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Star Trek Beyond

2016 122 minutes actionadventure
Star Trek Beyond poster

Overview

Star Trek Beyond Storyline

Star Trek Beyond is the third Kelvin Timeline film and the entry that most strongly embraces classic exploration-era Trek in the Star Trek franchise. The Enterprise is destroyed during a mission beyond Federation space, scattering the crew across an alien planet where they must reunite and uncover the history of Krall. First released in 2016, it sits within a universe that has spent decades using science fiction to explore exploration, identity, politics, technology and the choices people make when they encounter something genuinely unfamiliar.

By separating the crew into smaller groups, the film gives relationships such as Spock and McCoy more room while building toward a celebration of Starfleet’s ideals. The core cast includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella. That ensemble is important because Star Trek has always worked best when the ship, station or team feels like a community rather than simply a backdrop for one central hero. The relationships between the characters give the larger science-fiction ideas a human centre and allow individual episodes or films to move between adventure, drama, humour and moral dilemmas.

Released during Star Trek’s 50th anniversary year, Beyond feels like an affectionate modern blockbuster built around the value of cooperation. For Comic Movie DB, this entry is an important part of the wider Star Trek archive because it shows a different stage of the franchise and its changing approach to storytelling. Whether the focus is exploration, war, diplomacy, time travel, first contact or the responsibility that comes with advanced technology, the story remains tied to the optimistic idea that people can learn from the unknown rather than simply fear it.

Produced by Paramount Pictures, Bad Robot, Skydance Media, Star Trek Beyond also reflects the era in which it was made. Its production design, effects and pacing may differ from other Trek generations, but the underlying appeal remains recognisable: memorable characters facing impossible situations while trying to live up to the ideals represented by Starfleet and the Federation.

action adventure
Star Trek Beyond Details Director, release, studio & more
Director
Justin Lin
Release
22/07/2016
Runtime
122 minutes
Universe
Last Updated
29 Sep 2026
Where to WatchPartners JustWatch
CMDB Review
9/10

Our editorial score

Fandom Score
8/10

1 community rating

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CMDB Review

Star Trek Beyond Review 9/10

Comic Movie DB rates Star Trek Beyond 9/10. Released during Star Trek’s 50th anniversary year, Beyond feels like an affectionate modern blockbuster built around the value of cooperation. Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto are particularly entertaining together, while Sofia Boutella’s Jaylah is a strong addition. What works particularly well is the way the story uses the familiar Star Trek universe without relying only on the franchise name. The strongest Trek stories have always balanced the excitement of strange worlds, alien cultures and futuristic technology with characters whose decisions actually matter, and this entry understands that balance.

Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto are particularly entertaining together, while Sofia Boutella’s Jaylah is a strong addition. The cast — including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella — gives the story its personality. Star Trek can become very technical very quickly, but the characters are what make the terminology, politics and huge science-fiction concepts accessible. When the crew disagrees, makes a mistake or has to choose between an easy solution and the principles they claim to believe in, the franchise becomes much more interesting than a simple space adventure.

There is also something satisfying about seeing how this chapter connects with the wider Trek timeline. The film continues the Kelvin crew’s five-year mission while paying tribute to Leonard Nimoy and the original Enterprise cast. That continuity gives long-term fans plenty to recognise, while the central story still needs to work for somebody who is not carrying decades of Star Trek knowledge into every scene.

Krall’s backstory arrives late, but the film’s warmth and ensemble focus make it one of the reboot era’s strongest. Even when an episode, season or film does not completely land, the ambition is usually part of the appeal. Star Trek has never been afraid to experiment with tone or use science fiction as a way of talking about contemporary fears and hopes.

Overall, Star Trek Beyond earns its 9/10 rating by contributing something worthwhile to a franchise that has constantly reinvented itself since the 1960s. It may appeal to different generations of Trek fans for different reasons, but its best moments come from the same place as the franchise’s classics: curiosity, character chemistry and the belief that the unknown is something worth exploring.

Did You Know?

  • Star Trek Beyond was released in 2016.
  • The film was directed by Justin Lin.
  • Its runtime is approximately 122 minutes.
  • The principal cast includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg.
  • The film continues the Kelvin crew’s five-year mission while paying tribute to Leonard Nimoy and the original Enterprise cast.
  • Released during Star Trek’s 50th anniversary year, Beyond feels like an affectionate modern blockbuster built around the value of cooperation.

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