‘Star Trek Beyond’ carries heart of original series

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Fifty years ago, a groundbreaking TV show about space travel generated a small cult following, calling themselves “Trekkies.” By today’s standards, the special effects were cheesy and sets tacky, but a multi-cultural cast and charismatic star made a remarkable impact. The show lasted only three seasons, but spawned TV spinoffs and 13 movies.

After the original production team ran its course, the franchise was rebooted in 2009 with deserved success. In this third episode, the cast is so much more comfortable in their roles and with each other. Director Justin Lin (“Fast and Furious” series), in his first sci-fi feature, produces extraordinary action scenes. More important, his trademark is to carefully craft the cast’s chemistry into a family unit, so we actually care about each one.

This story begins with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) narrating their intergalactic exploration, “Captain’s Log, Stardate 2263.2: The Enterprise 966th day of its 5-year mission, 9/66. (September 1966 was the premier of the first TV show). His mind drifts, “The farther out we go, the more I find myself wondering what it is we are trying to accomplish. If the universe is truly endless, then are we not striving for something forever out of reach?”

Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) is rethinking his contribution to the mission and relationship with Lt. Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Cranky Dr. Bones McCoy (Karl Urban) continues his guarded truce with Spock, while Sulu (John Cho) is concerned about the daughter he shares with his partner, played by co-writer Doug Jung. The relationship is a not-so-subtle salute to George Takei, who originated the role and is openly gay.

The crew of the Enterprise is searching for new life-forms in order to establish new diplomatic ties. Their extended time in uncharted territory is stretching the ship’s mechanical capacities. Fortunately, navigator Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) can always deliver the Captain’s unreasonable demands. Pegg, who co-wrote the script, writes his first non-comedy, but includes ample wit and humor.

Their limits are severely challenged when a new enemy, led by Krall (Idris Elba), catches the Enterprise in an ambush. In a new level of hopelessness on a remote planet, Kirk reasons, “We got no ship, no crew, how’re we going to get out of this one?” Spock responds, “We’ll do what we’ve always done, find hope in the impossible.” He adds, “Fear of death is illogical.” Bones disagrees, “Fear of death is what keeps us alive!”

The extensive action is consistently more “intelligent” than so many of today’s superhero movies. The interaction and harmony of the crew continues to build with each scene. As Kirk works to reunite his scattered crew and find their way back to the Yorktown Space Station, Scotty meets a possible ally called Jaylah (Sofia Boutella). This character was inspired by J-Law (Jennifer Lawrence) for her performance in “Winter’s Bone” (2010).

We applaud the retro inspired dialog, advanced special effects and innovative action scenes. However, the chemistry and collaboration of the ensemble cast allows this film to go where the originals had gone before. On a side note, after the final fight scene, Kirk sports a black eye when the choreography between Chris Pine and Idris Elba got a little too animated. Instead of covering it up, they left it as is.

“Star Trek Beyond” is two hours and rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence. William Shatner admits he was not asked to make a cameo appearance in the film, even on its 50th anniversary. However, in the final scene, the crew salutes “absent friends,” a nod to Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin, who both had died this past year.

This is the second time “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” released movies in the same year. In this case, Trekkies get the more enjoyable feature. It’s fun because it carries the heart of the original TV series. The technology plays at warp speed, but with its renowned philosophical reflections, it takes itself seriously, but in a tongue-in-cheek way. Early in the film, Kirk and Spock wallow in their own funks. Thankfully, they didn’t chant, “Planet earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do.”