Story
Star Trek Beyond is the third movie in the current Star Trek series. After three years of their five-year mission, the crew of the Enterprise is recuperating at the space station of Yorktown. The crew includes Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), Dr McCoy (Karl Urban), Lieutenant Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Zulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Velchin).
The crew’s holiday is cut short when a strange alien arrives in a damaged ship. The alien and her crew crashed on a planet deep within an uncharted nebula and the crew is marooned and in dire need of rescue. As the Enterprise is the only ship advanced enough to navigate the nebula, Kirk is given the mission of rescuing the stranded aliens.
Unfortunately for Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew, the rescue mission turns out to be a trap. When they arrive to rescue the marooned aliens, the Enterprise is attacked by thousands of tiny ships that form coordinated swarms against which the Enterprise has no defence. The Enterprise is destroyed and the crew uses the escape pods to make it to the planet’s surface.
A vengeful alien called Krall (Idris Elba) is responsible for the attack. Krall believes that Kirk has an alien artefact that’s the key to a weapon of mass destruction. Krall wants to use the weapon to destroy the Federation, and his first intended target is Yorktown.
With the help of an alien freedom fighter named Yaylash (Sofia Boutella), Kirk must find a way to stop Krall.
Themes
Space travel; aliens; weapons of mass destruction
Violence
Star Trek Beyond has sequences that show sometimes intense action violence, mass destruction of property, mass murder, many violent deaths, threats of violence and intimidation, and some blood, gore, pain and suffering. For example:
Sexual references
Star Trek Beyond has occasional low-level sexual references. For example:
- There’s a reference to how an extended stay in space affects the crew’s interpersonal interactions.
- A woman dressed in sexy nightwear stands in a hallway in front of a man with a bare chest. She angrily throws some clothing in his face. The scene suggests they’ve recently had sex.
- A man and woman’s relationship break-up is discussed subtly in a couple of scenes.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Star Trek Beyond shows occasional use of substances. For example:
- Two men drink brandy from glasses and one of them says that the brandy was illegal and could make you go blind.
- One scene shows a birthday party where people drink wine and colourful cocktails. An alien woman sits at a table with a dozen empty glasses in front of her on the table. When someone asks her about the drinks, she replies that she drank them to ‘take my edge off’.
Nudity and sexual activity
Star Trek Beyond has some partial nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- A man and woman kiss in a couple of scenes.
- Women wear revealing clothing.
Product placement
There is no product placement of concern in Star Trek Beyond but merchandise associated with the movie is likely to appeal to children.
Coarse language
Star Trek Beyond has mild coarse language and name-calling throughout.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Star Trek Beyond is a science fiction action adventure targeting teenagers and adults, particularly fans of the Star Trek TV series and movies. This movie is a return to the original characters of the 1960s TV series and fans won’t be disappointed.
The sometimes intense violence and scary characters make Star Trek Beyond unsuitable for children under 12 years. We also recommend parental guidance up to 14 years.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- It’s better to die saving lives than to live with the knowledge that you took someone’s life.
- Life’s struggles are what make you who you are.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include self-sacrifice and teamwork.