STAR TREK BEYOND 3D [2016] [3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital Download] [UK Release] Now for the First Time See it in Real 3D! The Best Action Sci-Fi Film of 2016! ‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ is Smart, Funny and Rip-Roaring Sci-Fi Action-Adventure!
From Director Justin Lin and Producer J.J. Abrams comes one of the best-reviewed action movies for the year 2016. Dispatched on a rescue mission to the farthest reaches of space, the U.S.S. Enterprise is ambushed by Krall, a ruthless enemy sworn against the federation. Crash-landing on an uncharted hostile world, Captain Kirk, Spock and crew are separated with no means of escape. Only Jaylah, a rebellious warrior, can help them reunite and find a way off the planet in a race against time to stop Krall’s deadly army from triggering all-out galactic war.
FILM FACT: Awards and Nomination: 2017 Jupiter Awards: Best International Actor for Chris Pine. 2016 Critics Choice Awards: Nominated: Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie for Star Trek Beyond. Nominated: Best Hair and Makeup for Star Trek Beyond. 2016 Golden Trailer Awards: Nominated: Best Teaser. 2016 Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Nominated: Best Song in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film for "Sledgehammer" [Sia Furler, Robyn Fenty and Jesse Shatkin]. 2016 Teen Choice Awards: Nominated: Choice AnTEENcipated Movie for Star Trek Beyond. Nominated: Choice Movie Actor: AnTEENcipated for Chris Pine. Nominated: Choice Movie Actress: AnTEENcipated for Zoe Saldana.
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoë Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Sofia Boutella, Idris Elba, Joe Taslim, Lydia Wilson, Sara Maria Forsberg (alien voice-over), Deep Roy, Melissa Roxburgh, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Greg Grunberg, Danny Pudi, Kim Kold, Anita Brown, Doug Jung, Dan Payne, Shea Whigham, Jeff Bezos, Nicole Anthony (uncredited), Eric Banerd (uncredited), Jabbz Farooqi (uncredited), Sorena Khanlou (uncredited), James 'Jimmy Love' Lawson (uncredited), (uncredited), Natalie Moon (uncredited), Jeff Reyes (uncredited), Jason Matthew Smith (uncredited), Bryce Soderberg (uncredited), Jaewon Suh (uncredited), Alan Yu (uncredited) and Sam Yunussov (uncredited)
Director: Justin Lin
Producers: Dana Goldberg, David Ellison, Helen Pollak, J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Chernov, Josh Henson, Justin Lin, Lindsey Weber, Roberto Orci, Ron Ames and Tommy Harper
Screenplay: Doug Jung (writer), Simon Pegg (writer), John D. Payne (writer) (uncredited), Patrick McKay (writer) (uncredited), Roberto Orci (writer) (uncredited) and Gene Roddenberry (based and created upon "Star Trek")
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Cinematography: Stephen F. Windon [Director of Photography]
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: DOLBY ATMOS [7.1 Dolby TrueHD Compatible]
English: 5.1 Audio Description
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
German: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Italian: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: Danish, German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and English SDH
Running Time: 122 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Paramount Pictures UK / SKYDANCE
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: This new film ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D’ [2016] combines awesome spectacular digital effects with affectionate nods to the TV series and Director Justin Lin brings his bravura of action energy and a certain nostalgic flair to the STAR TREK series, even as he boldly goes where too many have gone before. This film is smart, funny, heartfelt, wildly entertaining, and with an emotional story ground entirely in terrific actors playing iconic characters, and is everything Trekkie audiences could want from this Sci-Fi film. I say hats off to Justin Lin for continuing the legacy of J.J. Abrams in this third instalment. Chris Pine has rocked the show once again with great chemistry and especially with his crew members. Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella were given their best performance. Visual effects were awesome and definitely treat to watch in 3 D. Script and its execution were terrific.
The Sci-Fi film picks up with the U.S.S. Enterprise three years into their five-year mission, and the frontier is beginning to take its toll. Captain Kirk [Chris Pine] feels adrift and has lost his sense of purpose, while Mr. Spock [Zachary Quinto] is also at a crossroads in his personal and professional life. With the loss of the original Spock and this film is a genuinely affecting homage to the passing of the beloved Leonard Nimoy, and the current Mr. Spock is unsure with how to move forward with his own life. Both men have eyes on the U.S.S. Enterprise’s exit door when the ship is conscripted to rescue a crashed crew from a previously unknown planet.
But no sooner does the U.S.S. Enterprise appear in the planet’s atmosphere then the U.S.S. Enterprise is swarmed by the forces of Krall [Idris Elba], and the crew scattered across the planet’s surface. Kirk and Chekov (the late and deeply lamented Anton Yelchin) are paired off while Mr. Spock and Bones [Karl Urban] take their bickering double-act on the road. Uhura [Zoë Saldana] and Sulu [John Cho] are held prisoner with the rest of the crew, and Scotty [Simon Pegg] stumbles across Jaylah [Sofia Boutella], a survivalist on the planet that may hold the key to Krall’s true agenda.
The third instalment, ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D,’ brings back some of the TV series’ hope and wonder. In a witty opening scene, Kirk bumbles through a diplomatic expedition that goes comically wrong, and we’re then told, via his Captain’s Log, that the U.S.S. Enterprise is three years into its five-year outer-space mission.
This is classic STAR TREK spirit and it is still there when the U.S.S. Enterprise docks with the Federation space station called Yorktown, a floating Christmas-tree bauble that is so vast that it has its own skyscrapers and seems to be seen as an optimistic vision of a future in which humans, aliens and holograms bustle along happily, side by side. The glimpse of Sulu [John Cho] with his husband is uplifting, too. The film’s director, Justin Lin, seems to be responding to the last film, ‘STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS,’ by taking STAR TREK out of darkness and into the light.
The U.S.S. Enterprise’s crew in Yorktown downtime is cut short when Captain Kirk hears that another ship has been hijacked by a bony-faced alien warlord called Krall [Idris Elba]. The U.S.S. Enterprise blasts off in pursuit, but our heroes have barely made it through a rocky “unstable nebula,” when they’re attacked by a swarm of Krall’s spiky metal space bees.
When the U.S.S. Enterprise crash lands on Krall’s planet, a planet similar to Earth-like gravity, atmosphere and vegetation, of course there is also some brilliant all action knockabout fun to be had. The screenplay is co-written by Simon Pegg, who also plays Scotty, and he embraces and parodies buddy-movie clichés with his usual nerdy glee. The banter between Bones [Karl Urban] and a delirious Spock [Zachary Quinto] is particularly enjoyable.
The storyline of ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D’ is extremely solid and very well maintained throughout. The Sci-Fi film has its high points and its low points like every other film does, however you can definitely tell that the crew had a lot of fun making this film. From the very well placed humour among the cast, to the overall acting capabilities of the cast and them conveying their characters as if it were meant to be.
Another thing that is well worth mentioning is the totally awesome film music score by the brilliant composer Michael Giacchino. Never in my life did I imagine that a STAR TREK film would include some of the songs that were included with this one. Now, this isn’t a bad thing by any means, it was just surprising to see that a Beastie Boys song was used in STAR TREK, now that must be a first. To sum things up, get ready for some interesting side adventures, snappy dialogues, brilliant CGI, an entertaining music film score and also a relationship angle, for good measure. The kind of blend that is definitely a signature J.J. Abrams [co-producer]. Then there's the enemy leader Krall [Idris Elba] who is bad to the bone no doubt, but without being over-the-top and this STAR TREK Sci-Fi franchise is a really enjoyable space opera romp, where no man has gone before.
This film is understandably dedicated to the memory of Anton Yelchin, who unfortunately passed away a month prior to the film’s release, as well as fellow actor Leonard Nimoy who passed away during pre-production. Overall, the film received positive reviews, with many critics praising the cast for their performances, action sequences, musical score, and visual effects, has grossed over $340 million worldwide.
STAR TREK BEYOND 3D MUSIC TRACK LISTING
FIGHT THE POWER (Written by Carlton Ridenhour, Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee and Eric Sadler) [Performed by Public Enemy]
SABOTAGE (Written by Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch and Michael Louis Diamond) [Performed by Beastie Boys]
SLEDGEHAMMER (Written by Sia Furler, Jesse Shatkin and Rihanna) [Performed by Rihanna]
STAR TREK MAIN THEME (uncredited) (1966) (Composed by Alexander Courage and Gene Roddenberry) (Arranged by Michael Giacchino)
3D Blu-ray Image Quality – Paramount Pictures UK have once again presents us with this Blu-ray ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D’ in an incredibly strong visual experience. You have wonderful deep blacks of night and space offer excellent contrasting details of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The awesome sets and costume details are very strong, with the bright wonderful colours of the uniforms, the bright greens of the planet vegetation and especially the different colour rock formations and rocky surfaces, all proving to be totally excellent. Skin tones are also natural looking and while the sequence on the crashed saucer section of the U.S.S. Enterprise appears quite dark at times, it does resemble how the sequence looked when I saw it in the cinema in 3D and so, given the unstable and low-lit nature of the scene, it appears accurate in appearance.
3D Blu-ray Audio Quality – Paramount Pictures UK have once again given us this Blu-ray ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D’ in an incredibly strong audio experience, especially with the DOLBY ATMOS [7.1 Dolby TrueHD Compatible] and is truly spectacular. This space opera action film has a number of well-staged action sequences and it is perhaps unsurprising that the audio would deliver with active surround effects, deeply felt bass and crisp front and especially the centre audio speaker. The U.S.S. Enterprise destruction sequence is fully immersive, but make sure the neighbours are not around to experience this awesome sound experience in that part of the film, as is with the finale part of the film and is dominated with film music score that works surprisingly well and fills all the speakers entirely, that will blow you away.
2D Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2016] [1080p] [2.39:1] [1:02] Here we get to view two deleted scenes, which are entitled ‘KIRK AND SCOTTY IN THE TERMINAL’ and ‘SCOTTY GET A BOB AND TUCKER.’ As usual you can either watch them separately or Play All.
Special Feature: Beyond The Darkness [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:08] This is the start of the first of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, where we find everyone praising the director and finding out who massive fan of STAR TREK in general and also discuss their collaboration and trying to achieve what they envisioned for their new adventure in the STAR TREK franchise. One interesting revelation here is they talk about that scene where we see Sulu as gay and screenwriter Doug Jung plays his husband greet each other, as they feel that in their century there are no barriers when it comes to sexual orientation. Unfortunately, some of the people talking to the camera, the sound is out of sync. Contributors include: J.J. Abrams [Producer], Justin Lin [Director], Doug Jung [Co-Writer], Simon Pegg [‘Scotty’/ Co-Writer] and Lindsay Webb [Producer].
Special Feature: Enterprise Takedown [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:31] This is the second of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, where take a look the Kalara character, the assault on the U.S.S. Enterprise, and the ships final destruction, with lots of input from cast and crew, especially their feeling about this latest STAR TREK film. We also get lots of input on the concepts of the Enterprise/Swarm battle, but nothing about how it was accomplished on screen. Unfortunately, once again some of the people talking to the camera, the sound is out of sync. Contributors include: Doug Jung [Co-Writer], Chris Pine [Kirk], Lydia Wilson [Kalara], Greg D’Auria [Editor], J.J. Abrams [Producer], Lindsey Weber [Producer], Justin Lin [Director], Idris Elba [‘Krall’], Simon Pegg [‘Scotty’/ Co-Writer], Karl Urban [‘Bones’], Dylan Highsmith [Editor] and John Cho [‘Sulu’].
Special Feature: Divided and Conquered [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:17] This is the third of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, where we get to view in the storyline scenario, especially about why the ship's crew being split up into smaller groups and is examined in greater detail in looking at the various pairings of the crew. We also get a short interview footage with the actor Anton Yelcin, which of course was recorded just before his fatal his death, and of course it is a little heart-breaking. Contributors include: Simon Pegg [‘Scotty’/ Co-Writer], Justin Lin [Director], Zachary Quinto [‘Spock’], Doug Jung [Co-Writer], Steven Sprung [Editor], Karl Urban [‘Bones’], Sofia Boutella [‘Jaylah’], Greg D’Auria [Editor], Anton Yelcin [‘Chekov’], Chris Pine [‘Kirk’], J.J. Abrams [Producer], John Cho [‘Sulu’] and Zoë Saldana [‘Uhura’].
Special Feature: A Warped Sense of Revenge [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:15] This is the fourth of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, and here we focus on the character Krall and his two loyal crew-mates Manas and Kalara, and delves into his backstory and motivations for his anger towards the Federation and it also fleshes out some of what was only hinted at or quickly glossed over in the actual film. Contributors include: Simon Pegg [‘Scotty’/ Co-Writer], Justin Lin [Director], Idris Elba [‘Krall’], Doug Jung [Co-Writer], Joe Taslim [‘Manas’] and Lydia Wilson [‘Kalara’].
Special Feature: Trekking In The Desert [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:05] This is the fifth of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, but here we have a short look at the filming in Dubai for the “Yorktown” starbase cityscape scenes, where they thought the city was a natural choice since it had futuristic buildings and brand new state-of-the-art soundstages for the growing film industry in Dubai, and there is also a bit on the diverse population of the city and the use of local Trekkie fans as extras. We also hear how the crew had a really good time shooting the scenes there and being in Dubai which they thought was fantastic. Contributors include: Justin Lin [Director], Jeffrey Chernov [Executive Producer], Lindsey Weber [Producer], Richard Klein [Political Consultant], Stephen F. Windon [Director of Photography], Thomas Sanders [Production Designer], Chris Pine [‘Kirk’], Idris Elba [‘Krall’] and Karl Urban [‘Bones’].
Special Feature: Exploring Strange New Worlds [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:02] This is the sixth of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, and this time we focus on design process as well as different locations and we get to view tours of Krall’s basecamp, and the U.S.S. Enterprise as well as the U.S.S. Franklin sets. We also get rare behind-the-scenes footage that shows us how the rotating sets inside the crashing U.S.S. Enterprise were achieved. Contributors include: Thomas Sanders [Production Designer], Justin Lin [Director], Don Macaulay [Supervising Art Director], Aja Kai Rowley [Assistant Art Director], Zachary Quinto [‘Spock’], Karl Urban [‘Bones’], John Cho [‘Sulu’], Anton Yelchin [‘Chekov’], Lydia Wilson [‘Kalara’], Chris Pine [‘Kirk’] and Sofia Boutella [‘Jaylah’].
Special Feature: New Life, New Civilizations [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:04] This is the seventh of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, and here we focus and view a plethora of 50 unique alien races of the prosthetic face masks we get to view in the ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D’ film with alien makeup master and also features interviews with one of the more interesting and important to the plot of the film. The chief makeup effects designer explains how they were created with a focus on practical effects rather than CGI. Many of the masks that are only glimpsed briefly in the film and are enormously elaborate and you can see and realise why these STAR TREK films cost massive amounts of money, especially having to produce multiple amounts of the same prosthetic face masks. Contributors include: Idris Elba [‘Krall’], Doug Jung [Co-Writer], Sofia Boutella [‘Jaylah’], Zachary Quinto [‘Spock’], Joe Taslim [‘Manas’], Lydia Wilson [‘Kalara’] and Deep Roy [‘Keenser’].
Special Feature: To Live Long and Prosper [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [7:51] This is the eighth of the Paramount Pictures promotional film type documentaries, and here we focus on the timeline of past and present cast and crew who reflect on 50 years of the STAR TREK franchise and we get film clips interspersed with timeline clips to show the parallels and inspirations from the Prime Directive universe in the newer STAR TREK film franchise. It also demonstrates the reboot series by showing a side-by-side comparison of the ending of 'Wrath of Khan' as well as the scene in ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D’ film. Contributors include: Simon Pegg [‘Scotty’/ Co-Writer], J.J. Abrams [Producer], Justin Lin [Director], Zachary Quinto [‘Spock’], Doug Jung [Co-Writer], Zoë Saldana [‘Uhuru’], Chris Pine [‘Kirk’], John Cho [Sulu], Karl Urban [‘Bones’] and Anton Yelchin [‘Chekov’].
Special Feature: For Leonard and Anton [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:04] Here we to see a really nice personal homage and tribute to Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin, who sadly passed away prior to this film's production. Sadly this special feature may leave you slightly misty eyed, so get out the Kleenex tissues handy. Contributors include: J.J. Abrams [Producer], Justin Lin [Director], Karl Urban [‘Bones’], John Cho [‘Sulu’], Zachary Quinto [‘Spock’] and Simon Pegg [‘Scotty’/ Co-Writer].
Special Feature: Gag Reel [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:13] This is a typical look at reels of flubs, crack ups, etc., and it is interesting in seeing behind the veneer of the well-executed takes that does not make it into the polished final film version. But overall I felt some of the clips we see are sometimes very silly and also totally pointless.
Finally, ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D’ is totally wonderful and full of energy. Unfortunately I cannot at this moment in time enjoy the DOLBY ATMOS with my set up, but the 7.1 Dolby TrueHD Compatible is still truly amazing audio experience and especially having the ability to hear the elevated audio portions of the various scenes allowed for an all-out immersive audio experience. With all of that, you the audience is going to experience a totally out of this world experience. The films story line was rock solid and has me looking forward to the eventual and hopefully next STAR TREK franchise film in the series and curious to see where the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise will end up on their fourth year of their journey to where no one has gone before. I really enjoyed watching ‘STAR TREK BEYOND 3D,’ which I watched it twice in one day and that is how brilliant this Sci-Fi film is. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
