The only Star Trek film to grapple artistically with the unknowability and incomprehensibility of space with a particular focus on conveying the sheer scale of what could be out in the cosmos. It depicts space as inherently hostile with space travel a foolhardy act: basic actions like transporting to a starship or going to warp can result in screaming agonies as our molecules are rearranged or our spacetime is wrenched apart. In stark contrast to STAR WARS released two years prior, this film shows the universe as utterly alien and beyond what human minds can take in. Even our most primitive attempts to reach out into the void of space like the Voyager probes could return with consequences and power that we can scarcely imagine. The only refuge is the sexual act and the emotion of connection.