It’s kind of incredible just how long the “Star Trek” brand has managed to endure without ever really lapsing into outright awfulness. Sure, there was a bit of a lull period in the late ’90s and early ’00s, with mostly forgettable entries like ‘Insurrection‘ and ‘Nemesis‘ indicating that there was no longer a captain steering the Enterprise towards a meaningful destination. And yet “Star Trek,” against all odds, has remained vital in an increasingly crowded blockbuster landscape. “Star Trek Beyond,” Justin Lin’s newest addition to the growing franchise, has gone over (mostly) well with critics, in addition to raking in just a little under a solid $60 million dollar gross for its opening weekend.
READ MORE: ‘Star Trek’ Never Goes Beyond Its Familiar Orbit, But Entertains Nonetheless [Review]
There has been, of course, lots of conversation surrounding ‘Beyond,’ since even before the film hit theaters. There’s the issue of the gay kiss that was ultimately cut from the film, as well as George Takei’s noted displeasure with the movie’s portrayal of Captain Hikaru Sulu and also the untimely passing of actor Anton Yelchin. And yet, all the chatter surrounding the release of ‘Beyond’ merely serves to underline just how seriously the Trekkies take this sort of thing. Of course, J.J. Abrams essentially re-energized the brand with his 2009 reboot and its gloomier sequel ‘Into Darkness,’ but most hardcore Trekkies have been swearing to live long and prosper long before Bad Robot got their hands on the material. After all these years, “Star Trek” remains a lucrative property, one whose popularity shows no immediate signs of waning.
“Star Trek” acolytes will surely delight in this new video essay, titled “The Evolution Of Star Trek.” Indeed, the video is a 16-minute collage that traces “Star Trek” to its origins: when the sets were campy and largely handmade, the mood was borderline-comic and the aliens were guys in rubber costumes as opposed to the glowering baddie Khan that Benedict Cumberbatch played in ‘Into Darkness.’ As far as scope and visual imagination, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” represents the first big leap in the saga, though ‘Wrath of Khan‘ introduced a real darkness and a disturbing moral ambiguity that was simply not there before. Any “Star Trek” nut is going to naturally flip over this video, since it covers any and all iterations of the property — even the not-so-great stuff. Before you head out and see ‘Beyond’ this upcoming weekend, relive your favorite Trekkie moments by checking this video. [Boing Boing]