Star Trek Beyond

After a marketing campaign which relied more on motorcycle stunts and the Beastie Boys than the series’ renowned philosophical science fiction, I thought that I would sooner eat my own hat than enjoy this film. Well, I can tell you that I will be happily dining on trilby tonight, as Star Trek Beyond was one of the most refreshing and rewarding films I have seen this year.

The result is to show that Kirk is not a one man army who can take on the galaxy with only a phaser and perpetually perfect hair, he is nothing without his crew by his side

With Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and his crew almost three years into their exploration of deep space, the Enterprise is attacked by an unstoppable alien force and destroyed, stranding the crew on the uncharted world of Altamid. They must work together to defeat the warlord, Krall (Idris Elba), who has a major grudge against the federation, and is out to destroy it by any means necessary.

The film’s focus on the crew working together as a whole is by far its strongest aspect. Rather than the previous two entries which treated us to the Kirk and Spock variety hour with the rest of the crew sitting comfortably in their chairs, Star Trek Beyond gives every crewmate a share of the limelight, and performances are excellent across the board. In particular, Bones (Karl Urban) is given the screen time his character deserves, with him and Spock (Zachary Quinto) being begrudgingly forced together to deliver some of the film’s best comic moments. The result is to show that Kirk is not a one man army who can take on the galaxy with only a phaser and perpetually perfect hair, he is nothing without his crew by his side. This all serves to reinforce the film’s overarching message, unity through adversity.

The script is tremendously well-written and surprisingly funny, managing to strike a balance between nostalgia and new ideas with near flawless accuracy.

Directly opposing this ideal is Krall, who hates unity more than anything else, despite being in command of a unified hive mind army, and who at first seems like the same old alien despot we’ve seen a thousand times. At the beginning of the film he isn’t particularly menacing, spending most of his time trying and failing to remain upright in zero gravity. Stick with him though, as whilst he may take his sweet time to get there, by the end he actually becomes a well-rounded and interesting villain, even if his motivations are as uneven as the surface of his face.

Whilst the battle against Krall does have a few unexpected twists, there is nothing so astonishing as to truly shock you, but regardless of this the narrative remains focused and entertaining, especially when compared to the bloated and uneven story of the previous film. The script is tremendously well-written and surprisingly funny, managing to strike a balance between nostalgia and new ideas with near flawless accuracy. The feel of Star Trek is still unmistakably present, but it never re-treads old ground for the sake of nostalgia alone, instead giving us the core elements of the series with an entirely new setting and story.

The Beastie Boys song, Sabotage … [delivers] a resounding middle-finger to anyone who doubted its inclusion in the trailer.

This is also a wonderfully directed film, with Justin Lin of Fast and Furious fame rivalling his predecessor for breath-taking shots, and giving tightly constructed battle sequences which never lose their focus. The Beastie Boys song, Sabotage, also finds its way into an action sequence in spectacular fashion, delivering a resounding middle-finger to anyone who doubted its inclusion in the trailer. There are a couple of editing mistakes which might pull you out of the film for just a moment, and a shot or two which could have been better handled, but these do nothing to take away from what is ultimately a superbly crafted film.

This all boils down to Lin simply nailing the tone, being light-hearted and yet serious when he needs to be, as bittersweet tributes to both Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin are respectfully handled. In honour of Nimoy’s death, there is a profound retrospective on the previous adventures of the Enterprise as well. Whilst it may look back, it also looks forward, the inclusion of new character Jaylah makes for a sterling addition to the crew who is both capable in a fight and a great source of comic relief, not to mention an icon for facial tattoo enthusiasts everywhere.

The latest instalment of Star Trek goes above, and indeed beyond, expectation

Entertaining, heartwarming, inclusive and surprising, this is a summer blockbuster with just the right balance of old and new to leave anyone watching it more than satisfied. It may not be perfect, but the latest instalment of Star Trek goes above, and indeed beyond, expectation.

Director: Justin Lin

Starring: Idris Elba, Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Zach Quinto, Zoe Saldana

Running time: 122 minutes

Country: USA