Humorous, engaging 'Trek' reboot goes 'Beyond' with chases, fights and explosions
The joys of “Star Trek Beyond” include more mano-a-alieno fights than an intergalactic WWE cage match, an interplanetary bromance between Spock and Kirk, a kung-fuing new female alien, plus a swarm of nasty mechanical space bees capable of stripping a starship down to its lug nuts.
The visual effects in this engaging, humor-infused, nostalgia-overloaded third chapter of the “Star Trek” reboot go beyond spectacular, as the movie works really hard to bump up its Trek quotient.
Still, its cinematic phasers are not set on “stunning” as they had been in J.J. Abrams' explosive 2009 origin story.
The plot - devised by screenwriters Simon Pegg (yes, he also plays Scotty) and Doug Jung - brings in yet another vindictively villainous alien with a warrior's mindframe and old scores to settle.
Krall (Idris Elba, whose electrifying presence gets buried under an avalanche of makeup) wants to find an ancient artifact aboard the USS Enterprise. It will enable him to wreak widespread terrorism all over the galaxy.
Back at Star Fleet, Captain James Tiberius Kirk (again played by Chris Pine, now totally in sync with William Shatner's creation) qualifies to become a vice admiral.
First Officer Spock (reprised by Zachary Quinto with a slightly pudgier countenance) resolves to leave Star Fleet and head home to repopulate the Vulcan race (presumably not with his girlfriend, Zoe Saldana's alluring Uhura, because they just broke it off).
Suddenly, the Enterprise receives orders to go on a rescue mission into the unpredictable nebula.
Yikes! A trap. Krall unleashes the space bees that eat away at the great spacecraft like piranha fish snack.
The Enterprise, what's left, crashes into Altamid, a rocky mountain high of a planet where survivors scramble to stop Krall from executing his evil plan, and them.
Krall takes Uhura and Sulu (reprised by John Cho) prisoner. Dr. “Bones” McCoy (a nails-it-again Karl Urban) and a seriously injured Spock search for their peers, trading bantering barbs like a comical, complaining C3P0 and an emotionless, deadpan R2D2.
Kirk and Chekov (the late Anton Yelchin) get stuck with an alien (Lydia Wilson) who might be involved with Krall.
Finally, Scotty befriends Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), an Amazonian alien who, fortunately for everyone later, lives in an old 2061 starship, the USS Franklin, waiting to be reactivated.
After 2013's disjointed “Star Trek Into Darkness,” Abrams handed the franchise to “Fast and Furious” director Justin Lin, who overstuffs “Beyond” with frenetic chases, explosions and endless brawny brawls, all while ignoring the more political and intellectual subtexts of the TV series.
By the climactic battle scene, Lin pushes “Star Trek” into dilithium-crystal-meth overload with a ridiculous solution involving centuries-old boomer rock music (really?), plus one last cage fight traveling on impulse power when it screams to be at warp-speed.
A few other Lin additions: A slightly emo Kirk opens his heart to Spock, commenting on their special connection, something original stars Shatner and Leonard Nimoy never overtly acknowledged.
A nostalgic nod to the original “Star Trek” crew may produce its intended weepy moment for fans, but it smacks of schmaltzy exploitation.
That the movie organically reveals Sulu to be gay gives a subtle salute to the character's original actor George Takei, an LGBT advocate.
And those closing tributes to Nimoy and Yelchin?
Most logical.
“Star Trek Beyond”
★ ★ ½
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin
Directed by: Justin Lin
Other: A Paramount Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for violence. 122 minutes