Review by Jeremiah Scott
Prior to seeing the movie
When I was asked to review the new Star Trek movie I was pretty excited. The last two Star Trek movies were a blast. I wasn’t horrified by breaking canon like some Trekkies were because frankly I don’t remember the Star Trek movies. I was a fan of The Next Generation and have loved the two most recent Star Trek movies directed by J.J. Abrams, but in no way do I consider myself a Trekkie.
With Abrams moving on to other projects, Justin Lin of Fast and Furious fame gets a crack at the storied franchise. I’m going into this movie expecting gravity defying acts of heroism and some somber touching/cheesy personal asides by key characters in between face melting action… because that’s the Justin Lin formula of success.
After Seeing the movie (No spoilers)
Immediate first impression is that was a fun movie. I never felt bored, action was fast paced, the characters stayed true to the previous movies. The white alien that you saw in the previews, Jaylah, is played by Sofia Boutella who is extremely likable and in my opinion easy on the eyes and a cool addition to the crew. You may recognize her from The Kingsman, she played the sword legged assassin. To sum it up, I loved her.
Idris Elba plays Krall. He’s a solid bad guy, but is not going to go down in the pantheon of great Star Trek villains. Serviceable is the best way I could describe his character. This is a little surprising considering how great Idris Elba usually is, but I guess you can only do so much with limited screen time and a homicidal lunatic premise.
The mainstay characters of Trek were all great as per usual. I can’t write anything here that you haven’t read before about the crew of the Enterprise. All of their acting was top notch and I don’t have a single complaint about any of them.
It’s a true Star Trek movie with influences of the Jeremy Lin formula running throughout. There are only two Fast and the Furious type moments that made me cringe but they didn’t ruin the movie for me at all. You will just immediately know what I’m talking about while you watch it. The audience I attended the movie with were members of an Arizona Star Trek club that has been around for 40 years. These were die hard old school fans and they all applauded at the end of the movie. They seemed to really love it for what it for what it was.
This was a very enjoyable summer sci fi flick that I would recommend you go see. Some suspension of reality is necessary but it’s a movie about space voyagers… relax and enjoy!
4.5/5 Stars.
