Star Trek Beyond – Film Review by David Turpin

Directed by Justin Lin

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba

This third instalment of the new, re-cast Star Trek franchise sees director J. J. Abrams replaced with Fast and Furious series alumnus Justin Lin, and the solemnity of 2013’s  Star Trek Into Darkness traded in for a zippy, retro feel.  While Lin’s cluttered action sequences suffer from a dire lack of spatial clarity, the changes are otherwise fairly welcome – although it’s not quite up to the standard of the 2009 “original”, it’s light-years more fun than its glum and violent immediate precursor.

The plot is cookie-cutter Star Trek.  The Enterprise is summoned into a nebula to assist a mission in distress, only for Kirk et al to find themselves stranded on wilderness planet, presided over by spooky warlord Krall (Idris Elba).  This being a 21st-century blockbuster, there is plenty of early wheel-spinning as everybody chews over their father issues, but on the whole, the proceedings are distinguished by an unpretentious, almost casual ambience.  The film’s breeziness is a welcome relief in the current blockbuster landscape, although much of the actual comic relief (presumably courtesy of co-writer and co-star Simon Pegg), lands with a thud.

Fans expecting the charmingly goofy philosophical flights of prime Gene Roddenberry may be disappointed by the new film’s focus on action – particularly when much of that action is hyper-kinetic and incomprehensible – but a number of perennial Trek-tropes are pleasingly indulged.  The series’ longstanding tradition of plucky alien heroines is nobly upheld by Sofia Boutella’s turn as Jaylah, a kind of Robinson Crusoe figure marooned in an abandoned Starfleet ship.  Her make-up is among the most striking visual components of the film – and she brings a welcome dash of novelty to the now-familiar line-up, just as Persis Khambatta did in 1979’s underrated Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Idris Elba’s Krall is an imposing creation, particularly in the film’s earlier stages, although the character’s backstory is ultimately revealed to be something of a damp squib.

Of the returning cast, Pine’s Kirk, Quinto’s Spock, and Urban’s McCoy are given most to do – although Pegg is also generous with himself in upping Scotty’s part in the action.  A sense of going through the motions has set in by this point, and the novelty of seeing younger actors in these parts has largely worn off.  Saldana’s Uhura, particularly, seems to have her mind elsewhere.  Saldana’s presence is also a reminder of 2014’s profitable Guardians of the Galaxy – a film that seems to have weighed heavily in the tonal recalibration of this sunny franchise instalment.  Thankfully – one misjudged musical set-piece aside – Lin’s film is nowhere near as insufferable as Guardians of the Galaxy.  The prospect of continuing voyages seems less onerous than it might have done with Abrams at the helm.