The opening words are kind of comforting: "My name is Captain James Tiberius Kirk." We fans of the 50-year-old juggernaut called "Star Trek" know the company we're going to keep for the next couple of hours, and we have a good idea of what we're in for. Here are two pieces of great news about "Star Trek Beyond": No one is going to be disappointed by it, and the approach by producer J.J. Abrams (who directed the first two) and director Justin Lin (who directed numerous entries in the "Fast and Furious" franchise) hearkens back to the flavor and attitude of the original TV series. It's like a big screen, huge-budgeted episode of "Star Trek."
Featuring a script co-written (with Doug Jung) by Simon Pegg, who again plays Scotty, the film starts off on a serious note, with Kirk (Chris Pine) stating his name as he's trying to broker a treaty with an apparently fierce alien race, immediately erupts into raucous comedy, then calms down to offer a glimpse of life aboard the USS Enterprise during the third year in its five-year mission. For you Easter egg aficionados, Kirk mentions that the mission is now on day 966, which translates as September, 1966, the month and year "Star Trek" was first broadcast. (Nice touch, Mr. Pegg.)
But three years is a long time, and two more seems even longer. Ennui has set in on the Enterprise. Things have become routine for Kirk and almost everyone else. Kirk has even secretly applied for a new job as vice admiral. Spock (Zachary Quinto), having received some distressing news about a special acquaintance, is thinking about going to live on New Vulcan.
Both men mean to speak to one another about this, but while on a reprovisioning stop -- where in the most subtle way imaginable it's revealed that Sulu (John Cho) has a husband and child and, less subtly, that Spock and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) are having relationship problems -- an emergency arises, and the Enterprise is sent to rescue an alien science crew.
Watch out. Soon it's "Shields up!" and "Red alert!" and an overwhelming and visually stunning attack is unleashed on the Enterprise just above a nearby planet. The attack is led by the cold and vicious villain Krall (Idris Elba) for reasons that won't be revealed here. The magnificent action sequence that follows, taking place on the ship, aboard escape pods, and in space, leads to the destruction of the Enterprise. And no, I don't consider this a spoiler because it happens very early in the film. Besides, it also results in the terrific central idea of the film: The crew, who generally spends a great deal of their screen time together on the bridge is splintered off into separate groups down on that planet, trying hard to get back into one family unit so they can do battle with Krall.
It's at this juncture that Pegg and Jung's writing really shines. The match-ups of the stranded crew members, all of which take into consideration the character traits that fans know well, lead to both serious and funny dialogue. Kirk is with Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Sulu is with Uhura, etc. But the best pairing is that of Spock and McCoy (Karl Urban), two men who have always been portrayed as enjoyably opposite sides of a coin. An example here is when they come upon a cave. Spock: "Fascinating." McCoy: "Ominous, dark, dangerous." It's wonderful fun until there's a dilemma, and each guy must depend on the other to survive. The oddest pairing is that of Scotty and a mysterious, kind of cheeky alien named Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), which leads to some of the best comedy.
The film culminates in an attempt to use old technology to best futuristic equipment, some time spent in the gravitational slipstream and, of course, the expected mano-a-mano battle between Kirk and Krall. The heartfelt end credits include "In loving memory of Leonard Nimoy," who died in February, and "For Anton," who died in June. For those who just need to know, J.J. Abrams has already announced plans for a still-unnamed "Star Trek 4."
-- Ed Symkus covers movies for More Content Now.
"Star Trek Beyond"
Written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung; directed by Justin Lin
With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoë Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Sofia Boutella, Idris Elba.
Rated PG-13
