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

The Downs:

3. Scotty Just Breathin’ In That Alien Air

It's a tiny gripe, literally a single moment in the film, but this happens with such frequency in sci-fi that it poked me in the eye like a toddler with a paintbrush.

Rule #1 of space travel (okay, probably not, there are lots of rules), is try your best not to take a huge gulp of alien atmosphere without checking that it's not pure sulphur dioxide. This is an unknown planet in an unknown part of space beyond the frontier and you just go and take a nice deep breath, Scotty. You are part of the Federation man, do they not cover this in training?

So often in sci-fi, we see our heroes strolling about alien worlds with suspiciously Earth-like gravity and a perfectly proportioned atmosphere, unless it's clearly supposed to be a planet we know to be uninhabitable like Mars or it makes a handy plot point.

Granted, this is because it's much easier to shoot and, my god, would movies be tedious if everybody followed protocol. But still, safety first.