I am a huge Star Trek fan having seen the philosophical journey of the ST:Motion Picture and it's pitting of the human race against the alien entity VGER(ending up not being so alien after all). It was evident the writers struggled to translate the TV show to the big screen. I found it entertaining but lacking in the spirit the television franchise established.
The action-packed Wrath of Khan kept me on the edge of my seat as one of the best villains the ST
Each of the following incarnations of our beloved Science Fiction Western faltered and triumphed alternately in efforts to emulate the exquisite universe Gene Roddenberry expertly established in the 1960s television series. As much as I learned to respect the rich characters of the Next Generation , they could never capture the heart the way our beloved original crew could. The STNG writing never accomplished the romanticism or heights of heroism our original cast of the Enterprise managed.
Deep Space Nine was an interesting experiment, but again, there was something missing in the story telling this version of the ST Universe offered. ST: Voyager and ST:Enterprise were noble attempts to recapture the formula that worked for the original series, but both versions still lacked that special "Trekistic Machismo" that made the first TV series so great.
From the first frame he demonstrates absolute genius accompanied with spectacular special effects as George Kirk, first officer of the USS Kelvin fights to save his damaged ship from an advanced Romulan mining vessel that has travelled back in time in pursuit of Ambassador Spock. I will not go into the plot of the entire film as this blog is about the latest movie.
George Kirk's wife Winona is pregnant and the chaos of the attack upon the ship sends her into premature labor as she attempts the escape the doomed Kelvin. Therein lies the genius of Abrams as he changes the condition of our beloved James Tiberius Kirk from the moment of his birth. Not only that but he reboots the entire timeline creating a blank canvas with a new alternate reality! I was captivated and hooked from the first action-packed moment of the ST Millennium reboot.
I have written a review of Star Trek Into Darkness on this blog that can be read here.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD, TURN BACK IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!
Yesterday I went to the theater, broken leg and all, to catch the thirteenth film in the Star Trek Franchise, Star Trek Beyond. Justin Lin from the Fast and the Furious franchise takes over as director of this latest incarnation and doesn't take long to put his stamp on the movie. From beginning to end this fast-paced storyline only slows down to toss in an occasional quip or punchline as the crew is swept up in a conflict on the outer edges of explored space.
Three years into its mission, the USS Enterprise arrives at Starbase Yorktown, a massive space station that makes Elysium look like a back yard tree house. Captain James Kirk has applied for a promotion to Vice Admiral having tired of the monotony of space exploration. He recommends Spock as the new captain of the Enterprise. Spock is also having reservations of continuing his tenure as he receives word from New Vulcan that Ambassador Spock (Spock's future self from another timeline) has died.
The Enterprise is dispatched on a rescue mission after Kalara, a survivor of a stranded ship having crash-landed on a planet nearby shows up at the Starbase. The planet, Altamid, is within an unexplored nebula nearby. Upon arriving at Altamid the Enterprise is ambushed and quickly torn apart by a massive swarm of small ships. Kirk orders the crew to abandon
ship as the Enterprise's decimated saucer section hurtles out of control toward the planet.On the surface, Sulu, Uhura, and other survivors are captured by Krall, the commander of the enemy swarm ships who is attempting to retrieve the Abronath, an ancient bioweapon of mass destruction. The artifact was stored upon the Enterprise, but Kirk had hidden it upon discovering it was why his ship and crew were attacked.
Kirk and Pavel Chekov discover Kalara is Krall's ally when she attempts to steal the Abronath when she is led to believe it is hidden within the ruined crash-landed saucer section of the Enterprise. To escape Krall's soldiers, Kirk activates the still functional boosters, causing the saucer to flip over crushing Kalara and the enemy soldiers.
Meanwhile, a wounded Spock and Dr. Leonard McCoy search for survivors and Scotty is rescued by Jaylah, a scavenger who previously escaped Krall's encampment (played by Sofia Boutella) . She takes Scott to her makeshift home, the grounded USS Franklin which turns out to be an NX class starship reported missing over a century earlier. Scott is reunited with Kirk, Chekov, McCoy, and Spock. Using the old Starfleet vessel as a base, they plot to raid Krall's camp and transport the crew to the Franklin, then escape the planet.
Krall discovers the alien Ensign Syl is Kirks secret hiding place for the Abronath (hidden inside her skull). The Abronath is the missing half of an ancient bioweapon, created by the planet's original inhabitants which can disintegrate a humanoid. With the device complete, Krall intends to attack the Federation planet by planet after killing the inhabitants of the Yorktown.
The Franklin broadcasts VHF transmissions, which at close range, disrupts and destroys Krall's fleet. Krall crash lands inside the Yorktown and flees into the city. Uhura discovers from the Franklin's logs that 'Krall' is actually Balthazar Edison, the former captain of the Franklin. Edison is a pre Federation soldier disillusioned with the newly founded Federation, rejecting its principles of unity and cooperation with former enemies. When he and his crew were stranded on Altamid no rescue was ever attempted. He believes they were deliberately stranded by the Federation and is hell bent on destroying it and everything it stands for.
The survivors, at the cost of their human physiology, used the discovered alien technology on the planet Altamid to prolong their lives. They then converted the dormant drone workers in
to the swarm fleet planning on using the alien technology to destroy the Federation. Kirk pursues Krall into Yorktown's ventilation system, where Krall activates the bioweapon. Before it can be unleashed, Kirk ejects the weapon and Krall into space. Spock and McCoy save Kirk moments before he too is meets the same fate.
After the ordeal the Starfleet crew finds new purpose to continue their mission of exploration. Kirk turns down the promotion to Vice Admiral and Spock decides to remain on the Enterprise and abandon his plans on continuing Ambassador Spock's work on New Vulcan. As the crew celebrates Kirk's birthday, they view the construction of their new ship, USS Enterprise-A.
The reviews of this movie have been harsh most mentioning plot being sacrificed for action. Upon seeing Star Trek Beyond I truly only have one criticism of the story line. Not enough time was spent on explanation of how the alien technology transformed Edison and the crew of the Franklin physically.
In this writers opinion I believe critics of today are failing to realize one major issue. Today's society is freeze-dried and microwaved and socially possessing a Twitter mentality. Our attention spans have diminished and minds are easily distracted. The Star Trek Millennium Reboot was a necessity for todays culture.
I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars being pleased with further development between the relationships of characters we know and love under completely different circumstances we've ever seen them experience. This Franchise pays homage to the original series respecting every character's personality and relationship (and even creating some new ones). The crew gels much in the same way as the original crew and red shirts always meet a tragic end. JJ Abrams and Justin Lin did an extraordinary job on this project and I believe it is destined to become a Sci-Fi classic that I will defenitly go see again. They have managed to recapture the romanticism and heroism of the original TV series and have gone above and beyond updating our beloved Science Fiction Western.
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