Star Trek Beyond 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
The first J.J. Abrams directed STAR TREK reinvented the franchise and gave us an origin story of our two beloved heroes, Captain Kirk and Spock. It was an excellent way to jump-start what many believed to be a dead franchise. The follow-up, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, was enjoyable, but felt shackled by an obligation to pay homage to the classic STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. But with Abrams gone and all the homage having been paid, the Star Trek franchise is now free to pave its own path and thrust our heroes into uncharted adventures. Armed with the returning cast, a new director and a script from star Simon Pegg, we have a Star Trek movie that stands on its own and takes advantage of the excellent cast.
Captain Kirk and Spock have been exploring space for about three years now and are beginning to question their purpose and desire to continue their mission. While filling up on supplies at the Starbase Yorktown, the crew encounters Kalara, who claims to have been a part of a research team that’s trapped in an uncharted Nebula. Eager to find the next adventure, Captain Kirk accepts the rescue mission. But no sooner does he arrive than come face to face with Krall; a being intent on completing his doomsday device and in the process, destroying the Enterprise. Crash landed on a deserted planet, Kirk and his crew must find a way to defeat Krall before Krall destroys Yorktown.
More than the other two films, STAR TREK BEYOND is focused on the action and intensity of space exploration, way more than establishing or growing its characters. That’s the advantage of being the third film in the franchise; there’s no need to recap Kirk’s rebellious childhood or Spock’s conflict between emotions and logic. Instead, we get some very exciting action sequences and although we know our heroes aren’t going to meet their demise, the situations they encountered are genuinely life-threatening and that creates a nice intensity throughout the film. The crew also encounters a nice ally in Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), who looks cool and takes care of some bad guys with ease. Again, she doesn’t get a deep backstory, but it’s just enough to bring the audience in.
As with the first two films, the best part of these Star Trek movies is the great cast. Although I don’t always enjoy him in his non-Kirk roles, Chris Pine owns the role of Captain Kirk. But this isn’t just the Kirk show; Spock, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty and Chekov all shine in the film and everyone has a chance to do more than just sit behind a screen and repeat orders. That’s a good thing to keep going because although everyone loves Kirk and Spock, it’s nice to see everyone else have a part as well.
This crew has now been together for a few years and the mission this time around is to have fun and generate excitement in the audience. And in that regard, STAR TREK BEYOND succeeds. If these are the types of missions the Enterprise is in for in future films, then the Star Trek franchise is in good hands.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: I loved the first two STAR TREK films on 4K Ultra HD and I’m happy to report the third film is just as incredible, if not more so. Space looks so incredible in 4K and I felt this third film showcased more of it than the previous films. But even when the crew wasn’t in space, the detail and colors were impressive. The scene where Kirk and Chekov sneak back into the crashed Enterprise was set up for failure since it’s a CGI-heavy scene that takes place at night, but it looked fine in 4K. But I’m drawn more to the initial attack on the Enterprise in space and even though virtually every frame was CGI, the clarity and colors just jumped off the screen.
Audio: The Dolby Atmos included track is a nice compliment to the outstanding video presentation. The surround channels are used very nicely, which is good because this film commands a nice audio track.
Click STAR TREK 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review to read our reviews of the previous 4K releases of the Star Trek films.
There are no 4K exclusive special features, but it does include a Blu-ray of the film.
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