Opinions on the JJ Abrams rebooted Star Trek movies are divided among Star Trek fans. Ever since the release of Star Trek in 2009, I found myself a bit conflicted about these films. In my opinion, the best of Trek often does not rely on action and provides excellent storytelling and character development.
That being said, I generally like Star Trek 2009. The Star Trek film franchise was killed after the awful Star Trek: Nemesis, and, after an 18 year run on television, there were no current Star Trek shows on the air. Star Trek 2009 was exactly what Trek needed at the time. A fresh, exciting movie to get general audiences interested in Star Trek.
I did not like Star Trek Into Darkness. After watching Into Darkness, I was not optimistic about the next film.
I watched Star Trek Beyond as part of a marathon at the Regal Cinema in Chicago. Prior to seeing Beyond, I had an opportunity to rewatch 2009 and Into Darkness. This gave me some good perspective going into Star Trek Beyond, but it also meant I was a little burnt out by the time the movie started. I’ll be seeing it again in a couple days, which is why this is not a review of Beyond, but rather my initial impressions.
Minor spoilers follow.
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