Monday, July 25, 2016

Be Bold and Go Beyond: My Review of Star Trek Beyond

My excitement to watch the third installment of the rebooted Star Trek movies turned into sadness when I read the news about Anton Yelchin's untimely death. The Russian-born actor who portrayed Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek films passed away on June 19th, 2016, just a few weeks before the film's release date, due to a freak accident. I was really shocked and saddened when the news broke because Anton was one of my favorite actors and he was so young, only three years older than me. I knew it was going to be hard for me to watch him in Beyond but, after I heard the news, I wanted to see the movie even more because I wanted to honor him. I really enjoyed his character in this movie. His character has more screen time, is more involved in the story and flirts with the girls here! Seeing him flirt with his cute accent made me giggle. They also put a writing that says "FOR ANTON" after the end credit which broke my heart into a million pieces. Oh, Anton, you are gone too soon :'(

For Anton (Source: twitter.com
Well, enough with the sentimental part. Now let's talk about the movie! This third movie is called Star Trek Beyond. This time the legendary crew of USS Enterprise must face an enemy that threatens their unity in the third year of their 5-year mission. The villain's name is Krall (Idris Elba), a ruthless, mysterious alien who destroys the Enterprise and is able to, literally, gain power from "the strength of others" (the "gaining power" scene is quite scary, you know...). The main cast from the previous two films reprise their roles here. However, the movie is not directed by J.J. Abrams, who directed the previous two. It is directed by Fast and Furious 6 director Justin Lin while Simon Pegg, who also plays Scotty in the movie, acts as the scriptwriter as well. Besides Idris Elba, Kingsman actress Sofia Boutella and Indonesian actor Joe Taslim join the returning cast members. 


I love the cast so much. These are great, talented actors. (Source: www.comingsoon.net)

I think this movie is super fun and entertaining. It has more comical moments and dialogues that will surely be enjoyed by auidence. It also has more action sequences, I think. I was quite impressed by the scene where Krall attacks the Enterprise for the first time with his "bees". It was also nice to see the crew members spend some time outside the ship here; they spent most of the time inside the ship in the previous two movies. The things that I wish could be more explored in this movie are the interactions and the relationships among the crew members. When I heard that they were going to split up the crew, I thought we would be able to see how the crew members interact with other members who they don't normally interact with, which would be interesting to see. However, it turns out that this movie doesn't give much time for that. The movie focuses more on the crew's mission to defeat Krall and is so fast-paced, which doesn't give room to develop the characters' relationships. I understand that they don't want to fit too many things in one movie, though; it's never good to put too many things in a 2-hour movie. Maybe I should just watch the upcoming TV series to see more of that, or maybe the original series. TV shows have many episodes so they should have room for in-depth character explorations.

I enjoyed the new characters in Beyond, especially Krall and Jaylah (Boutella). I knew Idris Elba is a great actor so I wasn't surprised at all to see his powerful villainous performance. I like Jaylah because she is strong, independent and very smart (you know how I feel about this kind of female characters, right?). The main cast led by Chris Pine aka Captain Kirk is, of course, amazing. It's great to see how they have established themselves in their roles in the ship. My favorite crew member this time is Uhura, played by the gorgeous Zoe Saldana, who, like Anton's Chekov, has more screen time and is so badass here. The funniest character in the movie is definitely Leonard McCoy aka Bones (Karl Urban). His sarcasm and grumpiness never fail to make me laugh.

Source: startrekgifs.tumblr.com
I've never seen the original series with William Shatner and the gang but I'm pretty sure fans of the classic series are happy with how this movie pays tribute to the original cast, especially the late Leonard Nimoy who passed away last year. Another aspect that I like is the music in the film. That loud music that is played during the final space battle scene is just rad! I rewatched the first Trek film after I saw Beyond and realized that the song is also featured in the first movie. No wonder Kirk thinks it's a good choice haha.

Although I wish this could also be more explored, as I said before, I really like the message that Beyond tries to deliver through Kirk's struggle. After a few years working for the Enterprise, he feels lost. He wonders why he is there and feels like maybe he doesn't belong there. I find this truly relatable and understandable. I think it is relatable for anyone who's been doing their jobs for a few years like me. But, just like the lady in Yorktown says, its very easy to feel and get lost sometimes, but that doesn't mean that you have to stop doing what you're doing. It's very normal to feel bored and tired. When you feel like that, you have to remember what made you choose to start, why you wanted it so bad at the beginning. I think that will help.

That's all from me this time. I hope you enjoy this post. I'm probably going to post something else soon. It's the Comic Con weekend and there are so many panels, announcements, trailers, news and promotional materials and I'm freakin' out and have so much to say about that haha.

Live long and prosper!

Rating : 4/5

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