Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Thankfully, I did not let Nemesis be the last Trek film I ever watched. But I did approach STB with a little trepidation. Reports of it being more like the original series than the previous two installments clashed with the trailer playing the Beastie Boys, which George Takei himself thought made it look generic apart from the fleet uniforms. And how long would the hyped new same-sex match for Sulu (John Cho) demand our attention?

The answer: about three literal seconds. More important is the touching notice that First Officer Spock's (Zachary Quinto) alternate-timeline counterpart (the late Leonard Nimoy) has passed away. It distracts the present Spock from his personally chosen mission to do his part for the few remaining Vulcans, which yielded a peaceable breakup with Lt. Uhura (Zoe Saldana).

But this, too, does not concern the main conflict. Before long, the heroes are attacked by unfamiliar aliens, who capture many crew members and a portion of a powerful weapon. The disabled Enterprise crashes on the enemy's mountainous planet, where Krall (the ubiquitous Idris Elba) is a Federation-hating life energy vampire out to annihilate the new space city of Yorktown. As the key crew come back together from their separate pods, they enlist the aid of badass alien woman Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), who has a bone to pick with Krall.

As usual for ST, the villain is by no means the best part. I notice that for all the old-school trappings, there are still no Klingons in sight. Maybe the studio thinks modern audiences won't accept Soviet substitutes or a warrior race, even with some good members. They will accept a scary, angry monster played by a black man, apparently. I'll let you decide whether that's an improvement.

One classic factor that had been missing from the J.J. Abrams flicks is the interplay between stoic Spock and fussy Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban, now beardless). It's back with a vengeance, creating a good chunk of the appreciable comic relief (thanks, Scottie actor and co-writer Simon Pegg), as well as a few tender moments when they admit they don't really despise each other.

Indeed, the most outstanding element is in the cooperation. With Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) not half the jerk he once was, all seven main crew members -- including the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov -- have plenty of lines and play major parts in the resolution. Even Keenser, Scottie's ill-justified short alien assistant, does something for a change. It reinforces the point that, contrary to Krall's philosophy, our strength owes more to unity than to conflict. (Personally, I hold them about equal, but I know which to root for.)

For all my liking of Abrams' contributions, I have to say this feels less like a fanfic and more like a genuine extended episode, albeit with a few changes (cf. the Beastie Boys). Whatever you think of the audio, you should enjoy some visuals -- the wilderness, Yorktown, the ship attack, Jaylah -- with no artificial lens flare this time. All in all, a worthy way to spend time if you care one bit for ST.