Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Directed by Justin Lin
The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
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26 films that influenced Star Trek Beyond
What critics say influenced Star Trek Beyond
An underlying theme in the pair of movies directed by the now Star Wars-engaged J.J. Abrams, 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, was the militarisation of science and exploration.
J.J. Abrams stepped down from the conn to direct his revamped Star Wars, relegating himself to a producer’s role.
It's the 13th feature film pulled from the hallowed Gene Roddenberry TV series, the Cold War-era phenomenon that believed in ideas and the democratic ideal, as opposed to its cultural bookend, the vastly more influential "Star Wars" universe, which from its inception was driven by merchandise and nostalgia.
From its earliest days Star Trek distinguished itself from that other great sci-fi behemoth, Star Wars, with its more intellectual, optimistic emphasis on reason, mixing interstellar shoot-outs with introspective reflections on destiny, mortality, and tolerance.
But in the end it's mostly a good big-budget sci-fi action movie that's been marinated in "Star Trek" flavor packets—and thus not terribly different from the 2009 "Star Trek" reboot or its sequel, " Star Trek Into Darkness ."
The overall inconsequential nature of “Star Trek Beyond” stands in stark contrast to 2013’s sprawling “Star Trek Into Darkness,” in which rising Starfleet leader Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) at one point loses his job, and at another briefly loses his life.
An underlying theme in the pair of movies directed by the now Star Wars-engaged J.J. Abrams, 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, was the militarisation of science and exploration.
“Beyond” is the third film in the rebooted “Star Trek” franchise, which launched in 2009 and continued with 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness.”
Clearly, Star Trek Into Darkness falls into the latter category, having expensed natural drama in the name of high-grade throwbacks.
They hated how director J.J. Abrams reworked major themes and reintroduced bad guys from 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the franchise’s crown jewel, making them less clever and resonant in the process.
Kirk, as he did in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, is starting to get a little bored.
The previous installment, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, even made an ill-received rehash of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, easily and arguably one of the most beloved of the Trek films.
The crew is starting to feel the weight of time and the sameness of routine, particularly Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), who is so desperate for a change of pace that he is considering a promotion to admiral, which will raise his stock but keep him grounded for the rest of his career (this plot point and the fact that it is his birthday both recall 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which remains a perennial touchstone for the franchise).
(It recalls the futuristic metropolis of the 1936 Things to Come .)
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At first alone in the woods, Scotty comes across fierce survivalist Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), a pale-faced warrior apparently inspired by Jennifer Laurence’s individualistic teen in “Winter’s Bone.”
The answer doesn’t come without some help, namely from alien Jaylah (played by Sofia Boutella and inspired by Jennifer Lawrence’s character in Winter’s Bone ; even her name is basically a form of J. Law).
If you think that's not worth something, see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where Abrams elevated the concept to the level of pop art.
As played by the French Algerian actress Sofia Boutella — under a patina of black-and-white face paint that makes her look like an angry street mime — Jaylah gives Daisy Ridley’s Rey of “ Star Wars: The Force Awakens ” a run for her money.
The third film in the revitalized, sorta-reboot-sorta-sequel-sorta-prequel-sorta-remake Star Trek franchise, it amounts to something of a changing of the guard after 2013’s rather less than beloved Star Trek Into Darkness; director J.J. Abrams, who helmed the first two installments, departed to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens (he’s credited as a producer), as did the first two installments’ screenwriters, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtman (Orci also gets a producer credit here).
Abrams departed for another nice little space franchise (perhaps you saw “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the most-successful movie of all time), turning over the director’s chair to Justin Lin, best known for some of the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
And like Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the film shows an appreciation for practical effects, with complex, visually striking make-up designs that avoid coming off like obvious rubber masks.
Think Bruce Dern as the lone environmentalist in Silent Running or maybe even Eddie Izzard’s Death Star Canteen sketch.
Perhaps most unexpectedly is in the seemingly casual inclusion of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”, a song inextricably tied to its role as the anthem to Spike Lee’s seminal 1989 race relation film Do the Right Thing .
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The effects are big, but for the most part the film avoids that tiresome cliché of mass destruction, although a third-act action sequence that finds various ships ripping in and around the massive buildings inside Yorktown (which recall like the landscape-bending dream sequence in Christopher Nolan’s Inception) constantly toys with it.
We’ll see if Doctor Strange can make it worth but when Inception folded a city on top of itself, there were consequences for it so it paid off.
Abrams' replacement, long-time The Fast and the Furious director Justin Lin, doesn't invigorate the straightforward storyline.
Lin, taking over directing duties from Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness’s J.J. Abrams, is famous for building The Fast and the Furious franchise into the multi-ethnic extravaganza of batshit vehicular set pieces and heartfelt affirmations of family that it is today.
Justin Lin, who souped up the stalling The Fast and the Furious sequels into a series of high octane action hits, takes the captain’s chair on this outing and it is refreshing.
But in keeping with the NFL analogy, he's jumped teams over to the "Star Wars" world, with Justin Lin (best known for directing the third through sixth installments of "The Fast and the Furious" series) now taking his place to helm "Star Trek Beyond."
Director Justin Lin is most recognizable for his work on The Fast and the Furious franchise, and while there some concerns about whether or not this movie would come off like a “ Fast and Furious set in space” when the first trailer was released, Star Trek Beyond doesn’t earn that comparison.