‘Star Trek Beyond’ is the third entry in the reboot/continuation of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise. In a summer full of mostly mediocre films ‘Star Trek Beyond’ is the breath of fresh air that the summer desperately needed. ‘Beyond’ is fun, exciting, engaging, and full of some of the year’s best moments, characters, shots, and sequences. Justin Lin (‘Fast and Furious 6’) is in the director’s chair this time around as the franchise’s previous ringleader, J.J. Abrams, was off directing another star-filled film. Having always been a man that bleeds ‘Star Wars’, ‘Star Trek’ never really gained my interest up until recent weeks where I re-watched the previous installments. Upon re-watching the reboot/continuation of 2009’s ‘Star Trek’ I found myself thrilled, attached, and more involved with ‘Star Trek’ now than ever before. As the marketing began I became a bit worried due to the mediocre first trailer but as the time went on the marketing began to get the hype train a rollin’. It seemed like the perfect blend of what the diehard Trekkies want and what makes a modern day blockbuster stand out. What I love most about these rejuvenated ‘Star Trek’ films is that it hinges entirely on the character interactions and their chemistry. The one major positive in all three films is that the chemistry between every actor and actress is done really well. Whether it’s Spock and Kirk, or Spock and Bones, or Kirk and Chekov, or Chekov and Sulu, or Spock and Uhura, you get the point but each dynamic has a meaning to it. Not only that but the action is well put together and it adds more to your overall experience with these characters. You root for Spock, Kirk, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, Scotty, and the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew to make it out alive. The writing in this trilogy (sans the third act of ‘Into Darkness’) has always been a major highlight and it shines through even more in ‘Beyond’. Kristian Harloff of the Schmoes Know put it best when he said that ‘Star Trek Beyond’ is a little film in a big film’s body. ‘Beyond’ has a significantly smaller scale than ‘Darkness’ but the film still has this epic blockbuster feel to it although it kind of has this underlying indie vibe throughout. Justin Lin did a wonderful job making ‘Trek’ his own but still keeping that Abrams stamp present. On a negative note, the film does contain quite a few problems that can’t be glossed over. Let me just say that these ‘Star Trek’ films have always been visually stunning and most shots never cease to blow me away, but scattered throughout ‘Beyond’ there are some really poor moments of CG. There are a couple moments of noticeably poor CGI that stuck out like a sore thumb considering that the rest of the film is gorgeous. Idris Elba as the villain Krall was really disappointing. This set of films never sets out to give us an all-time great villain but I feel like its something that this franchise is in need of right now. With someone like Elba stepping into a villainous role I was expecting a little more out of the character but not out of the performance. Krall is a unique little character but he leaves virtually zero impact on the film, Elba is perfectly fine on the performance side of things. The last negative that stood out was how a hefty portion of the action was shot. If there is any one thing that ‘Beyond’ missed, it was Abrams’ shooting of action sequences. Although I find ‘Darkness’ to be quite an average outing and Abrams’ weakest film, the way he shoots action is downright exceptional work. Here, Lin does a great job in the second half of the film but there are numerous amounts of quick edits scattered throughout action early on that really disengages you from the sequences. It felt like Paul Greengrass (‘Jason Bourne’) got into the director’s chair for those moments and it really disappointed me because the hand cam/shaky cam did not work for this film at all. Now that we have the negative Nancy section out of the way I have to tell you how truly great these set of films are. Each film (‘Trek’, ‘Darkness’, and ‘Beyond’) is important to growing each character, but to me it is always about progressing Kirk in the best way possible. In 2009’s ‘Trek’ we saw a Kirk that was beginning to mold himself into a man, he was immature and naïve, but grew as the film progressed. In 2013’s ‘Darkness’ we saw a Kirk that was finally coming into his own. He made more adult decisions and we saw a more mature version of the Kirk we first met. Now, in ‘Beyond’ we have a Kirk that has finally come into his own but is learning to deal with this responsibility, this life of being the Captain of a starship and keeping his crew as safe as possible. Each character has his or her own arc, and each is fleshed out wonderfully, but for me Kirk’s arc from ‘Trek’ to ‘Beyond’ sits at the forefront of it all. To touch back on character arcs for a second, it feels like these three films have allowed us to experience these adventures and conflicts with these characters. I feel like we’re learning about the human way of thinking with Spock, I feel like we’re participating in the decision making process with Kirk, and I feel like we’re participating in this universe just as much as these characters are. Each film also feels different from one another and it provides for a refreshing experience each time a new film releases in this universe. ‘Star Trek’ is an origin story and we begin this epic voyage with these characters all over again. ‘Into Darkness’ is the blockbuster film and contains some of the trilogy’s best and most exciting moments. ‘Beyond’ is like an independent film with a big budget and the trilogy’s best storyline. There are so many new, refreshing, and different elements being included in these films every time and it provides for a consistently fun film-going experience with these characters. I’m having an absolute blast with this franchise, and although I’m no diehard Trekkie I still appreciate the classics for being the classics. Having recently checked out a few episodes of The Original Star Trek Series (thanks Hulu) I can’t see how ANY Trekkie or new fan can be disappointed with this film. It’s fun, funny; exciting, thrilling, engaging, full of colorful characters, and has given a breath of fresh air to an otherwise dull season of movies. ‘Star Trek Beyond’ gets an 8.3/10