somewhat scientific: star trek beyond

growing up i was never a star trek fan. i thought the television series was boring and the one movie i recall seeing was super boring. it took place on earth and maybe kirk and spock were searching for something--but who cares? all i can tell you was that as a 10-year-old i found it beyond boring. i was always a star wars person. never a trekkie. even when i heard j.j. abrams was relaunching the franchise i wasn't all that excited about it. and i love everything j.j. abrams does. i think he's the bees knees, but was he going to get me to watch star trek? i don't think so

but when i was visiting my friend ian in l.a. a couple years ago, he suggested we go see the second installment in the new franchise, which was out in theaters. going to see movies in a theater is a treat to a parent of young children. and the night before we did that we caught up on the first installment. and i was  pleasantly surprised, while i wouldn't describe the movies as high cinema, they were not boring. i enjoyed them mightily.

so when the latest film in the franchise, star trek beyond, was released around my birthday, i had the perfect excuse to go to the movies with my husband. a proper date night--a rare treat in these parts. and it was fun. i don't love these movies for the plot, but the action and the relationships between the characters makes the experience fun. i love the humor in these films, and one of the ways the movie traded on humor and characters was by putting them in unexpected pairings. this had a way of freshening the dynamics of the franchise while giving the actors some new beats to explore. in the end this felt like it must have been a very fun movie to film, like they enjoyed filming this thing. not sure if that's true or not, but it feels that way.

i have to say i'm looking forward to the next one. these movies have definitely made me a trekkie, something i never thought i'd say.