Star Trek Beyond parents guide

Star Trek Beyond Parent Guide

The movie offers amazing visuals and strong performances, but the script fails to boldly explore these iconic characters in any real depth.

Overall B+

When the Enterprise ventures into an uncharted part of the universe, Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew get stranded in the great beyond.

Release date July 22, 2016

Violence C
Sexual Content B
Profanity C+
Substance Use B-

Why is Star Trek Beyond rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Star Trek Beyond PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

Run Time: 122 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

The Star Trek universe opens in ultimate utopia with the crew of the USS Enterprise getting a much needed, dare we say “bathroom break”, at the gigantic Starbase Yorktown. The huge space station, built on the fringe of the Federation’s jurisdiction, is the first stop in many months for the Enterprise which is now in the third year of its five-year mission. But, of course, the idyllic respite doesn’t last long before Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) is approached by a damsel in distress—in this case an alien named Kalara (Lydia Wilson). She pleads for help with a rescue mission in unchartered territory. Needless to say his compassionate response will lead to a galactic mess that only the iconic James T. will be able to resolve.

In the midst of this heroic effort is an antagonist named Krall (Idris Elba). He has weaponized swarm technologies that can shred anything from a human being to an entire spacecraft. The resulting attacks, especially those that seem to sandblast the flesh and bones off humanoids, are eye popping as well as somewhat disturbing. (Both responses were probably intended.) Much of the of the film features characters in peril and facing foes that either shoot various futuristic weapons or default to the usual kicking, punching and throwing moves that are core to the defensive tactics of Kirk’s crew in the classic TV series.

And talking of the original franchise, even the feminism of those 1960s episodes can’t compete with the females of this cast. Small screen Lieutenant Uhura’s (Nichelle Nichols) demure tendencies are starkly inconsistent with the martial arts fighter represented by Zoe Saldana in this reboot. Newcomer Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) is another force to be reckoned with. She takes on attackers much larger than herself and often protects Scotty (Simon Pegg) within a storyline that almost (yet never quite) places the pair in a romantic relationship.

That lack of emotional connection is probably the greatest flaw in this 2016 film. It’s our third outing with this great cast. (We met them in Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness.) We know who these characters are and we’ve seen how they work. Although the real world tragedy of Anton Yelchin’s untimely death makes watching his last appearance here a little difficult, we still want to be digging deeper into the motivations, aspirations and ambitions of this capable crew.

Instead, this space voyage feels like the guys and gals are just off to do their usual job. We know that no matter what the obstacles, their task is going to be completed and the future is going to be put back on the optimistic track this franchise is known for. So despite amazing visuals and strong performances, the script of Star Trek Beyond misses the star-sized opportunity to boldly explore these personalities, which might have allowed it to go where few action films have gone before.

Directed by Justin Lin . Starring Zoe Saldana, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto . Running time: 122 minutes. Theatrical release July 22, 2016. Updated

Star Trek Beyond
Rating & Content Info

Why is Star Trek Beyond rated PG-13? Star Trek Beyond is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

Violence: Characters are in peril in many scenes throughout this film, although little blood or other detail of violent acts are shown. A weapon that uses small particles to break up larger objects is employed against living beings; we see this in action when a humanoid is disintegrated—no explicit detail is seen. A character tortures two other people who are hanging upside down and connected to cables that allow the attacker to extract a life force from them. Multiple scenes depict conflicts on a broad and individual scale. An enormous swarm of spacecraft attack other ships. Individual conflicts involve men and women fighting in hand-to-hand combat, augmented with a variety of futuristic weapons. Characters fall from heights. A character is seen with a large fragment protruding from his abdomen; another character attempts to remove it.

Sexual Content: A brief scene depicting life on the Enterprise shows a shirtless man being kicked out of a woman’s quarters. Another has a man and woman kissing in the doorway.

Language: Infrequent profanities include two scatological terms, some mild expletives and a couple of uses of names of deity used as expletives.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters briefly drink hard liquor and discuss their appreciation for it.

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Star Trek Beyond Parents' Guide

In this movie, the antagonist’s philosophy is that until people struggle they will not know who they are. What do you think he means by this? Is there truth in this statement? In this story, Krall takes it upon himself to inflict pain and distress on others. How does this type of struggle differ from the natural struggles we encounter?

Star Trek, in general, promotes a utopian view of the future the implies human knowledge has been applied to solve societal problems. How does this contrast from other science fiction premises? Would you desire to live within the Star Trek world? If not, why?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Star Trek Beyond movie is November 1, 2016. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Star Trek Beyond
Release Date: 1 November 2016
Star Trek Beyond releases to home video (DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray or Blu-ray Steelbook) with the following extras:
- Deleted Scenes - Go Beyond the final cut of the movie with scenes you didn’t see in theaters.
- Beyond the Darkness - Meet visionary producer J.J. Abrams, director Justin Lin and co-writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung as they discuss the inspiration for the Star Trek Beyond storyline and how it came to life.
- Enterprise Takedown - Experience edge-of-your-seat action and see how a shocking attack destroys the USS Enterprise.
- Divided and Conquered - Learn how filmmakers pushed the boundaries in Star Trek Beyond by forcing the Enterprise crew into their most challenging situations yet.
- A Warped Sense of Revenge - Meet Star Trek’s newest villain, Krall, as actor Idris Elba reveals the backstory behind his character’s terrifying ambitions.
- Trekking in the Desert - Go on set to Dubai and discover how its futuristic architecture became the foundation for the most innovative Starbase yet.
- Exploring Strange New Worlds - Tour the incredible production sets of Star Trek Beyond with director Justin Lin.
- New Life, New Civilizations - See how special effects designers met the challenge to create an unprecedented 50 new alien species for the film to celebrate Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary.
- To Live Long and Prosper - Journey through the past 50 years of Star Trek with J.J. Abrams and the cast as they reflect on the evolution of this iconic sci-fi series.
- For Leonard and Anton - Watch a touching tribute to the legendary Leonard Nimoy and beloved crew member Anton Yelchin.
- Gag Reel - Join in on the fun with this hilarious gag reel of on-set bloopers.

Related home video titles:

This movie is the third in the franchise which features Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness. The series has followed other crews that can be seen in the earlier movies Star Trek Wrath of Khan and Star Trek First Contact.

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