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Star Trek Beyond boldly captures spirit of original series

They’re an entertaining enough bunch meandering around, and screenwriters Doug Jung and Pegg (who, as the writer of “Spaced”, knows plenty about the intersection of comedy and science fiction) have injected some humor to the proceedings. Star Trek Beyond sees the pair reunite with Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Anton Yelchin – who reprise the roles of Kirk, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov. Lin’s action chops are first-rate, and he stages some thrilling chases and complex fight sequences that get the moviegoer’s heart racing. Quinto reflected on original Spock actor Nimoy, while filmmaker J.J. Abrams led a moment of silence in honor of Yelchin, who plays navigator Pavel Chekov in the rebooted “Trek” movies. Quinto is ideal as the logical but charismatic Spock. This doesn’t comply with the Star Trek universe. Its more modest aim is to jolt the senses and get the adrenaline pumping – and that Lin accomplishes with cool authority.

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Now let’s ponder why a hundred-year-old crashed Starfleet vessel would contain a motorcycle, and I mean apart from an obvious ploy to give James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) a reason to look like a stunt cyclist in one scene.

Shatner played Kirk in the original 1960s Star Trek series. “It felt right, even though I knew it would be daunting at times, and incredibly frustrating since we had a short space of time to write it in”. “At the end of the day, this is a blockbuster summer popcorn movie – we’re not trying to delve into any of these themes explicitly-but what “Star Trek” represents is the idea that unity will always overcome hatred”.

“Trek”, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will continue to have a massive presence at this week’s San Diego Comic-Con International. It was a great opportunity for a lot of comedy, but it also deepens the relationship between the two.

Also take the main villain, Krall (Idris Elba), a reptilian-faced soldier who possesses the ability to absorb life forces.

“I think it was very important to honour Leonard’s legacy in this film and it was very important for me personally that we found a way to include it in the story”, he said.

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Star Trek: Beyond is at worst, a thoroughly entertaining action film, and at best, the finest Star Trek film since First Contact. The last two beefed-up “Star Trek” movies, as if overcompensating for decades of Trekkie nerd-dome, threatened to make the once brainy “Star Trek” less distinct from other mega-sized sci-fi adventures – just another clothesline of CGI set pieces strung together.

Star Trek Beyond