Star Trek Beyond

Movie Name: Star Trek Beyond
Year of Release: 2016

Director: Justin Lin

Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella, Joe Taslim, Lydia Wilson, Deep Roy, Melissa Roxburgh, Doug Jung

Genre: Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Trailer

Synopsis:

Following the two successful previous installments of this franchise, both directed by J.J. Abrams, "Star Trek Beyond" is tackled by a new director, with Simon Pegg (playing Scotty) also co-writing the screenplay. The film introduces us to the Enterprise crew just as they are coming off 5 years of deep space exploration. Captain Kirk is debating what future lies ahead for him, the same going for some members of his crew. When a derelict spacecraft shows up out of nowhere seeking help, Kirk and their team suit up to assist, only to walk into a trap, which destroys their ship, and leaves most of the crew imprisoned in an alien planet. It's up to their joint efforts to prevent this foe by the name of Krall of destroying all that the Federation has created.
"Star Trek Beyond" is a entertaining feature, boasting some incredible visual effects and sequences that are truly breathtaking. It's also a film that features some sequences that are incredibly silly, almost belonging on the Dean Parisot's satire "Galaxy Quest" (particularly the section of the film where the crew is in the Alien planet). Justin Lin definitely focuses on putting together a film that is dynamic, where there's enough attention given to most of the crew, with each one of them showcasing what has become their defining traits and trademarks. However for all the action that is put forth, the film lacks a strong antagonist, one that actually brings an extra dimension of threat to the proceedings (something that Benedict Cumberbatch managed to create with the previous feature). Nonetheless this is an entertaining feature, with enough smartness and humor that makes it enjoyable to watch. The cast is uniformly good, with Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban having more time to inject some extra dimension to their characters. Worth watching.