Star Trek Beyond – 2016
Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Justin Lin
Written by: Simon Pegg, Doug Jung
Starring: Chris Pine, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella
Synopsis: After stopping off at Starbase Yorktown, a remote outpost on the fringes of Federation space, the USS Enterprise, halfway into their five-year mission, is destroyed by an unstoppable wave of unknown aliens. With the crew stranded on an unknown planet and with no apparent means of rescue, they find themselves fighting against Krall, a ruthless enemy with a well-earned hatred of the Federation and everything it stands for. Only the alien warrior Jaylah can help them reunite and leave the planet to stop this deadly menace from beginning a possible galactic war.
Reviews:
Vulcan Stev: This is what a Star Trek movie should be. It connected to the greater continuity. It had nice moments for the fans but it didn’t rely on continuity heavy story telling. Casual movie goers (what few there where) didn’t need an lengthy explanation to understand the film. This is the best of the Kelvin-verse films. The major problem with this film and its box office was once again suits at Paramount. Like Star Trek Nemesis 14 years previous, Beyond went up against some powerhouse films in 2016. You would think that Paramount would realize that Star Trek seldom does well at the box office when up against other franchises. Paramount also COMPLETELY dropped the ball in not reminding the general public that this was the 50th Anniversary.
Ashya T’sai: This was a very well done film. I love how the production team incorporated established lore and canon when they could. I think it was an insult to George Takei’s acting abilities. Mr. Takei always played Sulu as straight.
Pvt Black Spartan: Should have been the first movie.
48 Fan: I’ve seen it once, it was good. Mrs. 48 Fan now wants to see it now that she knows The Beastie Boys are featured.
The Pirate: The one with Idris Elba being the disgruntled soldier turned alien and they attack the Starbase planet to Beastie Boys. I liked it quite a bit.
The Nitpicks
Captain Kirk is negotiating a treaty between the Teenaxi Delegation and the Fibonan Republic who are long-term enemies. He presents a piece of an ancient weapon as a gesture of goodwill. When he presents it to the Teenaxian leader, he opens the case to show the artifact that is inside. When the camera cuts to another abgle the case is closed with his hands firmly gripping it as if it were never opened.
New Uniforms What is with all the uniform changes in the Kelvin-verse? I understand the realities of TV and film production and wanting to keep the uniforms for each series instantly identifiable (TNG / DS9 / Voyager) but really? Three films into the Kelvin-verse and we once again have new uniforms AND we have different uniforms for those serving on the Yorktown. Too many new uniforms.
The Yorktown So many problems with the Yorktown. We’re on the edge of explored space as far away from the Federation as we can be. There is an unexplored Nebula blocking our progress forward (because we cant fly over it, under or around it for “reasons”. Space is BIG, go around it) and we have explored everything to the “left” and “right” of the “Nebula”. So let’s put this Unnecessarily Large Starbase at the edge of unknown space with only the Enterprise to protect it if someone hostile comes through the “Nebula”. Surprise it got attacked. WHO could have foreseen this tragedy?
The Yorktown II How is gravity generated on (in?) this Starbase? Does EVERY single floor of every single building have gravity plating? How do they keep the rivers floating in place when a Starship flies underneath them and can crash up and through the rivers?
The Yorktown III Yorktown? Yes, the Federation will spend the time and resources to haul building materials out to the edge of unknown space and construct a Starbase there because we don’t want to show favoritism to any ONE member planet of the Federation. Then we will name the place Yorktown which in no way shows any favoritism to Earth or the North American continent. I realize the Kelvin-verse has diverged from the Prime timeline and therefore won’t follow ‘standard’ starbase nomenclature, like Station K7, or Deep Space Nine, or Space Station 375. Yup, we’ll call it Yorktown as a completely neutral non-favor showing name.
The Federation’s Database has faulty information. When Young Spock is looking over Ambassador Spock’s service record, it lists Spock as the Second Officer of the USS Enterprise. Although that was the case when Spock served with Captain Pike, He was Kirk’s First Officer and eventually Captain of the Enterprise in his own right. Shouldn’t the service record reflect this?
When realizing that Ambassador Spock has passed on, Young Spock starts to cry. A single tear runs down his cheek. Realizing this vulgar display of emotion would jeopardize his standing among Vulcans, Spock wills the tear away as in the next shot, the tear is gone without Spock wiping it away.
Did anyone else catch the announcement at Yorktown in the background? A starship with NCC-2893 as it’s registration number is mentioned. In the Prime Universe, that would be the USS Stargazer, Captain Picard’s first command.
Privacy? There is no privacy in Space. When Kirk and Bones are having their heart-to-heart talk over drinks, McCoy says he found the bottle of scotch in Chekov’s locker. What is McCoy doing looking through Chekov’s locker and then taking the Scotch? Kirk sure didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with it.
The “Nebula”? That “Nebula” MUST be rich deposit of resources for the Federation to have spent the time, effort and resources to plunk the Yorktown down next to it. Especially since it the last Starship to venture into was never heard from again. However, the defenition of Nebula ‘a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter‘. That nebula sure looks more like an asteroid field to me.
Gravity? The Kelvin-verse sure has some interesting technology for gravity plating. This was a problem in Into Darkness as well. Gravity plating is located in the flooring of each deck. If it’s working people should be falling on the floor regardless of the orientation of the ship in space. People would not be sliding down corridors and sliding up walls. If the gravity plating is damaged, people should be floating around the ship like the Klingons did in ST:VI TUC.
Don’t look at my hair. When Uhura speaks with Krall for the first time, her hair cannot decide where it wants to be. The moves from behind her to over her shoulder and switches between takes.
Sulu can’t count. Kirk asks how many people are left in the saucer section. Sulu says, “No one is left.” I count at least four left on the bridge or has the bridge moved off the saucer section?
Escape pods located right on the bridge? I guess Starfleet learned their lesson from Nero’s attack on the USS Kelvin. It’s a shame this technology has never shown up in the Prime Universe.
Escape Pod or Closet? When Kirk and Chekov leave the bridge in their escape pods they are both wearing their yellow command uniforms and black pants. When thy land on the surface they are both now wearing blue pants, blue shirts, and blue jackets with yellow stripes. No one else got to change clothes in the escape pods.
After crash-landing their borrowed Swarm ship. Spock is injured. McCoy makes the utterly absurd statement that he doesn’t know much about Vulcan anatomy. Really McCoy? You’ve been serving with Spock for how many years? You are the Chief Medical Officer on board the Flagship of the Federation with a Vulcan (an endangered species none-the-less) First Officer. Given his profession and his posting, McCoy should be intimately familiar with the anatomy of everyone on the ship, regardless of species. This might have been an ok thing for McCoy to say in the first Kelvin film but not now.
Looking for the rest of the crew, Kirk and Chekov set off one of Jaylah’s traps. Judging from their trapped height compared to Scotty (Actor Simon Pegg is 5′ 10″), their feet are easily six feet off the ground (or more). When Kirk and Chekhov are freed from the trap, they fall somewhere between 6 to 12 feet onto rocks. They don’t land on their feet, they fall length-wise onto rocks. Yet they are not hurt, just a little out of breath. A fall from that height onto rocks should have broken several bones and caused a number of contusions. I guess Doctor McCoy has VERY good preventative health care.
The USS Franklin (note all changes to the Kelvin timeline are supposed to have been caused by the divergence of Nero arriving in 2233) I don’t have a problem with the ship having an NX registration number as the USS Essex (Daedalus Class ST:TNG Power Play) was the first canon ship with an NCC registry number (NCC-173) and it went missing in 2167, a full-three years after the USS Franklin went missing. So Starfleet could have switched from NX to NCC between those two dates. My two problems with the USS Franklin are: 1 First Warp 4 starship? Um, the Enterprise NX-01 was the first Warp 5 starship 13 years before the Franklin went missing. Why would anyone remember this? Who was the second man on the moon? Who flew the second heavier than air craft? Who was the second person to cross the Atlantic solo?
The Franklin II With 2233 being the date that the Kelvin-verse diverged from the Prime timeline, why have we never heard of Krall and his swarm in the Prime timeline? It sure sounds in this film that Captain Edison / Krall began planning his revenge on the Federation a lot longer than just the last 30 years.
When Kirk and Jaylah are transported into Krall’s compound on the motorcycle, they are already traveling at speed. Did Kirk sit on the transporter pad burning rubber until Scotty transported them into the compound? Did Kirk just ride around the transporter platform in tight circles? I thought transporters in the Kelvin timeline had trouble locking onto anything moving too fast (Like Skydiving officers in the first Kelvin film or Khan in Into Darkness). How does a transporter that is used “mainly for cargo” have the ability to transport two humanoids and a speeding motorcycle? Scotty IS a miracle-worker.
The Franklin III Starfleet built those Freedom Class vessels to last. Not only did the Franklin survive crash landing from orbit onto Altamid and then into a mountain range, but 100 years later even after repeatedly crashing into multiple mountain peaks while attempting to achieve escape velocity it was still space worthy.
It was fortunate that when the Franklin was crashing, Captain Edison didn’t order his helmsman to find a nice stretch of flat ground to crash on and instead crashed high enough up in the mountains that the ship would be able to reach escape velocity by falling off the same mountain 100 years later.
When Kirk takes the center seat in the USS Franklin, he buckles up with old fashioned hip seat belts. In the next shot, he now has the shoulder on as well.
When the Franklin goes into free fall off the cliff in the USS Franklin to achieve escape velocity, the crew are shown being restrained from falling forward by their seat restraints. In free fall you are not falling faster than the ship. If anything the crew needs to be strapped in to avoid floating out of their seats. What is shown on screen would only occur if the ship were decelerating and the crew’s momentum was greater than the ship’s (imagine slamming on your brakes hard).
Using the Alamid life-force stealing technology has some strange side-effects. It apparently also adds portions of the DNA from your victim to your own. This is why Krall no longer looks like Captain Edison. Convenient. But why doesn’t Krall begin to revert once he starts stealing human life-force once again. Yes he has the quick reversion while showing Uhura but he doesn’t lose his Krall look until the end of the film.
Now it could be that Jaylah is some kind of Engineering savant, but wow she and Scotty were able to repair 100-year old technology that is half-buried in dirt with scraps salvaged from other crashed ship that the entire original crew could not fix when they first crashed.
Dan S. thought that the Swarm was much larger than the number of ships we see hanging from the storage poles in Krall’s compound. He is correct. The number of ships that attacked the Enterprise and later the Yourktown is far more than we see docked on the storage poles. But scans show the complex has many underground chambers. Many of the Swarm ships could be parked underground.
Dan S. also points out that the number of soldiers that would be needed to pilot all the Swarm ships would be huge as it was shown that they contain at least one soldier in each ship. If Archer’s Enterprise only had a crew of 85, Edison’s ship can’t have many more. Listen closely when Kirk and company are watching Edison’s video logs. Captain Edison clearly states that he and his crew found drones. Most likely the bulk of the Krall’s fleet is made up of drones and controlled by the hive mind that the music disrupts.
Admittedly fighting off Krall and his swarm by using The Beastie Boys was very cool looking. However, don’t analog radio signals need to be converted to sound waves? Sound doesn’t travel in space.
Just once, can’t the massive attack that wipes out most if not all the Minions take out the Big Bad Guy too? Krall’s ship is one of the few ships that survive the “Sabotage” attack. I guess “Final Boss Syndrome” is a universal constant.
Edison knows exactly where to go and what he needs to do with the Abronath to set it off. How? Edison has been gone for one hundred years it would be the same as Orville or Wilbur Wright knowing how to sabotage a modern Boeing jetliner. Granted Edison has been monitoring Logs and Starfleet communications. But I would surmise that Starfleet is randomly sending out schematics for their newest Starbase in daily comm traffic.
Scotty states that Kirk would be sucked out into space. Scotty the Miracle Worker, Starfleet’s most talented engineer, would know that in the event of a hull breach, Kirk would actually be blown out into space due to the vacuum of space.
Yorktown has no internal security? No “Beam Straight to Jail” transporters? No security personnel in armored suits? Why are there no other starships at the Federation’s largest starbase? Nothing, Kirk has to fight Krall alone with no support. But I guess that is consistent for Starfleet, leaving the Captain of “the only ship in the quadrant” to fight by himself.
After all the build-up The Abronath is a less than underwhelming super weapon. If its purpose is to kill people and leave infrastructure, it sure goes about this far more slowly than radiation or gas would. If Krall was intent on just killing the entire Starbase, he should have attacked it with his Swarm before Kirk and company figured out the Beastie Boys counter-measures.
Pay attention to the walls at Kirk’s birthday party, just before the time-lapse montage of the construction of the Enterprise-A. Matt T. (a nitpicker from across the pond) informs me that there are a few instances of 20th/21st century “Type G” (British style) electrical outlets visible on the walls aboard Starbase Yorktown. (See the photos.) I’m an American, so I’ll take Matt’s word for it.
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