Movie review
July 7, 2016 · 122 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Star Trek Beyond follows the Enterprise crew on a rescue mission that turns into a fight for survival against Krall, a former Starfleet captain who rejects the Federation and wields a bioweapon. The crew unites with allies to stop him and rebuild. A brief family reunion scene shows Sulu with his husband and daughter, adding visible same-sex representation to the legacy character. This deliberate canon alteration and the pre-release debate around it form the main audience-noticeable identity element in an otherwise standard Trek adventure focused on unity and exploration.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Star Trek Beyond.
Woke representation / casting
Sulu’s on-screen husband and daughter scene pushes visible LGBT family representation into a core legacy character through deliberate canon alteration.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays within classic Star Trek bounds, affirming Federation cooperation against Krall’s division without modern activist language or identity-specific lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative follows standard exploration and crew friendship themes while injecting one LGBT family portrayal that registers as identity emphasis for viewers.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Krall’s attack on Federation inclusivity is framed as villainous; the story upholds those principles without any modern systemic, patriarchal, or cultural-institution critiques.
Woke character or canon changes
Sulu’s sexuality and family structure were altered from established heterosexual canon specifically to add same-sex representation as a tribute.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Gay Sulu retcon triggered pre-release accusations of forced representation and canon change from Takei and parts of fandom, though complaints remained contained and non-dominant.
Creator track record context
Pegg and Lin explicitly chose LGBT inclusion via Sulu as activist homage, consistent with Lin’s prior cultural-representation focus, showing moderate intent for identity signaling.
Production
