Maybe 13 is just an unlucky number. It’s not too long a film; it’s amusing, familiar, and just the right balance of playfulness and thrills.
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The 27-year-old actor, who played Pavel Chekov in the movie reboot of the franchise, died in a freak auto accident in June (16), a month before the third instalment, Star Trek Beyond, was due to be released in cinemas. Abrams seems to be pretty happy with the next STAR TREK movie, and no, he’s not talking about STAR TREK BEYOND, although, considering the reception BEYOND has received so far, I’d imagine that he’s pretty pleased about that as well.
The pairings though provide these characters a chance to develop their personalities with several of them sharing great moments together.
Let’s put it this way: “beyond” it is not.
If the last film in this series proved anything, it’s that there’s only place for one tall, white, unemotional character in a Star Trek film-and that person has pointy ears.
Star Trek Beyond does not go where no Star Trek film has gone before, yet the action is solid and the story enjoyable.
The studio said in its statement that the main franchise stars are expected to return, including Chris Pine (Capt Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Simon Pegg (Scotty), Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy), and John Cho (Sulu). This is probably a fall-out from 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, J.J. Abrams’ disappointing sequel to his rousing 2009 reboot Star Trek, coupled with a rubbish first trailer which makes this follow-up from Fast & Furious director Justin Lin look like a bland action adventure that just happens to be set in space.
And therein may lie the problem. It pumps optimism into the future of “Star Trek” films and builds upon a beloved team of characters.
Simon Pegg co-wrote the movie with Doug Jung, (who has a cameo in the film as Sulu’s partner, in a scene that is very short and perfectly subtle), so it’s filled with the kinds of humor and references you’d expect.
We’re grateful any time the narrative slows down and allows the characters to interact and discuss, but it doesn’t happen almost often enough. An example here is when they come upon a cave.
With so much praise and hype around the film, the question of when fans can own their copy is on the minds of many. But these minor gripes aren’t enough to spoil a smartly-paced movie which loads its crowd-pleasing action sequences with emotional repercussions that keep you fully invested.
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STAR TREK BEYOND officially warps into theaters tomorrow.
