What the latest trailer for Star Trek Beyond lacks in new footage, it makes up for in Rihanna. A fair trade if ever there was one.
Not that there’s nothing new at all new here. We’ve got Kirk’s captain’s log, and some fun shots of the Enterprise quite literally going down in flames. (The trailer’s also notable for what it doesn’t show us, namely Chekov, played by Anton Yelchin, who tragically passed away last week in a freak accident).
Honestly, though, most of this is retread, especially if you’ve seen, say, any Star Trek movie ever before. What makes the trailer truly worth your watch, though, is its soundtrack: “Sledgehammer,” a Rihanna jam that breaks us out of the movie theme song doldrums. Scepter’s “Writing’s On the Wall” snoozer? Not great. The Ghostbuster reboot’s Fall Out Boy jam? Stay-Puft-Marshmallow-bad. But “Sledgehammer” is… good! And not just in comparison to the recent dreck. It’s no Peter Gabriel, but we’ll take it. No matter how you think the new Star Trek looks, at least it sounds good.
Pause at: 0:49 for bye-bye, Enterprise; 1:20 for some cool sci-fi laser gun action; 1:38 for another big boom.
Essential quote: “This is my last report as the captain of the starship Enterprise.
