Star Trek is a tried and true enigma of pop culture. It’s an ode to the potential and promise of the future showcased with the most convoluted and ridiculous plots. It features some of the most impressive visual and cinemographic techniques ever used and is also some of the campiest nonsense ever put to celluloid. However, that was the old Star Trek, with Shatner and Stewart as the incorruptible captains of their respective era of Enterprises. The 2009 reboot from geek demigod J.J. Abrams was an ideal movie, a revalidation of everything people loved about the original Star Trek with a neat little action-packed bow. The subsequent sequel, strangely titled ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ was marred by poorly booked character development, some of the most ridiculous science fiction excuses ever made, and a near-pornographic level of franchise massaging. This is the setting into which Star Trek Beyond enters.
Written by Doug Jung and Simon Pegg, the story follows the U.S.S. Enterprise into year three of its mission. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) has grown restless and has requested a desk job at Yorktown, a brand new space station which is clearly a rip off of Xandar from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ However, the lone survivor of an attacked ship causes the Enterprise to be sent into a dangerous quadrant where they are unceremoniously attacked by Krall (Idris Elba), who serves as the villain for the evening. The Enterprise is ripped to shreds in a very well-paced action sequence and crash lands on a nearby planet – which looks like Endor and Tatooine thrown together - with the famous members of its crew scattered and disoriented. Sassy communications officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and sensible pilot Sulu (John Cho) are kept prisoner in Krall’s work camp, sarcastic Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy (Karl Urban) is stuck with a wounded and existential Spock (Zachary Quinto), over-the-top engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) is stranded alongside native badass Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), and Kirk himself is paired with anxious helmsman Chekov (the late Anton Yelchin). Divided, they must uncover the secrets of the planet, figure out Krall’s evil plan, and escape in time to save the galaxy. All in a day’s work.
Though exhilarating and emotionally convictional, the story actually makes very little sense. This is Star Trek after all, and it wouldn’t be complete without some extreme suspensions of disbelief that border on the asinine. For example, Jaylah’s love of “beat and screaming” becomes a key plot point that results in the film becoming a music video for a few minutes and serves no further purpose than to provide the visual of our heroes literally surfing a wave of enemy ships. On top of that, most character development is tossed out the window in favor of cheap epithets. One subplot involves Kirk becoming a year older than his martyred father and going through a sort of mid-life crisis. It is unresolved and forgotten by the end of the movie. Spock too is forced to confront his own mortality when his time-paradoxical twin dies, resulting in both a tasteful and subdued tribute to the late Leonard Nemoy as well as a singular scene where Spock, a character predicated on logic and lack of expression, actually cries.
However, wherever the story falters, the script is there to pick up the slack. Not a single line of dialogue is wasted and each joke, flavored with Pegg’s signature humor, lands with the grace of an Olympic gymnast. It’s clear that the writers understood the nature of the Star Trek franchise and only took creative liberties on things they knew they could get away with. Standing particularly strong is McCoy, who I think gets more screen time here than DeForest Kelley got in the entire first season of the classic television show. Urban is practically tickled pink and you can see how grateful he is to be handed such a role in each frame he’s in, resulting in one of the best performances in the movie.
Unfortunately, most of the other actors can’t claim the same. Cho and Yelchin perform admirably and Pegg is clearly loving the hell out of his script, but Pine and Saldana both look like they’re just killing time until their respective superhero movies come out. Newcomer Boutella is sincerely impressive in her action sequences and does demonstrate a lot of acting chops, but her aggressive bravado sounds somewhat forced and gives her entire role a sense of insincerity. But at the very least, she has the distinction of being better than the worst actor in the whole movie. I have never seen Idris Elba give a bad performance until now and I am legitimately disappointed and amazed at just how bad he fell in the course of one movie. As Krall, he has to act through a good two inches of makeup, which usually would force an actor to be more exaggerated and larger to compensate, but Elba plays it very somber and monotonous, as if his dial is stuck on ‘generically threatening.’ Even at the film’s climax, where his character has been fleshed out a bit more and the makeup has mysteriously diminished, Elba sounds less like a soldier desperate to see his final plan come to fruition and more like a homeless person telling you about the end of days. You don’t believe a damn word he says and even if it’s a metaphysical complaint, it is a cardinal sin that I will hold against the movie.
Despite the fluctuation in acting quality, the cinematography is consistently riveting. The action sequences, particularly the first space battle, are brilliantly shot and you almost never question relative locations because of the tight and visually engaging choreography. This was directed by Justin Lin, best known for his contributions to the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise. While I can criticize his story-telling and acting direction to a certain extent, I cannot say a bad word about his smart camera work and intriguing visuals and even applaud him on more than a few creative shots. I would also, however, issue a word of caution. Over-reliance on action sequences and visuals is what gave us the dual nightmares of Michael Bay and Zack Snyder.
Overall, this movie is Star Trek, both the good and the bad. It is an emotionally compelling movie that features space surfing. It shows Idris Elba at his worst and Karl Urban at his best. It has some very creative and fun visuals while ripping off multiple sci-fi franchises at once. I can’t say this is the best movie in the rebooted Star Trek franchise, but considering Abrams didn’t have his hand in this project, it’s still pretty damn good. If you’re still undecided at the end of the movie, consider all the silliness you just sat through and listen to the crew recite the famous oath of the Enterprise just before the end credits. That feeling of optimistic pride you feel reverberating through your chest? That’s the magic of Star Trek. Live long and prosper. 4/5.
