“Fear of death is illogical.” ~ Spock
“Fear of death is what keeps us alive.” ~
Bones
“Our captain will come for us. Mercy will be the last thing
on his mind.” ~ Uhura
“Unity is not your strength. It is a weakness.” ~ Krall
“I
think you’re underestimating humanity.” ~ Kirk
The rebooted Star Trek
franchise continues with a third film in the series, Star Trek Beyond, sending the crew out into the great unknown of
space with a new adversary, pairing off characters in unexpected ways, and
leading to plenty of destruction along the way. It also gives the director’s
chair over to a new face after two films done by J.J. Abrams, and the new
director, Justin Lim, might make a questionable choice (at least to me) after
his previous work, but in such cases, the franchise and the script can make up
for a questionable director.
When things open up, we find the crew of the Enterprise
three years into a mission in deep space. Kirk (Chris Pine) and company arrive
at a new Federation starbase for some shore leave, but as is to be expected
with such a movie, things of course go awry. An escape pod emerges from a
nearby nebula, carrying a woman who says her ship is stranded on a planet in
the nebula. Kirk and his crew are sent as a rescue party, but not all is as it
seems- and a fleet of ships wrecks havoc with the Enterprise, led by Krall
(Idris Elba), a man with secrets, agendas, and a significant grudge.
The story, it seems has two credited screenwriters, though
more of a convoluted history in its development, with previous writers
involved. Simon Pegg and Doug Jung are credited with the screenplay; the
former, of course, plays the eccentric chief engineer Montgomery Scott through
the film. The story is part western, part sci-fi, and part heist film (with a
proverbial mcguffin, as Hitchcock would have called it) as some of its
influences, with a strong dose of Trek nods and unexpected buddy partnerships
along the way. On the one hand it finds the main characters divided up instead
of as a team for a substantial amount of that time. On the other, in dividing
them up and making these characters work to come to terms with the harshness of
the land and the direness of the situation, the story works quite well,
particularly in giving us partnerships that we might not otherwise see.
Kirk, for instance, finds himself paired off with Ensign
Chekhov (Anton Yelchin). Sulu (John Cho) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) interact a
good deal as they try to manage their way through a tough situation. Spock
(Zachary Quinto) must rely on Doctor McCoy (Karl Urban) to survive- a
particular treat to watch them bicker with each other, given that this aspect
of the two characters has been downplayed in the rebooted movies, but was one
of the fun qualities of the original series and movies. And Scotty finds
himself a proverbial fish out of water having to trust an alien woman, Jaylah
(Sofia Boutella); her aid is absolutely essential in driving the plot forward.
In breaking up the crew and having these one on one dynamics, it gives the film
a fresh take that still feels relatively true to the Trek universe, even if
this is an alternate timeline.
The script, in fact, compensates for the director. Lim is
primarily known for directing several of those pointless Fast & Furious films, and you can see his style through the
film. Rather than the distracting lens flare techniques of J.J. Abrams
(honestly, what was with that?), we get a whole lot of quick cut edits, which
is one of those things I really don’t like, along with the expected pyrotechnics
of a blockbuster movie. Too bad we can’t really travel through time- it would
be nice to strangle the first director who thought quick cut editing was a
great idea.
I digress. The film makes up for the flaws of its director,
and that’s through the work of cast, crew, and the story itself. The look of
many aspects of the film appealed to me- the polished starbase, the nebula
itself, and the alien world in which much of the film takes place. The look of
the aliens, too is visually interesting- from Krall and his people to their
technology, this is something we haven’t seen before in Trek lore; with good
reason, for all is not as it seems. Production design on these aspects show
imagination and thinking outside the proverbial box. There’s even a ship out of
its own time that seems to fit in with Star Trek history- I found myself
thinking of the Enterprise television
series in terms of its design and history. Michael Giacchino returns from the
first two films to compose the score for the third film. The result works well,
taking some of his themes and moving the music into new directions.
The cast serve their roles well. Sofia Boutella is memorable
as Jaylah, and the actress plays her as tough, independent, and quite
resourceful. Her interactions with Scotty work well, and the character’s
history has its own ties to the villain. She's even a source of humour as the film unfolds. Idris Elba, always such a good actor
in whatever he does, menaces in an appropriate way as Krall, even if the character's motivations are a bit suspect. He’s a man of secrets and more than one name,
bent on revenge, albeit out of misguided reasons. And he’s thoroughly ruthless
as he goes along through the film.
As fate would have it, this is one of the last films for the
actor Anton Yelchin (one wonders if they make a fourth film in this series how
they’ll deal with the absence of Chekhov), who died in a bit of a freak
accident after filming was done. Through the film, he continues to bring the
eager wide eyed quality to the role that he started with in the first film of
the series, and I like that we get to see him working with Kirk on the whole
survival thing- while I haven’t seen a whole lot of the original television
series, it doesn’t strike me that the two characters really spent much time
around each other. John Cho returns as Lieutenant Sulu, once again the steady
helmsman, and he gets his moments through the film to shine. This time a good
part of the character’s time is spent in the company of Uhura, in a situation
where he has to maintain a sense of calm.
Simon Pegg brings to the role of Scotty a general
eccentricity that certainly fits the character. Scotty is over talkative and
occasionally exasperated, but also reliable and resourceful at the most pivotal
moments, and that’s something that has come across in the performances of both
Pegg and James Doohan before him. Here he spends a good deal of time in the
company of an alien woman, a job that in the television series would have been
Kirk’s. I like the interaction there, as it gives us a chance to get to know Jaylah while also seeing Scotty in a different way. You could actually have a whole film with these two actors in costume and in her case prosthetic makeup, just talking, and it would be enjoyable.
Zoe Saldana has been playing Uhura since the first film, and
the character’s peculiar romance with Spock, which has played out in the
previous instalments, is not so much a factor this time out- that being a good
thing, because it’s always seemed off. Not to say it’s not an element of the
film, because it’s there, but it’s not at all emphasized. Instead, like Sulu,
the character finds herself in a crisis where she has to maintain her calm,
mindful of the crew looking to her for leadership.
Karl Urban gets more to do as “Bones” McCoy this time out.
In the first two films, the character seemed to be marginalized a bit. Here he
finds himself in peril alongside Spock, which is a good thing- the two
characters have always been argumentative in their own ways, and that plays out
more here than we saw in the first two films. Spock’s logic clashes with
McCoy’s instincts as a doctor and an officer to leave no man behind, and while
we can see both sides to the issue, McCoy’s stubbornness is true to who he is,
and it’s fun watching the two actors bicker and spar. Urban’s performance
respects what’s come before him, but also gives the role his own touch.
Zachary Quinto returns as the highly logical Spock, who
finds himself considering his future as the film begins, particularly given
some news about his alternate future counterpart. Should he stay in Starfleet
or take his place among Vulcans? He plays the role as more centered- the
occasional outbursts of the first two films are replaced by the cold logic of a
Vulcan who places the needs of the few ahead of the needs of the one. In having
him alongside McCoy for a good part of the film, that shows good sense by the
writers, as it restores an aspect of the franchise that’s been neglected- the
perennial bickering of the two characters.
Chris Pine continues to play the young Kirk in a good way.
There’s a layer of charm and bemusement to the character, but the cockiness
that was there when we first met him has been tempered with maturity and
responsibility of command. His take on the character appeals to me- like
Shatner before him, Pine’s angle is that of a man who refuses to give up, even
when things seem to be at their darkest (Pine wisely refrains from the Shatner
style of speaking.....like... this, which
helps). He handles the physical side of the action well, and conveys the sense
of authority you’d expect out of a starship captain.
Where does Star Trek go
from here? Time will tell, particularly given the untimely death of a key cast
member. This instalment takes the crew out into the great unknown, puts them
through an ordeal to end all ordeals, and yet shows them at their most capable.
The script and the cast make up for the director, whose personal style can be
grating- I find myself thinking how relieved I am to have avoided that entire Fast And Furious nonsense all together.
And the film manages to continue to convey that sense of sci-fi wonder so
integral to the franchise.
