Star
Trek Beyond is a 2016 American science fiction action film directed
by Justin Lin from a screenplay by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, based on
the series Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry. It is the
thirteenth film in the Star Trek film franchise and the third
installment in the reboot series, following Star Trek (2009) and Star
Trek Into Darkness (2013) and picks up three years into their
historic original five year mission. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto
reprise their roles as Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock,
with Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Anton Yelchin
reprising their roles from the previous films. Idris Elba and Sofia
Boutella also join the cast.
Principal photography began
in Vancouver on June 25th, 2015. The film premiered in Sydney on July
7th, 2016 and was released in the United States on July 22nd, 2016.
Beyond marks one of the final film appearances of Yelchin, who died
in a car accident a month before its scheduled release. The film is
dedicated to the memory of Yelchin as well as fellow Star Trek actor
Leonard Nimoy, who died during pre-production. The film received
positive reviews, with many critics praised the performances, action
scenes, musical score, visual effects and tributes to Yelchin and Nimoy.
With Abrams returning as
only a producer of the third film, while focusing on directing Star
Wars: The Force Awakens, writer Roberto Orci was set to replace him
as director in May 2014. However, in December, Orci's role was
changed to producer only as well, with Edgar Wright considered to
replace him, along with a shortlist of directors, including Rupert
Wyatt, Morten Tyldum, Daniel Espinosa, Justin Lin, and Duncan Jones.
Also, Star Trek actor and film director Jonathan Frakes expressed
interest in the job. At the end of the month, Lin was announced as
director of the third installment.
In 2013, Orci had begun
writing the script with Patrick McKay and John D. Payne, with Payne
saying of the script in March, "We really want to get back to
the sense of exploration and wonder. The kind of optimistic sense of
the future that Star Trek has always kind of had at its core. It's
the Chicago Bulls in space, in terms of these people who are all
awesome at their job." In January 2015, after Orci's departure,
Simon Pegg (Scotty) and Doug Jung were hired to rewrite the
screenplay, with Pegg saying on the previous draft, Paramount
"had a script for Star Trek that wasn't really working for them.
I think the studio was worried that it might have been a little bit
too Star Trek-y." Pegg had been asked to make the new film
"more inclusive", stating that the solution was to
"make a western or a thriller or a heist movie, then populate
that with Star Trek characters so it's more inclusive to an audience
that might be a little bit reticent." Orci, Payne and McKay are
given official "written by" credit, alongside Pegg and
Jung, although Pegg clarified that neither he nor Jung had read the
existing script before crafting their own for the film. Paramount
later announced Payne and McKay will write the next installment.
Untitled
AV
CLUB FEATURETTE DEPARTMENT
Untitled
The Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test. Add
Star Trek Beyond to your DVD collection.
The first film's major cast
members signed on for two sequels as part of their original deals. In
2014, early in the film's development, William Shatner said that he
was contacted by producer Abrams to see if he would be interested in
a possible role, but as the process continued and the script changed
hands, the role never materialized.
In March 2015, Idris Elba
was in early talks to play the villain, and he was confirmed for the
role in the following months. Pegg noted that the villain would be an
original one, rather than a known antagonist from past stories in the
Star Trek franchise. In April, Sofia Boutella joined the cast in a
lead role, and in early July, Deep Roy was confirmed to reprise his
role of Keenser. That month, Joe Taslim was added to the cast
opposite Elba's villain, and by August, Lydia Wilson joined as well.
In March 2016, Shohreh Aghdashloo was cast as the High Command of the
Federation for reshoots on the film.
In
August 2015, composer Michael Giacchino confirmed that he would
return to write the score. On June 26, 2016, Barbadian singer Rihanna
released a teaser across her social media accounts for a single for
the film entitled "Sledgehammer", and the song premiered
the following day.
A teaser trailer for the film was released
on December 14th, 2015, and was criticized heavily for focusing too
much on action, and for featuring the Beastie Boys song
"Sabotage", which many considered out of place, despite its
use in the first film of the rebooted series. Pegg expressed similar
thoughts of dissatisfaction with the teaser, saying that he
"didn't love it" because "I know there's a lot more to
the film." He considered the trailer to be the marketing team
saying "Come and see this movie! It's full of action and
fun!" A second trailer was released on May 20th, 2016, to warmer
reviews. A third and final trailer was released on June 27th, 2016,
featuring Rihanna's single "Sledgehammer".
The finished film would be released in 2D,
RealD3D and IMAX 3D starting on July 22, 2016. Paramount had pushed
back the release of the film to 2016 to coincide with the 50th
anniversary celebration of the debut of Gene Roddenberry's original
sci-fi series. It had a global opening of $89.2 million and an IMAX
opening of $11.6 million.
The film has an approval rating of 83% on
Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critical consensus reads, "Star Trek
Beyond continues the franchise's post-reboot hot streak with an epic
sci-fi adventure that honors the series' sci-fi roots without
skimping on the blockbuster action." Metacritic gave the film
has a score of 68 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating
"generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on
an A+ to F scale.
Richard
Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and
said, "even with its big-screen pyrotechnics and its
feature-length running time, Star Trek Beyond plays like an extended
version of one of the better episodes from the original series, and I
mean that in the best possible way." Scott Collura of IGN
awarded the film 8.4/10, describing it as being: "terrific, a
fun and exciting entry in the series that balances subtle fan service
while also feeling fresh and modern; Star Trek Beyond is the perfect
way to celebrate the series’ 50th anniversary." David
Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said the screenplay by Simon Pegg
and Doug Jung, "injects a welcome strain of humor that's true to
the original Gene Roddenberry creation, delivering nostalgia without
stiff veneration."
Fans may have loved it but not every
critic was taken with the film. Kyle Smith of the New York Post
commented that the filmmakers, "should have called it Star Trek
Into Drowsiness." Dave Robinson writes that Star Trek Beyond
fails to push beyond its own roots and becomes just another very safe
sci-fi popcorn movie in an increasingly crowded market, that will
likely have you leaving the theatre feeling exactly as you
entered." Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film
a C+ and wrote, "with Beyond, it feels like just another summer
tentpole with not enough going on underneath the tent."
Pine and Quinto have signed contracts to
return as Kirk and Spock for a fourth film and Abrams confirmed plans
that Chris Hemsworth would return as Kirk's father, George, whom he
played in the prologue of the first film. Later that month, Paramount
confirmed the return of Hemsworth, as well as most of the Beyond
cast, producers Abrams and Lindsey Weber, and writers J. D. Payne and
Patrick McKay.
Anton
Yelchin (March 11th, 1989 – June 19th, 2016) was an American
film and television actor, known for the Star Trek reboot series,
Clumsy Smurf in The Smurfs and its sequel and for several other
prominent roles.
Born to a Russian Jewish family in
Leningrad, Yelchin relocated to the United States as an infant. He
began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television
roles and the Hollywood films Along Came a Spider and Hearts in
Atlantis (both 2001). His role as Jacob Clarke in the Steven
Spielberg miniseries Taken was significant in furthering his career
as a child actor. He later appeared on the television series Huff and
appeared in the films Terminator Salvation (2009), Charlie Bartlett
(2007), Fright Night (2011), Like Crazy (2011), Only Lovers Left
Alive (2013) and Green Room (2015). He appeared in Star Trek (2009),
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and the posthumously-released Star
Trek Beyond (2016) portraying Pavel Chekov, a role originated by
Walter Koenig in the original Star Trek TV series.
Early in the morning of June 19th, 2016,
Yelchin was found by friends pinned between his Jeep Grand Cherokee
and a brick pillar outside his home in Studio City, California, in
what was described as a "freak accident." Yelchin exited
his car while in his driveway, which is on a steep incline, when it
rolled back and trapped him against the pillar and a security fence.
He was pronounced dead later that day. He was 27. On August 1st,
2016, the attorney of Anton's parents announced that plans are in
place to file a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against Fiat Chrysler.
Star Trek producer/director J.J. Abrams
said that Yelchin's role will not be recast. Staffers at The Hall of
Fame are saddened by Yelchin's death and it's hard to imagine not
having a Chekov on the bridge of the Enterprise and we would agree
with Abrams that recasting the role with another actor would not be
right nor do we think be accepted by fans. Having said that, Janice
in accounting came up with an idea that would put a Chekov back on
the Enterprise. Pavel Chekov could have a younger sister, currently a
Starfleet cadet, who is determined to follow her late brother into space.
In
August 2015, composer Michael Giacchino confirmed that he would
return to write the score. On June 26, 2016, Barbadian singer Rihanna
released a teaser across her social media accounts for a single for
the film entitled "Sledgehammer", and the song premiered
the following day.
Richard
Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and
said, "even with its big-screen pyrotechnics and its
feature-length running time, Star Trek Beyond plays like an extended
version of one of the better episodes from the original series, and I
mean that in the best possible way." Scott Collura of IGN
awarded the film 8.4/10, describing it as being: "terrific, a
fun and exciting entry in the series that balances subtle fan service
while also feeling fresh and modern; Star Trek Beyond is the perfect
way to celebrate the series’ 50th anniversary." David
Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said the screenplay by Simon Pegg
and Doug Jung, "injects a welcome strain of humor that's true to
the original Gene Roddenberry creation, delivering nostalgia without
stiff veneration."
Anton
Yelchin (March 11th, 1989 – June 19th, 2016) was an American
film and television actor, known for the Star Trek reboot series,
Clumsy Smurf in The Smurfs and its sequel and for several other
prominent roles.
