Posted by Shawn M. on Jun 19th, 2007
Today, we’ll take a look at The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home.
Before we begin, I’d like to point out again that there will be the potential for spoilers, so if you don’t want anything ruined, watch the movies first and then come back. All groovy, now? Let’s begin!
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Released June 1st, 1984
Directed by Leonard Nimoy
So, Spock is gone, having sacrificed himself at the end of Wrath of Khan to save the Enterprise and her crew. But, as any comic book fan knows, nobody really stays dead. Thanks to a last-second mind-meld with Bones at the end of Wrath, we learn that a part of Spock’s being is living on through the grumpy doctor. But a soul is no good without a body — thankfully, the Genesis Planet has taken care of that, as its unique properties have revived Spock’s body, albeit at a much younger age.
With the Genesis Planet considered off-limits, Kirk and crew do the only thing they can — hijack the Enterprise and haul ass to Genesis to reunite Spock’s soul with his body. It’s no cake walk, though, as the Klingons are waiting for them there, having destroyed a Federation science ship and taken Lt. Saavik and Kirk’s son, David, hostage. The Klingons believe that the Federation intends the Genesis research to be a weapon, and they want it for themselves. The Klingon commander, Kruge, even orders David’s death to show he means business. Though devestated at his loss, Kirk manages to outwit the Klingons, rescue Spock and Saavik, hijack the Klingon bird-of-prey, blow up the Klingon-controlled Enterprise, and escape before the Genesis planet destroys itself. With the day saved, the crew is off to Vulcan to reunite Spock’s two halves into one whole.
The Good: Leonard Nimoy, the actor that plays Spock, did a very fine job in directing this film. While given the standard amount of Trek-style action, Search is a great study of the core crew of the Enterprise. After David is killed, Kirk’s quiet display of grief and defeat is one of William Shatner’s finest performances. For an actor often criticized with overplaying a part, his understated actions are genuine and moving. Robin Curtis takes over the role of Saavik, and makes you forget that Kirstie Alley originated the character. We also get to see Kirk forming a real hatred of the Klingon race, which is an important character trait that really pays off in Star Trek VI.
The Bad: The portrayal of Klingons had not yet fully solidified yet, so people familiar only with the Next Generation era will find their behavior quite different that what’s considered “Klingon” today. But other than that, Search is a pretty solid movie, and a good middle chapter in Trek’s unofficial movie trilogy.
Final Rating: B. Pretty darn good. Just a few minor quibbles here and there, but overall one of the better Treks.
* * * * *
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Released November 26th, 1986
Directed by Leonard Nimoy
Ah, yes. The one with the whales. Kirk and his crew of Merry Men are on their way back to Earth in the Klingon bird-of-prey they jacked in the last movie. Spock is back, but still feeling sort of fuzzy from having his soul stuffed back into his body. On the way home, the crew finds something amiss on Earth — an alien probe is wrecking up the place. Spock uses his mad intelligence skills to deduce that the probe is searching for humpback whales. But here’s the catch — they’re extinct. Kirk and the crew decide the only way to save the planet is to travel back in time and bring some whales with them into the future. After slingshotting around the sun, they travel through a David Bowie video and end up in 1986. From here, the movie plays out as a comedy as the crew suffers from culture-shock, but they ultimately save the day by finding two humpback whales (and a marine biologist) and bringing them back… to the future! The whales tell the alien probe to chill, and it stops its unintentional destruction of the Earth. In the end, the Enterprise is rebuilt, and given over to the man that destroyed the first one, Captain Kirk.
The Good: After two movies that were very emotional, it’s good to get a lighthearted romp. Sure, the world is at stake, but you would never guess as Kirk and Spock hang out in 80’s San Francisco, hitting on chicks, beating up punks, and rolling fatties (just kidding on that last one). Brock Peters, who would later go on to play Captain Ben Sisko’s father in Deep Space Nine, plays an Admiral. The movie was a commercial blockbuster, and was very instrumental in getting The Next Generation rolling. Also, “nuclear wessels”.
The Bad: It was obvious that this movie was made to appeal to a wider audience than just the Trekkers, so the comedy and the light tone might be unwelcomed by the hardcore fanbase. The entire premise is far-fetched, even for Trek standards. The alien probe causing havoc is too reminiscent of the first movie’s plot with V’Ger.
Final Rating: B. This is probably the best movie to introduce a non-Trek fan to the series. It’s funny — funnier than you’d think. Pretty good, but some of the really-have-to-stretch-the-moments-of-believability plot points sort of bring down a franchise that has always tried to remain consistent with real technology.
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As far as The Voyage Home being too similar to the first film’s plot, there is one subtle, but significant, difference that does make it a different story. With V’Ger, the focus was on identifying the probe and determining what it wanted. With the “flying cigar” of this movie, those elements are de-emphasized, and the impetus is rather on the response to the probe, figuring out how to get it to stop picking on us.
There’s one cute anectdote about the “nuclear wessels” bit. According to more than one source, the people that Chekov was pulling aside were, for the most part, actual passers-by who had no idea what was going on, sort of like a Candid Camera setup. Thus, the incredulous looks they’re giving Walter Koenig are, in fact, quite legitimate expressions of “WTF are you smoking, dude?” I just thought that was funny.
I can’t wait till your next post. I have some rather interesting comments regarding The Final Frontier, from the perspective of someone who actually doesn’t consider it the worst Trek film of all time. (I have another nominee for that dishonor, but it’ll have to wait until you get into the TNG era…)