Last week I went to see the new Star Trek movie in the theater, called Star Trek Beyond. Oh yeah - spoilers ahead - you've been warned :-)

So anyway, prior to going to see it I heard from some that it was so-so and I heard from others that loved it.  I was prepared to be disappointed but I actually liked this film a lot!  The saddest part of the film was watching Anton Yelchin on screen as Mr. Chekov and knowing that, even though there is a Star Trek 4 in the works, he will never be playing that character any longer due to his untimely death earlier this summer.

The film picks up in year 3 of the five year mission.  After a somewhat botched mission the enterprise comes to a crazy-looking starbase.  That starbase is really amazing (nothing like the original Trek starbases).  The starbase receives an unexpected visitor, someone who is fleeing a swarm of enemies.  The enterprise is sent on the rescue mission, and gets destroyed by aforementioned swarm.  Surprise!  It was all planned!  The mission at the beginning of the movie?  Part of a weapon!  Who's got the rest of the weapon?  The movie bad guy!  What does aforementioned bad guy want to do?  Destroy the federation!  Baddie knows of the weapon part and that it's on the enterprise so it's all a planned lure to get the ship there to take the weapon.  Nicely played!

On the surface of the planet, once the  enterprise crashes, they find another ship, the USS Franklin. A lost warp 4 ship from days gone by. This is what the Jayla (the new alien ally who reminds me a bit of Lilou from the fifth element in the way she speaks at times) and the remaining crew of the Enterprise rehab to get out of there.

So why does Kraal hate the federation so much?  Well, Kraal was federation.  He was the captain of the Franklin who was awaiting help from the federation - help that never came.  So, he got (understandably) bitter.  I am sure that whatever caused him to morph from a human so a vampiric creature didn't help with his mental disposition.   So, the enemy in this movie is really other humans - or rather underlying human tendencies. So, while this movie had a ton of action, it seemed to have  quite a lot of what makes Trek be Trek - philosophy.  It was a movie about who you are and your purpose in life.  This was evident from the beginning (Kirk's birthday being the same day that his father died), Kirk's purpose in life, and Spock's purpose as well.  Spock was going to quit starfleet to take on Ambassador Spock's role (Nimoy) because that's what he thinks his duty is, but when he sees to group photo of the Enterprise bridge crew from the prime universe, all of them much older and still together I think he sees that it's OK to remain where he is.

There was a bit of an issue with the USS Franklin and how it all fits together, but Trek Core has an explanation.  Sure, fine.  I'll go with it :p  --> Where the Franklin fits in.

Some really nice tie-ins to the television series:

• Shohreh Aghdashloo  plays Commodore Paris who (presumably) connects with Admiral Paris, and Tom Paris, from Star Trek Voyager.
• There was always a question of what the heck happened to the MACOs from Star Trek Enteprise.  Well, we sort of find out a small part of this in this movie.
• The saucer section of the 1701 crash-lands on the planet in a manner that reminded me of the crash-landing on the saucer section  of the 1701D in Generations

All things considered, I'd give this movie a 5/5