Film: Star Trek Beyond

Film last night.. did a quick trawl of what was on, and top of the list came Star Trek Beyond. On at my local cinema, where they have free parking from 7 - the only time after that was 8.50, but what the hey, I was working from home today, so could stay up a bit late. In the event, the late start time was a boon, as my boss was in the office, got a lift from me, and asked whether I was in a rush in the evening - it was his one day in the office this month, and he had a pile of expenses to submit (been travelling a lot for work, lately).

So we stayed late, but I was still in plenty of time for the film. Made it a bit of a rush to eat, though, and I ended up not finishing it - never mind. Traffic was light, and I made the cinema in 10 minutes. Parked, made my way upstairs, had my ticket scanned, found the screen (annoyingly, there are two entrances, but one is never staffed, so you have to enter by the other - and that was the opposite end from the screen, last night). So by the time I took my seat, it was half an hour after the scheduled start time - the screen was dark, and as I sat down, the film certificate for Star Trek came on. So, perfect timing.. always thought Cineworld has about half an hour of ads! Handy to know.

In short, I was a bit ho-hum about seeing this. I do love sci-fi, but it's not all terrific, especially some of the more modern ones - too much style over substance. But the trailer for this had been unusually subdued, and as the film started, I came to appreciate that this was a lot better than it had a right to be. J. J. Abrams, who directed the last Star Trek, is busy with Star Wars these days, it seems, so this Star Trek had a different director - and I think it was all the better for it.

It looks.. absolutely.. beautiful. It's shots like this that remind me why I love sci-fi, and space has never looked lovelier. Breathtaking, literally. There's a scene - where a starship crashes into a planet (small spoiler) - that's an absolute work of art. And just wait till you see what they've conjured up for  the enemy spacecraft! Woo-hoo, I haven't come across this idea before, but it makes for some terrific shots..

It's not without problems. They constantly complain that Simon Pegg (playing Scotty, and who also co-wrote this) is annoying - but frankly, I don't think he has anything on Bones (Karl Urban). See, the banter that went on between him and Spock in the original tv series and films was funny. Here, it isn't. For one thing, Karl Urban just - isn't - funny. Well, nobody in the screen last night was laughing at the jokes. Please, recast or just leave out the banter between them - there's no point in recreating it just for the sake of it! And on top of all that, you can forget about more detailed plot points - it's too hard to catch what they say about it, so I didn't try: but you'll get the gist in the end, anyway.

That aside, it was gorgeous, it was memorable, and it had a depth that I found lacking in, for instance, the latest Star Wars. I was delighted I got to see it. And that I could sleep in this morning! Tonight is to be another film - and after spending most of a day redoing the film list for this week, I lighted on El Verdugo (The Executioner) - a Spanish comedy, made in the 60s, about a hapless undertaker who marries an executioner's daughter and finds himself obliged to take on that trade. (At the time of release, Franco's government didn't realise it was against the death penalty - until it got an award at the Venice Film Festival. Whereupon the producers had trouble releasing it in Spain!) Showing in the BFI, and I got the second-last seat.. sold out now, I see. Again, a nice late showing, which gives me time to do other stuff. Like blog - I was wrecked last night, not having got much sleep the night before.

Again, I don't have to be up early tomorrow - I am meeting Helen for lunch, and in the evening I'm joining London Dramatic Arts - who got a great deal on tickets, for once - for The Plough and the Stars, at the National. Funnily enough, I've never seen it live - didn't even do it in school, because I did Higher Level English, which meant we got taught Shakespeare, while those doing Ordinary Level did O' Casey.. I did get to see it on telly, eventually.