I first discovered Justin Lin back in 2002 when he released (and wrote) Better Luck Tomorrow. I liked what he had to say. It reminded me a lot of the wannabe asian gangsters who I hung around ten years prior. Kinda made me homesick. It also helped me realize how authentic and limited the dude is. Justin Lin is a director capable of saying a great many things according to the strength of script he is presented with, but Lin is only ever telling one slickly published story. It’s Better Luck Tomorrow wherever he goes. This time he went into space. He might’ve left Vin Diesel and the keys to american muscle behind, but he sure as hell brought at least one motorcycle and the same openly stereotypical friendships that made him a millionaire.
In case there is some confusion as to my position here, Star Trek Beyond is terrible. It is the kind of movie that makes you feel like it could be really good and then really falls on its face over and over again–largely in the last 30 minutes. When dealing with space drama the idea of plausibility is always a bit tenuous, but in Lin-land nothing about the antagonists seem remotely plausible or sensible. This includes their motivations which seem to align more closely with the villain from Spectre than any truly relevant angle. There’s even that moment where the bad guy wants to turn good and you’re like, ‘Oh gawd please don’t. Just kill Kirk and be done with this’. He doesn’t, of course. They never do. Instead some deeply rooted friendship nonsense transpires and Kirk is again saved.
Look, maybe I just don’t get these so-called millennials. Maybe I’m fine with that, because an 85% fan rating on Rotten Tomatoes is supposed to have meaning. Hell, even the critics wound up at 83%. I’m sticking to my splat. Star Trek Beyond is a terrible movie and gives me a great swell of concern as the series (and Star Wars as well) moves forward.