21. Star Trek: The Kelvin Timeline Movies

This week on Film Utopia, Steven, Benjamin, and Sean break the established rules of transportation range and lens-flare their way into the Kelvin Timeline movies. Starting with the J.J. Abrams helmed Star Trek (2009) and its follow up, Into (Shit) Darkness, and finally the Justin Lin directed Star Trek: Beyond. Strap yourself in because things get… testy. There’s not a huge amount of love for J.J. Abrams or Alex Kurtzman, and Into Darkness draws particular fire for its disgraceful rehash of Wrath of Khan, right down to the emotionally hollow “KHAAAN!” inversion that still makes our collective souls curl up. Add in the awkwardly forced Spock/Uhura romance, and you’ve got plenty of fuel for rant engines. But it’s not all photon torpedoes: we give credit where it’s due. Some casting is spot-on, with Karl Urban’s Bones and Zachary Quinto’s Spock getting and approving collective nod, and even the films’ harshest critics among us admit that—occasionally—the reboot got the spirit right.