Don't Breathe - a breathless thrill ride

movie review

Don't Breathe

Starring: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, and Stephen Lang

Director: Fede Alvarez

Tagline: This house looked like an easy target. Until they found what was inside.

Hollywood hasn’t exactly been at its best this summer. Many of the biggest, most anticipated blockbusters of the season have turned out to be downright disappointing. However, some of the smaller projects that have come along have been considerably well-crafted than their more expensive counterparts, and horror-thriller Don’t Breathe falls in this category.

The film revolves around three friends whose attempt to burglarise a house ends up in a struggle for survival.

Rocky (Jane Levy), her boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovatto), and their friend Alex (Dylan Minnette) have been making a living by robbing houses. They target homes secured by Alex’s father’s security company, taking only items they can sell. But the group decides to loot cash when they find out a sightless army veteran (Stephen Lang) is hiding thousands of dollars – the settlement money he received after a wealthy young woman killed his daughter in a car accident – in his heavily secured, barricaded house. Seeing this as a chance to escape their poverty-ridden lives, the trio breaks into the blind man’s home, only to discover their target isn’t exactly as helpless as they might’ve expected. The friends find themselves being mercilessly hunted by the owner of the house that is also hiding a shocking secret within its walls.

While its setting may not seem exceptional, Don’t Breathe gives an interesting spin to the home invasion premise, giving us an intense thriller that keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats. The movie averts many common clichés, and instead of just relying on gore or jump scares, it opts to focus on creating a dark, sinister ambience where obstacles constantly worry the protagonists. Best enjoyed by avoiding all spoilers before you watch it, the film’s storyline surprises you midway with a twist you definitely won’t see coming. But you may or may not find it ludicrous, depending on how much you analyse it.

Director Fede Alvarez amps up the suspense as the house turns into a claustrophobic prison for the thieves, building up the dread with each turn. Although where he and his team don’t succeed is in making the central trio particularly interesting. A few stereotypes are at place in some of the characterisations. Money, in particular, isn’t presented as anything beyond a caricatured thug. Rocky, however, gets the most character development, with her wish to move from Detroit to California with her sister to get away from her neglectful-mother. You are, ultimately, left with the feeling that the writers could have made the characters more compelling, although the solid cast makes up for some of the deficiencies. Levy delivers an impressive performance as the criminal-turned-victim, but the standout is definitely Lang, whose menacing blind man makes the film scary.

On the whole, Don’t Breathe is well-made and engrossing, as the tense execution turns the relatively simple premise into a suspenseful and creepy thriller. While it isn’t exactly the most memorable horror film you’ll ever see, Don’t Breathe offers plenty of scares and is likely to please the fans of the genre.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

- Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune website - 19th September, 2016 *

Van Gogh - portrait of an artist

book review

A talented life cut short by mental illness, Vincent van Gogh’s magic endures through the precious works he left behind

Book: Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings

Authors: Ingo F. Walther and Rainer Metzger

He may not have gained fame and fortune during his lifetime, but Vincent van Gogh has since been recognised as one of the most important artists of all time. During his short life, the Dutch painter created hundreds of pieces of art, and even though he famously only sold one painting — ‘The Red Vineyard’ (1888) — while he was alive, his canvases now rank among the world’s most expensive art works. Several of his paintings have gained widespread popularity since his death, while accounts of his troubled life have made him the subject of public fascination. The acclaimed post-impressionist and his work are the focus of Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings, a volume that is part of Taschen’s Bibliotheca Universalis series and has been written by art historians Ingo F. Walther and Rainer Metzger.

The very comprehensive tome chronicles the life of the artist and reproduces the approximately 870 (mostly oil) paintings that he made from the early 1880s till his suicide in 1890 at the age of 37. Biographical and historical details add context to the works of art, as do the excerpts from his letters — most of which were addressed to his brother and lifelong supporter, art dealer Theo van Gogh — that provide a running commentary on his paintings as well as shedding light on the thoughts and circumstances that led to their creation.

Divided into six sequential sections, the pages capture a snapshot of the painter’s life while charting his evolution as an artist. Born to a Dutch pastor and ominously named after his parents’ stillborn first son, van Gogh arrived into a family that had ties to the art community. Three of his uncles were art dealers, one of whom — his godfather, Vincent van Gogh or “Uncle Cent” — found him work at a dealership where the younger Vincent would “make his own first contacts with paintings and drawings”. He eventually took up painting after deciding to become an artist in 1880, then developed his skill over the next decade.

A talented life cut short by mental illness, Vincent van Gogh’s magic endures through the precious works he left behind

The volume of art van Gogh produced is beyond impressive and shows his dedication to his chosen craft, even when it wasn’t paying the kind of dividends the artist would have hoped for. The book explains how the painter tried to express his own views of the world in his symbolic pictures. Whether he was creating portraits of peasants or searching for the anthropomorphic side of nature in rural landscapes, the canvas served as a means for delivering his concept of artistic truth. The authors analyse how van Gogh’s work was shaped by his Christian upbringing, romantic intensity, socialist hopes, deficient training as an artist, his mental issues, and how his style changed with each relocation, ultimately reaching its zenith towards the end of his life when he created “a stupendous series of masterpieces arguably unequalled in any other artist’s oeuvre”.

Van Gogh as a subject is downright riveting. He may not have fit society’s standards of “correctness and ability” as an artist or a man, but that is precisely what makes him so interesting both as a painter and a person. The telling details that contextualise the art works highlight the striking presence that even the most ordinary objects have in van Gogh’s work; it is astounding how much he can express in a painting of something as common as grass, and how a motif as simple as chairs can be laden with so much significance.

The authors’ depth of knowledge is very impressive and clearly on display throughout the book. Walther and Metzger create a very detailed portrait of van Gogh. Also, in comparing him to the painters and movements of his time, they bring the whole era to life. The book is an education in the world of art and tries to make its topic accessible to both the public and scholars. You would, of course, have to be significantly interested in the Dutch artist to purchase this book; those who aren’t intrigued by the topic probably won’t want to read a discussion this detailed.

The main draw of the book, as is obvious from its subtitle, is that it offers a collection of “the complete paintings” by van Gogh. This isn’t a compendium of his complete works — there are a few drawings peppered here and there, but the focus remains on his paintings. These paintings — which are more or less in chronological order — are each identified with a title, along with information about the place and month of creation and their current location. Most of the pictures are in colour. Some, however, are black and white, primarily the ones that were destroyed, have gone missing, or have landed in “anonymous private hands” and colour reproduction was not permitted. Not all images, however, can be seen in a very significant level of detail. The hardback book is over 700 pages long, but the size of its pages is smaller than your average hard cover. Some of the more prominent canvases — like The Night Café in Arles (1888), Starry Night (1889), Old Man in Sorrow (On the Threshold of Eternity) (1890), and Portrait of Doctor Gachet (1890) — have been given one or even two pages to themselves; others share the page with text, while the remaining have been crammed into the margins. The size of many of the images, therefore, is quite small, which makes it difficult to see the intricacies of his art.

Also, it takes a while for the text to catch up with the illustrations. Initially the words and photos are out of sync, with the authors discussing pictures that were depicted nearly a hundred pages ago. The writers acknowledge this fact, saying that “the text and illustrations may be far apart because of the sheer number of illustrations”. The font size, too, is very small, and likely to cause eyestrain. If you don’t have perfect eyesight or want to see detailed images of the paintings, then it might be a better idea to seek out a different volume that is bigger in size.

On the whole, Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings is an interesting, well-researched look at a compelling figure. The text helps the reader decode the meaning behind the artist’s pictures by grasping the background of his efforts and analysing the significance he saw in them. The book will also leave you with an appreciation of van Gogh as a letter writer, and its discussion of everything from his bond with his brother, dream of an artists’ community, and the circumstances that led to his tragic demise will give you a better understanding of the painter. While this edition might not be ideal for those who want large, clear pictures of the artist’s paintings (or want a complete collection of all his drawings and other artworks), it is still a terrific compilation for everyone who wants to see the painter’s work as well as understand what it symbolises.

- Sameen Amer

Books & Authors, Dawn - 18th September, 2016 *

Catching Up With Mizmaar

interview: music mix

Kashan Admani, the group’s frontman, talks to Instep about his stint on Coke Studio 9 as a guitarist and collaborating with Shubha Mudgal

Philosophers probably didn’t have Mizmaar in mind when they talked about change being the only constant, but the idea sure seems to apply to the Karachi-based pop rock band’s line-up. Only months after making their comeback with a replacement vocalist, the band, once again, found themselves without a singer when newcomer Mashhad Sharyar relocated to the U.S. The group then declared their intention to operate as a “multi-singer venture”, but have now re-emerged with a new vocalist, Asad Rasheed. The new line-up of Mizmaar recently released a single, titled ‘Jogi’ that features Indian songstress Shubha Mudgal. In an interview with Instep, the group’s frontman Kashan Admani fills us in on all the recent developments regarding Mizmaar as well as his stint as a guitarist on the latest season of Coke Studio.

Instep: How did you get the chance to collaborate with Shubha Mudgal on your new song ‘Jogi’? How was the experience of working with her?
Kashan Admani: The collaboration was made possible through our friends and patrons Palash Sen and Alok Parande of Euphoria. The experience of working with her was phenomenal. We initially thought we would have to take her through the song stepwise and the recording process might take very long, but she blew us away by delivering the vocals in a matter of 25 minutes for the entire song. Every line she sang was so good that it made it very difficult for us to select the final parts. She is an incredible singer and an amazing person!

Instep: This is your second collaboration with an Indian artist, the previous being ‘Yeh Dil’ with Euphoria’s Palash Sen. What has inspired you to pursue these cross-border collaborations?
Kashan: These collaborations were actually a part of a music programme that I had developed in 2012 and recorded the pilot episode of. The show was plagiarized by a very well known platform and so we released them as our band’s collaborations.

Instep: Please tell us about ‘Jogi’ and the creative process behind the song. How was the track written and composed?
Kashan: ‘Jogi’ is a prayer to seek God and to inspire the thought that we ourselves are responsible for all the negativity around us.
The song was composed based on a guitar riff and a rough melody which got better as we jammed and then turned into a proper verse, pre-chorus, and chorus. I always have some kind of thought behind a melody, and as soon as the creative process started, I knew the lyrics had to be Sufi. We then got Khalish, a very talented new poet who has also done additional lines in ‘Afreen Afreen’ from Coke Studio season 9, to write the final words for the song based on our dummy words.

Instep: What can you tell us about the ‘Jogi’ music video?
Kashan: The music video part for Shubha Jee was shot on the same day and in the same recording studio where she did her vocals in Delhi while we shot the band’s performance parts in my studio. The post production was also done internally as we have a full fledged video department also.

Instep: You have a new vocalist, Asad Rasheed. How did you find and recruit him? Is there a particular reason he seemed like a good fit for the band? And is he now the new permanent vocalist of Mizmaar?
Kashan: Asad actually messaged [Mizmaar drummer] Alfred [D’mello] and told him that he liked the band and that he also sings. He sent a few voice demos to Alfred also and Alfred was impressed by his singing skills, so we invited him over to gauge his singing abilities and we felt that he has the ability to carry both eastern and western styles of singing which suits Mizmaar’s sound, so we offered him to work with us.

Instep: Why did vocalist Mashhad Sharyar not work out for the band? Is the album still going to feature the material you recorded with Mashhad on vocals?
Kashan: Mashhad moved to the U.S. permanently and did not intend to come back, so working as a band with him became impossible. No, the album will not feature songs released in his voice.

Instep: You also worked with vocalist Hamza Tanveer. Why didn’t he continue performing with or join the band?
Kashan: He was invited to perform with us for one concert as we had already committed to do the performance and Mashhad was unavailable. At that point we were not thinking of Hamza as a permanent replacement and we were exploring the possibility of working with multiple singers.

Instep: Do you still plan to continue being a “multi-singer venture” and feature a different singer on every single of the album?
Kashan: We will surely collaborate with multiple singers but will feature the permanent line-up of the band in each song.

Instep: You were planning to release your new album last year. Why the delay?
Kashan: We intended to release the album but then realized that it’s better to release the album as singles for now, as each single can then be marketed appropriately and given its due push. We do intend to release the album but will do it after we have released a few more singles.

Instep: Kashan, how did the chance to perform on Coke Studio come up? How was the experience of being a part of the show? Any highlights you’d like to share with us?
Kashan: Strings asked me if I’d be interested in doing Coke Studio as a guitar player to which I agreed considering that’s part of my skill set and it’d be fun to work with so many great musicians. I have worked with Strings in the past on various occasions and I have always enjoyed working with them. Coke Studio also turned out to be a great experience and I really enjoyed being a part of it. Strings are doing a superb job at producing the show.

Instep: How do you feel about the reception this season of Coke Studio has received?
Kashan: I feel that having multiple music directors was a great concept. Commercially the show is doing quite well which can be gauged from the views it has on YouTube. A few critics who don’t have any understanding of music and just form opinions based on things they hear from a bunch of so called musicians or producers doesn’t really matter. If tomorrow Coke Studio is gone, where will the Pakistani music industry stand? As it is, musicians are suffering because of the media playing only Bollywood content and little or no support for local independent musicians.

Instep: You launched The Spaark music school last year. How is that project going?
Kashan: The Spaark is doing really well and we have a big number of students of different ages learning various instruments at our facility. The registrations are increasing every day which is very encouraging.

Instep: What can we expect from Mizmaar in the coming months?
Kashan: We are working on a lot of new music and plan to release songs very frequently in the coming months.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep Today, The News - 12th September, 2016 *

Thing Explainer - as simple as possible

book review

Book: Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

Author: Randall Munroe

A few years ago — in November 2012 to be precise — an instalment of the webcomic xkcd featured the Saturn V rocket, the vehicle that supported the Apollo programme for lunar exploration. In the elegant infographic titled ‘Up Goer Five’, cartoonist Randall Munroe detailed the workings of the “flying space car” that took people to the moon, explaining the rocket’s mechanism using only the thousand most common words in the English language. That conceit has now spawned the book Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, a simplified look at how things work.

The book features “annotated blueprints” that show the structure and function of a varied selection of devices and apparatus, mostly focusing on topics that fall in the categories of physics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy.

Munroe looks at items that range from relatively simple (like pen and pencil, padlock, and a tree) to fairly complex (like a nuclear reactor, jet engine, helicopter, submarine, and many more), covering everything from the human body to Martian rovers and the periodic table in the process. The author doesn’t refer to most things by their actual names, instead creating descriptive titles for each object using his list of “ten hundred” simple words. The International Space Station, for instance, becomes a “shared space house”; the Large Hadron Collider turns into the “big tiny thing hitter”; a submarine is a “boat that goes under the sea”; while animal cells and the human torso are titled “tiny bags of water you’re made of” and “bags of stuff inside you” respectively.

Each object usually takes up one page of the book (although some are expanded to multiple pages); its workings are generally explained using a central diagram that illustrates its structure, with descriptions detailing the main parts or component of the item and what roles they play.

The result is an informative, and often amusing, look at many of the things we come across or hear about in our everyday lives but don’t necessarily know much about. Thing Explainer is chock-full of interesting trivia. This is a volume both children and adults can enjoy; it’s impossible not to learn something while reading it. The illustrations are absolutely terrific and are pretty much the heart of the book. Munroe’s (enviable!) intelligence and thorough grasp of his subjects is palpable on every page as he creatively communicates the ideas, putting things in a unique perspective and presenting topics in ways you might never have thought of before. Plus his humorous asides make sure you stay amused.

Trying to present complex theories in an accessible way without getting bogged down in technical jargon is a commendable idea, and Munroe deserves a pat for conceiving this project and trying to make scientific principles easier to grasp for the layperson. But it turns out that relying on the most frequently used words to explain things doesn’t necessarily make concepts less complicated. At times, the use of simple words just makes things even more confusing, as the explanations are too vague and imprecise to give readers a clear understanding of what is actually going on. The statements become more and more convoluted as Munroe substitutes simple words for terms that would have elucidated the procedure more concisely and elegantly. Sometimes the descriptions even start to feel like clues that don’t mean much if you don’t know the answer to the riddles that are embedded in the text.

The proper names of components have not been used in the book, which makes the learning process less effective. The weird, whimsical names that are used instead might be amusing but rarely serve any purpose. Mentioning the actual terms in a separate little box on each page or in an appendix at the end of the book would have been a useful addendum and made Thing Explainer both clearer and more educational.

Also, the items in the book aren’t sorted by categories or organised in any way, and the contents jump from topic to topic. Putting items that fall under the same subject together would have helped things complement each other and made the book feel more orderly.

Overall, it feels as if sticking to a contrived conceit took precedence over being as informative as possible. The 1,000 word limit is too restrictive, and that is primarily why Thing Explainer isn’t a very effective “thing explainer” on its own. The book requires either constant googling or prior knowledge of the subject matter — these simple explanations will make a lot more sense if you find the proper descriptions elsewhere, or are already familiar with the mechanics of what you are reading about.

Perhaps the reason why the book feels a tad disappointing is that the American author (who is a former NASA roboticist) has repeatedly set a high standard with his delightfully nerdy work, and the depth of Thing Explainer falls a little short in comparison to his previous endeavours. Munroe has already proven his ability to communicate interesting ideas in an offbeat, refreshing style over and again. His terrific comic xkcd — in which stick figures explore the world of “romance, sarcasm, math, and language” — merges science humour with observations on life, and has been amusing geeks since its inception in 2005. And his previous book What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions delved into the world of the impossible, unravelling absurd conundrums by applying scientific principles, and turning the ridiculousness into a learning opportunity, proving that you don’t need to be restricted to a certain set of words to discuss difficult concepts in a way that makes them easily comprehendible.

Still, it is obvious that the author clearly had fun putting this book together, and that a lot of work went into its pages. Randall Munroe’s illustrations are all very impressive and informative, and while Thing Explainer may not always be very clear and comprehensive on its own, the project is sure to add to your knowledge while rousing your curiosity and making you seek out more information about how things work.

- By Sameen Amer

Books & Authors, Dawn - 14th August, 2016 *

Suicide Squad - a confused mess

movie review

Suicide Squad

Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, and Cara Delevingne
Directed by: David Ayer
Tagline: Justice has a bad side.

A number of television dramas and films have proved, time and again, that antiheroes can make compelling protagonists. The shades of grey that colour these characters make them fascinating, while their stories offer a blend of touching, amusing and poignant adventures. Expect none of that, however, from Suicide Squad, DC Comics’ disappointing attempt at assembling a super villain ensemble who are assigned the task of saving the world in a film that degenerates into a confused mess.

After the events of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) comes up with a contingency plan for protecting her country: assembling a team of incarcerated criminals and coercing them to carry out dangerous missions. Dubbed Taskforce X, the group – we’re told in a lengthy roll-call – includes hit-man Deadshot (Will Smith), the Joker’s (Jared Leto) deranged girlfriend Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), pyrokinetic gangster El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), thief Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and disfigured crook Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). But a potential recruit, ancient sorceress Enchantress who takes over the body of an archaeologist (Cara Delevingne), turns into the story’s villain, summoning an army of monsters and threatening the world. It is up to the aforementioned group of assorted lunatics and convicts to stop her.

With a plot that seems like a jumble of incoherent twaddle, Suicide Squad marches into a marsh of dullness and sets camp there for its overlong, two hour running time. Overcrowded with more operatives than necessary, the film doesn’t bother to develop most of its characters into anything beyond one-dimensional stereotypes, and its collective of the “worst of the worst” neither seems particularly menacing, nor possesses enough depth to be intriguing. Its villain, in particular, is a complete embarrassment. Enchantress feels more like a Ghostbusters reject than a baddie who has any place is a superhero movie; the character is made all the worse by Cara Delevingne’s grating attempts at acting which predictably fall flat.

The movie’s biggest crime, though, is that it wastes opportunities and lets down characters that have the potential to be fascinating. The primary example is Harley Quinn – Margot Robbie nails the part and this zany psychiatrist-turned-psychopath deserves to be in a better movie. Will Smith also gives a competent performance as Deadshot, although his character doesn’t have anything particularly memorable to do here. Jared Leto’s Joker is weird in all the wrong ways and feels extraneous to the adventure. Most of the other characters fare worse though, as they are simply forgettable.

Not even marginally as funny or exciting as Marvel’s terrific misfit-ensemble outing Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), DC’s Suicide Squad is about as compelling as Fantastic Four (2015), only louder and with a better lead actor (Smith) and actress (Robbie). Director David Ayer has created a choppy, predictable movie with a distracting pop soundtrack, and has failed to instill it with the humour or suspense that would make it entertaining. Ultimately, what we’re left with is characters we don’t care about doing things that aren’t interesting in a world that isn’t convincing.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

- Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune - 13th August, 2016 *

The Shallows - shark attack!

movie review

The Shallows

Starring: Blake Lively
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Tagline: Not just another day at the beach.

Hollywood’s fondness for revisiting familiar territories once again takes us to shark-infested waters in The Shallows, a survival thriller that doesn’t bring anything new to the table but does offer some suspense once it finally gets going.

The protagonist is Nancy Adams (Blake Lively), a medical student who makes her way to the same secret, secluded beach in Mexico that her late mother once visited. The American meets a couple of locals, and after surfing for a while, notices a whale carcass floating near her. As she catches the next wave, a shark bumps into her surfboard, knocks her into the water, and bites her leg. Alone and injured, Nancy manages to make her way to a small rock and tries to MacGyver her way out of her predicament, but her great white nemesis refuses to leave and menacingly circles her tiny outpost. Nancy must figure out how to make the short but dangerous journey to the shore by somehow beating the predator, and then get to safety.

The movie’s primary concern isn’t realism; how things unfold, especially towards the end, isn’t entirely plausible, but director Jaume Collet-Serra does, more or less, succeed in his mission of creating a gripping (albeit uneven) thriller. The Shallows loses some of its intensity because of its slow pace, especially when it starts to feel like the writers are struggling in their attempts to turn this tale into a full length film and stretching the plot a bit too thin in the process. You have to first watch Nancy doling out her ham-fisted back-story, even though her character didn’t need the background baggage to be more compelling; the proceedings would have been more intense had they just relied on the primal horror of her situation. Then you have to see her wading and surfing, waiting for something interesting to actually happen. But once the immense (although seemingly a tad inconsistent in size) shark surfaces, the film-makers successfully build the tension and amp up the suspense.

Lively remains at the centre of the adventure and carries the entire film by delivering a commanding, athletic performance, as she surfs, swims, screams, and grimaces for much of the movie’s one-and-a-half hour running time. Her main (and very charming) co-star is Stephen Seagull, a wounded bird that lands on the reef beside her, becoming her version of Wilson the volleyball and quickly turning into the only truly memorable element of the project.

Ultimately, The Shallows doesn’t bring anything new to the survival thriller genre. Once it finally kicks into gear, the movie does take you on a gripping, engaging ride, although, as with most such films, your enjoyment of the proceedings requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief. While the movie can’t quite sustain the tension during its entire length, The Shallows does benefit from competent direction, beautiful cinematography and a (surprisingly) strong performance by its lead actress.

Rating: 3 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune - 9th August, 2016 *

Star Trek Beyond - the franchise races on

movie review

Star Trek Beyond

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, and Idris Elba
Directed by: Justin Lin

The continuation of the voyages of the USS Enterprise, by way of a prequel reboot, has yielded an interesting new arc in the science fiction franchise that Gene Roddenberry created in the 1960s. With J. J. Abrams at the helm, the revival has impressively bridged the gap between the old and the new, with the first film – 2009’s Star Trek – in particular doing a terrific job in re-establishing the beloved franchise. For the third chapter in the reboot series, Abrams has vacated the director’s chair and passed the baton to Justin Lin. The result is Star Trek Beyond, an instalment that boldly goes where Star Trek has gone before but still manages to be quite entertaining.

Led by Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine), the crew of the Enterprise are three years into their five-year exploratory mission when they are assigned the task of rescuing a ship stranded on a planet in uncharted space. But the rescue turns into an ambush as the Enterprise comes under attack by the evil Krall (Idris Elba) and his forces, which are after an ominous alien artefact. With no option but to abandon their ship, the crew finds themselves separated and stranded on the foreign planet. They must then regroup, figure out how to defeat Krall, and find a way to get off the planet.

There is a certain degree of predictability that is inescapable in franchises such as Star Trek, so the viewer is never in any doubt about which side will eventually emerge victorious. But the action-packed execution of the film still makes the journey exciting. The movie’s minutiae may not stand up to scrutiny, but the special effects, as always, are impressive, and there are action sequences (some of which evoke Lin’s Fast & Furious style) that are interestingly conceived and well shot.

The film does, however, seem more reliant on action than character development. Krall, for instance, doesn’t exactly make the most fascinating or menacing villain; the writers don’t do a very convincing job with his back-story and don’t convey his motivations with the necessary believability and impact. The supporting characters, on the other hand, just run around frantically while exchanging witty banter. The movie does spend some time helping us connect with its leads though. The struggle Kirk feels in finding continued meaning in the mission brings depth to his character. But ultimately, it’s Spock (Zachary Quinto) who gets the most poignant storyline, with a touching farewell to the late Leonard Nimoy weaved into the tale.

The movie’s style harks back to the old Star Trek television series as it pays homage to its origins. While the basic plotline feels familiar and the script isn’t as sharp as one would have hoped, there is enough wit and thrill to make Star Trek Beyond an entertaining ride. Yes, it doesn’t quite match the inventiveness and exuberance of the 2009 film that started the revival, but if you’ve enjoyed the reboot series so far, then you are very likely to enjoy this one too.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune - 1st August, 2016 *