The Star Trek Kelvin timeline films created a lot of controversy within the fanbase. Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, and Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy were appealing to some fans and alienating to others.
Even so, these films have their place in Star Trek lore. The Kelvin films stirred interest from a new generation of fans. They debuted in 2009, 40 years after Star Trek: The Original Series went off the air, and the films brought a fresh new take on the starship Enterprise and its crew.
They also seamlessly married classic musical tones with new cinematic styles. Rather than compare these films to the existing movies and series, it seems more prudent to compare them to each other. So, from Star Trek to Star Trek Beyond, let’s see where each Kelvin film ranks.
3. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
The second film in the new age brings up the rear. Positively, Into Darkness gave us our first fresh look at the Klingon race since The Original Series films introduced facial ridges. That in itself was very exciting; however, it was the rewriting of the beloved Khan Noonien Singh's story that irked many fans.
On the one hand, Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as the maniacal space villain was superb. There is no role that he cannot excel in. However, Khan’s story was heavily altered, and his encounter with the USS Enterprise crew failed to deliver the same gravitas that we received back in the 1960s and 1980s.
Additionally, Captain Kirk’s relationship with Dr. Carol Marcus was altered awkwardly, and their storyline was abandoned after this film. Overall, Into Darkness felt like a half-baked way of recreating Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
2. Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Star Trek Beyond was not devoid of its own set of controversy. Many hardcore fans felt that the tone was not truly indicative of what Star Trek is supposed to be. Additionally, this film featured a rehashed storyline previously depicted in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, with the destruction of the Enterprise and the subsequent production of the Enterprise-A. Still, Beyond delivered character development in the cases of our heroes and their adversaries.
Beyond provided Trek fans with their first look at Star Trek: Enterprise-era themes since the show went off the air in 2005. The Easter eggs in the story were fun to explore, and the film provided a glimpse into humanity's struggles during the early portion of space exploration in the Star Trek universe. Without giving away too many spoilers, Beyond does a great job of forcing humans to look in the mirror and avoid becoming the brutal savages that Star Trek characters strive to transcend.
1. Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek put the franchise back on the map with a bang in J.J. Abrams’ creative reimagining of the entire universe. This film features fantastic nostalgia while delivering a fresh story in a new timeline outside the bounds of established canon. Star Trek passes the torch by featuring an alternate timeline Spock portrayed by Quinto, in addition to our beloved Spock Prime, portrayed by none other than Leonard Nimoy himself.
This film is very fast-paced with Abrams’ signature flashy filmmaking style. While all three films in the Kelvin timeline can be considered good, there is no doubt that the movie that started it all is the best. Now, if we could just get a fourth entry released to tie the whole story together!
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