Star Trek Beyond

Probably the worst episode of the franchise for me. But if every worst episode of a franchise looked like this, I'd go to the movies every day. Unfortunately, the third Star Trek operates with a not very interesting story that doesn't really move the characters anywhere, their relationships don't get much space (although the actors are all pretty well established in their roles), and nothing much actually happens realistically. It's just a story about the Enterprise crew running into a nutcase who wants to destroy everything nice in the universe "again". The middle part, where there's more talking than shooting and fighting, is a bit of a bore, but the beginning and end make up for it easily. We all knew that Justin Lin could do action, but the opening, in which the Enterprise takes a nasty hit, is an incredibly gripping scene that, especially in IMAX, totally stands out. As does the explosive finale, which had me grinning like an idiot as a Beastie Boys fan. Too bad for the slightly off-kilter villain and the aching holes in logic, but it all kind of belongs in a summer blockbuster. So if you want a big, loud, snappy, spectacular and fun movie, the new Star Trek is perfect. (15/05/2017)

As a space opera, it's more in the department of Mark Stone than "intended" Star Trek (only introductory ten minutes are in line with the latter one), the pace is furious as in the blockbuster movie and it's packed with action, but the action scenes are way too confusing, and so paradoxically the movie works best as a one-liner comedy, which is not taken seriously, not at all. And it helps a lot. (17/08/2016)

Perhaps the most elaborate script of the series, killed by the jockeying of the action races, where the routine waterfall of attractions is mostly spent sadly reminiscing about the times when two big destructive events were good enough and the rest was made up with fancy characters and casual humor. One witty line about stalking and a dozen fast and furious "copy & paste" shots for a hundred and twenty minutes. A clear aspirant for the Top 5 blockbuster shits of the year. (21/09/2016)

The latest Star Trek bears a striking resemblance to Star Wars on first impression: lots of worlds, strange creatures and smells, cityscapes and space ships. It's just that what is pure invention and creative joy in Star Wars is rather copied from somewhere in the new adventure of the Enteprise crew and set up to look fantastic to the eye, but not so glorious under the skin. The main plot is not even worth commenting on. Basically, there isn't any – unless you count the bad guy who wants to destroy the world, or in this case the universe. After a great opening action scene and a fantastic gala presentation of the combat base (visual effects artists rulez, camera wtf?) comes an exhausting half hour of hanging out on a semi-deserted planet in blackened filters with one cool painted girl kicking ass all around and still managing to listen to music. The ending returns to warp mode and puts up a solid battle, where it narrowly loses to its predecessors, it’s weaker. Less constricted, less dramatic and less dark, but endearingly mischievous with wonderfully layered characters and a healthy essence of humour. (22/08/2016)

For many, the choice of director was a surprise and even a cause for mistrust, but if we leave aside the fans’ rage, it proves to be an absolutely logical step on the part of the producers that can even be seen as an understanding of the essence of the franchise. Whether it was a coincidence or an intentional creative gamble, the truth remains that the Fast & Furious franchise became a team blockbuster under the auspices of Justin Lin. That is what Star Trek is supposed to be at its core, but Abrams tragically failed to understand that aspect in his fanboy blindness and, especially in the second film, he focused only on two characters, while leaving the others to serve only as their seconds. Lin himself is by no means a guarantee of balance; after all, Fast & Furious 6 basically suffered from similar maladies. In the case of the third Star Trek, it is thus appropriate to praise the involvement of Simon Pegg in the screenwriting team, thus ensuring that a representative of one of those overlooked characters could have an interest in the focus falling on Kirk and Spock and, conversely, the other members of the crew coming to the fore. Abrams deserves recognition for setting up a clever reboot of the iconic franchise, but paradoxically, it was only with Lin that the new Star Trek achieved its ideal form as an agile sci-fi team film that brilliantly alternates suspense, action, conversational humor, the attraction of the interaction of contrasting characters and the epic nature of a science-fiction spectacular with trashy entertainment. The final form of the iconic entry in the captain’s log becomes both a confirmation and a promise for the future that the crew of the Enterprise has finally become a well-coordinated team and a self-sufficient entity that has ceased to explore the famous world of fan-focused allusions, but is rather finally heading out in its own direction across uncharted space. (16/12/2016)