I just spent my afternoon watching a triple feature of STs II-IV (right now there's an inflation of ST-movies/episodes on TV in anticipation of the upcoming movie - and who am I to deny myself the pleasure of that? *g*). And it doesn't really matter how often I watch those movies, they always just work for me.
I think, if I had to introduce someone to ST I'd choose these 3 movies because they contain everything ST stands for me - drama, comedy, moral dilemmas, action, banter, friendship... Spock's death gets to me every time, and I must have watched that movie now dozens of times - and it doesn't lose its impact with his resurrection. And I also don't think that ST III is actually about Spock's resurrection, it's more about the way of getting there, the sacrifices his friends, particularly Kirk are willing (and forced) to make. That Spock would be resurrected, that much is obvious from the movie's title, after all.
ST IV is all about getting your bearings back after all the drama of the two previous movies, a bit of lighthearted comedy to reenforce the bonds between the characters - and I'm so very glad that, although we're not shown the immediate aftermath of Spock's resurrection, it's not just back to business as usual. It would have been so easy for f.e. Sarek to arrange some kind of pardon, and so to skip the return to Earth and just start the movie with a new Enterprise...
I'm not saying that the movies, in particular ST III, don't have flaws. Kruge and his bunch of Klingons are plainly ridiculous, and I'm not even sure why David was introduced as Kirk's son at all - just to make his death more poignant? To have Kirk suffer not only from the loss of his best friend (just to then miss out on the opportunity to explore how he's dealing with all these losses)? And where's Carol off to in ST III - shouldn't she be on Genesis as well? And what about Saavik? She goes from being a clearly emotional woman to some sort of automaton - which I blame on the movies' scriptwriters and not on the change from Alley to Curtis... I know that much of what's left open is explained in the excellent novelizations of the movies, but I can't help but wish that the characterization of the minor characters had been a bit more consistent throughout this 3-part story.
My biggest regret concerning consistency, however, is that James Horner wasn't hired to compose the score of ST IV. He did such a great job with the previous 2 movies, and I simply adore the way he managed to capture the melancholy and loss, the longing and unspoken of pain, all the heartbreak in his music. While Rosenman's score works when watching ST IV as a standalone, it takes some getting used to when taken as part of an ongoing story - and frankly, after all those dozens of times I'm still not used to that break in style and themes. I'd love to know why Horner wasn't rehired - wasn't he asked? Or was he considered for the job but declined himself?
Aside from Spock's "I have been and always shall be your friend" which, no matter how often I watch ST II, always manages to move me, I found Mark Lenard's portrayal of Sarek in ST III especially noteworthy - what a difference to the cold and distant father of "Journey to Babel", despite still coming across as typical Vulcan, this time his love for his son and his mourning are all apparent. The depth of this character is amazing, given the fact that this is only his second appearance after all.
Seen individually, ST II is easily my favourite of all the Trek movies, ST IV, depending on my mood, makes the top 3 and ST III ranks perhaps 5th or 6th - as a trilogy, however, it shows the variety of genres TOS could believably tap into and still stay true to itself...
Well, enough rambled.
I think, if I had to introduce someone to ST I'd choose these 3 movies because they contain everything ST stands for me - drama, comedy, moral dilemmas, action, banter, friendship... Spock's death gets to me every time, and I must have watched that movie now dozens of times - and it doesn't lose its impact with his resurrection. And I also don't think that ST III is actually about Spock's resurrection, it's more about the way of getting there, the sacrifices his friends, particularly Kirk are willing (and forced) to make. That Spock would be resurrected, that much is obvious from the movie's title, after all.
ST IV is all about getting your bearings back after all the drama of the two previous movies, a bit of lighthearted comedy to reenforce the bonds between the characters - and I'm so very glad that, although we're not shown the immediate aftermath of Spock's resurrection, it's not just back to business as usual. It would have been so easy for f.e. Sarek to arrange some kind of pardon, and so to skip the return to Earth and just start the movie with a new Enterprise...
I'm not saying that the movies, in particular ST III, don't have flaws. Kruge and his bunch of Klingons are plainly ridiculous, and I'm not even sure why David was introduced as Kirk's son at all - just to make his death more poignant? To have Kirk suffer not only from the loss of his best friend (just to then miss out on the opportunity to explore how he's dealing with all these losses)? And where's Carol off to in ST III - shouldn't she be on Genesis as well? And what about Saavik? She goes from being a clearly emotional woman to some sort of automaton - which I blame on the movies' scriptwriters and not on the change from Alley to Curtis... I know that much of what's left open is explained in the excellent novelizations of the movies, but I can't help but wish that the characterization of the minor characters had been a bit more consistent throughout this 3-part story.
My biggest regret concerning consistency, however, is that James Horner wasn't hired to compose the score of ST IV. He did such a great job with the previous 2 movies, and I simply adore the way he managed to capture the melancholy and loss, the longing and unspoken of pain, all the heartbreak in his music. While Rosenman's score works when watching ST IV as a standalone, it takes some getting used to when taken as part of an ongoing story - and frankly, after all those dozens of times I'm still not used to that break in style and themes. I'd love to know why Horner wasn't rehired - wasn't he asked? Or was he considered for the job but declined himself?
Aside from Spock's "I have been and always shall be your friend" which, no matter how often I watch ST II, always manages to move me, I found Mark Lenard's portrayal of Sarek in ST III especially noteworthy - what a difference to the cold and distant father of "Journey to Babel", despite still coming across as typical Vulcan, this time his love for his son and his mourning are all apparent. The depth of this character is amazing, given the fact that this is only his second appearance after all.
Seen individually, ST II is easily my favourite of all the Trek movies, ST IV, depending on my mood, makes the top 3 and ST III ranks perhaps 5th or 6th - as a trilogy, however, it shows the variety of genres TOS could believably tap into and still stay true to itself...
Well, enough rambled.
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