The spirit and message of the original Star Trek series had always been this: a character-driven plot, with emphasis on the interaction between characters, and the deliverance of a story that entertains and educates. Star Trek Beyond fulfilled this criterion, along with being a feel-good film, whose every moment was devoured by the entertained audience, the fast-paced action sequences giving little breathing space.
Warning: Spoilers from the next paragraph; proceed to read at your own peril.
The film begins with Captain James T. Kirk (played lovingly by Chris Pine), encountering a group of small albeit aggressive aliens who take offence at his very confusing offer of a former weapon as a gift of peace, and attack him. In this scene itself, the fans of the original series are invited to be part of the very audience friendly humour employed by the film, when Kirk comments that his shirt is torn again. The reaction of the small and extremely belligerent aliens are reminiscent of a memorable scene from the parody film, Galaxy Quest, which in turn was a fond parody of the original Star Trek. This awareness that was present in Beyond is quite a fresh addition, which smothered some of the hard feelings fans had towards the last film in the franchise.
Speaking of the humour in the film, the best lines could perhaps be attributed to Dr Leonard “Bones” McCoy (the brilliant Karl Urban). The writers behind Beyond, which included Simon Pegg (the ridiculously funny Montgomery Scott “Scotty”), realised the perfect opportunity to explore new relationship dynamics, rather than just clinging onto already established ones. Therefore, Beyond saw unlikely pair-ups when the Enterprise crew was forced to abandon their ship and land ‘shipwrecked’ on a planet, with Spock (Zachary Quinto) ending up with Bones, Kirk with the hyper-energetic Chekov (played by the late and always loved Anton Yelchin), Lt. Uhura (Zoe Saldana) with Hikaru Sulu (John Cho), and finally Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg) with the newcomer scavenger, Jaylah (Sofia Boutella). Each pair thinking that they’re the only crew left alive, they set out on their own adventures, each as thrilling and as action-packed as the other, to find one another. This allowed for director Justin Lin to give adequate screen time to each and every crew member, and each was established as important as the other. This is the spirit of Trek, yes, Captain Kirk is the captain and Spock is the First Officer, but the Enterprise will not function without the efforts and contributions and presence of every other crew member.
And now, I feel that it is important that I mention the main message the film was trying to convey, that unity is power and living in peace and harmony is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. I, and I am sure many others would have felt the same, felt that this movie could not be released at a more appropriate time, a time of distress and violence that threatens the harmony that we seek to achieve on Earth. Fast forward to the future and the Federation of Planets have declared the truth that societies and civilisations can live together in harmony, with absolutely no need for conflict of violence. The antagonist, Krall (played by Idris Elba, and quite reminiscent of Apocalypse from X-Men), who was born a soldier and therefore is unable to accept the fact that the Federation had not done anything about the deaths of his crew mates aboard the USSFranklin (another throwback to the original series). Krall seems to be the manifestation of a modern day terrorist, a man who grew up in a time of conflict, forced to see and experience tragedy, and hardened and radicalised as a result. Of course, unity triumphs over the need for conflict, and strength emerges in harmony. As much as Trek is set hundreds of years into the future, it tells us that people and civilisations always have the same needs and desires and that if peace had worked out in the future, there is no arguing that it will not work out now. All that is needed is an open mind and an accepting heart that acknowledges that individuals are and always will be different, and living together. It might be hard in the beginning, and obstacles may come in the way, but it is not impossible.
Star Trek Beyond was a fun film to watch, a feel-good affair that caused viewers to have that warm fuzzy feeling in their hearts. However, the film was marred by twin tragedies that occurred not within the Trek universe, but in the real world. February 2015 saw the passing of the original Spock in TOS, and Ambassador Spock in the new films, Leonard Nimoy, at age 83 while Anton Yelchin, 27, who plays Pavel Chekov, was killed in a recent freak accident in June 2016. The death of Yelchin affected fans in particular, due to his age and the nature of his passing, which sent shockwaves across the fandom just a month before Beyond was released. Furthermore, Pavel Chekov is a character almost every fan chooses to adore and be fond of, thanks to his boundless youthful energy and Russian accent. Yelchin did a fantastic job bringing one of Trek’s most beloved characters into the new films. His talent will be greatly missed, and so will his character as JJ Abrams has announced that Chekov will not be replaced. It was also touching how Nimoy’tribute was written as ‘In Loving Memory of Leonard Nimoy’, and Anton’s was just a short yet touching and bittersweet dedication, ‘For Anton’, as if to imply that Nimoy was, to the current cast members, the legend who brought Spock to life, while Anton is not just a cast member, and not just the actor who played Chekov, but a dearly loved friend who will always be missed. The dedications were perhaps the saddest part of the otherwise light-hearted film in my opinion, and the fact that there was no over the top tribute video, but just a short and sweet dedication added to the bittersweet tone of the film given the circumstances.
Overall a great addition to the Trek universe, and an entertaining film that kept true to the spirit of Trek, Roddenberry’s vision, and all it had to offer, and a touching goodbye to a fellow cast member and character, Beyond is my most favourite new Trek film to date.
Rating: 5/5
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