User Review

I am a trekkie who has watched everything Star Trek related from the past 50 years including every film and TV show. Although I've enjoyed the rebooted films, they never quite had the same magic as the originals. Until Star Trek Beyond, that is! Star Trek Beyond is the third installment in what is being called the "Kelvin timeline" of Star Trek with the rebooted universe of Kirk's storyline. Compared to Star Trek 2009 and "Into Darkness", this film felt astronomically more like a Star Trek film. I was absolutely blown away; what I thought was going to be a mindless, action-oriented Star Trek movie, was actually a brilliantly written and directed Star Trek film that felt more than fitting in the Star Trek universe. The spoiler-free storyline; the Enterprise is sent to investigate the disappearance of an alien race's crew in a nebula. The Enterprise (per the trailers...) ends up getting destroyed and the crew held hostage on an alien world that is used as a "booby trap" for countless other species that have also been tricked into exploring the nebula in one way or another. Throughout the story, we are not only introduced to new alien races, but also are introduced to past elements of Star Trek, included a desolate/abandoned NX-class starship! This film pays enormous tribute to not only "Star Trek Enterprise" and it's story-arch, but other Star Trek films/shows as well. For the die- hard trekkies, there is plenty to think and talk about after seeing the movie, as there are tons of references and connections made to the rest of the Star Trek universe (including ancestors of Star Trek characters seen in later series...). Furthermore, the movies makes a touching tribute to the death of Leonard Nimoy, by announcing the death of Spock Prime. It was done in a very tasteful and respectful way, and I believe most trekkies and die-hard fans would agree that it was only fitting to announce the death of his character in the film. Simon Pegg and the new director did a phenomenal job on this film. It felt so much more like a Star Trek film, at least to me, than the previous ones. The storyline was much more original than the retelling of the "wrath of Khan" events. Chris Pine is also really starting to hone-in on his role of Captain Kirk. Not only was the acting better, but the script this time around made him much more into the masterful Captain Kirk we grew up with in TOS and less of a party-boy. Overall, Star Trek Beyond fantastic Star Trek film. I can't believe I am endorsing and praising it as much as I am, but in my opinion, they got it right this time. After seeing this, I am starting to have more faith/confidence in the new cast continuing the Star Trek legacy and I look forward to the new films that come out in the series. If you're an old-school fan, give this one a try. It's a fun adventure and feels appropriate in the Star Trek universe.