All right, I stand corrected. Well, sort of. Star Trek Beyond was great, but I wasn't completely in the wrong for criticizing it during its promotions.
Watching it, my eyes watered. Not because it's sad, but because, at long last, I was watching a Star Trek movie. JJ Abrams admitted he wasn't a Star Trek fan, and those first two movies showed it. But this time it was clear that people who care about the franchise were in charge of it, at least the writing part.
This time it was about the crew coming together to solve the problems. It's what Star Trek was always supposed to be about! They are overwhelmed by what they're facing, so no amount of fighting is going to win the day. They have to intellectually figure something out to save the day, and they have to do it together, each one bringing their own special knowledge and talents.
But I still hold to the fact that the promotion campaign was crap. In fact, it hurt the film. While it opened to a positive weekend, it did worse than the other movies. Why? Because they promoted it as a hip action film rather than a smart, emotional one. It detracted the audiences that would want to see it, people like me. I only grudgingly went because I heard several people who hated the Abrams films said they loved this one.
Somehow, Hollywood still thinks it will get a larger audience by following formulas of pop culture. But if they just trust good material, they'll get larger audiences. I believe this film will have legs, and will bring Star Trek back as long as they follow the team who created this film rather than those who marketed it. I'm waiting with baited breath for the next one, and the series, if they're going to be this smart about them.
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