its Star Trek IIIs 30th anniversary!

[Borjis]

Shatner does some of his best work as Kirk, probably the last time he’d put that much effort into it (he’s far too “Shatner” in later movies for me). Everyone is one their game.

So true.

 

[Kirby]

I liked III just fine with the exception of Christopher Lloyd as Kruge. Hearing Reverend Jim Ignatowski's voice coming out of a Klingon was just bizarre.
I also cringe at the whenever I see that cliff fall away from Kruge. Some of the worst fx ever.

 

[urbandefault]

I rewatched it last night. Not in my top 5, but definitely a good flick.

"DROP ALL WEAPONS!" always makes me laugh.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Although, any halfway not braindead Starfleet would have had any number of systems to prevent the Enterprise from leaving.

Ranging from automated tractor beams locking onto a ship not cleared for departure, small objects fired onto the hull to disable the impulse engines and thrusters, a remote access to the automation center to prevent just that kind of thing.

They stole it, because the script needed them to steal it. If that meant deliberate sabotage of the Federations much needed next generation of defensive long range starship, breaking more than a dozen serious laws, making SF in general look weak and stupid, they were still going to do it.

Damn, soon you'll be demanding Starfleet get some planetary defences or something.

 

[Kemaiku]

Damn, soon you'll be demanding Starfleet get some planetary defences or something.

Oh now that's just silly. The Enterprise obviously has TransPlot Drive that can get it to Earth and blow up any danger to it while still being back on it's deep space assignment hours later.


Millions of light years away, according to Spock in the most recent episode of TOS I watched.

 

[Armored Saint]

Damn, soon you'll be demanding Starfleet get some planetary defences or something.

What's next? Having at least three starships in the sector?

The Enterprise used to be always hijacked anyway. :P

 

[publiusr]

ST III is really becoming my favorite trek film. Even a send up to William Gibson with the WWI airplane battle hologram.

I'd love to see Spacedock's armaments open up on something.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

ST III is really becoming my favorite trek film. Even a send up to William Gibson with the WWI airplane battle hologram.

Since Neuromancer was published in 1984, and Gibson's only other popular story (Burning Chrome) was published in
1982 -- and he really didn't find global recognition until the late 80s -- I find it hard to believe this was a nod to him.

 

[trevanian]

No, the biplane thing was ILM letting its people have some fun with a retro idea they pitched.

 

[chevron]

Nice to find this thread here. I had just realised that this was the 30th year of TSFS and it's good to know that I'm not the only one who appreciates this movie. Reading through the preceding comments I almost thought I wrote some of them I agree with them so much.

I hope it's not breaking any forum rules but I wrote a blog post about TSFS yesterday so I thought this might be an appropriate place to share it...

http://www.monobrowze.co.uk/star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock-at-thirty/

On the discussion about stealing the Enterprise...

On the way home from work today I discovered the soundtrack cd of TSFS was in the car so I popped it on. I pretty much went straight to Stealing the Enterprise and that in turn got me thinking about how hard or easy it would be to steal a Federation starship. (Hey, it was a long drive.)

I decided that the two people who probably could pull it off were Kirk and Scotty. I'm reminded of a line from the extended edition of Wrath of Khan after Kirk uses the prefix code to lower the Reliant's shields. He says something like "we're only alive because I knew something about how these ships work that he didn't."

Kirk changes the rules, he cheats. Scotty knows the shortcuts. They are in trusted positions. To use an IT metaphor if a trusted member of staff has powerful enough database access they can make the whole organisation grind to a halt, even if only for a few minutes.

Anyway, happy birthday III!

 

[2takesfrakes]

The Search for Spock is my favourite STAR TREK movie and definitely one of the best. It is a landmark picture, in that it is the first movie directed by a cast member, it introduced familiar starship models and props that were reused in virtually all the movies and television series until the reboot, and the first movie where the starship actually gets blown up. Nimoy's technical direction is "OK." What I really like, however, is the cinematography and the tonality of the movie's conclusion. My one and only complaint is that ILM disliked the pearlescent finish on the Enterprise model and repainted it, with a flat finish. The reflections in the paint, before, really gave the model "presence" - and was a unique look, insofar as I am aware. Anyway, this is a fine entry and it was the last time STAR TREK took itself seriously in movie form.

 

[Vger23]

The Search for Spock is my favourite STAR TREK movie and definitely one of the best. It is a landmark picture, in that it is the first movie directed by a cast member, it introduced familiar starship models and props that were reused in virtually all the movies and television series until the reboot, and the first movie where the starship actually gets blown up. Nimoy's technical direction is "OK." What I really like, however, is the cinematography and the tonality of the movie's conclusion. My one and only complaint is that ILM disliked the pearlescent finish on the Enterprise model and repainted it, with a flat finish. The reflections in the paint, before, really gave the model "presence" - and was a unique look, insofar as I am aware. Anyway, this is a fine entry and it was the last time STAR TREK took itself seriously in movie form.

I totally agree with this assessment, particularly your last sentence.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Despite some very bad dialogue...

Saavik: How many have paid the price for your [impatience]? How many have died? (Uh, none.)​

None? If David had stuck to using approved means, the project would never have gotten as far as it did, Khan wouldn't have been "rescued" and none of the scientists on Regula 1 would have been tortured and murdered. Khan wouldn't have attacked the Enterprise and killed Peter Preston (I assume other cadets and crew were lost in the attack).

While Khan and his people dug their own graves, they would have remained alive on Ceti Alpha 5 had David not used protomatter.

Without Genesis getting as far as it did, there would be no new planet for the USS Grissom to monitor. The Klingons wouldn't have had a reason to meet and destroy the science vessel, killing everyone aboard.

David has the blood of well over a hundred people on his hands. Sure, Spock came back, but are the needs of the one really more important than all those dead people?

 

[DonIago]

I'm glad someone else said it.

 

[JT Perfecthair]

I admire any film that has both Christopher Lloyd and John Larroquette in the same place without them being used for comedy.

Has Larroquette ever done a convention appearance?

 

[neoworx]

Glad to see there's so much love for this "odd-numbered" Trek film – one of my faves. I just put up a retro review to explain why I think it has so much Star Trek goodness in its creamy center.

http://wrathofdhanprops.blogspot.com/2014/06/retro-review-star-trek-iii-turns-30.html

 

[Jerikka Dawn]

"Your planet, welcome!"
and
"How many fingers am I holding up?" The combination of the situation, coupled with the fact that it was "too soon" made McCoy's reaction even more funny.

The "Stealing the Enterprise" scene, as I've said before, is some of the best 10 minutes in all of Trek. You can see how really close this crew is. On the light side, the scene is always hilarious to me when you realize that Scotty, since the ship first started moving, spent the entire time trying to get the space doors open, and Kirk thinks he's just waiting for his order. The look of horror on both Kirk and McCoy's faces as they realize the doors are giving Scotty a hard time is priceless. Then when Sulu finally announces they've cleared the doors, and you see the ship outside the spacedock, and Kirk's got that determined look on his face, and you wanna pump your fist "f**k yeah."


** Edit to add: Refit 1701 is still the best looking Enterprise ever.

 

[JaxsBrokenHeart]

Though I still enjoy IV and VI, SFS felt like the last film where the original cast didn't feel compromised in some way for the sake of comedy or to get across a particular aesop.

Its also the celebratory reconstruction of TOS after its operatic deconstruction in WOK. Maybe it does feel more like a two parter of the series rather than an epic film, but its one hell of a fun two parter.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Kirk: My God, Bones... what have I done?
McCoy: What you had to do, what you always do. Turn death into a fighting chance to live.

Sums up the movie for me.

One of the best dialogue exchanges in ST movie history; gets right to the heart of the heroes' motivations.

It doesn't live up to TWoK, and there are better Trek films besides, but it most certainly has its moments.

Yes--many strong moments: Krik/Sarek, Kirk's reaction to David's death (on the bridge and once he sees the body), Lloyd being a believable, truly evil threat (unlike most of the villians from the TNG/JJ films) and McCoy's revelation to the unconscious Spock.

Then, there's the destruction of the 1701--visually, and the beautiful track A Fighting Chance to Live, and you have a worthy next chapter in the ST-TOS film series.

 

[Push The Button]

It is so sad to see 1701 Enterprise's destruction. This was the ship that went to Talos IV, fought the Doomsday Machine, stood down the Fesarius, battled the first Romulan BOP and prevented a war. It was the setting for so many great stories, an old friend, a home for our heroes. The 1701-A was a lemon, and our crew deserved better.