Star Trek: Beyond - I mentioned in another thread that this was my least favorite movie of the year. That is true. That's not to say it is the technically worst movie I've seen this year, just my least favorite. I have to confess, I was excited by the prospect of JJ Abrams producing Justin Lin directing a Simon Pegg script, but to its detriment, it felt to me like all Justin Lin with very little Simon Pegg. As a summer action romp with familiar characters, it pretty much works, so if you can turn off your expectations there, I think it could be a smash. The problem for me is that both Star Trek and Simon Pegg have been able to deliver, well,
Beyond those expectations traditionally, and that influence is somewhat lacking here.
That's not to say there weren't things about it that I liked. In fact, I loved:
- The core cast, especially Urban, Quinto and Pine, in roughly that order (Which reminds me how bad I want a Dredd 2 that will never happen. Bleh.)
- Sofia Boutella is great in this! Funny thing is that after I got home from the movie, Kingsmen was on, so I ended up getting a sort of Boutella double feature.
- The nods to classic Trek and to Nimoy in particular. And also to Anton Yelchin; definitely emotional to watch him perform.
- IMAX laser. Laser! *pew pew pew*
However, some of my problems with the movie included:
- The sometimes dizzying and nauseating shot-making, especially in IMAX 3-D. Please, if your movie is going to play on the biggest screens, make sure it's designed appropriately.
- Lack of logic. Sometimes characters know things they shouldn't. Possibly left on the edit room floor, but in a franchise with multiple Spocks, logic should seldom be absent.
- The feels are missing. You know how in a Simon Pegg script, those silly bits of banter between characters somehow pay off in some meaningful way? Well, maybe Justin Lin doesn't, or maybe Pegg botched for once (I liked Paul, so make from that what you will). By the way, if the feels were powerful enough, I'd easily forgive some of the lack of logic. Somehow, though, when the feels are missing, I judge the other flaws more harshly. Maybe it's more that all these things don't add up to something surprising that is the real problem. If they do add up to anything at all.
- No follow through on subplots or resonant themes. For example, no spoilers — and I'm about to unfairly stand Beyond up against The Wrath of Khan — there are threads in both Beyond and Khan about captains with doubts. Events in Khan continue to pluck on those notes symphonically, with different instruments playing on that theme harmoniously; while in Beyond, such moments often feel like an extra appendage.
Basically, it's not that Beyond is a horrendous movie, but it is a very rote, unsurprising movie, and to me that's not good enough, especially for Star Trek and Simon Pegg.