In the past seven months, he’s appeared in a “Star Wars” film with “The Force Awakens” and now, another “Star Trek” film – a pretty fantastic feat, considering most actors don’t get the opportunity to be in one film in either franchise, much less both of them.
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Now that Star Trek 4 has been confirmed, the filmmakers must face a hard and heartbreaking question.
But three years is a long time, and two more seems even longer. So he’s got a professional connection with Spock and the family, but he’s also got a personal connection. In addition to playing Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, Pegg shared screenwriting duties with Doug Jung. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), on a diplomatic mission, appeals to a snarling beast looming above him in a crowded amphitheater. Nimroy died at 83 in February.
It’s that the quality level of the dozen science fiction thrillers that preceded it, spread out over almost 40 years and with multiple casts, has remained impressively high enough to expose the latest entry’s limitations. That is the driving force behind “Star Trek Beyond” which balances its forward thought with respect to all that came before.
With the director and cinematographer of “Fast and Furious” putting their heads together on the film, you expect vehicles (and the humans in them) doing things you wouldn’t expect them to: and some of the battle sequences involving the swarm do give you that vertiginous rush.
Star Trek Beyond is reminiscent of the original TV series. “Star Trek Beyond is better than not-bad”. And when it comes time to go to the “throw in everything but the kitchen sink” well for the action climaxes, Lin’s expertise serves him well, although one can only imagine what the old school Trekkers will say about one particular third-act solution. The dully straightforward plot, involves the Enterprise going in search of a crash-landed ship only to be drawn into a trap by an army of villains led by Krall (Idris Elba) and flying a swarm of single-pilot spacecrafts. That show, which is being created by Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller- both of whom have backgrounds with other “Star Trek” series- is slated for CBS’s new All Access digital subscription service.
In truth, these final twists really bring Star Trek Into Darkness to mind in more ways than one, which won’t be appealing to those who weren’t fans of it. “[Krall] winds up as about as generic a baddie as the Trek movies have provided to date”. Nonetheless, it doesn’t make the same logical mistakes as Into Darkness’s cure for death via “superblood”, unlimited beaming capabilities and turning Khan from a brilliant vengeful mad genius to a Terminator-style savage.
Zachary Quinto, who plays Commander Spock in the franchise, also took the moment to pay tribute to the Leonard Nimoy, who died earlier this year.
With the now established new Enterprise crew in control, there is only scarce room for anyone else, aside from the two major newcomers in Elba and Sofia Boutella.
And for the most part, this is true. Here is a guide to each of the Trek movie scores, ones that encapsulate the remarkable breadth of musical diversity and imagination that has coursed throughout the series. The state of the brand and whether the current movies are taking it in the right or wrong direction may still be up for debate, but there is more to be encouraged by than discouraged when Beyond is said and done. I’m not about to go back and watch all of the previous Star Trek movies, but I definitely agree with Gunner about being “curious what happens next” for the USS Enterprise’s crew!
Nevertheless, the missed opportunities to go deeper, and some of the storytelling and pacing problems that get in the way, are also glaring as well.
1-STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KAHN – The standard by which all Trek movies will be always be judged.
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The future is bright, for mankind and for Star Trek.
