cupertino666-251-324092

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has served up its finest episode so far. War trauma and post traumatic stress examined at an emotional depth that rarely is touched or given lease in a television program. On a topic where pulling punches is frequent these days, SNW goes head-long and strides further than most shows would go into traumatizing it's characters in order to get to a palpable truth on the subject matter.

Doctor M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are extraordinarily captivating in this episode, with Olusanmokun putting in his best performance in the role of the Doctor. Ragged tension cuts a jagged edge along the seams of this episode through their portrayals, yet the narrative and the lessons & realizations hold taunt throughout. This is as good as Star Trek gets at its primary purpose: examining the challenging elements of the human condition through the lens of science fiction.

The franchise wraps up properly with a classic adventure that relies heavily on all of the original Indiana Jones tropes. And that's honestly what we all deserved and needed: the feel of the adventure seen in theaters in the 80's. The disgruntled and pessimistic reviewers will tell you that there's a failure here because it doesn't break new ground and is formulaic. But they miss the point because these films were always in keeping with the old adventure serials.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a superb jolt in the arm as the sidekick. While the film can be a bit long-winded in places, there's very little to be sad with here in exchange for a final Indiana Jones adventure that washes away the hurt from Indy 4. It has each of the things you need in an Indiana Jones film: train and car chases, the archetypical villain, a sense of history, a Macguffin, old world locations, and a lovely twist on Indy's fear of snakes.

Go to the theater and enjoy the adventure!