Star Trek Beyond (Star Trek 50th Anniversary)

“Star Trek” is a phenomenon that has taken the world by storm on just about every corner of pop culture. Ever since the original series made its debut in 1966, the franchise created by Gene Roddenberry has evolved into spin-off shows, comics, parodies, inspirations for other shows, and eventually, movies. Everyone has given out their views on the “Star Trek” film series, but the ones we’ll be focusing on are that of the reboot series.

The first film, simply titled “Star Trek,” directed by J.J. Abrams, told a new origin story about the enterprise crew on their first mission, and of a young James T. Kirk working his way up to the position of Starfleet Captain, all while going up against a fleet of Romulans after they destroy Planet Vulcan. While most fans called foul of the idea of their beloved characters being recast (not much has changed, has it?), Abrams managed to deliver a new installment of the series that took a lot of people by surprise. It opened the door for a new breed of “Star Trek” fans to come about, and brought a breath of fresh air to a series that was thought to have been left in the dust.

Its sequel, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” continued with Abrams at the helm, but this one was met with a less than stellar welcome. Not that it was a bad film, I mean the production value, performances, and action are still amazing to witness, but the story was where fans were turned off at. Why? Because, while it had a great villainous performance from Benedict Cumberbatch, the fact that the film was just a retread of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” was taken as a big insult. Despite this, the film managed to be a success with most critics and was box office smash.

When discussions of a third film were talked about, J.J. Abrams was unable to return, as Disney wanted to enlist him as the director for “Star Wars The Force Awakens,” just in time for Christmas of 2015. So the director’s chair for the next film was to be filled by Justin Lin, best known for directing some of the “Fast and the Furious” movies.

So with this year marking the 50th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” series making it’s debut on television, what did I think of the film to celebrate it, “Star Trek Beyond?” Well, I’d have to say that it was a pretty damn good movie, and easily the best written of the trilogy. 

Now, notice that I said “written,” because while the film does have a great script that captures the feel of “Star Trek,” I can’t necessarily say the same for the direction. That’s because, most of the action scenes were pretty hard to watch, with the camera shaking too much than it needed to. Granted, I was sitting in the very front row, but there have been other action movies where I saw the action clearly despite being in the very front. It’s a shame, because Justin Lin is a great director of action scenes, and yet this one just feel flat with it.

Aside from that, everything else about the film was pretty damn solid. Like I said, the writing of in the film is really well done, with the strongest aspect of it being the back and forth between characters separated into groups. We get some great scenes with Kirk and Chekov, Spock and McCoy, Uhura and Sulu, and even Scottie gets some great moments with their ally of the film, Jaylah. The dialogue shared with just about everybody in each of their scenes is really investing, whether it’d be discussions on how they view mortality, the forgotten past of Starfleet, and what it means to show your services to the people you’re tasked to protect. With being such a big “Star Trek” fan, Simon Pegg really knew how to deliver a film that truly speaks from the heart and give us something that felt very true to its source material. It’s just too bad that the trailers had poorly represented it.

The entire cast does a fantastic job, just as they’ve always been. Christ Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as McCoy, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scottie, John Cho as Sulu, and Anton Yelchin as Chekov, still manage to keep you invested. Pine delivers his best performance as Kirk, as the character goes through a mid-life crisis revolving around him and his father, as well as what the future truly holds for Starfleet. You get a sense of the kind of fatigue that he’s going through, and how it can truly make someone feel about continuing someone else’s footsteps, only to continue walking where they stopped. Quinto and Urban also give out their best work as Spock and McCoy. With the film focusing on these two for a good while, we get a good amount of time seeing these two work off of each other, which we didn’t get that often. I especially love the scene where McCoy is trying to improvising with sealing up one of Spock’s wounds after crashing, leading to some of the funniest lines in the entire film.

I was really impressed with Sofia Boutella’s performance as Jaylah, a scavenger and former prisoner of the villain. She serves as a very prominent character to the story, and her chemistry with some of the members of the Enterprise are very enjoyable, especially with Scottie. Speaking of the villain, let’s talk about Krall, played by Idris Elba. I have to say, Elba was a pretty awesome villain. He was intimidating, his backstory was tragic and well established, and his plans were very well calculated. I don’t want to give away too much, since that would result in spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that.

Now with the talks of a fourth film being planned, what do I think about that? Well, while I did wish the series would end it here while it’s still fresh, I am open to see what they’ll bring next, as long as they’ve got a damn good script on their hands. So until then, we’ll have to wait and see.

Overall, I do highly recommend “Star Trek Beyond.” It’s a shame that it wasn’t as successful as it could have been, especially when it’s been a pretty lackluster summer season. But if you can still catch it in theaters, go out and give it a watch. If not, then definitely get it when it comes out on blu-ray. Happy 50th anniversary “Star Trek,” and live long and prosper!

Rating: 9/10

In memory of

Leonard Nimoy

March 26, 1931 - February 27, 2015

In memory of

Anton Yelchin

March 11, 1989 - June 19, 2016

Kubo and the Two Strings

Laika studios has shown themselves to be a strong animation company, but also very underrated as well. While their films have showcased how excellent their animation has gotten with each passing film, their strongest aspect from where I see it, is their storytelling. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of their previous work, “The Boxtrolls,” their other two films, “Coraline” and especially “ParaNorman” were downright brilliant, because their style aided to how it told the story the whole way through. And the same can be said for their newest film, “Kubo and the Two Strings.”

The film tells of a young boy named Kubo, who lives in a cave in the mountain with his mother, hiding away from dark forces lead by his grandfather. He goes into town regularly to tell stories of a great warrior, until he is found after staying out late to try and communicate with his father. Now Kubo has to set out on a journey to find his father’s legendary armor, along with the help of a guardian monkey and a samurai beetle.

First off, the animation is absolutely spectacular, easily the best that Laika has delivered thus far. The way a lot of the paper moves, the designs of the characters, as well as the scenery is crafted so damn well. One thing that I love about Laika is that they’re not afraid to show off. The teaser trailer for “The Boxtrolls” shows snipets of how they get their film made, and they do the same with this film in the end credits on one particular moment. With the minimal budget they’re given, they somehow manage to keep putting forth more and more effort into the animation. I was especially impressed with the action scenes that this film pulled off, and how when it got violent, it wasn’t afraid to back down from it.

As I was watching this, the film reminded me a lot of “Samurai Jack.” Not because it’s a samurai story, but because of the way it tells its story. It has a lot of calm moments, letting the atmosphere soak in, and let the visuals tell the story to you. The calm nature of this film even transcends with the voice acting, as you can feel them keeping their tone of voice very laid back and quiet, and I just found that very refreshing. It especially impressed me, since most of the cast is consisting of on-screen actors. Sure, a few have done voice over roles, but for the rest, this is their first time taking on a role in animation, and they all do a magnificent job. The one that truly took me by surprise was Matthew McConaughey as the Beetle. While he does have a few moments that have that “alright, alright, alright,” to him, the rest of it is very toned down and reserved, fitting the nature of his character.

I also have to applaud this film for deeper themes that its story goes into, giving a proper balance for both kids and adults to enjoy on equal terms, much like what “Zootopia” did earlier this year. And even in its slow moments, the film never got dull. I was always entertained watching Kubo, Beetle, and Monkey interact and work off of each other, even if it was them having a meal. That, and I have to admit, the ending of this film really had me teary-eyed with how beautiful it was. I don’t want to go into spoilers, so go see the movie and find out what I’m talking about.

Guys, “Kubo and the Two Strings” is a wonderful work of art, and is definitely going to be among my favorites of the year. How high you may ask? We’ll wait and see. But like I said, go out and see the film in theaters. Support Laika’s films, because I would love to see more animated film like these, where it has so much depth and weight to it, than what people give it credit for.

Rating: 10/10