User reviews

This is not a terrible movie, as some have said, but it seems ordinary by today's standards. It is mostly action with little intellect. Why these guys go off on this mission with such recklessness is beyond me. They get themselves in an incredibly untenable situation through their own carelessness. The one thing that so many of these movies never address is the wear and tear on the human body that seems acceptable. People are thrown against walls, drop from great heights, and bounce back without a broken bone or a concussion. These aren't superheroes; they are flesh and blood. The other thing is that the designs of the evil force are never abundantly clear. To create suspense, we need to have a better understanding of the threat. And don't tell me that it was explained. I know it was, but it needs to be reinforced. As things came to a head, I kept thinking back to what exactly the importance of that object was. Many cheap tricks and close calls are gratuitous. I'm a real fan of the whole Trek canon and so this wasn't what I had hoped for.

After the noisy and irretrievably stupid (though reasonably entertaining) Into Darkness, I wasn't desperate to watch this one, but when I finally did I was relieved to discover that it was even more enjoyable than the first film in the reboot, a rollicking adventure with terrific alien weapons, fun McCoy/Spock repartee, a promising newcomer alien, and a lot of really excellent action scenes.

The movie had almost all the qualities of the original series except one - the thinking part. The smartest thing in the movie is the funny opening scene, which suggests the difficulty of communication between different cultures.

But that's the last thing in the movie that suggests even a moment of thought. The main villain has very little in the way of motivation, and when he explains his purpose it's quite disappointing. Nothing in this movie is there to provoke thought, and I'm not entirely convinced that anything in the movie really makes sense, although there's nothing at the time that hit me as too absurd to live with (unlike the previous movie).

If you expect this movie, like the series, to explore racism and war culture, well, you're not going to be happy. But if you just want some old-fashioned action with some familiar characters, this totally hits the spot.

Whether you like the newest Star Trek movie will really depend a lot on what you like in a movie. If you love near-constant action, tons of amazing special effects and explosions, then there is more than enough to delight you. On the other hand, if you want a film that is more plot-driven and a multidimensional villain whose actions make any sense, then you are also in for a big letdown.

The plot is very, very simple. Enterprise is sent on a rescue mission that turns out to be a trap. A baddie and his minions attack and blow up a lot of stuff. Most of the crew is taken prisoner or killed and it's up to the rest of the crew to figure out a way to rescue them and save the quadrant. There really isn't much more to it than this.

Apart from the breathtaking special effects, the film is nice because like all the newer Trek films, it doesn't all rest on the big three--Kirk, Spock and McCoy. There is a nice ensemble feel to it and everyone contributes about equally. Additionally, the crew's new friend, Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), is an excellent character-- strikingly beautiful and amazingly tough as well as likable. I anticipate you'll be seeing more of her in upcoming installments of the franchise.

As far as the bad about the film goes, the baddie is played by the excellent actor, Idris Elba. However, he's hidden under such thick prosthetics through most of the film that he seem wasted at times. Additionally, his actions and motivations just seemed confusing and muddled. Also confusing was the big confrontation scene at the end where he and Kirk square off. Now considering if Elba's character wins, he might be able to kill millions...or more. So what does Kirk do? Instead of instantly killing the guy once he's gotten the upper hand, they stop and chat a bit! What?! Kirk's spent the entire film trying to defeat the guy and the villain is nearly invincible and hell-bent on genocide...you talk and give him a chance to escape?! It just came off as anticlimactic and a bit silly.

With two great movies under it's belt, the latest installment in the Star Trek reboot has some big boots to fill. I was skeptic when I heart J.J. Abrams was not directing it and the writing was done by Simon Pegg and Doug Jong. Fortunately, it turned out to be a solid trek film.

Star Trek Beyond begins with the Enterprise and it's crew on a five year research mission in uncharted space which was assigned to them at the end of the previous movie. Kirk is struggling staying focused as captain of a starship and he is doubting himself if this is the life he wants to live. The Enterprise takes a break from exploring in a massive star base called Yorktown. The star base receives a distress call from an alien woman who lost it's crew on a distant planet. Of course the Enterprise is the best ship to help the alien woman and search for the crew. But this search and rescue mission turns very ugly when they encounter one of the most ruthless villains who's hatred of the Federation puts the whole enterprise crew to the test.

I think they did a marvelous job again and made a Star Trek movie just as great as the previous two installments. The villain was not as interesting as Kahn but the movie makes up for it by focusing on the characters. The story lays more focus on new development like the bond that grows between Bones and Spock and the new female alien character Jaylah (Sofia Boutella, who did a marvelous job) which Scotty encounters. The third act of the movie is the best (with an excellent soundtrack, Beastie Boys and Star Trek mixes very well!) and they once again pull out all the stops with visual and sound effects.

The only caveat I have with this film is the slow start and the main plot being a bit simplistic. Sometimes it feels just like a regular Star Trek episode, but then again that is also one of it's strengths.

So definitely check this one out if you liked the previous two Star Trek films, it's a solid and very entertaining journey.

OK, so I'm a Star Trek fan being old enough to have watched the original series BEFORE it was in re-runs! But Star Trek Beyond just plain disappoints. It's not terrible… but it's not great either.

It's Star Date 2263.2 and Kirk (Chris Pine) is into the third year of their "5 year mission" (which seems to somehow throw away a lot of potential sequel opportunities already doesn't it?). Less buoyant and confident than he used to be, Kirk is feeling a little emotionally 'Lost in Space': after all, as the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy put it "Space is big… REALLY big". Spock (Zachary Quinto) also receives some news of a personal nature that unsettles him. They are both in need of a vacation, and Starbase Yorktown (queue some spectacular special effects and an operatic Michael Giacchino track) appears to be able to offer them that. The crew disperse for a bit of R and R: Sulu (John Cho) goes off to spend time with his family (after the big internet furore, the gay aspect of this is very subtle); Kirk gets career advice from the Admiral; and Spock and Uhuru (Zoe Saldana) go their separate ways since – like Ross and Rachael – they are "on a break".

The reverie is rudely interrupted by the arrival of a frantic alien called Kalara (Lydia Wilson) from the other side of a dense nebula. She needs help to rescue her crew, stranded on a planet there. Kirk's rescue mission however goes far from to-plan, and he and his crew are caught in the clutches of the warlord Krall (Idris Elba).

What's nice about this film is that the core crew of Kirk, Spock, Uhuru, Bones (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu and Chekov (the tragically departed Anton Yelchin) gel together really nicely as an ensemble cast. The traditional by-play between the characters feels unforced, comedic and provides a warmth at the heart of the film. There is also a touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy, who died while the film was in pre-production, woven into the story of which I'm sure he would have approved.

Supporting the crew as a potential new character is the strikingly attractive and kick-ass Jaylah played by Sofia Boutella (the evil amputee Gazelle from "Kingsman").

There's also some fine and innovative alien technology on display with the 'swarm-like' alien fleet harking back (in an expanded scale) to the invulnerability of the nanites from an original episode.

Unfortunately, all of these positives are severely offset by a largely planet-bound Simon Pegg and Doug Jung story (didn't the woeful "Insurrection" teach writers that this tends not to be a good idea?) and action sequences that are so manically fast-moving that it is almost impossible to keep track of what exactly is happening. (Perversely, this is a film that might actually make more sense on the small screen than the big one, which is just BAD CINEMA!). There was even one point in a final fight scene where I seriously feared Kirk and Krall might have a 'sharing of mother's names' moment (if you know what I mean) but fortunately this script apocalypse is avoided.

At the conclusion the story actually makes no sense to me at all: without spoilers, it is difficult to discern exactly what the motivations of Krall actually were. Throw in a graphic in the final reel that looks like Krall is attacking the Death Star (no, seriously – watch for it!) and the concoction just doesn't hang together very well. I know Simon Pegg and director Justin ("Fast and Furious") Lin are huge Trekkers, but – sorry guys – this was a C- for me.

It's a mildly diverting popcorn movie, but with (for me at least) yet another disappointing film, its getting to the point where the best 'summer blockbuster' is likely to be Deadpool… and that was released in February!

(Please visit http://bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of this review. You can enter your email address there to automatically receive my future reviews. Thanks).

Where do I begin? As a lifelong Star Trek fan I had an uneasy feeling while watching this movie. I could not shake the sense that I was just looking at another mediocre summer popcorn flick; an experience that would evaporate from my brain just hours after I leave the theater.

I remember sitting in the cinema with my head low embarrassed by the movie, although I wanted it to prove me wrong ever since I saw the "Beastie Boys" trailer back in 2015. Instead, it dragged along with that "proven" Hollywood formula of what a summer hit should look like. Constricted by its own creative limitations I was looking at a product that was not a science fiction in its core, but a creation that had only one intention since its birth: to milk as much money as possible.

Star Trek Beyond was so devoid of the primordial concepts set up by Mr. Gene Roddenberry that it contributed to the confused identity of the picture. The plot of the movie is so "light" in its essence that it lacks the moral dilemmas, the exploration (inner and outer) and the development usually present in the Star Trek universe. There was neither message nor any character evolution and we did not learn more about anything really. Instead of Kirk, Spock and Scotty you could stick just any name over the protagonists and nobody would have noticed. The story was atrocious and full with plot holes patched up by unnecessary although flashy looking CGI.

Star Trek Beyond also has one of the weakest villains in its history. It was definitely not the actors fault and such a shame to waste the opportunity of having a strong artist like Idris Elba. It was the fault of the writer and the director who missed the opportunity to take Star Trek back on its track. Instead they created a cute flick full with needless CGI scenes, explosions and dialogue written for "dumb" audiences. Everything had to be explained to the viewers, nothing was left to the imagination. There was nothing to debate with your friends after the movie or something to stir your imagination or to push you to prod its meaning. Nothing like that at all, everything was given on a run-of-the-mill plate for the audience to consume in a shortest possible time frame.

The movie had its moments, so not everything was complete rubbish. I liked the character of Jaylah and some of the humor, but that was it. Some of the scenes were of course visually impressive though sometimes things would fly around too much and contaminate the image. Of course this movie was done by people, who know their job, but I am not pondering the execution and the skill of the artists, I am merely concerned about the soul of this thing we love so much.

This thing we used to know of as Star Trek.

If you want a movie that has a lot of action, fighting and graphics, this is the movie for you. If you want a well developed plot and good acting, it just doesn't deliver. The acting is uneven. The Spock character seems to do the best job and is believable. Some of the others seem like they are at times still reading from the script. The old original Star Trek movies had well defined relationship stories in them but in this, it seems like the characters are secondary to the graphic presentations and fighting scenes. I would even say they don't click together like the original cast. So, to me it was entertaining to a certain extent, but disappointing in that the plot was not as developed as it could have been. The actress who played the "helper" in the end did seem to be very strong and believable.

This ain't your daddy's Star Trek (and the 3D is so unnecessary that it is NOT worth the extra cost):

(1) The plot is close to incomprehensible (2) The directing is mediocre (okay, that is a characteristic in common with the original series) (3) The audience manipulation is palpable (4) The action is overblown (5) And did I mention the plot is close to incomprehensible?

Don't get me wrong. The film is generally fun. But it lacked the heart and soul present in all five television series (ain't counting no cartoons). The "Spock Prime" character is about as confusing as it gets. And while the homages to Leonard Nimoy were touching, they were a bit heavy handed.

But worst of all was the loss of any subtlety and heart. This reboot increasing seems to be solely about the money.

And the negative reaction to Zulu being gay -- which was handled with taste and, unlike the rest of the film, subtlety -- was just plain crazy. I would think that fans would have been a lot more upset about the Uhura-Spock romantic relationship given the nature of Vulcans, even half-human, half-Vulcan ones -- now that's moving away from the Roddenberry playbook far more than making Zulu gay.

All in all, Star Trek Beyond is a pleasant, but not very satisfying addition to the Star Trek compendium.

Before I write a review I like to browse through the other comments posted first. To surmise, many have got it quite right, this is not the best Star Trek movie, but it is a good one. The story is reasonable, although there are plenty of plot holes that you have to overlook and not delve into them too deeply. I also think that the size of that deep space station is just OTT even for that century, it is far too advanced! Anyway, get over the minor flaws and you will begin to notice that they are starting to focus more on character development and interaction of the personalities within the crew. It is what real fans enjoy the most, including the odd bit of humour.

As for the highly negative reviews on here, please start to put your rankings in perspective, this is by no means a shocking movie and definitely is fit to join the Star Trek Universe. It really winds me up when people rank this movie in the same breath as some of the real shockers we have seen in the last few years!

Boldly going where no man (or woman or non-bianry) has gone before, climb aboard the Enterprise and let it fly and soar, as old friends gather, reunite, off to battle and to fight, strange new worlds, civilisations to explore.

There's a square Pegg in a large round hole, without any passion or any vision and without soul, a ridiculous accent, leaving nothing but lament, a veritable irritant, annoyance and own goal.

That aside, failing to build on the previous epic and nowhere near as enjoyable.

*At first i have to apologize: Sorry for the bad English, I am not a native speaker.*

I am a big fan of the Star Trek Series and when I was young I loved the old series and movies. When in 2009 the first "new" Star Trek movie arrived I was excited about the good cast and the intelligent Plot. The second one doesn't have this tricky intelligent story the first film has, but was also a good movie. The Third one with the sub title "Beyond" is unfortunately more like the second movie, but pro's first and here we go. Star Trek Beyond from director Justin Lin, who is known for Fast and Furious, bring some good action on the big screen. In "loud" moments Lin is in his element. Lin knows how to make some good dynamic action scenes. My personal Highlight is the Enterprise fighting scene with Beastie Boys – Sabotage underlaid. This part of the movie is very entertaining and in these points the movie has his great strength. Also so the Cast is very lovely and with Sofia Boutella as Jaylah there is another coherent likable character. The whole cast perfectly matched and I hope to see all of these guys back in Star Trek 4 (a silent minute for Anton Yelchin, Rest in Piece!). So the action is strong, the cast is strong, whats wrong with the movie? Why it is not a 10/10 for me? So I think the story is the first problem for me. I can't help me, but the whole story is for me more a reason to go beyond different places, then a real continuation of the Star Trek saga. The hole film feels like a episode of the series but in a negative way. There is a bad guy who is bad and good guys who are good. Lin just manages not quite the whole to give it more depth and make the plot more interesting. I don't want to Spoil anybody, but the motivation of the antagonist is not very resourceful in my opinion. We all know why Captain Kirk and his crew do what they do, but there enemy is a little bit "flat". Maybe I don't get it right now or doesn't understand the big point and when I see this movie a second time I will find it, but for now Beyond has the weakest Plot. The second Point is very subjective, but for me the tracking shots were a bit to fast so that the motion blur make some whole scene not pleasant. Maybe the 3D supports this effect, but the many "moving the camera" in a circle about objects and characters were a bit too much. I never become Motion sick in any Movie. I saw the movie "Hardcore Henry" without motion sickness, but in Beyond there were some moments I have to close my eyes. With 48 frames per second I think this problem would be fixed, but with cinematic 24 frames a second it was not perfect in my opinion. Otherwise you become a typical Star Trek movie and it is fun to watch it. I think it is a Cinema Cinema Film, so watch it on the Big screen with good sound. So guys please don't hate me, but in my opinion this is the weakest one of all 3 Movies. Please don't get me wrong. "Beyond" is not a bad movie, but it stands like "into darkness" in the shadow of the brilliant first "new" Star Trek movie. So the "genre-rating" for fans is around 8. For everybody else it is a solid 7 out of 10.

I actually preferred this one the second time around, maybe knowing the ending helps you to have more of an understanding of what's going on, maybe I'd had less wine this time? Who can say, but it wasn't bad. It's nowhere near as good as the first which was spot on in my opinion and even with Khan being played by Benedict Humptycrutch the second one beats this one too, but in some ways the more simplistic story and action based plot makes it an easier watch. A sci-fi like most others. It's a bit more Marvel Universe than the Federation we're used to.

It's still got a very sexy crew (Chris Pine's eyes - swoon) and I can't say enough how much I love badass Uhura. The Lieutenant that Nichelle Nichols surely was all those years ago gets a chance to show her stuff. I also can't help but feel like my heart breaks every time I see Anton Yelchin as Chekov, such a pointless end of a talented young actor.

Idris Elba does his thing and there is nothing stand out to report about the film, but the effects and production is all good and it's still Star Trek and it still makes references back to the originals that are great for fans to find and sometimes that's all you need.

732.15/1000.

I'm not a 'Trekkie' and I doubt I ever will be. The Next Generation played regularly on television when I was young but I never took to it, as I was too busy getting lost in The X-Files. Like most people, I enjoyed roughly half of the original movie series that starred the likes of William Shatner and Patrick Stewart, but was completely won over by J.J Abrams' reboot/remake/alternate timeline effort in 2009, and it's sequel Into Darkness in 2013. With Abrams abdicating for that other nerd-heaven franchise beginning with the word 'star', I had little interest in seeing Justin Lin's Beyond after seeing the trailer, which made the movie look like it had little to offer in the way of originality.

What eventually made me want to see were those slightly trippy, wonderfully colourful posters, which offered a dazzling throwback quality not seen in Abrams' strobe-heavy, more 'grounded' vision. After seeing the film, this retro feel is precisely what makes Beyond such an enjoyable experience. Lin of course was the man to turn the Fast and Furious franchise from cult car porn teetering dangerously close to straight-to-DVD to a multi-million dollar powerhouse capable of attracting the talents of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, and delicately handling an ever-expanding ensemble between the ludicrous set-pieces. Lin's experience with a big cast and bigger budget, combined with co-writer Simon Pegg's obvious affection for Gene Roddenberry's original series, results in a winning combination of character, heart and explosive action.

After spending three years of a five-year mission drifting in space, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) of the U.S.S. Enterprise is struggling to find meaning in his work. If there is truly infinite space left to explore, then where does it all end? Docking at Starbase Yorktown, Kirk recommends that his Vulcan friend Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), current mourning the death of his older self (in a touching moment that references the passing of Leonard Nimoy) takes over as captain upon the completion of the current mission, When the Enterprise is called into action after they receive a report of a stranded ship on a distant planet, they are ambushed by Krall (Idris Elba), a scaly being with a serious grudge against Starfleet. With their ship destroyed, Kirk, Spock, Bones (Karl Urban) et al must rely of their basic survival skills to defeat Krall and return home.

The 'Beyond' of the title seems almost ironic, or a working title somebody forgot to change. In terms of plot, this is the most unambitious entry into the Star Trek canon in memory, and certainly doesn't go beyond anything we've seen before. However, this is all perfectly fine when the chemistry between the actors is this good, with Pegg and co-writer Doug Yung clearly having fun with Spock and Bones' bickering in particular. While the likes of Zoe Saldana (as Uhura) and John Cho (as Sulu) are oddly sidelined, and Elba doesn't get anywhere near the screen-time his sheer presence deserves, there's the welcome introduction of Sofia Boutella, who appeared in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), as alien freedom fighter Jaylah.

The standout set-piece is without doubt Krall's initial attack on the Enterprise. The astonishing special effects lend an almost operatic quality to seeing an iconic piece of pop-culture crash and burn, completely tearing it to shreds in spectacular fashion. Such a bravura display of CGI trickery is then in contrast to what we see when the characters touch down to a seemingly barren planet. Often it feels like a gust of wind could cause the set to wobble, and this is no doubt a wink to the charming set design of the originals. This juxtaposition of thoroughly modern blockbuster and kitschy nostalgia works extremely well, and will no double please the hardcore fans unimpressed by Abrams efforts. While it may not boldly go where no other Star Trek movie has gone before, there is a delight to be had in simply watching these beloved characters interact. Isn't what made the original so popular in the first place?