[Movie Review] Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Director: Justin Lin
Writers: Simon Pegg, Doug Jung
Runtime: 120 min
Main Cast:
- Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk
- Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock
- Karl Urban as Doctor 'Bones' McCoy
- Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Uhura
- Simon Pegg as Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott
- John Cho as Sulu
- Anton Yelchin as Chekov
- Idris Elba as Krall
Review: by Mia
Star Trek is a long-lived franchise that has appealed to several generations at this point. Personally, I wouldn’t consider myself a Trekkie, but I did grow up with a father who was more interested in Star Trek than Star Wars. As a result, I have an expectation of what the movies should be reminiscent of. Captain Kirk and the Crew that follows him are supposed to epitomize both adventure and cunning in their efforts to explore space. More importantly, the sense of alien cultures and new communities that one encounters in a Star Trek movie has always been the most impressive part of its storylines.
The last two Star Trek movies of our era have done a good job or reintroducing us to the characters and solidifying their relationships, but in this movie it was time to see them in action as the team we all know from the previous Star Treks. I was also hoping that Chekov got a bigger part as Anton Yelchin’s (an underrated actor if you ask me) final act before his tragic death just a few weeks ago.
When the film begins, we encounter Star Trek Enterprise on a mission where Captain Kirk is acting peacemaker between two opposing alien cultures. He arrives to offer a token of peace, a mysterious portion of an ancient weapon stumbled upon by an alien race, to one side of the conflict, only to find that the overly aggressive miniature creatures will hear nothing of a treaty based on their prejudices of the opposing side. The entire scene turns into a ridiculous meeting where Kirk must be beamed out without passing off the token of peace and carrying a few of the miniature creatures with him back to the Enterprise.
We then find out that the Enterprise is only a few years into its five-year mission, and Captain Kirk is already losing sight of why he hoped to be a Captain. He wonders if he has lost who he is by following so thoroughly in his father’s footsteps. He begins to think it is time for his career as a Captain to come to an end and submits an application for the Vice Admiral position of Yorktown Starbase. Also dealing with internal conflict is Spock, who has recently separated from his longtime girlfriend Uhura after admitting he felt a responsibility to date within Vulcan culture in order to sustain the race. He receives news that one of the last living highly influential Vulcans to him (no spoilers here) has passed in this same time and now must consider leaving the Enterprise to further invest himself in the sustainment of Vulcan culture. Much of the crew is dealing with the social struggles of living so close to the same people for so long when they are assigned a mission to rescue a marooned ship within the Nebula on a random planet.
Following the directions of the sole refugee that managed to reach Yorktown, the Enterprise is led into the Nebula in search of a marooned crew of unknown alien race. When they reach the planet that the refugee is leading them to, they find more than they bargained for in the form of the military drone force led by Krall (Idris Elba) and his militant followers. The Starship Enterprise is lost, brought down to the planet’s surface in the fight against Krall and all of its surviving crew (save for Scotty, Chekov, Spock, Kirk, and Bones) are taken as prisoners of war by Krall’s drones. It is up to these select few, as well as a new addition that they meet on the planet, to rescue the others and discover Krall’s goals against the Federation.
The dynamics between the crew of the Enterprise are really put on display in this sequel. By this point, they are all of the same dedication both to the Federation as well as to their crewmates. Kirk’s spontaneous no-hesitation way of doing things is firmly instilled in much of his crew, allowing for the most daring of attempts at survival and success yet. Each crew member is willing to go farther than before to protect one another and thwart the militant minds threatening the peaceful goals of the Federation.
They pair the crewmates off differently than they have in previous movies, allowing us to see the ways that they work off of one another and adapt regardless of who they are teamed with. Uhura moves the story along by being the one trapped alongside Krall as he moves forward with his plans. She is who he pits his militant perspective against. To him, the Federation is a lie built on the naïve and weak hopes of unity and peace when only violence and struggle and war create anything. Uhura is a firm believer not only in the ideals of the Federation, but in her own crew and, even as she witnesses the atrocities committed by Krall as he gathers together the weapon of mass destruction that he will need to defeat the Federation, she doesn’t waiver in her constant devotion to keeping her fellow crewmates safe.
It is this constant willingness to work together to save everyone that turns the daringness of the Enterprise crew into a movie worthy of being in the Star Trek Enterprise.
Summary
The 3D effects of the film were lacking, but the CGI and action was impressive despite it. The climax of the movie is well edited and the sabotage was a great visual-music tie in. I would recommend forgoing the 3D altogether. I didn’t get to see as much of Chekov as I hoped, but I couldn’t fault them for not expecting the worse in creating his role in this film. His part was still vital in this film and well-played. There is still love between the crew that they are sure to liken to the Star Treks of the past. I like that they don’t plan to stray from that theme even as the refresh the story in this new timeline. I definitely recommend going to see it if you’re a Sci-Fi fan or a fan of any of the major actors.
Images Courtesy of IMDB
