Star Trek Beyond

Boldly going nowhere.

Director Justin Lin (The Fast and Furious series) takes command from J.J. Abrams on this third Star Trek requel and the result is — slow and calm. 

The slow-pace of the film and smaller scale of Star Trek Beyond will likely thrill fans of the low budget, character-driven 60’s TV show. That format plays well for fans to enjoy some amusing interplay among the core characters. After all, the new cast is a stellar one.

What is missing, however, is a strong idea or those existential universe discussions that have elevated many of the past Star Trek movies and shows. The characters are fun to watch but they don’t have much to do other than to chase Krall (Idris Elba) who will do anything to get his hands on a legendary death machine that turns out to be a little dial that you can throw at something to make it blow up. Ugh. Beyond stupid.

Simply put: It’s an enjoyable outer space sitcom with a rocking new scene stolen from the Guardians of the Galaxy playbook, but they didn’t go above and beyond. There’s not much else to think about after you leave the theater.

Award potential: Unlikely, although Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup are always a possibility during Oscar season. A new character who is part Gwen Stefani/part Melanie Griffith/part Laura Croft, Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), should be awarded a role in the next film.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks, to enjoy those classic characters in a summer when no sequels have done much better.