MAJOR STAR TREK BEYOND SPOILERS
While the weapon was a bit of a MacGuffin and the revenge plot was a tad cliché, I found Krall (Capt. Balthazar Edison) and his motivations to be very interesting. Edison grew up just as Earth was taking it's first major steps into the Galaxy and attempting to leave it's barbaric past behind it. As a M.A.C.O., he was a soldier trained to defend humanity from outside forces, a holdover from Earth's militaristic past that was quickly becoming obsolete as Starfleet favored peaceful expansion and exploration. He saw first hand how Starfleet's more peaceful diplomatic approach to relationships with other alien races left humanity venerable to attacks from the Xindi and the Romulans. Though it's never stated in the movie, it's likely that he was involved with or at least sympathetic to the Terra Prime movement based on his anti-unity remarks. With the establishment of the Federation, he suddenly found himself as Captain of the Franklin having to make peace with people he'd spent his life fighting. He reminds me of Admiral Cartwright from ST:6 as they were both Soldiers struggling to find their purpose in a new found era of peace. Edison's observation that humanity has made it's biggest strides forward during times of great struggle is sadly true, just look at how in the real world the space program was born out of WWII military technology and Cold War posturing and in the Star Trek Universe, Earth's first warp ship rose from the ashes of WWIII. Edison is a good villain because not only does he stand against the Federation but because he stands against the very core values and message of Star Trek itself: Unity, peace, and the human condition. What makes it even better is he's not some distant alien threat as we're lead to believe initially, he's one of us. While some people in his time like Captain Archer were whiling to extend the olive branch and take humanity's place in the stars, Edison was still clinging to a world and a mindset from humanity's past that was rapidly disappearing around him. It's analogous to the same struggles we have now days as humanity tries to move forward but is being held back by those clinging to old feuds, bigotry, and xenophobia. We spend years training people for War using hate and anger towards the opposing side but no time training them for the peace that will hopefully follow where they will have to live along side their former enemies.
EDIT: It's likely that he witnessed and maybe even lost people in the Xindi attack on Earth and would have been angry when they were allowed to join the Federation a few years later after the Romulan War. Daniels confirmed the Xindi would became Federation members but we don't know when they joined.
While the weapon was a bit of a MacGuffin and the revenge plot was a tad cliché, I found Krall (Capt. Balthazar Edison) and his motivations to be very interesting. Edison grew up just as Earth was taking it's first major steps into the Galaxy and attempting to leave it's barbaric past behind it. As a M.A.C.O., he was a soldier trained to defend humanity from outside forces, a holdover from Earth's militaristic past that was quickly becoming obsolete as Starfleet favored peaceful expansion and exploration. He saw first hand how Starfleet's more peaceful diplomatic approach to relationships with other alien races left humanity venerable to attacks from the Xindi and the Romulans. Though it's never stated in the movie, it's likely that he was involved with or at least sympathetic to the Terra Prime movement based on his anti-unity remarks. With the establishment of the Federation, he suddenly found himself as Captain of the Franklin having to make peace with people he'd spent his life fighting. He reminds me of Admiral Cartwright from ST:6 as they were both Soldiers struggling to find their purpose in a new found era of peace. Edison's observation that humanity has made it's biggest strides forward during times of great struggle is sadly true, just look at how in the real world the space program was born out of WWII military technology and Cold War posturing and in the Star Trek Universe, Earth's first warp ship rose from the ashes of WWIII. Edison is a good villain because not only does he stand against the Federation but because he stands against the very core values and message of Star Trek itself: Unity, peace, and the human condition. What makes it even better is he's not some distant alien threat as we're lead to believe initially, he's one of us. While some people in his time like Captain Archer were whiling to extend the olive branch and take humanity's place in the stars, Edison was still clinging to a world and a mindset from humanity's past that was rapidly disappearing around him. It's analogous to the same struggles we have now days as humanity tries to move forward but is being held back by those clinging to old feuds, bigotry, and xenophobia. We spend years training people for War using hate and anger towards the opposing side but no time training them for the peace that will hopefully follow where they will have to live along side their former enemies.
EDIT: It's likely that he witnessed and maybe even lost people in the Xindi attack on Earth and would have been angry when they were allowed to join the Federation a few years later after the Romulan War. Daniels confirmed the Xindi would became Federation members but we don't know when they joined.
Last edited:
