Star Trek Beyond (3 of 3)

Star Trek Beyond (3 of 3)

 Captain Kirk

Chris Pine is looking the part of a seasoned Captain Kirk. He's in his third year in his 5-year mission. Pine has aged into the Kirk part and looks almost like Shatner did in the third season This is symbolic due to the original show only lasting three whole seasons.

This movie starts with a bored Captain Kirk simply going through the motions while exploring space. He's in a runt and wants to move up in rank to Vice Admiral. "Admirals don't fly" This is a nice callback to the first and second movies where Kirk is feeling regret for getting promoted to admiral in the original movies. Here it is the opposite.

Plus, we see another good scene with Kirk and Bones sharing moment. And, this scene is tied to the first movie. Karl Urban is again great in the role of Dr. McCoy. I like that they even joke about Kirk ripping his shirt. I also liked the opening scene where we get to see the end of one adventure with an amusing group of aliens attacking Kirk. This cold opening is actually tied to the main plot as well.

Kirk does take the attack on his ship rather well. It reminded me of the way Picard took the loss of his Enter. Plus, it also is a call back to Star Trek III.

The Music

From the opening notes, you can tell Michael Giacchino is playing this score differently from the first two movies. It is more action center with the music having a more primal feel to it. The Starbase theme and the interspertive theme for Sock are nice addictions to the ST music lore.

I've liked all three of Michael Giacchino's scored equally. However, the score isn't as compelling with its action cues, but the character moments are scored extremely well. The Starbase and the Spock themes really stand out as the newer themes to listen for. They are some wonderful themes, but the action cues just don't stand out like the Into Darkness themes. Yet, I do like some of the primal drums and rhythms though.

Rihanna's pop song isn't bad either. It has a James Bond sound to it. And, you won't hear it until the end credits. It simply fits the vibe of the movie. You WILL also hear Public Enemy in a rather amusing scene with Jaylah. And, pop music factors into the plot in an amusing manner. Is it corny? Yes, but fits in with this newer universe. You would never see this use of popular music in the old Star Trek movies. Plus, there is a neat remark about pop music being classical music.

Random Bits

-Starbase Yorktown (AKA the Citadel): It looks like someone was a huge fan of the Mass Effect series, because the entire design of this new (and fully operational) spacestation is modeled after the grand city in space Mass Effect called the Citadel. I got a bit of a smile when I saw the Enterprise docking in the massive station. It reminded me of the game when you first see the Citadel.

-Yorktown: Before Gene changed his mind, The Yorktown was the original name of the Star Trek ship before the project got some legs. I believe it was Captain Robert April commanding the USS Yorktown.

-Speaking of Mass Effect: Commodore Paris, the commander of the Yorktown station, is played by the wonderful actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. She was in the Mass Effect series too in a commanding role.

-Sulu gay thing: There is nothing to get worked up about either way. It is in passing and is a nice little hint without it being an issue either way. And, that's the way it should be. It is quick and then it is put on the back-burner. Who is his daughter in this timeline?

-Ensign Cupcake got a death scene but was deleted from the movie:This deletion gives this character a chance to show up in the next movie. A lot of his fellow red shirts do die in the attack.

To The End

While Star Trek Beyond isn't the type of movie that handles the bigger social and political issues such as Into Darkness or some of the character moments of the first movie, the story feels like the more action centered TOS series more than anything else. There are many character moments that feel more in tune with the TNG era series. And, I found these interactions to be rich and fun to watch along with the visual sense of witnessing the ship getting torn apart. I had a lot of fun with this movie. I like all three of the new Trek movies for different reasons, and this one stands right along the other three.

Lin did a good job keeping it Trek enough, but still open to new people. It is probably the most TOS movie out there because everything else has been a departure from the TOS roots and I am fine with that, but this is refreshing. With all the action and modern references, it is still a Trek story at its core. Like the 2009 film, this movie is for hardcore and non-fans alike.

What's next for the series and the crew of the Enterprise? Given that this movie isn't doing as good as the last two movies, this might be the last time we see this crew of the Enterprise again.

Grade: A-