Review: Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond (12A)

USA 2016 122 mins Dir: Justin Lin Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella, Anton Yelchin

In the years following the inauspicious demise of the Star Trek Next Generation crew with 2002’s Nemesis, it seemed like the once-enduring franchise was forever lost, destined to drift in the cinematic ether. Then in 2009, something quite wondrous happened – Lost creator J.J. Abrams warping in from a hitherto unexplored new quadrant to triumphantly reinvent the series. The result was that most unexpected of things, fun: a reinvention that restored humour to Star Trek whilst riding high on the perfectly selected cast of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and Simon Pegg, all of whom pulled off a seemingly impossible mixture of impersonation and individuality.

2013’s bloated but unfairly knocked sequel Into Darkness courted controversy by reneging on its predecessor’s mission statement to explore strange new worlds, reverting back to key plot beats (and characters) from 1982’s seminal The Wrath of Khan, Benedict Cumberbatch’s villain overshadowed by convoluted franchise history. Thankfully this year’s Star Trek Beyond is much more assured of its own identity, never reinventing the warp drive admittedly but also never falling into the Into Darkness trap of allowing nostalgia to dominate the narrative.

For that we have Fast and Furious director Justin Lin to thank and, most importantly, die-hard Trekkie Simon Pegg who, along with co-scripter Doug Jung, injects just the right dash of gleefully nerdy enthusiasm without ever using it as a crutch. It all kicks off when Pine’s Kirk, jaded and disillusioned in the face of his five-year mission to explore infinity, and the remainder of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew go to answer a distress call in a remote nebula, only to be attacked by the villainous Krall (Idris Elba), who with his bee-like attack vessels makes mincemeat of the iconic ship.

The Enterprise destroyed and the crew disbanded and stranded on the planet where Krall has made his base, the movie savvily divides our ensemble into digestible chunks. There’s Kirk and Chekhov (the late Anton Yelchin), Spock (Quinto) and Bones (Urban) and Scotty (Pegg) and kick-ass new alien warrior Jaylah (Kingsman‘s Sofia Boutella), all of whom share meaty little character arcs that eventually coalesce into something broadly more satisfying as they face up to Krall’s deadly master plan. Meanwhile, Uhura (Saldana) and Sulu (John Cho) are granted a face-to-face audience with the new villain who, somewhat frustratingly, remains the most underdeveloped aspect of the movie, dumping vast loads of exposition instead of developing a threatening personality.

Plot? Well it’s largely one big red herring, little more than something on which to hang banter, bromance and delightful inter-character dynamics – but when such familiar characters are invested with as much warmth as they are here, it’s hard to quibble. In reality, this is where the movie triumphs, getting us to see our assembled crew as living, breathing humans (and non-humans), rather than blockbuster ciphers. One can sense how much the cast are jazzed-up by Pegg’s writing presence, whether it’s Kirk increasingly learning to balance brain with brawn, Spock grapping with human vernacular (the word ‘horseshit’ leads to a priceless deadpan reaction) or the much-hyped reveal of Sulu’s gay partner (discreetly left to a couple of distance shots in the movie itself). Meanwhile the engaging presence of Boutella as the kickass yet conflicted Jaylah leads to a musical interlude that’s genuinely hilarious without ever feeling smug.

Amidst the ever-excellent ensemble, who again do a terrific job of honouring their predecessors’ mannerisms without straining, it’s Urban’s incessantly grumpy yet pragmatic Bones who steals the biggest laughs, the actor expertly walking the tightrope between impression and his own unique take. Pegg’s ability to infuse fan-pleasing enthusiasm (one major plot strand hearking right back to the original series will have geeks grinning from ear to ear) with genuine dramatic impetus (the break-up of the Enterprise is genuinely heartbreaking and upsetting) is hardly a surprise given his Cornetto Trilogy collaborations with Edgar Wright, but it feels joyously fresh in this context.

 One can also sense the amount of fun Lin is having behind the camera. He’s actually a wise choice given the Trek crew are effectively an extension of the family dynamic seen in the Fast & Furious franchise; some of Beyond‘s strongest moments come early on when Lin’s camera glides around the Enterprise’s corridors to the sound of Pine’s narration and Michael Giacchino’s emotionally robust score, smoothly taking in the familiar character beats whilst also moving them forward. And although he does indulge in his familiar, hectoring action style with plenty of whirly, headache-inducing camera shots in the second half, he’s also able to pull off moments of genuine awe both overwhelming (the Enterprise’s early arrival in starbase Yorktown) and subtle (Kirk’s reflection on the inside of the escape shuttle as his ship is blown apart).

Above all, bar the underused villain and some inevitably shrieky action, this is a strong Trek movie in which we get a sense of the all-important team dynamic that has been so crucial to the franchise’s survival. Thank Lin, Pegg, Jung, the cast and the rest of the production for that, and for injecting heart back into what has been a largely soulless summer blockbuster season.