‘Star Trek Beyond’ a ‘fantastic movie, definitely deserves a watch’

The summer has brought us blockbuster events to give 2016 a run for most memorable year in film. Among box office hits like “Captain America: Civil War,” “Finding Dory” and the new “Ghostbusters,” is the third installment of the brand-new “Star Trek Beyond” movie franchise — number 13 in a long line of total Star Trek films. Audiences can expect this film to boldly go where this franchise hasn’t gone before. Spoilers for past Star Trek films ahead.

“Star Trek Beyond” expands on the continuity of the past two films, wherein there is an alternate timeline of events separate from the original franchise established by series creator, Gene Roddenberry.

In its current five-year mission to explore strange new worlds, the U.S.S. Enterprise is in its third year and Captain James T. Kirk, along with others, is beginning to become restless in the routine. Facing a possible promotion to admiral, Kirk begins to think about his future and who he wants to be. Meanwhile, Spock, second-in-command, begins to feel the full weight of being one of the last remaining Vulcans in the universe when a close friend passes.

Despite the crew’s inner turmoils, threats to peace in the universe never ceases. An officer enters a planet belonging to the United Federation of Planets reporting that her ship was attacked by something in a nebula located in a part of uncharted space. The only ship capable of surviving the trek — no pun intended — is the Enterprise.

The crew sets out with the officer in order to examine the uncharted nebula and assess what took down the ship. What they find is a swarm of alien ships that swiftly and brutally destroy the Enterprise, sending its crew down into the nearby planet and at the mercy of its tyrannical warlord Krall, played by Idris Elba.

The latest installment proves once again that Star Trek is not only a cinematically brilliant franchise, but also makes efforts to be socially conscious. The movie deals with undertones of the struggles faced by veterans after times of war, though this doesn’t become immediately clear until the second half of the movie. A new character, Jaylah, also exposes the crew to the oppression her people face under Krall, and the fear the crew face when Krall uses them against Kirk, as well as the Federation.

From what it seemed, the film took more liberty with practical effects than relying on visual effects like its predecessors have, a subtle yet noticeable difference. It gave the movie a more grounded reality, and it was refreshing to see less reliance on computer-generated effects.

Excellent acting was done by Zoe Saldana and John Cho, who played Uhura and Sulu respectively. However, the most notable dynamic was between Zachary Quinto, playing Spock, and Karl Urban as Doctor McCoy. The roles were played very well; seeing Spock and McCoy have a majority of interactions was interesting and great to see.

The film was also a respectable sign off to Leonard Nimoy, who originally played Spock in the original series and had large roles in the past two Star Trek films but died before production began. The film featured a tribute to Nimoy and Anton Yelchin, who also died earlier this year.

Overall, “Star Trek Beyond” was a fantastic movie and definitely deserves a watch on the big screen. It’s already been released, and ready to beam audiences up into a universe that expands as it moves further into the final frontier.