Movie Review: Star Trek Beyond (2016)

It's an amazing time to be a Star Trek fan in 2016, especially one that grew up watching "The Original Series" and its sequel-esque film series that includes the epic cult classic "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan" and the political conspiracy driven finale that is "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country".  The Trek franchise celebrates 50 years come September 8 this year, and much has come past the voyages of the original starship Enterprise - including a "Next Generation" manning a new legacy ship, the exploits of a space station called "Deep Space 9", and the journey of a lost ship called "Voyager". These are just some of the well-known spin-offs that have turned Gene Roddenberry's small science fiction idea into a mega popular franchise - which is honored with the timed release of a new installment in the semi-rebooted "Alternate Reality" film series that began with 2009's "Star Trek".

When Paramount Pictures pushed for production of what would eventually become "Star Trek Beyond" to meet the deadline of 2016 - the franchise's 50th Anniversary, there was plenty of changes and moves that began to make fans wonder how the film would fare under the command of a new director. J.J. Abrams, who directed the 2009 film and its 2013 sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness", would not return as director since he was helming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Instead, he and his production Bad Robot would serve as producers for the new sequel. Eventually, directorial duties would fall on the hands of Taiwanese American director Justin Lin - best known for his involvement in the Fast and Furious film franchise.

Production soon went as schedule, and when the first teaser arrived - it was met with mixed reactions from the fanbase. Eventually better suited trailers (like the one embedded below) were released and felt more appropriate for a "Star Trek" film... But the question was would Beyond meet expectations and serve to catapult more interest for new fans as well as honor longtime Trekkies at the same time? Check after the jump for my thoughts!