'Star Trek' franchise energized by 'Beyond'
A good “Star Trek” movie can restore faith in humanity. Fifty years ago, Gene Roddenberry created a series that celebrated diversity, peace-through-unity and the quest for knowledge and adventure.
“Star Trek Beyond,” directed by Justin Lin (most of the good “Fast & Furious” movies), is the first in the rebooted series to fully capture that spirit. The two previous entries, both directed by J.J. Abrams, did a lot of things right, but his emphasis on spectacle and action hued closer to the “Star Wars” playbook.
“Beyond” still boasts some bombastic action, but the tone and character-work feels straight out of a classic episode. Lin, along with writers Doug Jung and Simon Pegg, work to tell a good, singular “Star Trek” story, whereas the previous two movies tried a more kitchen-sink approach. “Into Darkness,” from 2013, felt especially overstuffed with references and variations on the “Star Trek” greatest hits.
“Beyond” is grounded in more ways than one. Much of the movie takes place on a remote alien world, the crew of the USS Enterprise marooned and split apart. They work to reunite, and to fight the villainy of Krall, a vengeful shapeshifter played with Idris Elba-level intensity by Idris Elba.
Lin brings the “Fast & Furious” family dynamic to “Beyond,” as every major character gets an arc or plays an integral role in the main story. Abrams’ greatest accomplishment on the 2009 reboot was assembling a winning combination of young and familiar talent to take command of the Enterprise, and those choices continue to be the strongest assets to the franchise.
Chris Pine is still a terrific lead as the brash-but-earnest Captain Kirk, and Zachary Quinto is a worthy successor to the late Leonard Nimoy as Spock. “Beyond” is the first of the reboot series to be more than a Kirk-Spock story though, and it allows the likes of Pegg (as Scotty) and Karl Urban (as Dr. McCoy) to be more central to the action.
The main cast is rounded out by Zoe Saldana, John Cho and the late Anton Yelchin, all strong, and Sofia Boutella steals the movie as Jaylah, an alien warrior trapped on the planet who helps the crew infiltrate Krall’s forces. More than being tough and looking cool, Jaylah has a complete arc that complements the broader story forces in “Beyond.”
Some “Trek” purists will never warm to the relentless action in the new series, and Lin uses his background to stage several lengthy fights and space skirmishes. It isn’t classic “Star Trek,” but it’s a pretty spectacular display of modern blockbuster filmmaking, with Lin’s freewheeling camera coupled with some truly original action choreography.
Those action beats play better because the material between feels so much more like the “Star Trek” of old. The Enterprise crew is a collection of diverse people and minds working for a greater cause, and unlike “Into Darkness,” the film has a respect for life, even for those poor Red Shirts caught in the crossfire.
I’m on record for liking both the 2009 “Star Trek” and “Into Darkness” (minus the disastrous third act). Maybe I liked them more because my exposure to “Star Trek” was fairly limited prior to the reboot, and I gravitated to the “Star Wars-” type elements because those played more into the kinds of science-fiction movies I grew up watching. I’ve since devoured the older entries in the “Trek” franchise, and I can say “Beyond” is the movie that fits most with Roddenberry’s vision.
This movie will be the one that welcomes a whole new generation to “Star Trek.” Like what Abrams did previously, it also works as an example of how blockbuster spectacle can work on the big screen without cynicism or an over-reliance on nostalgia.
Most succinctly, it boldly goes.
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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.