There is something to be said for the odd movie that comes out and totally allows us to escape the dreary and Debbie Downer news cycle. Thus breaks through the sunny optimism of a rousing Sci Fi adventure called Star Trek Beyond.
I didn't go into this movie with high hopes so I was pleasantly surprised by its warp speed enthusiasm and lightheartedness. As opposed to Zac Snyder's apparent lack of joy that seeps through his remakes, director Justin Lin's easy going and hearty optimism draws us into a gravitational slipstream of good old fashioned fun in space.
Growing up with Star Trek I can say that I also appreciated the tributes that Star Trek beyond paid to its predecessors. I love the way that we finally got to see this new Enterprise is some slow, sweeping shots as the camera lingers on the ship's details. Yorktown, the massive Federation base is incredibly cool and was a pretty nifty bit of design work by the artists and VFX Artists who put in countless hours to make the magic come to life. I dare you to stay for the first section of closing credits and see their amazing work on the nebula.
Iris Elba is well on his way to being ones of those versatile guys who can be a great villain and a great on screen hero. In this one he was a great baddie. Bones is my favorite in this one and Captain Kirk is solid and we get to see him use his awesome motorcycle skills which is one of those things that continues to be an earmark of this new Star Trek Genre. There could have been a little more development of the up and down romance between Spock and Uhura but that being said there were sweet moments. It was nice to see Spock smile. Michael Giacchino, as always did a great job of scoring the picture and his music soars with the enterprise.
I personally go to movies to enjoy the escape and with the salutes to Star Trek II and the humor of Star Trek IV and the profound talents of the cast and amazing crew and VFX artists I would say that his Star Trek was a real trek treat.
Nuff Said.
