But with Abrams being busy with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (and the writers doing...something else), he handed the directing duties to Justin Lin. (Writing duties went to Simon Pegg and Dong Jung.) And it's because of this changing of the guard that Star Trek Beyond benefits greatly.
Indeed the general feel of Star Trek Beyond is much more like the original TV series than the first two films even tried to be. It has the characterizations and sense of equality that Gene Roddenberry worked out fifty years ago. Clearly he would've approved of this variation of his famous work.
That said, Star Trek Beyond isn't perfect. In its attempt to appease the older Trekkies, it sacrifices the potential in its villain, something its two predecessors made sure to avoid. And like some episodes of the original series, the plot wears a bit thin after a while.
Still, Lin provides a nice change of pace from what Abrams previously offered. Star Trek Beyond will surely please Trekkies of any age. (It also has a touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy and -- albeit unintentionally -- a memorial to Anton Yelchin.) So be sure to see it.
My Rating: ****
I didn't care for this one, although that probably isn't surprising considering I haven't enjoyed the reboot films. The villains have all been lackluster and I find they all lack that Trek social commentary that I so desperately want. Also, Lin's action here is disorienting and blurry, which is disappointing.
ReplyDeleteWell, I enjoyed it.
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