Star Trek Beyond

The 431st film I have seen in theaters…

To boldly go… for 50 years. A triumph.

Mid way through their 5 year mission, Kirk is considering taking a starbase promotion to Admiral. Following the death of Ambassabor Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Commander Spock is considering leaving Starfleet to become an ambassador. A distress call leads them into a Nebula, where a trap is sprung. The Enterprise and its crew face their most daunting mission yet.

Chris Pine excels as Captain Kirk. This is the Kirk we love. Struggling with the responsibilities of command but being unable to walk away from his duty.

Spock gets more in touch with his human side than we’ve seen yet in the series. Quinto was an inspired choice.

Karl Urban continues to be the best cast actor in the series. His Bones is up there with Kelley at this point. I was pleased to see him and Spock alone together for a large chunk of the film, bickering as they do.

Simon Pegg is the real star here. Not only does he play Scotty, he wrote the damn thing. This was a wise decision as this man obviously understands what makes good Star Trek.

Zoe Saldana’s Uhura takes a bit of a back seat in this one. This is to the benefit of the other characters who were given equal moments to shine.

John Cho is a good, and now gay, Sulu. A nice nod to George Takei whether he wants it or not.

Man, we really lost something special when Anton Yelchin was killed earlier this year. His Chekov had a much larger role in this, one of his last films. RIP.

Idris Elba ROCKS as Krall, the evil enemy plotting the destruction of Starbase Yorktown.

Sofia Boutella is Jaylah, alien who has been trapped in the Nebula with a score to settle against Krall. A good performance and a good character.

This movie is damned close to being a Masterpiece. Justin Lin can direct as many Star Trek films as he wants. Simon Pegg can write as many as he wants. This was a pure joy to watch and a more than fitting tribute to Trek for it’s 50th Anniversary. The Giant Green Hand during the credits was perfect! A wonderful present to the fans, and a true honoring of those that came before.

Ranking- I have noticed a trend. The even Treks (2,4,6) are the best in the prime timeline, and the odd ones (1,3) are best in the reboot. Fascinating…