After two JJ Abrams blockbusters, we got Justin Lin’s Beyond —and it’s the hidden gem of the trilogy. Simon Pegg’s script understood Trek better than anyone. No superweapon. No universe-ending threat. Just the Enterprise crew stranded, broken, and learning to trust each other again. Idris Elba’s Krall was a unique villain: a lost Federation soldier who became what he hated. And the final act—using the Franklin , playing Sabotage, and the Enterprise rising from the ashes—was pure joy. This film felt like a 2-hour Original Series episode. It’s the one that got Star Trek.
The Kelvin Trilogy gave us Chris Pine’s cocky but vulnerable Kirk, Zachary Quinto’s struggling Spock, and Karl Urban’s scene-stealing Bones. It brought Trek back to theaters after a decade-long gap. And while Discovery and Strange New Worlds have since returned to “prime” canon, the Kelvin films remain a thrilling, emotional, and beautifully-shot what-if. Star Trek 2009 Into Darkness 2013 Beyond 2016 -...
It shouldn’t have worked. Recasting Spock, Kirk, and McCoy? Sacrilege. But JJ Abrams did the impossible: he made Star Trek cool again. The cold open with George Kirk’s sacrifice is still the most emotional moment in any Trek film. By creating an alternate timeline (the Narada ’s attack on the USS Kelvin ), the film honored canon while freeing itself from 40 years of continuity. The result? A lightning-fast, character-driven action movie that made non-Trekkies cry during Spock’s “I have been, and always shall be, yours.” After two JJ Abrams blockbusters, we got Justin