Speaking of stuff... (I have fuckall to do today, can y'all tell?)
This was the last movie I watched:
I really quite liked it!
The plot was a little rushed. The dialogue was not as rich as I would have liked, and I tend to like my Star Trek to be in direct sequel form (big fan of the original non TNG films) BUT... it was a pretty fucking good time.
Chris Pine (Kirk) and Karl Urban (McCoy) have really grown into their respective roles. They're getting older, so they're starting to look and act less like Shatner/Deforest Kelly replacements and and are beginning to really take command of the characters without losing too much of what made those characters so great in the first place. I really loved watching both of them in this film.
Simon Pegg is great, and he's also doing a bang-up job, and is consistently a highlight of this new series, but he doesn't really pay any tribute to James Doohan's Scotty, so as fun as he is to watch, he doesn't scream "Mr. Scot!" to me quite like Pine and Urban scream "James T.!" and "Bones!" respectively. Still, he's got writing chops and a nose for swift, effective pacing, and I'm really glad he's a part of this.
The dude from heroes who plays Spock is an objectively limited actor and succeeds only in making us remember Leonard Nemoy, kind of like Brandon Routh made me remember Christopher Reeve in Superman Returns. I can't think of anyone who would be better suited to the role per se, but he doesn't bring a shit ton to the table beyond nostalgia.
The chick who played the big-headed alien chick was delightful, and should have had more screen time. She was really the film's secret weapon, and good as it was it would have been better if they'd used her more and expanded a bit on her character. She was happy-happy-joy-joy inducing for sure.
Idris Elba is a very capable actor, but he has yet to deliver a feature film performance that truly warrants all the critical hype he gets. Every tiime his name is mentioned it's like "IDRIS ELBA OOOHHH he's the black, male Tilda Swindon! I heard his name so now I'm excited!" but his performance in films thus far has been ... a bit gimmicky? He needs more of a meaty character, more time on screen to evolve. He did a fine job as Krall (whose backstory is truly spooky and weird and very "Star Trek"), but he didn't have the time or room to really deliver a classic Trek villain performanc.
ALL TOLD... I think this is a very successful franchise and I think it adds layers to the original story, and is nimble enough to exist alongside previous films and independently as a damn good trilogy in its own right.
I think I preferred both Star Trek 2009 and Star Trek: Into Darkness to Beyond overall, but Beyond brought something very classic to the table... a loyalty and respect for the underlying philosophy behind Star Trek. Peace over war, exploration over dominion, and "humanity" as a concept that stretches beyond sexual, cultural or even racial borders.
This film shows the crew doing what the crew had always done best... using their noggins -- not their weapons -- and inginuity to overcome superior technologies and more dangerous and deadly adversaries through diplomacy... not militarism.
In this respect, Beyond is perhaps the most true to the Roddenberry ideal of what Star Trek is REALLY about, and I thought it was just awesome. I look forward to future films, and if they continue on this track they might have a chance of matching the newly rebooted Star Wars franchise, at least in terms of quality (face it, Trek will never ever ever be as popular as even the shirkers Star Wars films.) It's a crying shame, but there's no way around it. Still... the franchise has never released 3 top notch films in a row, so there is reason to celebrate if you are a childhood Trek-head like me.