Star Trek Beyond (part 2)

In Part 1 of my review, I focused on how Star Trek Beyond handles the characters of Kirk and Spock. In Part 2, I address problems with the villain Krall…

Unfortunately, like its predecessors, Star Trek Beyond struggles when it comes to giving the crew of the Enterprise a worthy adversary. Krall isn’t nearly as offensive to Trek sensibilities as Khan was in Star Trek Into Darkness, but the character is easily the weakest part of the film.

*** SPOILER WARNING: I will discuss some major spoilers, so it is best to watch the film before reading any further. ***

Star Trek Beyond (part 1)

Star Trek Beyond is a sequel to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, but it takes greater effort than either of those two films to root itself in the spirit of The Original Series. Beyond is first and foremost an action film, yet it’s not afraid to slow down and allow the characters to interact. …

*** SPOILER WARNING: I will discuss some major spoilers, so it is best to watch the film before reading any further. ***

Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness is a decent enough action film, but it’s not a good “Star Trek” film. On the level of pure spectacle, I probably enjoyed this film more than the 2009 reboot. However, Into Darkness suffers from basic storytelling problems. There are some interesting ideas in the film, but it’s as if the writers didn’t know what to do with them.

SPOILER WARNING: I’ll be discussing spoilers, so tread cautiously if you haven’t seen this movie. One character revelation in particular will probably prove maddening to older Trek fans.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek is easily the most polished Star Trek movie ever made. It looks great. Abrams moves the story along at such a brisk pace that it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement. The new actors step into the iconic roles of Kirk, Spock, and Uhura with grace and ease. It’s a well produced summer action film.

Yet, that’s part of the problem. The 2009 film was the beginning of a reboot intended to introduce Star Trek to younger audiences. Unfortunately, that meant stripping the franchise of much of what made it “Star Trek.” This was quite deliberate on Paramount’s part. It even ran a marketing campaign boasting that this wasn’t “your father’s Star Trek.” The end result is a somewhat generic film.

Game of Thrones, “The Winds of Winter” (Season 6, Episode 10)

With only 13 episodes left for the show, Game of Thrones needed to wrap a lot of subplots in order to have enough time to deal with the impending White Walker invasion. “The Winds of Winter” did that, and then some. The episode killed off most supporting characters in a few dramatic scenes. As I’ve argued elsewhere, this downsizing was absolutely necessary. Game of Thrones had gotten too unwieldy; Season 5 seemed so intent on tracking the various subplots that it forgot to tell a story. “The Winds of Winter” violently confirmed that, at its core, Game of Thrones is, has been, and always will be about the three primary factions we met back in Season 1: the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryens.

Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards” (Season 6, Episode 9)

Game of Thrones has become infamous for its unpredictability. Beheading Ned Stark in Season 1 shocked viewers because it defied everything we thought we knew about fantasy stories (namely, that the hero always wins). Over the past season, the plot of Game of Thrones has become increasingly predictable; the show is no longer willing or able to subvert audience expectations (Hodor’s death in “The Door” being a major exception). Instead, how the characters respond to predictable plot developments has become less predictable. This is what makes “Battle of the Bastards” so effective. The plot is about as straightforward as Game of Thrones gets, yet the episode contains moments that subvert what we knew – or thought we knew – about these characters.

Game of Thrones, “No One” (Season 6, Episode 8)

Season 6 of Game of Thrones has been an improvement over the previous season in all ways but one: Meereen. To be fair, Meereen is far from becoming the new Dorne, but the plot thread isn’t quite working as effectively as I’d hoped. Tyrion’s time in Meereen had the potential to be a fascinating story about political compromise, but the writers seem unsure how to adapt such a story to the show’s format.

At the end of Season 5, the Sons of the Harpy forced Daenerys to flee Meereen. It seemed like a firm rejection of Daenerys’ heavy-handed reliance on military force to impose a social and political revolution. Daenerys abolished slavery overnight and left many dispossessed elites bitter and angry. She proved unable to govern effectively without the support – or at least acquiescence – of those elites.

Game of Thrones, “The Broken Man” (Season 6, Episode 7)

Before Season 6 aired, I talked with friends about my predictions for the story.  As Game of Thrones fans are wont to do, I focused on who would die and which characters might return after a long hiatus. I thought my friend’s prediction that Sandor Clegane (a.k.a., “The Hound”) would return was absolutely inane. As much as I’d enjoyed the Hound-Arya buddy comedy in Season 4, I wasn’t sad to see the character go because I thought he’d already had a satisfying arc. Moreover, Arya left him at the bottom of a cliff after he’d suffered fatal wounds in a battle against Brienne. Surely, he was dead.

Game of Thrones: “Blood of My Blood” (S6, E6)

For fans of George R.R. Martin’s novels, the biggest revelation in “Blood of My Blood” concerns the identity of a certain “Coldhands.” In the books, the mysterious Coldhands helps Bran and Meera reach the cave of the thee-eyed raven. His identity was never revealed, but fans had long speculated that it was Bran’s uncle Benjen, who in the first book (Season 1 of the show) had disappeared north of the Wall.

SPOILER WARNING for Season 6, Episode 6: “Blood of My Blood”

Game of Thrones: “The Door” (S6, E5)

It seems like the general consensus is that “The Door” is not only the best episode of Season 6 so far, but also the best episode of Game of Thrones since last year’s “Hardhome.” There’s a lot to like, from the earth-shattering revelation about the White Walkers to the wonderful skit in Braavos that reenacted Season 1. It also helped that the episode didn’t waste time with Ramsay Bolton or Dorne. Yet, I think one reason the episode worked so well is that we didn’t expect the big revelation about Hodor.