First Take: Star Trek Beyond- beam me up.

Spoiler free as usual.

SYPNOSIS:

The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

It wouldn’t be a summer blockbuster season without at least one of JJ Abrams’ many franchises- his team at Bad Robot have given us some great films over the years, including a successful reboot of the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek Beyond continues the stories from 2009′s reboot and 2013′s Into Darkness, and as a relative newcomer to the Star Trek universe, I really enjoyed this new film from Justin Lin.

Lin’s background in directing chase scenes for the Fast and Furious films really comes alive during the action setpieces of Beyond, as he just has a natural flair to show the spectacle of all the battles while also building the characters, and that’s where Simon Pegg and Doug Jung’s script comes in. The film feels like it’s been written for Star Trek fans by Star Trek fans themselves, and that allows the cast to really invest in their characters. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Pegg all put in some great performances to progress the narrative, and the new additions to the cast (Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella) create a film that has the same pedigree as the original show. I do have to single out the late Anton Yelchin, as he puts in by far the best performance of the film as Chekov. It’s a shame that we won’t see any more captivating performances from one of Hollywood’s newest stars. The effects are typically insane, the cinematography is good, but the pacing is all over the shop- the editing of the film just distracts the action at points, but it does set up quite a huge battle scene that literally rocks. I can’t say anything about that scene, but it might be the cinematic moment of the year.

THE VERDICT

Star Trek Beyond is a great summer blockbuster, but unfortunately the pacing issues prevent it from being a perfect film. With some great performances and a script that satisfies a fan’s demands, this is ideal viewing for the die-hard Trek fans.

Rating- 4/5