Star Trek Beyond

 Who knew that in the 50 year history of Star Trek, the only thing missing was the Beastie Boys?!

    Clearly, this is a reference for those who have gone to see the film. I finally was able to see it tonight and I loved it. No, I was not scared off by the detractors of the latest entry in the Star Trek Reboot Franchise. I had every intention of seeing it the week it came out with a buddy of mine. But he kept putting it off with excuses that I later learned never came to be on his end. Maybe Rotten Tomatoes scared him away. Regardless, after 3 weeks of waiting, I said 'enough's enough." and decided to see it by myself.

    In this chapter of the rebooted Trek universe, Kirk and crew are into year 3 of their 5-year mission and are about to enjoy some much needed R&R. While on shore leave on the Yorktown space station, the Enterprise is called upon to launch a rescue mission is an uncharted sector of space. The missing ship is located in a nebula, which means that the Enterprise will be cut off from communicating with Starfleet. Once through the nebula, it becomes immediately appearant that Kirk and his crew were duped as the are overcome by an unknown swarm of enemy ships that cripple the Federation's flagship. 

   After ordering all hands to abandon ship, the majority of the Enterprise crew are captured by the army of a completely new character named Krall (Luther's Idris Elba, as you've never seen him before under about 9 pounds of prosthetics and make-up), whose got a major beef with the United Federation of Planets for some reason. But not all of the Enterprise crew are held captive by Krall. Kirk and Chekov made it out safely. Can they organize the remaining uncaptured crew members, save their comrades, and find a way off planet before Krall unleashes a weapon that promises to destroy the entire Alpha Quadrant?

     I don't know why some many people hatred this movie. I thought it was really good. By shear coincidence, I happened to see the film on the day that media outlets were declaring Star Trek Beyond to be a massive flop. But, this film had me and the 30 or so other patrons who saw the movie with me, flipping over how awesome it was. There was lots of great moments, some funny, lots filled with action. There's even a very touching tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy as well as the original Enterprise crew in this film.

     In the original Star Trek films, it is commonly agreed upon that the even numbered films are the best. But if you ask me, the odd numbered films in the reboot franchise series are the best. Beyond captures the spirit of the original series so well and it just surpassed Into Darkness, the previous Trek film that critics and fans just raved over. 

     Star Trek Beyond was directed by Fast & the Furious franchise director, Justin Lin and it marks the first of the new series not to be directed by J.J. Abrams, who was busy with Star Wars Episode VII. But Abrams did have a hand as an executive producer and his good buddy Greg Grunberg even makes an appearance in the film. 

     Maybe critics of this film weren't happy that Justin Lin was at the helm for this one. I for one thought he did an very good job. I'm not very familiar with his other works but with all of the crazy angles and fast paced machinery, you could tell that the Fast & the Furious had something to do with influencing this picture. But some of these crazy angled shots made me a tad motion sick, but I quickly was able to rebound from that. So glad I did not opt for 3-D!

      Don't let those who have trashed this film keep you away. It's a good way to spend 2 hours. In fact, it's one of those films that I kept looking at my phone not for knowing how much time until I could leave but I was checking to see how much time was left as I did not want this one to end. 
     
     Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The 18 Days of a Star Wars Christmas Miracle +7: Day 18 (SPOILER FREE MOVIE REVIEW)

  For today's advent, I decided to review the Force Awakens while being as spoiler free as possible. 
   
  For one thing, the Force Awakens is wicked fun. But it's not Empire Strikes Back- perhaps not only the greatest Star Wars film ever, but the best film of all-time- period. True, I have seen Episode V over 200 times and I might be a little biased. Multiple viewings of this film, which I am sure will be occurring in the next few weeks, will help me to really place this film at second or third place over A New Hope and Revenge of the Sith. 

   The acting was quite good. It was great seeing Han, Leia, Chewie, and some other friendly faces. But how did the new characters do? 
   Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron, the best pilot in the Resistance is cocky, fierce, and a little wild. But he's quite likable. The mysterious orphan Rey played by Daisy Ridley is a star in the making. I take that back, her performance as the scavenger from the planet Jakku is proof that a star is born. Another mysterious character is that of Kylo Ren, who plays a Sith Lord for the First Order. Played by Adam Driver- he's a creepy dude who I actually do not like at all (though his voice when helmeted rivals James Earl Jones' Darth Vader.)

   One thing about Episode VII that quite different from the other 6 movies are the villains. Unlike the Empire, the troops of the First Order don't strike me as evil. But they are baddies nonetheless. But whereas I love the bad guys characters of the Empire like the Emperor, Boba Fett, and, of course, Lord Vader, I hate these guys and hope that the resistance hands them their just desserts by the end of Episode IX. 

    Oh, I almost forgot one more character- the controversial Finn played by John Boyega. When he was first cast last year, some folks lost their freakin' minds over a black stormtrooper. The biggest argument was that the clones used as the original Stormtroopers were not black. Well, this is the second or third generation of stormtroopers made up of recruits and conscripts. So, haters: STIFLE!

    Boyega was the comic relief of the Force Awakens. But he wasn't annoyingly stupid like the notroious Jar Jar Binks. In fact, sometimes, his character of a conflicted stormtrooper played the straight man to an elderly Han Solo, who had some very funny moments as well. Still, Boyega's character was play with such heart and such charm that I openly welcome him into the Star Wars family. (On a side note, Boyega's Finn is rumored to be the son of Lando. If that becomes true, I'm totally fine with it because they both have that dapper swagger and a way with the ladies.)

   So, should you see Star Wars? Absolutely! The few trailers and commercials for the film haven't spoiled anything. In fact, expect some misdirects. JJ Abrams did a great job in making you think that Character A was going to turn out to be a Jedi or a villian, or someone's kid only to have it be Character B. (And yes, as I've been predicting a couple of characters from the Journey to the Force Awakens books do appear in this film. But do you have to read those books to understand what's going on? Not really, though Smuggler's Run does offer the most insight into the goings on in which we first are reintroduced to Han and Chewie.)

   Lastly, here's a couple of tips for seeing the movie this weekend.

   1. Get there early for seats but don't expect to see the film immediately at showtime. My tickets last night were for 7:30. It wasn't until 7:55 that the commercials and trailers finally ended.
   2. Cosplay is okay. But thanks to the a-hole in Denver, expect bag checks, head coverings and fake weapons to be banned, and regular appearances of ushers checking the emergency exits.
   3. There was a rumor of a secret scene at the end of Episode VII. If you hate staying through credits, go ahead and leave, there isn't anything waiting for you at the end of the movie except your car.
   4. Check your theatre for problems. I heard that one screening in Cary, NC was cancelled because their copy of the film was damaged. There were lots of upset folks last night.

   So there you have it. I hope you'll go out and see Star Wars this weekend. There are some many showings, you shouldn't have any troubles getting to see the Force Awakens. Was it a perfect movie? No, but even A New Hope had it's flaws. There were 2 moments that upset me and only 1 of which really pissed me off. Episode VII was a journey back to the Star Wars universe and JJ Abrams was the right man to do it. I hate that he's not directing the next 2 films. With lots of easter eggs, tributes, and original trilogy thrills, this is the next chapter of the House of Skywalker that we waited 32 long years for.

   The Force is strong with this one...

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

   

Star Trek Into Darkness

Into Darkness hits a little close to home with the acts of terrorism conducted by Benedict Cumberbatch’s character. Even more relevant is how Starfleet has become like our government when the long-range torpedoes developed to kill Cumberbatch are like the drones of today. What right does any government have to kill someone, even a known terrorist without a trial? It’s a question that not only Spock asks in the film, but the average Joe on the streets in the 21st century.

Besides being preachy, a few scenes seem like they were made only for being added to a video game- or to make the 3D version more exciting. But, those action scenes are too far fetched and not needed, really.

The acting is great. Abrams did a fantastic job getting actors who look and act like those of the Original series. I must admit, I liked the first Star Trek a little bit better, but in no way did this film not leave me wanting a 3rd film, either.

I am waiting for the director’s cut, because several actors are listed in the credits that do not appear in the film, like Chris Hemsworth's George Kirk and whoever Heather Langenkamp of Nightmare on Elm Street fame played.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.