Star Trek: Beyond (July 22, 2016)

94% on Rotten Tomatoes!

 

Definitely going to see this

 

It's good, not great. I did find myself thinking that I've seen it all before. The scene with the Enterprise has been done three times now and loses impact each time. I also thought that using the transporter could have solved several problems in the final act. It felt like an extended episode of the TV series, which isn't a bad thing.

I liked it better than the last one. Chris Pine is finally looking mature enough for the role. The scene with Sulu and family brought tears to my eyes. The photo in Ambassador Spock's box made me feel sooooo old.

 

Do I need to have seen Into Darkness before this? I saw the first reboot.

 

I'm in.

Going Sunday sometime.

 

No. There's not much continuity with INTO DARKNESS. We just got back from the morning matinee.

I liked the movie and think that with a few more repeated viewings, it will grow even more on me. Earlier in the thread I had expressed my fears of just another running and jumping movie - and while this does have *some* of that, it's not egregious, nor is it gratuitous, but part of the plot.

This movie is about a mission of the Enterprise - an Enterprise that's been on its five year mission for awhile. Thus, the crew is all finely tuned and working well together. I found that refreshing in that so many of the STAR TREK movies are about regaining commands, losing commands, regaining crew members. And the early movies in the reboot series were all about the first missions with Kirk and company, all getting to know each other.

 

Really liked the film, perhaps not as good as the first reboot, but infinitely better than "Into The Darkness"...some great humor and deeply touching character moments.

 

Saw it just now. Really liked it. I'd go as far to say it's the best of the " kelvin timeline" Treks so far. These actors have grown so comfortably into their roles that I sometimes forget im seeing other actors filling the boots of Leonard Nimoy or Deforest Kelly when we are watching Spock and Bones...I just see Spock and Bones bantering.

The only real weakness of the movie is the villain's plot and motivation which are a little murky.Fortunately,just as with the old Trek movies,you don't come to the theater to see what crisis or plot or villain they are up against. You come to visit with some old friends. Which makes Anton Yelchin's passing so sad,because you feel they are like a family now three films in.They own these characters in the same way Shatner and crew did before them. In some ways surpassing them.

Chris Pine gets better every movie as Kirk. I'm not ready to say he's a better Kirk than Shatner...but he's definitely his equal by now. Everyone gets their moment to shine here. The new character Jaylah is pretty cool and if indeed they are going to retire Chekov,i wouldn't mind her sitting to Sulu's right in the next one.


Genuine funny moments, great action and a celebration of the past present and future of Star Trek. Can't ask for more.

 

I'm going tonight. Really looking forward to it too.

 

Just got back and really liked it. Definitely much better than the previous one. I liked the story, despite the improbable/impossible feats accomplished by some of the heroes and defying the laws of physics (such as how they got the USS Franklin airborne.)

I also agree with a poster above that the rebooted Spock and Bones work great together in this film. Their chemistry together is just as good as the original Spock and Bones.

I only have one minor complaint about the production. The lighting wasn't good enough in some of the scenes in which they were on their ship, flying through the nebula and even the nighttime scenes on the planet. They were definitely too dark to make out details.

I thought Justin Lin did a good job directing and didn't use nearly as many quick edits/jumpy scenes as the previous two reboot movies.


Nice "In memory of" for Leonard Nimoy and a hastily tack-on "For Anton" at the end of the movie.

 

Saw Beyond a few hours ago. I couldn't stay awake. Easily the worst of any Trek movie. What happened to Capt Kirk? In Beyond he didn't even seem like a captain. It was like he was just another crew member.

 

You know, I'd read that in another review, but found that it was all reasonably lit in the showing we saw. Yes, there were dark scenes, but they were properly dark. We saw a standard 2D showing, not- IMAX 3D, so perhaps that's the difference. (?)

Harry

 

I gave it 3/5 but have come to the conclusion that this version of Trek just isn't for me. I didn't dislike it as much as the first two but if the series goes forward it will be doing so without me. I still have my TOS and TNG episodes and films to keep me happy.

 

I've yet to see the movie but all the TOS purist trekkies crying over this reboot series just because it's doesn't feel '60s make me laugh. They whine about how they're nothing but action but they don't bat an eye when they watch any of the pre-Abrams movies, which had a good amount of action in them. Yes, they may not be as action-packed as these new ones but action is indeed present. If you don't want to see this movie or any of the other reboots, then don't watch it. Don't waste your time or money buying a ticket just to throw crap at the screen while wetting your pants over it. If you're gonna let your childhood be "ruined" by movies you don't like, then your childhood was very weak.

 

I just saw it and enjoyed it very much. My favorite of the Kelvin timeline films. My prediction regarding the Enterprise did not come true.

 

Saw it this morning with the family, and we all pretty much enjoyed it. I do like the new cast, thought the plot was interesting although typically completely unbelievable, and really liked the bits of humor sprinkled about. Some real LOL bits for us.

There were a couple places, fortunately brief, where it was hard not to cry. I guess this is not a spoiler free thread, but I will keep those to myself for now. If you saw the film, you know what I am talking about.

But what I really, REALLY hated, was the damn fast cut editing during most of the heavy action and fight sequences. To me, those sequences were like a Transformers movie where the cuts were so fast that it was impossible to know what was going on....it all became a blur. I don't think I have ever seen a Justin Lin film, and definitely never saw a FAF film, but if this is his hallmark, like lens flair is for JJ, I won't be seeing anything else he directs.

 

New cast?

 

The reboot cast.....ok, not new anymore.

 

I think it's this more than anything that puts me off modern day films.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing, it would be an organic replacement as they have played Chekov in these films as second only to Scotty in engineering skills. Jayla has shown similar abilities in this film and can keep up with Scotty in this department, as he was so fond of saying " I need you lassie," throughout this film. I could see her character be fast tracked through the academy without too much suspension of disbelief needed on our part. Another alien presence on the bridge would be a good thing.

 

Okay, here are my thoughts on the film, and a few other things in general.

This, to me at least, is the best of the three reboot films. The first was fun to watch but suffered from the Nero character being a bit dull.

The second one, I truly dislike. It's a combination of ideas (Kirk is demoted, Kirk wants to avenge Pike's death, a mysterious figure is not who he claims to be at first), that just don't flow very well in the final mix. It shows both Spock and Uhura acting unprofessionally at a critical moment. Of all the Star Trek films, it's the one I like the least and I've watched it just three times.

Of this film, though, I can honestly say that I would not change a single thing. From a seemingly unimportant opening scene to the final shot, I loved every scene.
Kirk is finally the Kirk he was destined to be. A little bit distant from his crew, as a captain should be, but still caring for them. A man who confides in his two closest friends. He's earned the command chair and respects it.

Now, some other thoughts.

I love the original series, and the fan films that attempt to recreate it are wonderful. My one wish is that they would bring in new writers to come up with fresh ideas. So many of the scripts they use are retreads of things we've seen before, or rewrites of unused material from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It's kind of sad that they put so much effort into filming each episode, but so often that effort is in service of bad writing. Could I do better? Yes, I think I could. I'm an experienced writer who has done original work along with several fan fiction short stories.

As regards the recasting of the characters and the new sets, I really do know people who seriously believe that the new films should:

A- use the still surviving original actors
B- have sets that recreate the original series
C- Use the original actors and recreate the original sets

I think any studio based film doing that any of those would be a total disaster from a creative standpoint. We're talking about set designs that are fifty years old and actors in their seventies and eighties. What they helped create has been amazing but their time has passed by. Any attempt to bring them back on the big screen would be a disservice to them.

Here's looking forward to the new TV series and the fourth film set in the Kelvin timeline!

 

No, 'Into Darkness' is (thankfully) completely ignored.

 

You're describing projection problems. I saw this film in 4K 2d at an AMC screening and none of the scenes were too dark.

 

I saw the film Thursday. I was dead tired when it started (late) and was still on the edge of my set for the whole thing.

The cast was terrific, Pine and Urban in particular. Accurate Trek dialog delivered superbly. All the "Enterprise" series references were superbly handled. Fantastic city/star base digital model. The Enterprise looked great breaking up and the destruction of the ship was very well staged - paced. The alien planet was intense! Jayla would make a great substitute for Chekov in future films, and Abrams has stated the Chekov role will not be re-cast.

I could not have been too much happier with this film. Some of the animated characters were less than convincing, but that's it.

 

Untitled Star Trek Sequel (announced)