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Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek Beyond

6.8

Star Trek Beyond

PG-13·2016·122m

Summary

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.

Cast

Chris Pine

Chris Pine

Captain James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto

Zachary Quinto

Commander Spock

Karl Urban

Karl Urban

Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy

Zoe Saldaña

Zoe Saldaña

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura

Simon Pegg

Simon Pegg

Lieutenant Commander Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott

John Cho

John Cho

Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu

Anton Yelchin

Anton Yelchin

Ensign Pavel Chekov

Idris Elba

Idris Elba

Krall

Sofia Boutella

Sofia Boutella

Jaylah

Joe Taslim

Joe Taslim

Manas

Lydia Wilson

Lydia Wilson

Kalara

Deep Roy

Deep Roy

Keenser

Melissa Roxburgh

Melissa Roxburgh

Ensign Syl

Anita Brown

Anita Brown

Tyvanna

Doug Jung

Ben

Danny Pudi

Danny Pudi

Fi'Ja

Kim Kold

Kim Kold

Zavanko

Fraser Aitcheson

Fraser Aitcheson

Hider

Matthew MacCaull

Matthew MacCaull

Blue Shirt

Emy Aneke

Emy Aneke

Blue Shirt

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Commodore Paris

Greg Grunberg

Greg Grunberg

Commander Finnegan

Jennifer Cheon Garcia

Jennifer Cheon Garcia

Control Tower Technician

Jarod Joseph

Jarod Joseph

Control Tower Technician

Jeremy Raymond

Jeremy Raymond

Control Tower Technician

Harry Han

Harry Han

Kissing Guy

Gina Brinkman

Kissing Girl

Adam DiMarco

Adam DiMarco

Injured Red Shirt

Fiona Vroom

Fiona Vroom

Orion Girl

Richard Laurence

Chancellor Ambassador

Doug Chapman

Doug Chapman

Sir Olden

Dan Payne

Dan Payne

Wadjet

Anthony Shim

Anthony Shim

Jin

Andrea Yu

Jeanine

Shea Whigham

Shea Whigham

Teenaxi Leader (voice)

Christian Sloan

Christian Sloan

Jae

Jake Huang

Jake Huang

Krall's Henchman

Priya Rajaratnam

Priya Rajaratnam

Night Watch Captain

Luka Hays

Luka Hays

Yorktown Red Shirt

Thomas Cadrot

Thomas Cadrot

USSE Bridge Crew

Jennifer W. Evans

USSE Bridge Crew

Roxanne Fernandes

Roxanne Fernandes

USSE Bridge Crew

Jake Foy

Jake Foy

USSE Bridge Crew

Jodi Haynes

USSE Bridge Crew

Nathan Jean

Nathan Jean

USSE Bridge Crew

Tarun Keram

Tarun Keram

USSE Bridge Crew

J.P. Mulcaster

J.P. Mulcaster

USSE Bridge Crew

Edwin Rodriguez

USSE Bridge Crew

Alex Rose

Alex Rose

USSE Bridge Crew

Polina Soldatova

USSE Bridge Crew

Lia Lam

Lia Lam

USSE Bridge Crew

Ian Nsenga

USSE Bridge Crew

Sara Forsberg

Kalara Alien VO (voice)

Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos

Starfleet Official

Christian Mandel

Christian Mandel

USSE Bridge Crew

Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti

Scientist

Crew

Director

Justin Lin

Original Series Creator

Gene Roddenberry

Writer

Simon Pegg

Writer

Doug Jung

Reviews

F

Frank Ochieng

July 23, 2016

Some diehard **Star Trek** fans may not necessarily feel that the Justin Lin-directed third installment of this science fiction/space saga film franchise “boldly goes where no man has gone before” creatively. Surprisingly, Lin (director of two “Fast & Furious” flicks) shows some engaging and intriguing heft in **Star Trek Beyond** as the adventurous exploits of the USS Enterprise crew are likely to stir the collective pot where the nostalgic sentiments of the Star Trek brand from yesteryear bridges the gap to the current cinematic explosiveness of modern-day Captain Kirk and company. Although it is extremely difficult to immediately dismiss filmmaker J.J. Abrams’s resourceful fingerprints concerning the imaginative **Star Trek** (2009) and the thoroughly enjoyable **Star Trek Into Darkness** (2013) he graciously steps aside to allow Lin’s energizing directorial vision to further explore Trek mythology on the big screen.

Essentially, **Star Trek Beyond** is a vibrant cosmic canvas that is expansive in its boundaries of exploration. Visually arresting, well-paced and armed with compelling story-telling and a healthy dosage of curiosity and mystery, Lin manages to stay true to the traditional Trek-oriented universe by incorporating rousing special effects and offering a galactic grandeur of planetary peculiarities and exotic alien races to stimulate the exquisite narrative. Screenwriters Doug Jung and Simon Pegg (Star Trek’s on-screen character Montgomery “Scotty” Scott) incorporate an eye-opening mixture of dramatic edginess, off-the-cuff humor and the cohesive rapport among the cast-mates that have inherited the iconic Star Trek personalities and made these familiar faces from the classic 60’s TV show and previous non-reboot films a revelation in the millennium age of blockbuster sci-fi action adventure.

The plot channels in a sense of challenging malaise for the USS Enterprise’s top officers in Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto). What seemingly spices things up regarding the deja vu space journeys aboard the spacecraft is the questionable and powerful device that Kirk and his crew are babysitting. This powerful tool of destruction is capable of destroying humanity as we know it. In particular, the opportunistic Krall (Idris Elba) is the lizard-looking culprit determined to get his diabolical hands on the corrosive contraption. Naturally, Krall and his menacing minions must subdue Kirk and his crew to achieve success in having this ominous object in his deadly grasp. Krall’s willingness to cripple the USS Enterprise proved to be an ambitious mission fully accomplished. For Kirk and his group the results were disheartening as Krall’s forceful attacks rendered the ship disabled as it crashed on the desolate planet of Altamid. Thus, Kirk and his charges are stranded on his rocky haven with no hope in sight. The harsh reality for the vulnerable USS Enterprise visitors, besides being divided and scattered in all directions on this problematic planet, involved getting into survival mode as the hostile reptilian creatures surrounded them at will.

The aforementioned split of Kirk and his exposed cohorts called for a series of various crisis carried on at different, chaotic spots. Kirk and Russian crew member Pavel Chekov (played by the late Anton Yelchin) were primarily tasked with trying to rescue their colleagues from the claws of Krall and his cronies. Elsewhere, Dr. Bones (Keith Urban) tries to patch up the injured Spock following the aftermath of the ship’s wrecking. Pegg’s Scotty and womanly warrior in alien Jayla (Sofia Boutella) make the valiant effort in trying to reach Kirk in the middle of total ribaldry.

**Star Trek Beyond** has stylized flash and Lin ensures that his pulsating production stays faithful to the Trek legacy. Sure, **Beyond** is not anything innovative or wildly distinctive in comparison to the other earlier entries but it still thrives where it counts in the spectacle of space-aged escapism. The cast is solid as the players–Pine, Quinto, Pegg, Urban, Yelchin as well as Zoe Saldana’s Uhura and John Cho’s Sulu–all demonstrate a suspenseful unity on screen and give the audience an indescribable excitement in this latest chapter that far from disappoints. Elba’s Krall is robustly villainous in physicality and attitude and the alien race featured are interestingly hypnotic in creepiness. Lin, in the same vein as Abrams, is not shy about gift-wrapping his **Star Trek** edition in boisterous, sweeping helpings of scope and whimsy.

Overall, this kinetic outing of **Beyond** practically guarantees that the rebooted **Star Trek** phenomenon will not be experiencing its final frontier any time soon.

**Star Trek Beyond** (2016)

Paramount Pictures

2 hrs.

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella

Directed by: Justin Lin

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre: Science Fiction/Space and Fantasy Saga/Action and Adventure

Critic’s rating: *** stars (out of 4 stars)

(c) **Frank Ochieng** (2016)

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$185,000,000.00

Revenue:

$343,471,816.00

Keywords

spacecraft
sequel
stranded
hatred
lgbt
space opera
frantic
gay theme
ambivalent
appreciative