Damn when did Chris Pine get so old?”  That’s what ran through my head during the opening scene of Star Trek Beyond.  I’ve always considered him in the same age bracket as myself, so upon seeing this it gave the same feeling I get when I see the “You Must Have Been Born By 1998” sign at the 7-11 checkout.  Did the makeup dept. purposely age him or is this how he actually looks now?  One of the broad plot points of the newest Star Trek is “Captain Kirk has a mid-life crisis,” so it’s entirely possible it’s makeup and some Just For Men – Touch of Grey, but nonetheless it rattled me. Just like it rattled me the first time I watched someone younger than me play in the NBA (Lebron James). And just like it rattled me when I turned 27 and realized I was no longer eligible for The Real World.

In regards to the actual movie….it’s ok.  I thought it was kinda dull until my favorite karaoke song kicks it into gear in the third act. I’ve never been a big Star Trek fan and unless I have a few friends in the Trekkie closet, I don’t know any either. But I know they exist (similar to Trump supporters).  If it is your jam, you likely already saw it opening weekend. For the rest, you can probably find something better to do with your $15 and wait for cable.

And sidenote: An unrecognizable Idris Elba plays the villain Krawl or Kral or Kale or whatever behind an alien mask and some sort of voice distortion.  I have no idea what the point of having a bonafide G like Elba play a part in your movie if you can’t tell its him (same goes for Oscar Isaac in X-Men). On top of this, Elba has voiced characters in 3 different animated movies this year, but no major roles as an actual human. Hopefully he gets himself out there a little more because he really is perfect to play the next Bond.  Tier 6  Update: On second thought, you can pass on this.