And Beyond we go...

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

I really enjoyed the movie. Could have been the fact that I was waiting for it for over two years, or the fact that I finally went to the cinema instead of watching it in low resolution, on my tiny laptop screen which is the size of a postage stamp and has got the quality of 60 pixels (I mean it, I really do!!) …

Anyway, yes I was impressed by the great 3D effects (pun intended.. I often find the 3D cinema meaningless) but hey, the movie was good. Not great, but it lived up to my expectations-which were awfully low...

I give it the most points for 'having-it-all-Star Trek'; it had the aliens (even a pretty one, but she could had done with less clothes), it showed the fights, new planet, cool new gadgets (or whatever that was what helped Jaylah to create a double of herself) it had the message, it had the joke, it had the adorable hate between Spock and the Doctor, it had a tiny love story – Uhura and Spock, it had the puns understood only by the fans… and surprisingly, it did not have Kirk chasing around some alien chick he wanted to screw. Now I think that I miss the old Jimmy even though I hated his flings in The Original Series. However for some reason, Chris Pine did not seem sexy in this movie. He was unusually captain-like. But then I guess that is what we, the fans, always pleaded for in Kirk, right?

Only a small banner: That's how 'excited' they are about ST in Sri Lanka

Also, I am happy Justin Lin took over the project- he kept the third installment of the new Star Trek movies in the same spirit; it indeed seemed that each film has been directed by one person.. and to my great satisfaction, Lin did not use those annoying lens flares ala Abrams.

Simon Pegg, the incredibly talented actor and writer, helped to pen the script of ST Beyond. And he did a marvelous job! In one of his interviews he said he wanted more female characters in this movie. And so he aimed for it- Sofia Boutella portrayed Jaylah and she was a great actress for a great character.

Moreover, Pegg did not omit facts from the previous series, even from the less popular ST:Enterprise. Hence the writers acknowledged all the other canon Star Trek (and that is something what was greatly forgotten in the 2009 and 2013 ST.) It was witty, it was cute, and it got the attention of the fans.

Now it is time for the cons: Kirk thinking about quitting the Starfleet? Him being bored out in the space? Me no likey…

In the alternative universe there are the different destinations, and different decisions are made… Kirk as we know him enjoyed his captaincy very much. However, 'Chris Pine Kirk' has his doubts. He joined the Starfleet out of dare… well, however I want to feel uncomfortable about this, I find myself wondering: it is an alternative universe indeed so people are entitled to feel differently, perhaps even to take different paths… moreover, it gives us the opportunity to explore how those characters could make different decisions under the same set of circumstances.

What about doctor Carol Marcus who joined the crew in ST: Into Darkness? And where is she now? I understand that in the series it was often difficult to keep the recruiting characters repairing in each episode, but they could have at least tried to bring the actress back a movie.

Jaylah

In the end I would like to mention how good it was to see the aliens speaking in their native languages, what had been frequently forgotten in the series. All these small details added to the fact that ST Beyond is in fact a very decent Star Trek movie, and a really good blockbuster. But that is what it will eventually remain: only a blockbuster, an attraction for the paying audience.