By CYNTHIA BIDDLECOMB “Star Trek Beyond” is the latest addition to the new Star Trek franchise, boldly begun in 2009 with a young cast. The first film in the franchise was successful, enough so that in 2013, Star Trek into Darkness was released with the same actors. Much of the first film’s success was attributed to near perfect casting and the time each new Star Trek actor spent with the actors who originated these roles (in the 1960s TV show, created by Gene Roddenberry.)
In this new installment, Beyond, the U.S.S. Enterprise docks at the United Federation of Planets’ beautiful Yorktown space station and receives a new mission, to rescue a crew abandoned on a planet beyond known space. There they find this film’s villain, Krall (played by a menacing Idris Elba), who repudiates Federation values of unity and peace. Krall wants a return to a violent universe, one where military domination and violence would be less confusing to him than cooperation and compromise.
Krall’s onslaught against the Enterprise results in a lot of destruction. The fight scenes are dark and disturbing. So dark, in fact, that it is difficult to appreciate where you are in each scene and what is actually happening. I couldn’t help thinking it was too dark to show up well on a home theater screen.
Despite the near total destruction of the Enterprise and the imprisonment of his surviving crewmembers on an uncharted planet, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his officers put their heads together and save the day. Returning as Kirk’s officers are Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), Doctor “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg—who co-wrote this screenplay), Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) whose partner and daughter are shown living on Yorktown station, and Pavel Andreievich Chekhov (Anton Yelchin—who died shortly after filming this movie). Scotty, head of Engineering on the Enterprise, meets and is helped by another captive of the planet, Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), a new character destined for future sequels. In the film’s funniest exchanges of dialogue, Bones and Spock are forced to work together, trading barbs along the way. Watch for their 23rd century definition of “classical music”.
As other reviewers have noted, the film is more similar to the original television show than the earlier two films, given its emphasis on action without much explanation to the story. Still, it is entertaining and the 3D effects add depth. For this viewer, the design of Yorktown base was awe-inspiring, and the robotic “bees,” that cut through star ships at Krall’s command, were especially disturbing and effective.
The film is “Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence,” some of which truly are disturbing and may be too scary for younger children. For those of us who grew up with the TV Star Trek series and all its spin-off shows, you may well like this one. Just don’t expect the astrophysics in the film to stand up to scrutiny.