Star Trek Beyond

I could definetly tell that JJ Abrams did not direct this one. The style and tone are different than the previous 2, and that wasn't a bad thing, just different than what I was used to. I feel this would have worked better as a TV special instead of a full movie, because the plot doesn't really have much to offer. It's easily the weakest in the trilogy. I still liked it, but there was far too much untapped potential, and I think part of that came from the director choice. Some parts didn't really feel like Star Trek, they felt like a run-of-the-mill action flick, and I think that's because Justin Lin had been making the same type of movie for so long he's gotten himself into a rut. There were some great moments of humor throughout the film, particularly between Spock and Bones (of course), and there was some well-placed fanservice/tributes that made me almost tear up. Sometimes the action scenes dragged on for a bit too long but they were still fun. Idris Elba is great as the villian. Not as good as Benedict Cumberbatch in "Into Darkness", though. I still say the first one from 2009 is the best. I feel if maybe they had tweaked the script a bit, or waited for JJ Abrams to become available to direct, instead of merely producing, this could have been better. 

Grade: B.  8/10.  3.5/5 stars