Due to the new Star Trek movie being released in May this year, I have been recently rewatching the previous Trek films on DVD, and revising my opinions on some of them. So far, I have rewatched the first five movies. I will review the others later.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) I was previously a bit cold on this film. The first big screen venture of the Starship Enterprise and her valiant crew turned out to be more 2001:A Space Odyssey than Star Wars. Audiences at the time were expecting a thrilling, effects-laden adventure. And what they got was a more cerebral, spiritual piece. Having been born in 1982, I wasn’t around to experience the critical lashing this film got at the time. I found TMP a bit boring when I saw it as a 13 year old. But upon reevaluating it, it is clearly the biggest and most epic Trek picture to date. Few of the other films have the same grand scale, the same sense of awe as The Motion Picture. Critics called the eight minute fly-around shot of the NCC1701 self-indulgent. But the music fits with the visuals so perfectly, that it all works. Jerry Goldsmith’s score was, and remains, outstanding. Also, this is the only Trek movie venture so far which had a ‘proper’ movie director (Academy Award winner Robert Wise). The rest were directed by TV directors or stars of the show. Visually and musically, TMP is stunning. And cinema is a visual medium, is it not? The VFX still hold up remarkably (at the time, this movie was one of the most expensive productions of all time).
There are many scenes where the actors are simply staring at special effects (especially the trip through the V’Ger cloud), the plot is a retread of the TOS episode ‘The Changeling’, and Decker and Ilia are obvious early templates for Riker and Troi, but the film still has its great moments. There are some great dialogue scenes between Decker and Kirk, and between Kirk, McCoy, and Spock (my personal favourite being the ‘reserve activation clause’ scene). B+
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982) Still holds up very well, despite some Eighties looking hairstyles. TWOK is simply a classic movie, Star Trek or otherwise. Director Nick Meyer brought us a timeless tale, one which fits in with other classic boys own adventure movies like Raiders of The Lost Ark. A great story is a great story, whether it is Horatio Hornblower on the seven seas, a wagon train in the 1800s, or a starship crew in the 23rd Century. TWOK is a pure slice of comic-book escapism, with moments of almost operatic melodrama. (There is a reason why this SF subgenre is called space opera) If the first film was a ‘hard sci-fi’ 2001 thought provoking piece; then the sequel is much closer to the Star Wars ‘space opera’ ethos. The production design of its predecessor was jettisoned in favour of a more maritime look. The film feels a lot closer in spirit to the original series (which blended high-concept ideas with action-adventure) than its immediate forebear. Holds its place as one of the best films in the canon. A+
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984) The general consensus on this one seems to be ‘Nay’, but I’ve always rather liked it. Say what you want about Harve Bennett as a producer, but he certainly introduced shocking concepts into Trek. He wasn’t afraid to kill off Spock or destroy the Enterprise. In recent years, Trek became too complacent and refused to take dramatic risks. Kirk stealing the Enterprise and risking it all for his friend always struck me as a heroic move. I can’t find much to complain about with this film. I have always enjoyed it. Chris Lloyd turns up the camp factor to eleven with his manic performance as Kruge, and William Shatner ups his own camp factor to eleven as well. In fact, some of the Shat’s greatest ever moments occur in TSFS (I love this film’s ‘I…have….had…enough of….YOU!’ almost as much as TWOK’s famous ‘Khaaaaaaaan!’). TSFS really opened up the Trekverse for the first time, and showed us that there was more to the universe than just the Enterprise (we saw other Federation ships, Vulcan, civilian merchant freighters, et al). A few small criticisms. Robin Curtis wasn’t nearly as good as Kirstie Alley as Saavik. They ought to have written Saavik out altogether if Alley wasn’t available to reprise the role. And Bibi Besch as Carol Marcus was missed, too. Why wasn’t she involved in the film? And Captains Esteban and Styles really are a pair of douches, written that way to make Kirk look better. B
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Another fan favourite, and indeed one of my personal favourites. TVH seems to never get old to me. Every time I watch it, I still get entertainment from it. The final part of the ‘Genesis Trilogy’, TVH succeeded in bringing Trek to the mainstream, thrilling devotees and newcomers alike. For the first time in the movie series, Trek tries doing comedy, and it largely succeeds. And I like the fact that for once, there isn’t really a tangible villain (the Whale Probe isn’t really evil, per se; its just trying to communicate). The plot, although ostensibly about saving the world again, took on a more original twist. Time travel has been overused in Trek over the years, but then again, some of the best episodes and movies involved the device. My only criticism really is that the Whale Probe isn’t explained in any significant detail. It just shows up, and then goes on its merry way. We don’t know much about its background. For lack of a better word, this environmental cautionary tale just feels…nice. It remains as an entertaining, feelgood family film, twenty three years after its debut. A
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) I hate to be cliché, but TFF is a very troubled production. Plagued by a low budget, and inferior FX work, the film barely made a profit. The plot feels like a draft of one of Gene Roddenberry’s various ‘The God Thing’ projects; which wasn’t realised very well. Moments of awkward, forced humour (‘I know this ship like the back of my hand’) and some truly bizarre character moments (what is up with that Scotty/Uhura thing?) don’t help matters much. In its defence, I do feel that some of the Kirk/McCoy/Spock moments are worthwhile. The campfire and the jail cell scene are quite good, admittedly. Some of these such moments feel more like TOS than many of the other movies. De Kelly is great in the deathbed scene with his father. Luckinbill as Sybok isn’t bad, either. Despite some OK dialogue, though, the film just falls apart. The end is very anticlimactic. The effects work was rather on the poor side. Definitely one of the weakest entries in the series. But the character moments nearly save it. Nearly. D
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) I was previously a bit cold on this film. The first big screen venture of the Starship Enterprise and her valiant crew turned out to be more 2001:A Space Odyssey than Star Wars. Audiences at the time were expecting a thrilling, effects-laden adventure. And what they got was a more cerebral, spiritual piece. Having been born in 1982, I wasn’t around to experience the critical lashing this film got at the time. I found TMP a bit boring when I saw it as a 13 year old. But upon reevaluating it, it is clearly the biggest and most epic Trek picture to date. Few of the other films have the same grand scale, the same sense of awe as The Motion Picture. Critics called the eight minute fly-around shot of the NCC1701 self-indulgent. But the music fits with the visuals so perfectly, that it all works. Jerry Goldsmith’s score was, and remains, outstanding. Also, this is the only Trek movie venture so far which had a ‘proper’ movie director (Academy Award winner Robert Wise). The rest were directed by TV directors or stars of the show. Visually and musically, TMP is stunning. And cinema is a visual medium, is it not? The VFX still hold up remarkably (at the time, this movie was one of the most expensive productions of all time).
There are many scenes where the actors are simply staring at special effects (especially the trip through the V’Ger cloud), the plot is a retread of the TOS episode ‘The Changeling’, and Decker and Ilia are obvious early templates for Riker and Troi, but the film still has its great moments. There are some great dialogue scenes between Decker and Kirk, and between Kirk, McCoy, and Spock (my personal favourite being the ‘reserve activation clause’ scene). B+
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982) Still holds up very well, despite some Eighties looking hairstyles. TWOK is simply a classic movie, Star Trek or otherwise. Director Nick Meyer brought us a timeless tale, one which fits in with other classic boys own adventure movies like Raiders of The Lost Ark. A great story is a great story, whether it is Horatio Hornblower on the seven seas, a wagon train in the 1800s, or a starship crew in the 23rd Century. TWOK is a pure slice of comic-book escapism, with moments of almost operatic melodrama. (There is a reason why this SF subgenre is called space opera) If the first film was a ‘hard sci-fi’ 2001 thought provoking piece; then the sequel is much closer to the Star Wars ‘space opera’ ethos. The production design of its predecessor was jettisoned in favour of a more maritime look. The film feels a lot closer in spirit to the original series (which blended high-concept ideas with action-adventure) than its immediate forebear. Holds its place as one of the best films in the canon. A+
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984) The general consensus on this one seems to be ‘Nay’, but I’ve always rather liked it. Say what you want about Harve Bennett as a producer, but he certainly introduced shocking concepts into Trek. He wasn’t afraid to kill off Spock or destroy the Enterprise. In recent years, Trek became too complacent and refused to take dramatic risks. Kirk stealing the Enterprise and risking it all for his friend always struck me as a heroic move. I can’t find much to complain about with this film. I have always enjoyed it. Chris Lloyd turns up the camp factor to eleven with his manic performance as Kruge, and William Shatner ups his own camp factor to eleven as well. In fact, some of the Shat’s greatest ever moments occur in TSFS (I love this film’s ‘I…have….had…enough of….YOU!’ almost as much as TWOK’s famous ‘Khaaaaaaaan!’). TSFS really opened up the Trekverse for the first time, and showed us that there was more to the universe than just the Enterprise (we saw other Federation ships, Vulcan, civilian merchant freighters, et al). A few small criticisms. Robin Curtis wasn’t nearly as good as Kirstie Alley as Saavik. They ought to have written Saavik out altogether if Alley wasn’t available to reprise the role. And Bibi Besch as Carol Marcus was missed, too. Why wasn’t she involved in the film? And Captains Esteban and Styles really are a pair of douches, written that way to make Kirk look better. B
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Another fan favourite, and indeed one of my personal favourites. TVH seems to never get old to me. Every time I watch it, I still get entertainment from it. The final part of the ‘Genesis Trilogy’, TVH succeeded in bringing Trek to the mainstream, thrilling devotees and newcomers alike. For the first time in the movie series, Trek tries doing comedy, and it largely succeeds. And I like the fact that for once, there isn’t really a tangible villain (the Whale Probe isn’t really evil, per se; its just trying to communicate). The plot, although ostensibly about saving the world again, took on a more original twist. Time travel has been overused in Trek over the years, but then again, some of the best episodes and movies involved the device. My only criticism really is that the Whale Probe isn’t explained in any significant detail. It just shows up, and then goes on its merry way. We don’t know much about its background. For lack of a better word, this environmental cautionary tale just feels…nice. It remains as an entertaining, feelgood family film, twenty three years after its debut. A
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) I hate to be cliché, but TFF is a very troubled production. Plagued by a low budget, and inferior FX work, the film barely made a profit. The plot feels like a draft of one of Gene Roddenberry’s various ‘The God Thing’ projects; which wasn’t realised very well. Moments of awkward, forced humour (‘I know this ship like the back of my hand’) and some truly bizarre character moments (what is up with that Scotty/Uhura thing?) don’t help matters much. In its defence, I do feel that some of the Kirk/McCoy/Spock moments are worthwhile. The campfire and the jail cell scene are quite good, admittedly. Some of these such moments feel more like TOS than many of the other movies. De Kelly is great in the deathbed scene with his father. Luckinbill as Sybok isn’t bad, either. Despite some OK dialogue, though, the film just falls apart. The end is very anticlimactic. The effects work was rather on the poor side. Definitely one of the weakest entries in the series. But the character moments nearly save it. Nearly. D
