Summary
My favorite line inStar Trek Beyondis the smartest and most insightful bit of spoken dialogue in theStar Trekmovies produced by J.J. Abrams.Star Trek Beyondwas directed by Justin Lin from a screenplay by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. To their credit, Pegg and Jung went back to the source material and hewedStar Trek Beyondcloser to the spirit ofStar Trek: The Original Series. As a result,Star Trek Beyondfused J.J. Abrams' trademark slam-bang action with a greater emphasis on character depth, especially for Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine).
Star Trek Beyondstarts off much more sober and philosophical than the two prior films J.J. Abrams directed,Star Trek(2009) andStar Trek Into Darkness. Three years into the USS Enterprise’s five-year mission, Captain Kirk feels lost. The Starship Enterprise’s voyages have become"episodic"to Kirk. Worse, Jim’s mourns his father, Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), on his birthday. AsKirk tells Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy(Karl Urban), James is now"one year older than [his father] ever was.“Kirk feels the answer to his woes is to leave the Enterprise and take over running the massive Starbase USS Yorktown.
Star Trek Beyond Ending & Why No Sequel 8 Years Later Explained
Star Trek Beyond set up a sequel for Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk and the Kelvin Timeline crew, but it’s 8 years later and we’ve yet to see Star Trek 4.
Why I Love Star Trek Beyond’s Commodore Paris Dialogue To Captain Kirk
Captain Kirk’s innermost doubts are perfectly captured
When Captain Kirk applies for Starbase Yorktown’s Vice Admiral position, he consults with the station commander, Commodore Paris (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Paris sizes up and identifies the discontent in the youngCaptain of the Enterprise, and she gives Kirk a telling piece of advice which, I feel, isthe best line of spoken dialogue in any of J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovies:
It isn’t uncommon, you know, even for a captain, to want to leave. There is no relative direction in the vastness of space. There is only yourself, your ship, your crew. It’s easier than you think to get lost.
Partially, it’s the grace and compassion with which Commodore Paris delivers the line to Captain Kirk that makes it so haunting to me. But more so, it’s the insight behind Paris' words.Star Trek Beyondis a metaphor for life.For Kirk, life on the Enterprise was routine, even dull, until disaster struck. Kirk needed to trust his crew, and himself, to defeat thevillainous Krall (Idris Elba). Commodore Paris' dialogue was foreshadowing the crisis Kirk was about to face, but it’s also a profound musing on the secret loneliness and isolation of a starship captain. Anyone can relate to Kirk feeling lost and adrift. Certainly, I can, on occasion.
J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Movies Aren’t Known For Great Dialogue
No one accused J.J. Abrams' Star Trek of being overly thoughtful
J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovies remain state-of-the-art cinematic thrill rides that injected new vitality intoStar Trek,which continues to be felt in the variousStar Trek on Paramount+ series.Star Trekas produced by Abrams remains incredibly entertaining and rewatchable. However, no one will ever accuse Abrams’Star Trekmovies of being overly thoughtful.The trade-off for J.J. Abrams' kinetic action and galactic crises was shedding the moral quandaries and philosophical issues that defined classicStar Trektelevision shows.
I love how Commodore Paris' compassionate line to Captain Kirk sees into Jim’s soul.
One of the most underrated and refreshing aspects ofStar Trek Beyondis that it contains smatterings of insightful dialogue. Spock (Zachary Quinto) telling Kirk,“We do what we always do, Jim. We find hope in the impossible"is a perfect distillation of how the Starship Enterprise’s camaraderie is the key to their ability to achieve victory from certain defeat. I love how Commodore Paris' compassionate line to Captain Kirk sees into Jim’s soul and secretly urges him toward his ultimate realization inStar Trek Beyond: Commanding the Starship Enterprise is Kirk’s first, best destiny. Anything else is a waste of material.
