those scenes a little disorienting.

As for effects, while the destruction of the Enterprise itself looks meticulously detailed and the warp-speed redesign looks scientifically accurate, it also suffers from flat, muddled space-action sequences, especially during the fights with Krall’s alien swarms. Then there is the Yorktown station, which, while impressive, seems like a rip-off of Mass Effect’s Citadel.

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Verdict: Justin Lin’s directed third instalment of the Kelvin timeline contains more action, while visually feeling a little less “treky” than usual. This might be due to the story stranding its crew on a desolate planet, shifting the focus to survival rather than technology. Maybe it has to do with its shorter runtime, or maybe it's both. That said, it is also the film with the quickest pacing, concentrating more on each character as they focus on staying alive. Simon Pegg’s script is bumpy but includes the original series’ spirit at its core; the acting is good, with the main crew maintaining their character traits from the series, as well as previous movies, while Pine, Quinto, Pegg, Urban and newcomer Boutella give solid renditions. The cinematography, just like the effects are breathtaking. I also adore the new design of the uniforms. It is the weakest of the three pictures, though it still entertains highly! I will give Star Trek Beyond a 7.0 out of 10.

So, what did you think of the latest Star Trek chapter? Do you agree with my analysis, or is this one of your favourite ones? Leave a comment below to let me know! Thank you for reading!