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Star Trek Beyond (2016) - Movie Review

"Better to die saving lives, than to live with taking them." 

Star Trek Beyond is the third entry into the star trek rebooted franchise, and follows Captain Kirk and team, who are 3 years in their 5 year exploration mission. After following a distress request, they get stranded on a planet encountering a new villain hell bent on destroying the federation. 

I'm a big fan of this reboot franchise. I loved both previous parts directed by J.J Abrams, and while I was a bit worried that he wasn't returning to direct the third one, I was excited nonetheless. Thankfully, this is yet another great entry in the franchise. Simon Pegg and his script, Justin Lin at the helm, and with the same amazing team of cast reprising their roles, created one hell of an entertaining adventure, from start to finish. I was completely hooked. 

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest, gave great performances and made the whole crew dynamic feel natural and fun, once again. I love these characters, and this film was definitely more character focused as compared to previous two parts, which was a welcome change for me. Due to the story, we got different pairings which paved the way for more development between characters, and I loved that. Also, the new character, Jayla, portrayed by Sofia Boutella (Knife shoes assassin from Kingsman), was just awesome and very fluidly melded with the rest of the crew. 

Now, that doesn't mean there wasn't that much action etc, because the movie still had plenty of action sequences. They might not be as aggressive and fast paced as the previous two films, but they were entertaining and well executed nonetheless. Some action sequences were actually pretty amazing and made me wish that I had seen this in a cinema. 

The movie also had a fair dose of humor, which never went overboard or felt too lazy or overused or miss-timed, and I'm  not surprised since Simon Pegg (And partner) wrote this. He is amazing at this stuff. Just watch the series 'Spaced' to know what I'm talking about. 

Technically, this movie was amazing. I loved the cinematography, and when coupled with amazing CGI, truly made for some breathtaking shots. The whole introduction sequence to YorkTown had me in complete awe. It looked so beautiful. The soundtrack, composed by Micheal Giacchino (Did previous two films as well), was once again mesmerizing. 

My one big issue with the film was the villain, Krall. I'm not saying he was bad or shitty, but he wasn't great either. As you can tell by now, I pretty much loved everything else in this movie, so the villain felt like the weakest link in an otherwise awesome chain. Idris Elba did give a great performance, it's just that the movie didn't give Krall a proper feel until much later, and by that time, it was too late. He was better than Nero from the first part though.

For the time being, this makes for one hell of a trilogy. Seriously, everyone of these movies are filled with great action, sci-fi space adventure, humor, emotional moments, interesting stories and awesome characters. They all are complete packages in my eyes, with some tiny flaws in each of them. After several re-watches of the previous parts, I can safely say that Star Trek (2009) is my favourite among the three, while for now, Beyond and Into Darkness are tied for second spot.

So go watch this movie, and previous parts if you haven't. You don't have to be a trekkie or an old fan to enjoy them, that's the beauty of it. This movie does pay respect to old fans in a couple of scenes, which is something I'm sure they'll love. Lastly, Rest in Peace Leonard Nimoy (Old/Original Spock), and Rest in Peace Anton Yelchin (Chekov). 

8.8/10
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