Star Trek Beyond

Continuing this trend of sci-fi action films, I go from the surprisingly enjoyable Riddick to an even bigger surprise with Star Trek Beyond that recently hit cinemas but didn't exactly achieve the same level of success as its predecessors.

The film follows the crew's ongoing voyage of discovery with Fast Five director Justin Lin now in charge, taking over from JJ Abrams as he moved to Star Wars and, to be honest, this news didn't exactly fill me with hope. While I liked his work, the Vin Diesel/Paul Walker series offered excitement but I never felt too attached to the characters when that is a big part of the Star Trek franchise. Abrams on the other hand has carried the same sense of sentimentality with his work as we see with the likes of Spielberg that was well suited to a series now 50 years old.

As a result, the 2009 Star Trek film was a massive success with audiences and critics alike. Abrams carefully balanced the right amount of nostalgia while pushing the series forward. The only flaw I found was a somewhat underwritten villain in an otherwise great film and then I would say the opposite happened in Star Trek: Into Darkness from 2013 with Benedict Cumberbatch stealing every scene. The sequel was still enjoyable but even as someone who isn't a Trekkie, there were many other better directions Abrams could have taken with this one. So in some ways it was Abrams' time to move on, but then that first trailer appeared for Star Trek Beyond...

In short, it looked like a hyper explosive sci-fi action flick with rock music banging over the top and going by the internet (not a very credible source I know), the people were not amused. I started to lose interest in the whole idea of a third entry until I recently saw this with friends and was blown away at how well Lin brought the series back to its roots.

Whereas with the last film the story seemed only interested in Kirk and Spock, Lin widens the focus to the rest of the characters this time and it makes for a more compelling story as the TV series once did. Fans will also be pleased to see a little more space exploration as the story sees the crew enter uncharted territory while helping the victim of an ambush before uncovering more secrets and of course the baddie played by Idris Elba. And when things start to go wrong for the crew, Lin doesn't hold back as the chaos erupts and it is a blast to watch.

The returning cast all continue to do justice to their characters, partly due to Simon Pegg's hand in the writing room to honour the original series. Elba has more character depth than Eric Bana's villain from the original but lacks the screen-time Cumberbatch had to play with to truly leave an impression, however he still comes out well. Also new is Sofia Boutella covered in make-up and prosthetics and makes a welcome addition to the film with her spiky charisma. Meanwhile Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto still bounce off each other really well with the iconic chemistry of their characters, along with Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho and the late Anton Yelchin making this a great ensemble film.

With all of that said, if sci-fi action isn't your thing then this simply isn't for you. But for die-hard fans, people who know enjoyed the last few films and just those with an interest, Star Trek Beyond is well worth watching. Now with a new TV series on the horizon it does question whether the potential sequels to this will continue but as a trilogy it is certainly a very enjoyable one.