Movie Review - Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoë Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yeltsin, Sofia Boutella, and Idris Elba

Directed by Justin Lin

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

I have admiration for the new incarnation of the Star Trek film series and I think it's been quite successful thus far thanks to its ability to balance an homage to the past with an updated aesthetic.  Star Trek Beyond, the third film in this modern reboot, still maintains this equity, but it's the least engaging of the three films thus far, failing to really create a story that feels cinematic and instead seemingly could've taken place over a 45-minute episode of one of the Star Trek tv series.

The cast remains rock solid in this third film, but the direction shifts hands from J.J. Abrams to Justin Lin and the screenplay also moves to co-writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung and unfortunately both aspects end up being quite lacking when compared to their predecessors.  While Star Trek Beyond adds a little more comedic and emotional rapport between its characters, it comes as a bit of a disappointment after what is likely the best Star Trek film to date in Star Trek Into Darkness.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+