Star Trek Beyond: 5 Ups And 3 Downs (The Science Edition)

The Ups:

5. The Swarm fleet

Straight up, one of the "daaamn, science" moments in this movie was the use of a swarm battle fleet.

Not only was it a refreshing take on the "formidable foe" format, it's also pretty on the money with the future of warfare. Swarm systems are set to change the face of conflict because, as we see in Star Trek Beyond, they're so difficult to attack and defend against.

Swarms work as a great, collaborative, modulating whole (something that is pretty at-odds with Krall's vendetta against the cooperative peace of the Federation - perhaps he didn't see the irony) and if one part is hit, there will always be another to take its place. Fighting such a force with a lumbering starship such as the Enterprise is like trying to swat bees out of the air with a sledgehammer.

The "unified cyberpathic coordination" that the swarm uses to perfectly synchronise its movements is also pretty legit. A murmuration of starlings (those breathtaking displays by flocks of birds) is able to twist and turn and move as one as though controlled by some kind of hive mind. They aren't telepathic, however, and achieve this feat through each bird simply watching and responding to the movements of its six nearest neighbours. This way, movements from one side of the flock or fleet can be transmitted to the other almost instantaneously.

Love a swarm.