• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Star Trek III - great rewatch value

I like this movie because it was a diversion from Wrath of Khan, it didn't try and follow in its footsteps. Great music score, great character development and an explosive end for the 'old reliable'.

I think it was also my first Trek movie. I have memories of walking into the lounge and seeing my dad and brother watching it on TV. After this I discovered the TV series and wondered why the Enterprise looked different...

Hell, it was very likely my very first Trek experience.
 
ssosmcin said:
TSFS is my favorite Trek movie out of all 12. Damned fine film with lots of heart, personal stakes and all around greatness. Also my favorite Trek movie score. 85 stars out of 5.
Click to expand...

Agreed, although I love all the movies' scores to one degree or another.

And 3 will always be my favorite for one reason: It gave us Robin Curtis. For that alone, the movie should always be highly regarded.
 
Agonizer said:
TWOK is still my favorite of all the ST movies. TSFS is kind of "part 2" of the story. If I hadn't enjoyed TWOK as much as I do, I might give TSFS a higher rating. I like it, but it doesn't measure up to TWOK in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I think TWOK is quite self-contained, despite all the sequel hooks right near the end. It can definitely be watched as it's own standalone thing. TSFS on the other hand is very much tied to the events of the movie before it, and by extension it still hasn't wrapped things up by the end, necessitating a further sequel to finish off the story.

On some levels TSFS and TVH are more closely linked than TWOK and TSFS, even though TSFS is a direct follow-up to TWOK.
 
Lance said:
I think TWOK is quite self-contained, despite all the sequel hooks right near the end. It can definitely be watched as it's own standalone thing. TSFS on the other hand is very much tied to the events of the movie before it, and by extension it still hasn't wrapped things up by the end, necessitating a further sequel to finish off the story.

On some levels TSFS and TVH are more closely linked than TWOK and TSFS, even though TSFS is a direct follow-up to TWOK.
Click to expand...

I agree. The shot of Spock's tube on Genesis is a nice teaser, but the film certainly could be viewed alone and enjoyed just as much without having seen the two subsequent movies.

--Sran
 
TSFS is a big favourite of mine. Lots of things I lkie about it. For example the way it links back to TWOK with the line "the Kobayashi Maru has set sail for the promised land." And at the end they reverse the line about "the needs of the many". It's a very good script because it says you can't get something for nothing and to get Spock back they loose David and the Enterprise and get exiled basically.

And they blew up the Enterprise! Back in 1984 the movie never came to my cinema so I made do with the novel version. I remember sitting up in bed late at night, probably thinking "that's enough reading for one night, time to put the light out," and then I got to the bit where Kirk orders the ship to blow up.

Remember there was only one Enterprise up to that point. (No bloody A B C or D as Scotty would say.) One Enterprise. THE Enterprise. And they blew it up.

The effects are wonderful. Arriving at Spacedock, stealing the Enterprise, the BOP and the Enterprise blowing up.

The "stealing the Enterprise" sequence is very well put togeather.

Yes, my favourite odd-numbered Trek movie, any probably my third or fourth favourite overall.
 
In some ways I liked it better than Wrath of Khan. It was more up-beat. With ST IV, the most accessible Trek movie to laymen pre-JJ, the Spock Trilogy was better balanced than the Star Wars trilogy. Return of the Jedi being a huge let-down.
 
I nver understood the negative reaction Trek III. It has so many exciting scenes and was evrything the original series presented. Spock's mind is inside McCoy's head, he needs to be taken back to Vulcan, Spock's body has been re-generated, Kirk and crew steal the enterprise, fight Klingons, blow up the enterprise...so much great stuff, what is not to like?
 
As with every Trek movie there are things I like and things I dislike (some of the things I dislike actually started in WOK)

What I disliked
Kirk's Son as quickly as he is introduced he is killed off. The whole thing just felt really cheap to me.
Saavik (don't care who is playing her the character doesn't work for me)
Don't like the hokey sci-fi in this movie and the way Spock was brought back to life.

What I liked
Sarek, I actually saw him first in this movie (not the TV series) and I was so impressed with his performance
I also liked the little we got Dame Judith Anderson
Spock's Katra in McCoy and the many scenes involving this (also McCoy's speech about not wanting to lose Spock)
The enterprise scene
The strong themes of friendship in this film. I am in the process of reading Nimoy's autobiography and he used this quote from Henry V to explain the themes of the film and I think they sum up the movie perfectly and it is this theme that I really love about the movie.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother"
 
Perhaps part of why it works, is that it is a different style of film from TWOK.

And as others have mentioned ne of the best scenes is when they borrow the Enterprise.

"Don't call me tiny"
 
The only real issue I had with ST3 was the additional unexplained extensive battle damage on the starboard side and other untouched areas of the Enterprise. I think this was done by ILM as "artistic license" to reinforce the concept that the Enterprise was too old and beat up to be repaired and was due for decommissioning. Not to mention for the shocked reaction shot from Janice Rand in space dock. Though in retrospect if Morrow had given Scotty the time and resources to properly repair the Enterprise Spock would have been dead again by then since Genesis wouldn't have held together for that long.
 
MOSUGOJI said:
The only real issue I had with ST3 was the additional unexplained extensive battle damage on the starboard side and other untouched areas of the Enterprise. I think this was done by ILM as "artistic license"
Click to expand...

Yeah, but readers of the comic saw all the extra adventures the ship had between ST II and III.

My most memorable aspect of ST III: I'd only just moved into a new flat and my friends congregated at my place to get dressed for the gala premiere. As we were nearing the cinema, I realised that I'd left the iron on.

It was very hard to sit through the volcanic destruction of the Genesis Planet knowing what might be happening back at my new flat.


Star Trek III: The Search for Spock premiere by Therin of Andor, on Flickr
 
I've heard of the extra comic book adventures between ST2 and 3 where extra battles took place and resulted in the damage. Can someone give me some sort of synopsis of these battles? I never saw the comics back in the 80s when they came out.
 
Captain Rob said:
Don't forget John Laroqette from "Night Court" as Maltz. Near the end when Kirk and co beam up to the BoP by tricking Maltz. Scotty and Chekov try to engage the warp drive but don't know how. Kirk orders Maltz to tell them how to engage engines and threatens to kill him. Maltz refuses: "I do not deserve to live." Kirk: "Fine. I'll kill you later."
Click to expand...

I am a big fan of John Laroqette in Night Court and I never realized that was him as Maltz!

I too enjoy ST III. I know it supposedly follows the odd-numbered movie curse, so for many years I always felt like I was supposed to dislike it for this reason. But when I gained the maturity in life to have the courage to like/dislike things because of my own preferences, rather than what was vogue, I could never find a reason to dislike the film. As others have pointed out II, III, and IV make a great stand-alone trilogy to watch together as a marathon, and it's fairly easy so to do. You don't know how many times I put on II to just watch the opening scene and then find myself 5 hours later having rewatched these three films.
 
Last edited:
Trek III is the film that expanded the universe the most, and it has the grandest scope. So many new ships. So many new characters. Movie Klingons for the first time. It's also the most daring. Killing David, destroying the Enterprise, turning the crew into renegades. And James Horner's soundtrack! The soundtrack!

It also successfully merges the TMP style with the TOS style.

It's the best one, together with TWOK.
 
TSFS is by far my favorite of the TOS movies. I love the character moments throughout.
 
I love Star Trek 3. In fact, I like it better than Wrath of Khan. More than any of the other TOS cast movies, this one just hit all the right marks for me. I loved the way the relationships between the crew were portrayed, and it was just generally fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top