Star Trek: Beyond is the type of blockbuster that has true thematic depth hidden in the filmmaking, but doesn’t really push that enough. The climax of the movie is the epitome of what can be done with this genre and the filmmaking that is still fresh and fast paced. The rest of the movie is much less so but is still too much of an awesome ride to ignore. That’s where the tricky part of reviewing this movie comes in. The first act is thin, but entertaining introductions chockful of above the line character driven action, the second is exposition driven set pieces that work, but seem to be just going to fast getting you from plot point A to plot point B, and then the third act explodes into this something so amazing in its throughline that it almost elevates the previous acts. Almost. The paralyzing (I literally was so moved I could not move) climax of this movie is so incredible and the other acts so much fun if just breezy that you can’t help but love all of it. Star Trek: Beyond is simply a well-done movie. So, with that out of the way...there’s only the superficial stuff to cover. Chris Pine is interesting for the first time, Zachary Quinto is given incredible depth as Spock as he struggles with the ideas of death and relationships, Karl Urban (still the best thing that has come out of this series) get’s some of the best lines he could have, Knife Leg Lady (Sofia Boutella) from Kingsman is both awesome in action scenes and surprisingly effective for as much of her character is simply explained in the dialogue. Simon Pegg and Doug Joun have done great work on the screenplay, which while thin in the middle act is breezy to the point of just feeling homey and welcoming, Idris Elba charges in to scare the heck out of you as you stew in that hominess. Justin Lin does some of his best direction bringing a stunning eye to action scenes especially in his direction of action in the third act. A scene of multiple Kirk’s under the wrong direction could have confounded and irritated, but under Lin becomes hilarious and completely simple. But, then there’s that moment. See, I didn’t really talk about this earlier because I didn’t want to spoil the movie. Now I will. The big savior, in the end, is music. The Beastie Boys "Sabotage" in fact. Yes, I know it was in the first movie, but that wasn’t a good movie so we’ll just skip over here. The moment when it plays is astounding, not just in the visual sense, but in the true thematic throughline of the Federation and therefore the film. Using cultural connections, and culture, aka the music, to bring hope and understanding to the universe. By proxy you connect to Starfleet’s use of the music because they are the good guys and they’re just fun to hang around, leading to their heroic deed coming in the sharing of culture being both heartfelt and intoxicating. Yes, that is simple for the message or whole undertaking of a movie, but it’s extremely effective, as well as the only thing worth analyzing here. Sometimes, the blockbusters just need to be the blockbusters, and if all of them are as full-blooded as Star Trek: Beyond we’ve got some good times ahead. Star Trek: Beyond gets an 8.5 out of 10.
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |