We promise not to spoil this amazing movie for you, but not without fair warning that we are about to gush over it like a couple of school girls giggling over the brand new boy in our class. The cute one, with the mysterious past and the sad eyes.
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| Kobayashi Maru, Kahn, Altamid... All just words to James T. Kirk |
Roy: Holeee. Crap. You people do not even understand. This movie was great. For the first time all summer I have zero complaints about the movie we are reviewing. It wasn't just the superb acting, or the action sequences, or the story, or even the cinematography. It was all of those things together. Allow me to explain to everyone how beautiful this movie is. In moments it reminded me of Christopher Nolan's gorgeous Interstellar. Director Justin Lin gave us shots of the Enterprise as a small object on the screen which allowed us to understand the enormity of what the intrepid crew was facing, or what the ship looks like traveling at warp speed. Lin was able to pull this off without it feeling like he was stealing from Nolan. It wasn't just space though, everything in this movie was aesthetically pleasing, right down to the cast. Speaking of the cast, I have a confession to make. I heart captain James Tiberius Kirk. Let's be clear, this is not a Chris Pine man-crush. Pine is a fine actor and an attractive man, but James Kirk might be one of the coolest characters ever created. He's a man who doesn't believe in no win scenarios, who will risk everything to save those whom he is responsible for. All the while maintaining a roguish air that Han Solo would be proud of. And Pine has captured the soul of this character and absolutely shines in this role.
Cody: You make an excellent point. Kirk is simply the coolest. He is everything you could ask for in a hero, and the Pine casting was, and remains, fantastic. The crew made up of stellar actors yet again put in another great performance. The writing was superb, as it always is (shout out to Simon Pegg for the writing credit!). You may notice a trend forming among my comments. I think everything about this movie was great. But not just this film, everything has been great every film. We're at the third installment of the Star Trek reboot. This is a point where you normally expect a franchise to take a big step back. That is, if they even made it past movie two without serious slippage. Think about reviews we've done just this summer. Captain America, X-Men, and oh I don't know, Finding Dory? All movies that are part of a franchise. All were lesser versions of their predecessors, some more than others (looking at you, Dory). These are just a few examples from this summer, but stack Star Trek against any franchise since around its inception in 2009. Hunger Games and Hobbit, two mega franchises, both lost steam as they went along. Yet with Star Trek, I walked into the third movie in a franchise with zero fear. I had complete confidence that I would leave the theater satisfied. That experience is unheard of. That's Star Trek.
Roy: I'm going to boldly go where no writer has gone before (admit it, you're impressed by that) and take it a step further. Perfectly good franchises have been forever tarnished because a poorly made third movie takes down the whole thing by pooping the bed. Does anyone remember a movie called The Matrix? Completely fantastic movie that was ruined by a sub-par sequel and a third movie that was as ridiculous as it was stupid. Let's go even further, yeah... I'm saying it. Godfather. Arguably two of the best movies ever made, and with one fail swoop, Sofia Coppola showed up and made us all feel like we were caught in the worst tollbooth in the history of anything ever. So even though you weren't scared walking in, I had a small nagging fear. Not because I didn't believe in J.J. Abrams or the cast, but because history has taught us that too often movies cannot survive the dreaded third installment. Star Trek Beyond didn't just survive, it enhanced the whole franchise. This film showed everyone that they are able to stand entirely alone. If one wanted to find something to criticize Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness about, it could be that it stood almost completely on the shoulders of its own history. Featuring Leonard Nemoy heavily in the first movie, and flat out remaking The Wrath of Khan. Which are ridiculous arguments because regardless of the small merits of those points, both of those movies were great on their own. Star Trek Beyond is a completely original story, and it was executed as well as any movie could hope for.
Cody: Beyond did fully stand on its own, and that is impressive not just as a reboot, but also as a third movie in a franchise. J.J. Abrams is clearly a man after our own hearts, but we need to recognize Justin Lin as well. The Fast and the Furious franchise has been so successful that they've been able to produce 42 (read: seven) movies. Justin Lin directed four of those. Clearly the dude knows a thing or two about keeping a franchise fresh as it continues to grow. Now time for your Fun Fact of the Week. Justin Lin directed the first two episodes in season two of True Detective. I clarify first two so that you know he directed episodes before the season completely went down the toilet. Guy has range! Ultimately, we must come full circle to Roy's opening statements. Star Trek is about being in space. The vast final frontier. Where the possibilities are limitless. To capture this and make you feel like you are a part of the journey, it takes incredible cinematography. Stephen F. Windon. A guy we've all probably never heard of. Bravo sir. I know the action/adventure genre doesn't often get Oscar nods, but it isn't too far-fetched that Windon could get a nomination. The movie was that beautiful.
Cody: It was absolutely the right direction to take the movie in spending most of the time on the ground. We already saw the Enterprise take on two highly advanced ships in the previous two films. It was glorious, but it was time to switch things up. It gave us characters in a different setting, and that allowed for more robust interactions. The most underrated thing about this movie is the dialogue between characters we haven't seen a lot of together in the previous two iterations. Spock and Bones wandering the wilderness together? Brilliant. Uhura and Sulu leading a prison break? Fantastic. Scottie, Kirk, and Chekov hatching plans with new found bad girl buddy Jaylah? Sign. Me. Up. There was light humor, there was back tapping, and there was general camaraderie. Because the actors have been working together for years, it legitimately felt like the characters had been too. After all, they were supposed to be on a five year mission in space together. Having paired off characters this way kept things fresh. Having fine actors working together on their third project made things great.
Roy: Let's not forget one of Jaylah's most redeeming qualities, an affinity for old-school rap. It's interesting, I was sitting there and the movie was headed towards its climax. I was thinking, "This movie can't possibly get any better." I was wrong. Because then. Sabotage. The crew of the Enterprise had to find a way to disrupt a hive mind of thousands of tiny ships from carving their current ship up like a roast. There was really only one solution. The Beastie Boys: Saving lives since 1980. It was such a great move in this film. Kirk got a sly smile on his face once he heard the opening guitar licks, and suddenly we all knew what we were in for. Rarely do I just sit in a movie and smile. That happened with this film. It was one of those unforgettable moments in an already stellar movie. I could easily write another 500 words on this movie, but I won't. Everyone needs to go see this, especially if you just love movies. I don't mean to be a buzzkill, Cody, but I want to mention one last thing before I throw it back to you. Towards the end of the movie, Kirk raised a toast to departed friends, and the camera lingered on Anton Yelchin's Chekov. Could have been clever editing after the tragedy occurred, could have been fate, or it could have been my imagination. But it was a small nod to the loss that this cast and crew suffered in real life.
Cody: We couldn't possibly be more on the same page. I too sat smiling in the theater while Sabotage played and ruined those annoying bee ships. It was pure, bottled enjoyment. I choose to believe that the camera linger was intentional. It was the perfect gesture in the perfect moment. The symbol of a tight knit crew that lost one of their one. There was another moment in the movie that really hit home for me though. As you mentioned, Kirk was beaten down and considering an admiral position. Giving up the Enterprise. Simultaneously, Spock is considering leaving the Enterprise to become Ambassador Spock. Neither one tells the other. By the end of the movie, they separately decide to run it back together one more time. The connection these two once in a lifetime friends share kept them together when other avenues threatened to pull them apart. All of us have best friends in our lives. There's always that opportunity to let things slide. You can drift. But true friendship pulls us together. Relationships are what drive the human race. Kirk and Spock have one of the best cinematic friendships of all time. And they chose each other and the Enterprise over all other options. There's hope in that for all of us. That's what movies are all about.
Cody: You make an excellent point. Kirk is simply the coolest. He is everything you could ask for in a hero, and the Pine casting was, and remains, fantastic. The crew made up of stellar actors yet again put in another great performance. The writing was superb, as it always is (shout out to Simon Pegg for the writing credit!). You may notice a trend forming among my comments. I think everything about this movie was great. But not just this film, everything has been great every film. We're at the third installment of the Star Trek reboot. This is a point where you normally expect a franchise to take a big step back. That is, if they even made it past movie two without serious slippage. Think about reviews we've done just this summer. Captain America, X-Men, and oh I don't know, Finding Dory? All movies that are part of a franchise. All were lesser versions of their predecessors, some more than others (looking at you, Dory). These are just a few examples from this summer, but stack Star Trek against any franchise since around its inception in 2009. Hunger Games and Hobbit, two mega franchises, both lost steam as they went along. Yet with Star Trek, I walked into the third movie in a franchise with zero fear. I had complete confidence that I would leave the theater satisfied. That experience is unheard of. That's Star Trek.
Roy: I'm going to boldly go where no writer has gone before (admit it, you're impressed by that) and take it a step further. Perfectly good franchises have been forever tarnished because a poorly made third movie takes down the whole thing by pooping the bed. Does anyone remember a movie called The Matrix? Completely fantastic movie that was ruined by a sub-par sequel and a third movie that was as ridiculous as it was stupid. Let's go even further, yeah... I'm saying it. Godfather. Arguably two of the best movies ever made, and with one fail swoop, Sofia Coppola showed up and made us all feel like we were caught in the worst tollbooth in the history of anything ever. So even though you weren't scared walking in, I had a small nagging fear. Not because I didn't believe in J.J. Abrams or the cast, but because history has taught us that too often movies cannot survive the dreaded third installment. Star Trek Beyond didn't just survive, it enhanced the whole franchise. This film showed everyone that they are able to stand entirely alone. If one wanted to find something to criticize Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness about, it could be that it stood almost completely on the shoulders of its own history. Featuring Leonard Nemoy heavily in the first movie, and flat out remaking The Wrath of Khan. Which are ridiculous arguments because regardless of the small merits of those points, both of those movies were great on their own. Star Trek Beyond is a completely original story, and it was executed as well as any movie could hope for.
Cody: Beyond did fully stand on its own, and that is impressive not just as a reboot, but also as a third movie in a franchise. J.J. Abrams is clearly a man after our own hearts, but we need to recognize Justin Lin as well. The Fast and the Furious franchise has been so successful that they've been able to produce 42 (read: seven) movies. Justin Lin directed four of those. Clearly the dude knows a thing or two about keeping a franchise fresh as it continues to grow. Now time for your Fun Fact of the Week. Justin Lin directed the first two episodes in season two of True Detective. I clarify first two so that you know he directed episodes before the season completely went down the toilet. Guy has range! Ultimately, we must come full circle to Roy's opening statements. Star Trek is about being in space. The vast final frontier. Where the possibilities are limitless. To capture this and make you feel like you are a part of the journey, it takes incredible cinematography. Stephen F. Windon. A guy we've all probably never heard of. Bravo sir. I know the action/adventure genre doesn't often get Oscar nods, but it isn't too far-fetched that Windon could get a nomination. The movie was that beautiful.
We are totally about to pee our pants over the details of this movie. You should stay and read. It's Star Trek for goodness sake. It's not like we don't know what happens in this movie, everyone almost dies, then Kirk saves them. So stay and read. It was SO good.
Roy: I don't even know where to begin. I love how this movie opened. A wore out Captain Kirk, emotionally and mentally exhausted not sure if he can continue being in deep space for such a long time. I haven't really given much thought to this issue, but I can completely understand it. It would be a grind, so I didn't blame Kirk at all for seeking out an Admiral's position on what can only be described as the coolest star base ever thought up by anyone ever in the history of all time. I was seriously impressed by that. A dome in space that simulates gravity and atmosphere. I wasn't just that though. It was the use of space within the dome. If one looked up to the sky, they were as likely as not to see a different section of road or buildings above them. In a world where gravity can be simulated there is no reason why this wouldn't happen. I find it interesting that we have not seen more of this. The other thing I found charming about this movie is that for a Star Trek film, it was mostly not in space. There were space things at the beginning, and more space things at the end, but in the middle it was all outside of a star ship. But that didn't change the feel of the movie. Every second you knew where you were. With the crew of NCC-1701-A.
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| I'm good at three things: fighting, comedic relief, and fixing spaceships. I've already fixed a spaceship, so what's it gonna be? |
Roy: Let's not forget one of Jaylah's most redeeming qualities, an affinity for old-school rap. It's interesting, I was sitting there and the movie was headed towards its climax. I was thinking, "This movie can't possibly get any better." I was wrong. Because then. Sabotage. The crew of the Enterprise had to find a way to disrupt a hive mind of thousands of tiny ships from carving their current ship up like a roast. There was really only one solution. The Beastie Boys: Saving lives since 1980. It was such a great move in this film. Kirk got a sly smile on his face once he heard the opening guitar licks, and suddenly we all knew what we were in for. Rarely do I just sit in a movie and smile. That happened with this film. It was one of those unforgettable moments in an already stellar movie. I could easily write another 500 words on this movie, but I won't. Everyone needs to go see this, especially if you just love movies. I don't mean to be a buzzkill, Cody, but I want to mention one last thing before I throw it back to you. Towards the end of the movie, Kirk raised a toast to departed friends, and the camera lingered on Anton Yelchin's Chekov. Could have been clever editing after the tragedy occurred, could have been fate, or it could have been my imagination. But it was a small nod to the loss that this cast and crew suffered in real life.
Cody: We couldn't possibly be more on the same page. I too sat smiling in the theater while Sabotage played and ruined those annoying bee ships. It was pure, bottled enjoyment. I choose to believe that the camera linger was intentional. It was the perfect gesture in the perfect moment. The symbol of a tight knit crew that lost one of their one. There was another moment in the movie that really hit home for me though. As you mentioned, Kirk was beaten down and considering an admiral position. Giving up the Enterprise. Simultaneously, Spock is considering leaving the Enterprise to become Ambassador Spock. Neither one tells the other. By the end of the movie, they separately decide to run it back together one more time. The connection these two once in a lifetime friends share kept them together when other avenues threatened to pull them apart. All of us have best friends in our lives. There's always that opportunity to let things slide. You can drift. But true friendship pulls us together. Relationships are what drive the human race. Kirk and Spock have one of the best cinematic friendships of all time. And they chose each other and the Enterprise over all other options. There's hope in that for all of us. That's what movies are all about.
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