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Closing
in on the ripe old age of 58 in September of 2016 - I'm unfortunately old
enough to remember the long soggy parade of film sequels (I think there was 10)
for Gene Roddenberry’s creation – STAR TREK - films with William Shatner,
Leonard Nimoy, DeForrest Kelly and his ageing buddies from the TV show of the
60ts and 70ts. Some were passable but many were plain God-awful and
increasingly ridiculous.
Director
and Executive Producer J.J. Abrams then successfully re-booted the series with
the inspired casting of Chris Pine in the lead role of James T. Kirk., Zachary
Quinto (from "Heroes") as the big-eared and big-hearted Vulcan
'Spock' with the brilliant Karl Urban as the cantankerous Doctor 'Bones' McCoy.
Throwing in Zoe Zaldana as communications officer Lieutenant Uhura and Simon
Pegg as the wisecracking Engineer Montgormery 'Scotty' Scott as well as John
Cho and (the sadly passed) Anton Yelchin as Sulu and Chekov – the new casting
worked like a dream. There have been two more blockbusters to add to the vast
tally – both rocking and rolling for all the right reasons.
But
on the new 'Trek 3' – the makers of these films have hit something of a zenith
- the genuine magic of old finally returned for a new generation to lap up.
I've
just come from the local Impact Cinema in E17’s Empire (Tuesday, 26 July 2016)
with the sound of real applause and audience delight still ringing in my ears.
Everything about 2016’s "Star Trek Beyond" rocks - the amazing
visuals which at times can only be described as beautiful - the constant wit
and comradery that made the original crew such a joy to watch – perfect casting
in every single role – a nod to the old whilst embracing the new – and an
ingenious script provided by (Scotty himself) SIMON PEGG and DOUG JUNG.
Add
in a top baddie in Idris Elba (the reptilian Krall) and a stunning turn by
Algerian actress Sofia Boutella as the face-painted kick-ass Jaylah – you get
that rare combination of jaw-dropping visuals – wise-cracking one-liners that
genuinely elicited laughs – and a feeling of fun and pride in what they were
bringing to the screen.
Director
JUSTIN LIN is to be congratulated on this – but my heart gives thanks to the
real heroes of the piece – the writers Pegg and Jung – who delivered the best
script this film franchise has had in decades. In fact I thought "Star
Trek Beyond" was a lot better than the wildly overrated "Star Wars:
The Force Awakens" in every respect and especially in terms of sheer
entertainment value.
Trekkies
will need to see it and then own it when it turns up on BLU RAY for Christmas.
And
if Pegg and Jung write another script as good as this – then Star Trek will
indeed boldly go...and go...and go...and many old farts like me will finally be
glad to go back for more...
