Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the Enterprise are three years into their five year mission.  Kirk is questioning his role of being the Captain of the enterprise and may accept a Vice Admiral position while Spock (Zachary Quinto) gets news about Ambassador Spock.   Their decisions are put on hold at Yorktown Starbase when they go on a rescue mission to a planet beyond a rocky nebula into unexplored space.  The Enterprise is attacked and the crew finds themselves separated and stranded on the planet.   The alien Krall (Idris Elba) wants an artifact that Kirk had tried to use as a gesture of piece between two alien races.  Kirk must find his crew and get off the planet.

 

STAR TREK BEYOND is a very enjoyable Star Trek movie which is the closet in spirit to the original movies and series with this movie being as good as the first one in the reboot series (which takes base in an alternate timeline).   The character work (the banter between McCoy (Karl Urban) and Spock is priceless) and humor is spot on along with references to various things in the star Trek Universe.   It isn’t the Star Trek movie that I would have imagined (or written), but it is a familiar and safe way to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Star Trek.  I hope they boldy go where no one has gone before with the fourth movie or have a movie touch on the big conflict between Kirk and the Klingons like in some of the original Star Trek movies.   However, I do think they could get away from the stakes of the Federation in danger and focus more on the personal stakes of the crew being in danger.   Simon Pegg did some great writing with co-writer Doug Jung while Justin Lin did some very capable directing of this latest Star Trek movie.  I just think they could still scale it back to make an enjoyable adventure.  I know the STAR TREK movie are making more money than ever, but I do think Paramount is too worried about controlling the direction of the franchise due to the massive budgets the new STAR TREK movies get.  I just hope the next STAR TREK movie can push the franchise while serving both new and old fans, but maybe Paramount need to allow the writers to take risks instead of worrying about how much money the next one will make.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Movie DISC extras:

Two deleted scenes and gag reel

Featurettes:

BEYOND THE DARKNESS- Writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, produce rJ.J> Abrams, and director Justin Lin talk about where they decided to take the series next after the first two movies

ENTERPRISE TAKEDOWN- all about how they wanted to use the Enterprise takedown as a catalyst to set up the conflict

DIVIDED AND CONQUERED- a focus on director Justin Lin and writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung as they talk about how dividing the characters gave some new pairings (and allow some good character interaction)

A WARPED SENSE OF REVENGE- all about Krall and the other two bad guys

TREKKING IN THE DESERT- using Dubai to double as Yorktown and the production design of the Enterprise

EXPLORING STRANGE NEW WORLDS- production design of Krall’s compound

PROPERLY OUTFITTED- the prop master goes over the various props of TSAR TREK BEYOND

NEW LIFE, NEW CIVILIZATIONS- behind-the-scenes look at the alien make-up effects

TO LIVE LONG AND PROSPER- cast and crew talk about the 50 year longevity of STAR TREK which includes clips from the original TV show and almost all of the movies

FOR LEONARD AND ANTON- cast and crew remember Leonard Nimoy and  Anton Yelchin

 

 

Blu-ray BONUS DISC which features some extras exclusive to select blu-ray editions on sale at Target (along with four double sided art cards):

Two deleted scenes and a very funny gag reel

Sledgehammer music video

All three theatrical trailers

 

Featurettes:

BEYOND THE DARKNESS- Writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, produce rJ.J> Abrams, and director Justin Lin talk about where they decided to take the series next after the first two movies

SMALL WORLD- a look at the beginning scenes in the movie as the writers and director talk about life and relationships on the Enterprise in the middle of the five year mission

ENTERPRISE TAKEDOWN- all about how they wanted to use the Enterprise takedown as a catalyst to set up the conflict

DIVIDED AND CONQUERED- a focus on director Justin Lin and writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung as they talk about how dividing the characters gave some new pairings (and allow some good character interaction)

A WARPED SENSE OF REVENGE- all about Krall and the other two bad guys

THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWN- a look at the climatic scene of the movie

TREKKING IN THE DESERT- using Dubai to double as Yorktown and the production design of the Enterprise

EXPLORING STRANGE NEW WORLDS- production design of Krall’s compound

PROPERLY OUTFITTED- the prop master goes over the various props of TSAR TREK BEYOND

NEW LIFE, NEW CIVILIZATIONS- behind-the-scenes look at the alien make-up effects

SET PHASERS TO STUNNING- a look at the costume design with costume designer Sanja Hays

SPLICED- the editors and director Justin Lin talk about the editing of STAR TREK BEYOND

BEATS AND SHOUTING- composer Michael Giacchino is interviewed by his grandson about the musical themes of STAR TREK BEYOND

TO LIVE LONG AND PROSPER- cast and crew talk about the 50 year longevity of STAR TREK which includes clips from the original TV show and almost all of the movies

FOR LEONARD AND ANTON- cast and crew remember Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin

 

A code to download and/or stream a digital HD ultraviolet copy of STAR TREK BEYOND

STAR TREK BEYOND in standard definition on DVD

 

Four collectible double sided character art cards (available with select blu-ray copies at Target

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  STAR TREK BEYOND is a fun action adventure sequel.  The extras give some behind-the-scenes info even though it sometimes feels like promo fluff.   If you want the most extras, you want to buy the Target Exclusive version at Target (since Paramount decided to do retail exclusive with some extras yet again).

 

This review is ©11-4-2016 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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