Review of Star Trek Beyond (2016) by Guccimayne — 23 Jul 2016

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. I liked Star Trek 09 (7/10), but I wasn't a fan of Into Darkness (5/10). I had high hopes that a more competent writer like Pegg would steer the series in the right direction. To my horror, the first trailer for Star Trek:Beyond made it seem like they were completely destroying the series, making it STAR TREK PRESENTED BY: MOUNTAIN DEW CODE RED. Subsequent trailers and interviews eased my anxiety so I went into this movie last night with an open mind. And WOW this is one of the better modern Star Trek films that I've seen!

It had the perfect blend of the old star trek "exploration" and "philosophy" mixed with great action and amazing visual effects. There was actual character development this time around, but I feel like the writing hindered some of the characters from reaching their true potential. Still, the stories that were presented are passable for a summer flick. They also made big references to the Star Trek: Enterprise and TOS shows, so that was really awesome. Lastly to my biggest surprise, the Beastie Boys scene that caused me so much cringe in the first trailer gave me the biggest smile in the theater! I'm actually surprised they pulled it off so well.

All in all I'd say this deserves a 8/10. Much better than Into Darkness, about on par with Star Trek 09, but with more emphasis on the story and less lens flair. It was as close to a Mass Effect movie as I'll ever get, so if you're a fan of that series I think you'll like this.