Star Trek - Beyond (2016)

After a good two years in space, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), captain of the Federation starship USS Enterprise, has grown tired of his job. Together with the ship's doctor Pille (Karl Urban), he ponders the pros and cons of being captain of the Enterprise again, or perhaps taking a desk job as an admiral. But before the decision is made, the Enterprise, responding to a distress call on a remote planet, is ambushed. Along with his trusted crew of Spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Sulu (John Cho), Kirk must protect his crew and humanity from the machinations of the ruthless Krall (Idris Elba) and his deadly followers in uncharted territory.

»It was the best of times and the worst of times« This quote from Charles Dickens' »A Tale of Two Cities« aptly describes the current state of the world. Ever new technological achievements are juxtaposed with ever more cruel effects of globalization. The 1980s were a similar time of turmoil. So it is not surprising that the screenwriter of 'Star Trek II - The Wrath Of Khan', Harve Bennett, together with director Nicholas Meyer, integrated this quote into the film in 1982. The film world of »Star Trek« has always reflected current events in society and politics. The 13th film in this science fiction saga - »Star Trek - Beyond« - also skillfully follows this formula. Similar to »Wrath of Khan«, the screenwriters of Star Trek Beyond had the Herculean task of doing justice to the franchise and breathing new life into it. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the series launch of »Star Trek«. This anniversary should be celebrated with an adequate film that appeals equally to both the blockbuster and the fan audience.  This much can already be revealed - the new team succeeded.

Under enormous time pressure, screenwriter Simon Pegg and his team had to implement the requirements of the new director Justin Lin, to let »Star Trek« become »Star Trek« again, without neglecting the 'action' established by predecessor J.J. Abrams. Skillfully (but unfortunately also a little rushed), »Beyond« offers an action spectacle with human depth. Similar to the Marvel movie universe, the new cast members of the Enterprise crew have grown on the audience after three appearances now, and one looks forward to the skillful repartee in the conversations between Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty and Uhura. The latter fades into the background a bit, which, however, is good for the interplay between Pille and Spock. In addition, the alien Jaylah (played by Sofia Boutella) steals the show from almost everyone. Boutella plays a strong, self-confident woman not by chance. Simon Pegg (who, in addition to his role as Scotty, also collaborated on the screenplay) really wanted to integrate a character reminiscent of Jennifer Lawrence from »The Tribute to Panem« into the plot. Thus, the character »JayLah« was created.

From the initial idea to the start of filming, everyone involved had only five months. For the finished version of the script Pegg and consorts had only 6 weeks. This haste is noticeable in some places. The story races from sequence to sequence. One action showpiece chases the next. The Enterprise crew is always at its best when they talk and work together. What saves the film and makes it (almost) the best of the new Star Trek films is the clever increase in the quality of the script. From act to act, the film gets better and better, ending with a climax that not only references the first Star Trek movie of the new trilogy from 2009, but also makes sense emotionally and plot-wise. The powerful antagonist Krall (Idris Elba) initially seems like the interchangeable villain of the day, but even gains socio-political relevance through an interesting background story in times of presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Conclusion: A successful continuation of the adventures of the Star Trek crew and a well-made representative of popcorn cinema (not only) for fans of the series.

In my podcast Movie Watchdogs I talk with Tim Kraus and Timo Josefowicz about the movie.