"Star Trek Beyond" is the Trek movie we deserve
So it's taken me several days to gather my thoughts on "Star Trek Beyond." It was an emotional experience given the loss of Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin. It was also emotional because it was FUCKING AMAZING. It deliberately course-corrects almost everything wrong with STID, and on some levels it might technically be a better film that ST09 (those levels being faithfulness to TOS; I still love the first with all my heart, and to be fair there is plenty I like about STID despire its flaws). I saw it twice in 22 hours, which I think is a personal record.
Shall we to
The film served the ensemble so wonderfully that it makes sense to begin with a character-by-character analysis.
Kirk: Oh James T, be still my heart. Finally Chris Pine gets to play the mature, respected commander instead of the petulant manchild (he excels at both, but did we really need 2 movies of essentially the same character arc?). I knew the writing was going to nail it from the Shatner-esque opening sequence ("I ripped my shirt again") and the subsequent captain's log entry. He walked past a woman and did not hit on nor leer at her! In fact there was absolutely no skirt-chasing at all, and I was worried at first that Jaylah would be presented as a love interest. Nope. Kirk's one true love is the Enterprise, as it should be (and Bones. Obviously. More on that later.)
Ugh he was just so competent and compassionate (I honestly believed this Kirk knew every member of his crew and would fight to the end for them). Granted that from an outside perspective Kirk's ennui doesn't really make sense, as he's only 29 at this point in the timeline, but it worked well enough in context that I let it go. I actually think they may have deliberately tried to age him up; the cut of the new uniform helps, plus the haircut and something about his tan/makeup (only noticed this at the very end, so will watch for it next time). He definitely came off as older than IRL Pine (without the beard).
Bones: BONES GOT TO BE BADASS. Not just a quip-and-creaky-metaphor factory! The more I rewatch STID, the more I can sense Karl's frustration at how he was sidelined, and you can definitely see a renewed vigor in his performance here. He's still funny and sarcastic and grumpy, but so much more well-rounded, and the emergency medical stuff gave him something to do besides skulk around the bridge. How much did I love his serious business face when he and Spock hit the turbolift during the drone attack? It was so, so gratifying to see Bones given his due.
Spock: Again, his characterization felt so organic to TOS Spock. He's still somewhat torn between his two homeworlds, but it's not breaking free in a rage-spiral any longer; it's a philosophical as much as emotional question. Spock's sense of obligation toward his people after the destruction of Vulcan is something often addressed in fic, so it was really cool to see in canon. His reaction to Ambassador Spock's death was very poignant, and his interactions with Kirk and Bones really spoke to their friendships. I ship Spock/Uhura pretty hardcore, so was glad they only broke up temporarily. There was a maturity there, too - that kiss Uhura gives him at the beginning was lovely.
Scotty: Having rewatched the first 2 movies just prior, it struck me for the first time that the complaints about Uhura usurping Bones' place in the triumvirate are bullshit, because Scotty gets at least as much screentime as she does, maybe more. I will admit that Reboot Scotty has never quite gelled for me, because I LOVE TOS Scotty and I like Simon Pegg a lot, but he goes to the comedic relief well too often (it's not as noticeable in ST09 because of his late entrance and not knowing anyone). So I was actually a little leery of Scotty pulling focus given that Simon co-wrote the script. Fortunately, that did not happen at all! He's still funny, but there is a genuine depth to his interactions with Jaylah (and a complete lack of sexual tension thankyouStarTrekJesus). It was very smart to pair them up. My read on Scotty was influenced by seeing Denise Crosby's documentary early in my fandom (maybe even before I finished the series), where Jimmy Doohan tells this story. To me that is such a powerful statement about the nature of fandom, and I always felt that Doohan's heart shone out of his portrayal of Scotty. Reboot Scotty's connection with the lonely soul who makes her house fly is the first time I've seen such a clear line drawn between the two actors, and it was unexpectedly one of my favorite things in the whole movie. To sum up: <3 Scotty <3
Uhura: UHURA ALSO GOT TO BE BADASS. I loved her from start to finish - that early scene with Spock, her kicking the crap out of the drone soldiers on her way to separate the saucer, the look she shares with Kirk when she punches the controls, her bravery and the way she keeps trying to understand Krall, and ESPECIALLY when she recognizes his voice on the recording and figures out who he is. Everyone on the bridge crew got a moment to shine, but that might have been the most succinct and satisfying. And she has sleeves now, which means displayed rank! I did love the delta shield fabric of the old uniforms, but sleeves are more important. Also, how adorable was it that she and Spock were still dressed in red and blue civvies at the party? They're the dorkiest couple ever.
Chekov: Oh god, that hurt. How sad and beautiful that Chekov got paired with Kirk, for the in-universe reason that Kirk can mentor him and the RL reason that we got adequate screen time for Chekov at last. It worked so well as a swan song to Anton. He got to claim that something was inwented in Russia, and be brilliant at basically everything he did, and flirt with ladies like a true successor to TOS Chekov (notice Chekov grinning at Jaylah and checking her out in the background of the scene where they meet and try not to ship it at least a little), and his interactions with Sulu at the helm were everything. We all knew "For Anton" was how it would end, but it still hit me hard. So glad that JJ has said they won't be recasting.
Sulu: AND FAMILY. That scene was so cute and understated (and Kirk gazing at them fondly and wistfully MOVIE YOU UNDERSTAND ME). I do wish they had revisited them a bit later, but it was nice that Sulu's husband/Doug Jung (he was supposed to be called Ben apparently and they worked out a little backstory) was at Jim's birthday party at the end. Sulu's dive/leap of faith in the Franklin was so great. I also wish we could have spent a little more time with Sulu and Uhura and the crew in captivity, but I understand that there was a lot of story to get to. And someone should really check John Cho's attic because that man is not ageing at all.
Jaylah: I was not expecting to love her as much as I did, but something about that prickly, proud, lonely orphan desperate for a connection trope always gets to me (see also: Rey). And she got some great lines. "I like the beats and shouting." "My house is breaking!" Every single time she said "Montgomery Scotty."
Krall: It's definitely a shame that Idris Elba's face was hidden behind latex and makeup the whole time, but it didn't diminish his presence because he is incredible. I was resigning myself to a fairly rote villain until they revealed who he was, which was a nice twist (was enjoying the ride too much to worry about his origin. That whole explanation seemed a little rushed/condensed, but the ship's log footage was haunting. I wish they had taken the time to unpack this storyline and its implications a little more - what it means to be a soldier after the war is over and how that connected with Kirk and Spock's journeys. That's probably my biggest quibble with the script. But I still think he was a pretty strong character with what we got.
And now, the bullet points:
--That. Birthday. Drink. I was feeling rather lukewarm about Beyond until they showed this clip in the second trailer. It was clearly a date, and clearly I still cared a whole hell of a lot about my OTP. It was just fucking perfect. How many times did we all write and read that exact scene? And there it was on the screen! MAGIC.
--On a related note, I had two wishes: the crew all hanging out (Team As Family is forever and always my favorite trope), and an appearance from Winona. I didn't honestly believe those wishes would come true, BUT THEY DID. I could have watched Jim's birthday party for an hour, and I'm counting two separate mentions of Winona as a win (also she showed up at that party as an off-camera surprise and nothing can convince me otherwise).
--The tribute to Nimoy was so lovely. I actually gasped at the TOS cast photo (which was my desktop wallpaper for the longest time). Could not have been written better.
--I've never actually seen any of Justin Lin's movies? But he has a definite visual flair; some unique and interesting shots of the Enterprise, and that cool swooping introduction to Yorktown.
--The drone attack on the Enterprise was flawless nail-biting action. It just kept going and going, and we were tracking our heroes across the screen, and everything was awful. That gorgeous shot of Kirk's face reflected in the pod as he watched his ship go down!
--Speaking of: they are called Kelvin pods. Kirk said "Get to the Kelvin pods" and my heart broke into a million pieces.
--The sparing use of dialogue in that sequence was brilliant. I mentioned the Kirk-Uhura moment, and there was Spock and Bones wordlessly springing into action side by side. God, it was rough watching Enterprise break apart (not for the first time and probably not for the last, but STILL).
--So this was a banner moment for Spock/Bones shippers, huh? I don't even really ship it but I don't mind sharing the wealth. Their scenes together were SO GOOD. Favorite color! Horseshit! You gave your girlfriend a tracking device! Quoting Shakespeare on death's door! Bones will throw a party and Spock laughs and he probably IS starting to hallucinate! Well that's just typical!
--A small moment I liked was all the Starfleet personnel sprinting out to help when the Franklin crash-landed. Those jumpsuits were cool, kinda DS9-ish.
--Nary a woman in her underwear to be seen. Instead we had shirtless Kirk and a brief shot of that scorned guy in the beginning (whose missing shirt is probably red). MUCH BETTER.
--Loved everything about the "Sabotage" scene. Sorry, sabotaaage.
--I started crying with the TOS photo, and sniffled through the party because it was what I wanted most, and flat-out sobbed when the whole crew gave the prologue. The movie could've been total shit and I would have forgiven it just for that. And of course, kept crying through the credits.
I honestly don't think I could've asked for much more out of this movie. Thank you, Justin Lin and Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. I kind of wish they had just capped the trilogy here, because it's how I would love to remember this thing that I love.
What are the odds that we'd get a great Star Wars movie and a great Star Trek movie back to back? Seriously, who would have predicted this a year ago?
Shall we to
The film served the ensemble so wonderfully that it makes sense to begin with a character-by-character analysis.
Kirk: Oh James T, be still my heart. Finally Chris Pine gets to play the mature, respected commander instead of the petulant manchild (he excels at both, but did we really need 2 movies of essentially the same character arc?). I knew the writing was going to nail it from the Shatner-esque opening sequence ("I ripped my shirt again") and the subsequent captain's log entry. He walked past a woman and did not hit on nor leer at her! In fact there was absolutely no skirt-chasing at all, and I was worried at first that Jaylah would be presented as a love interest. Nope. Kirk's one true love is the Enterprise, as it should be (and Bones. Obviously. More on that later.)
Ugh he was just so competent and compassionate (I honestly believed this Kirk knew every member of his crew and would fight to the end for them). Granted that from an outside perspective Kirk's ennui doesn't really make sense, as he's only 29 at this point in the timeline, but it worked well enough in context that I let it go. I actually think they may have deliberately tried to age him up; the cut of the new uniform helps, plus the haircut and something about his tan/makeup (only noticed this at the very end, so will watch for it next time). He definitely came off as older than IRL Pine (without the beard).
Bones: BONES GOT TO BE BADASS. Not just a quip-and-creaky-metaphor factory! The more I rewatch STID, the more I can sense Karl's frustration at how he was sidelined, and you can definitely see a renewed vigor in his performance here. He's still funny and sarcastic and grumpy, but so much more well-rounded, and the emergency medical stuff gave him something to do besides skulk around the bridge. How much did I love his serious business face when he and Spock hit the turbolift during the drone attack? It was so, so gratifying to see Bones given his due.
Spock: Again, his characterization felt so organic to TOS Spock. He's still somewhat torn between his two homeworlds, but it's not breaking free in a rage-spiral any longer; it's a philosophical as much as emotional question. Spock's sense of obligation toward his people after the destruction of Vulcan is something often addressed in fic, so it was really cool to see in canon. His reaction to Ambassador Spock's death was very poignant, and his interactions with Kirk and Bones really spoke to their friendships. I ship Spock/Uhura pretty hardcore, so was glad they only broke up temporarily. There was a maturity there, too - that kiss Uhura gives him at the beginning was lovely.
Scotty: Having rewatched the first 2 movies just prior, it struck me for the first time that the complaints about Uhura usurping Bones' place in the triumvirate are bullshit, because Scotty gets at least as much screentime as she does, maybe more. I will admit that Reboot Scotty has never quite gelled for me, because I LOVE TOS Scotty and I like Simon Pegg a lot, but he goes to the comedic relief well too often (it's not as noticeable in ST09 because of his late entrance and not knowing anyone). So I was actually a little leery of Scotty pulling focus given that Simon co-wrote the script. Fortunately, that did not happen at all! He's still funny, but there is a genuine depth to his interactions with Jaylah (and a complete lack of sexual tension thankyouStarTrekJesus). It was very smart to pair them up. My read on Scotty was influenced by seeing Denise Crosby's documentary early in my fandom (maybe even before I finished the series), where Jimmy Doohan tells this story. To me that is such a powerful statement about the nature of fandom, and I always felt that Doohan's heart shone out of his portrayal of Scotty. Reboot Scotty's connection with the lonely soul who makes her house fly is the first time I've seen such a clear line drawn between the two actors, and it was unexpectedly one of my favorite things in the whole movie. To sum up: <3 Scotty <3
Uhura: UHURA ALSO GOT TO BE BADASS. I loved her from start to finish - that early scene with Spock, her kicking the crap out of the drone soldiers on her way to separate the saucer, the look she shares with Kirk when she punches the controls, her bravery and the way she keeps trying to understand Krall, and ESPECIALLY when she recognizes his voice on the recording and figures out who he is. Everyone on the bridge crew got a moment to shine, but that might have been the most succinct and satisfying. And she has sleeves now, which means displayed rank! I did love the delta shield fabric of the old uniforms, but sleeves are more important. Also, how adorable was it that she and Spock were still dressed in red and blue civvies at the party? They're the dorkiest couple ever.
Chekov: Oh god, that hurt. How sad and beautiful that Chekov got paired with Kirk, for the in-universe reason that Kirk can mentor him and the RL reason that we got adequate screen time for Chekov at last. It worked so well as a swan song to Anton. He got to claim that something was inwented in Russia, and be brilliant at basically everything he did, and flirt with ladies like a true successor to TOS Chekov (notice Chekov grinning at Jaylah and checking her out in the background of the scene where they meet and try not to ship it at least a little), and his interactions with Sulu at the helm were everything. We all knew "For Anton" was how it would end, but it still hit me hard. So glad that JJ has said they won't be recasting.
Sulu: AND FAMILY. That scene was so cute and understated (and Kirk gazing at them fondly and wistfully MOVIE YOU UNDERSTAND ME). I do wish they had revisited them a bit later, but it was nice that Sulu's husband/Doug Jung (he was supposed to be called Ben apparently and they worked out a little backstory) was at Jim's birthday party at the end. Sulu's dive/leap of faith in the Franklin was so great. I also wish we could have spent a little more time with Sulu and Uhura and the crew in captivity, but I understand that there was a lot of story to get to. And someone should really check John Cho's attic because that man is not ageing at all.
Jaylah: I was not expecting to love her as much as I did, but something about that prickly, proud, lonely orphan desperate for a connection trope always gets to me (see also: Rey). And she got some great lines. "I like the beats and shouting." "My house is breaking!" Every single time she said "Montgomery Scotty."
Krall: It's definitely a shame that Idris Elba's face was hidden behind latex and makeup the whole time, but it didn't diminish his presence because he is incredible. I was resigning myself to a fairly rote villain until they revealed who he was, which was a nice twist (was enjoying the ride too much to worry about his origin. That whole explanation seemed a little rushed/condensed, but the ship's log footage was haunting. I wish they had taken the time to unpack this storyline and its implications a little more - what it means to be a soldier after the war is over and how that connected with Kirk and Spock's journeys. That's probably my biggest quibble with the script. But I still think he was a pretty strong character with what we got.
And now, the bullet points:
--That. Birthday. Drink. I was feeling rather lukewarm about Beyond until they showed this clip in the second trailer. It was clearly a date, and clearly I still cared a whole hell of a lot about my OTP. It was just fucking perfect. How many times did we all write and read that exact scene? And there it was on the screen! MAGIC.
--On a related note, I had two wishes: the crew all hanging out (Team As Family is forever and always my favorite trope), and an appearance from Winona. I didn't honestly believe those wishes would come true, BUT THEY DID. I could have watched Jim's birthday party for an hour, and I'm counting two separate mentions of Winona as a win (also she showed up at that party as an off-camera surprise and nothing can convince me otherwise).
--The tribute to Nimoy was so lovely. I actually gasped at the TOS cast photo (which was my desktop wallpaper for the longest time). Could not have been written better.
--I've never actually seen any of Justin Lin's movies? But he has a definite visual flair; some unique and interesting shots of the Enterprise, and that cool swooping introduction to Yorktown.
--The drone attack on the Enterprise was flawless nail-biting action. It just kept going and going, and we were tracking our heroes across the screen, and everything was awful. That gorgeous shot of Kirk's face reflected in the pod as he watched his ship go down!
--Speaking of: they are called Kelvin pods. Kirk said "Get to the Kelvin pods" and my heart broke into a million pieces.
--The sparing use of dialogue in that sequence was brilliant. I mentioned the Kirk-Uhura moment, and there was Spock and Bones wordlessly springing into action side by side. God, it was rough watching Enterprise break apart (not for the first time and probably not for the last, but STILL).
--So this was a banner moment for Spock/Bones shippers, huh? I don't even really ship it but I don't mind sharing the wealth. Their scenes together were SO GOOD. Favorite color! Horseshit! You gave your girlfriend a tracking device! Quoting Shakespeare on death's door! Bones will throw a party and Spock laughs and he probably IS starting to hallucinate! Well that's just typical!
--A small moment I liked was all the Starfleet personnel sprinting out to help when the Franklin crash-landed. Those jumpsuits were cool, kinda DS9-ish.
--Nary a woman in her underwear to be seen. Instead we had shirtless Kirk and a brief shot of that scorned guy in the beginning (whose missing shirt is probably red). MUCH BETTER.
--Loved everything about the "Sabotage" scene. Sorry, sabotaaage.
--I started crying with the TOS photo, and sniffled through the party because it was what I wanted most, and flat-out sobbed when the whole crew gave the prologue. The movie could've been total shit and I would have forgiven it just for that. And of course, kept crying through the credits.
I honestly don't think I could've asked for much more out of this movie. Thank you, Justin Lin and Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. I kind of wish they had just capped the trilogy here, because it's how I would love to remember this thing that I love.
What are the odds that we'd get a great Star Wars movie and a great Star Trek movie back to back? Seriously, who would have predicted this a year ago?