of the series( and that’ s saying something after Khan’ s( Benedict Cumberbatch) high-octane turn in Into Darkness). There may be little hope of a major uptick of intellect, but Beyond at least managed to sneak in a little bit of brains. While the action set pieces will likely get larger and more elaborate, the writers of the fourth fi lm could slip a little more thought-in-motion into the next fi lm. Beyond was a fantastic popcorn fl ick with lots of fun references( such as Chekov’ s insistence that Scotch is a Russian invention), but it also had several lost opportunities for deeper philosophical examination. It would be gratifying for Trek devotees to be able to watch some good old-fashioned Federation principles explored, rather than merely enforced. Classic Trek fi lms were able to sneak clever moments beneath the surface, such as the ethical dilemma of playing god( Genesis in Wrath of Khan). Also, the heavy-handed message about treating the planet with respect from The Voyage Home seems like quaint bits of common sense now. Beyond did manage to throw in some subtle jabs at extreme libertarianism( Krall as Trump) and re-envision Hikaru Sulu as gay( a move George Takei wasn’ t thrilled with). For the most part, though, the rebooted series has avoided or cribbed its moral quandaries from its predecessors( better than nothing). The writers of Star Trek 4 shouldn’ t be afraid to explore current events in allegorical form, either as Pegg and Jung did in as much as they could. Nor should they be unwilling to seek out new worlds for longer than it takes to jump a motorcycle over them. MORE SEEKING OUT NEW LIFE The rebooted Star Trek fi lms have given fans a lot of interesting new places and devious plots, but little of the crew’ s actual fi ve year mission. True, their odyssey only began in the falling action of Into Darkness. But for a fi lm and TV series based on space travel, the fi lms have spent a surprisingly large amount of time grounded or in familiar places. Yorktown Station and the uncharted nebula were gorgeous, but it would’ ve been fun if they served as more than just set dressing. While it’ s unlikely Paramount will suddenly tell its producers, writers, and directors to dial down the popcorn action and crank up the Star Trek: The Motion Picture elements( which bored many hardcore Trekkies), it would be nice if the next movie explored its surroundings a little more before blowing them up. The Enterprise’ s next mission could even kick off with their investigation of a planet, a trip to a familiar world or two( more on that below), charting a star system, or expanding their understanding of human possibilities. And then, yes, a cosmic bad seed can blow something up. REVENGE IS A LEFTOVER DISH As far as villains go, the rebooted Star Trek series has done fairly well – especially with its caliber of actors. Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eric Bana, and Peter Weller are all extremely talented and capable of great depth and range. However, Elba’ s antagonist Krall in Beyond, much like Admiral Marcus in Into Darkness,
23 | BOOM
FEATURE
Nero in the eponymous reboot, the Son’ a in Insurrection and, of course, Khan Noonien Singh in the original Wrath of Khan, were all vengeance-oriented adversaries. Sure, Shakespeare’ s famous line about revenge food meshes well with Ricardo Montalban’ s quip about space temperatures in Wrath, but Trek has been down the vengeance path one time too many. For the fourth entry, it would be nice to see an adversary who doesn’ t feel the need to destroy the Federation or seek comeuppance against Kirk. The next big baddie could simply view the Enterprise or Starfl eet as an obstacle or nuisance. Some of the most memorable franchise villains – such as the Borg and V’ Ger( arguably), General Chang( despite Christopher Plummer’ s deliciously ham-fi sted delivery), and the Dominion – antagonized based on their suspicious nature, superiority complex, attachment to order, or were galactic overachievers. In its next outing, Kelvin-Trek needs to face a more universal threat than Krall or Khan or Nero, as menacing as they were. If the writers can’ t invent another modern classic villain, let’ s face it, Star Trek is loaded to bear with them. BRING ON THE KLINGONS While the Klingons made a brief appearance in Into Darkness, few fanatics or casual audiences would mind revisiting their ilk. The aggressive species played heavily into the classic fi lm and television series, but in the reborn timeline, the Empire of Kahless could play a slightly different role. During Abrams’ re-Wrath of Khan, Kirk managed to stave off a war between the two galactic superpowers. His actions could have altered this timeline’ s events to refl ect those closer to the progress made in The Undiscovered Country. Naturally, much like General Chang, the Romulans, and Admiral Cartwright, not everyone would be thrilled at the prospect of a Federation-Klingon peace treaty. The next escapade for the Enterprise could explore the battle for peace between the galactic powers – before getting sucked into a temporal anomaly or however Kirk meets up with his father. Of course, the rebooted Trek is pretty action packed, so maybe the Federation will just wind up toe-to-toe with their old adversaries. If, for some strange reason, the Klingons don’ t thrill fans anymore( unlikely), there are other fun adversaries who could rear their ugly heads in the Kelvin timeline. The alternate timeline could also take advantage of interesting Original Series nemeses like the Tholians( who would look really cool with big budget CGI), the curious Sphere Builders, or even the Gorn could make for an entertaining fourth romp into the rebooted realms. Because honestly, where’ s a 23rd century version of Gul Dukat or Q when you need him? WHAT’ S UP WITH NEW VULCAN? While we’ re on the subject of Trek nemeses impacting major damage, fans have heard precious little about the remnants of one of the Federation’ s core members lately. Since Nero took out Vulcan, the the planet’ s diminished populace has barely been heard from aside from a few exchanges between Old Spock and New Spock