Let’s do a movie review today! Thank you, Eric D. Mertz!
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At its core, Star Trek Beyond is a film about two conflicting ideologies. On the one end is the Federation, a multicultural and multi-ethnic democracy which has a semi-post-scarcity economy and a somewhat pacifistic streak. At the other is unnamed civilization which is lead by Idris Elba’s character, Krall. In contrast to the Federation, Krall’s swarm are radical purists and nationalists who view the Federation – with it’s multi-species tolerance – as an abomination and affront to nature.
But, as good as that plot is, the villain and his motive are rather generic. This is a film which focuses more on the characters and their interactions and relations with one another than their conflict with Krall.
Spock is at the core of this character piece, with the death of Leonard Nimoy in the real world written into the movie with the death of Ambassador Spock, the younger Commander Spock played by Zachary Quinto is faced with a difficult choice. Vulcan is gone, his people are an endangered species with less than 10,000 members, and their leader is dead. With the population so low and his species scattered, Spock is now torn between remaining in Starfleet and returning to New Vulcan to help lead his people. A conflict not helped by Spock’s pull between his love for Uhura and the logical course of pursuing a romantic relationship with a member of his own species.
In contrast, Kirk has been humbled since the events of Into Darkness. Having finally grown into the Captain which Shatner portrayed in The Original Series, Kirk is halfway into the five year mission which was assigned to him at the end of Into Darkness and he is beginning to have doubts. Fearing that he is losing perspective and becoming unmoored from the civilization he has sworn to defend and serve after two and a half years in deep space. So much so he is contemplating a desk job.
The other thing to keep an eye on is the Starbase Yorktown itself and her crew. A starbase in deep space, serving as the Federation’s presence in the frontier, the space station is home to a population in the millions. Taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by zero-gravity construction, Yorktown is a beautiful concentric sphere design with the population living in cities which run along the exterior of spokes running from a central utility plant at the core to an exterior shell of transparent aluminum – with grand vistas which the directors of the film go to great lengths to highlight.
A good thing, considering the rumors that Yorktown will serve as the central platform for the new Star Trek series coming in 2017.
However, while the message of strength in unity is a good one, the movie itself felt somewhat empty. The differences between the races of the Star Trek universe are almost cosmetic here – a far cry from the TV series, where the Federation gained notable strength from the various natural abilities and differences between the species which make it up. The almost interchangeable nature of the aliens – only Spock’s super-human strength and a single odd biological function of Keenser (Scotty’s tiny alien pal) actually show any difference between humans and aliens, with even Ensign Syl’s odd biology being completely replaceable by the simple expedient of swallowing the film’s McGuffin – undermines the strength through unity by making it strength in conformity.
This undermines the message somewhat. Especially when compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Where the diversity of the Federation in Star Trek is largely cosmetic, the Avengers of the MCU have radically diverse characters. Spanning power levels which range from a healthy, well trained human (Black Widow) to a walking nuclear bomb (The Hulk) and including often radically different philosophies and ideologies, the Avengers have come together in a way which optimizes the unique talents and insight they bring to the team in a way which preaches a “strength through unity” message far more effectively.
