The Star Trek Movie Now On Netflix is The Best Movie To Watch After Star Trek Day 2024

Netflix recently added Star Trek: Beyond to their streaming library, and watching it is the perfect way to celebrate the ending of 2024's Star Trek Day celebrations. As the third installment of JJ Abrams' reboot Star Trek franchise that premiered in 2009, director Justin Lin's Star Trek: Beyond didn't just appeal to newer fans of the franchise, it also called back many of the core aspects of Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek vision: optimism, resiliency, and the strength of friendship.

While every Star Trek movie has some form of canon-specific lore that affects the Starship Enterprise's crew, Star Trek: Beyond goes a step further. Instead of simply fighting an alien enemy, Star Trek Beyond's antagonist represents something far more sinister. Krall, Idris Elba's villain in Star Trek: Beyond, highlights the Federation's dark past, in which wars with other alien species ruined the lives of countless citizens. The good vs. bad element popular in many Star Trek films is absent in Star Trek: Beyond, replaced instead by a fundamental principle that has remained at the heart of the franchise for decades.

Star Trek: Beyond Highlights The Franchise’s Best Values

Teamwork proves to be successful against the film's anti-Federation antagonist

Star Trek: Beyond starts by exploring the Starship Enterprise's five-year mission, and it doesn't shy away from showcasing the struggles of deep space travel. Star Trek Beyond highlights Captain James T. Kirk's (Chris Pine) issues with his captaincy, which sets the tone for the rest of the film, and considers what it really means to be a Starfleet crew. When Krall kidnaps most of the Enterprise personnel, Captain Kirk, Spock (Zachary Quinto), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) must work together to mount a rescue and defeat Krall.

Star Trek: Beyond's ending reaffirms the franchise's core belief system by keeping hope at the center of its narrative. When facing off with Captain Kirk, Krall insists on the Federation's mistakes, citing the Xindi and Romulan wars as the source of his resentment. Kirk defends the Federation, arguing that the future is worth protecting rather than the past. Star Trek Beyond culminates with Kirk and his crew reunited and launching another five-year mission aboard a new USS Enterprise. This sense of safeguarding the future is paramount to Star Trek's original purpose to boldly venture into the unknown with an open mind and willingness to adapt.

The New Age Of Star Trek TV Succeeded In Part Thanks To Star Trek: Beyond

Star Trek: Beyond helped usher in a golden age of Star Trek television

Star Trek: Beyond is a captivating sci-fi narrative, told by lovable characters, that never takes itself too seriously. Audiences still crave more, although Star Trek 4 remains in development hell. Star Trek: Beyond influenced the cinematic approach to Star Trek: Discovery, and the series that followed on Paramount+ like Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Most of the current Star Trek TV shows on Paramount+ owe a debt to Star Trek Beyond's aesthetics and how it recaptured the soul of Star Trek: The Original Series.

The continued streaming success of Star Trek TV projects can be traced, at least partially, back to the box office and fan success of Star Trek: Beyond. Without it, fans would have been left with the less critically acclaimed Star Trek: Into Darkness, which focused on the secret dark side of Starfleet. Since Star Trek Day was all about recognizing what makes Star Trek special to so many people, Star Trek: Beyond's inclusion of so many of the franchise's optimistic principles makes it the perfect way to celebrate.