Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - Review

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan reignited the fledgling Star Trek series in ways nobody, even the most hardcore Trekkies, could have predicted. Even today, most Trek fans consider it the best thing to even happen in the expansive Trek series and universe (I know the 2009 struck a serious chord with audiences too, but I have my doubts that Abrams' movie will be as endearing years from now. Time will tell, and I'll address that more when I review the 2009 film). Anyways, Wrath of Khan was such a success, that audiences had high hopes for the third entry. There was a lot of speculation too, since the end of Part II (Wrath of Khan Spoilers ahead) left Spock dead, Kirk with an previously unknown son, and a device that turned a rotting planet into a lush life-filled world. While Leonard Nimoy originally made it pretty clear that he wanted out of the series, he was apparently lured back, not only as an actor, but also as the director. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock was helmed by Nimoy himself and found Spock as the main thrust of the narrative. With the hype long since subsided and time long since past, let's see if this entry has lived long and prospered!

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock picks up immediately after the events of Wrath of Khan. The Starship Enterprise returns to Earth with a less-than-excited crew. After the devastating battle with Khan took the life of their friend and ally, Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the ship's crew was noticeably hurt. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) in particular was affected by this, as Spock was one of his closest friends. Upon returning, the Enterprise crew receives more bad news when it was announced that their beloved ship would be decommissioned. In addition to all this madness, Kirk's other close friend, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), begins to act strangely. It is soon revealed by Spock's father, Sarek (Mark Lenard), that his son may not actually be deceased. Prior to his death, Spock transferred his Katra (a Vulcan "living spirit") into McCoy, and if Spock's Katra is reunited with his dead body, then Spock may live again. Upon learning this, Kirk and crew, illegally commandeer their soon-to-be-dismantled ship and fly to Genesis (the former dead planet rejuvenated with life) where Spock's body lies. Their off-the-grid mission, however, is interrupted by a Klingon Bird of Prey ship, helmed by Commander Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), with a desire to steal and weaponize Starfleet's Genesis project.

The nerd community, and film fans in general, don't always agree on which Star Trek films are the best, but it seems like there's a reasonably accepted assessment that the even numbered Trek movies are better while the odd number films are of lesser quality. Personally, I think there's some reasonable truth in that, as the even-numbered films do, on average, tend to fare a bit better. Still, I think there are some exceptions to that rule, and Star Trek III is one of them. If you're curious, I'll tell you straight up that The Search for Spock isn't nearly the masterpiece that Wrath of Khan is, but there's a lot I like about this one too. It continues the story, features some big epic scenes, and has an interesting hook. Unfortunately, it lacks most of the compelling character drama, hero/villain dynamic, and freshness of it's predecessor. It's worst offense, in my opinion, however is that it retconned most of the second film's most dramatic and powerful scenes. To reveal what gets a do-over would have to contain spoilers, so later on I'll discuss those more in a spoiler-filled paragraph and go into more detail. All that said, there are some things about this movie that I really do like, and still keep the movie entertaining.

What mainly elevates this movie from being simply average or decent to actually pretty good are the performances of it's familiar cast. Pretty much everyone is back again (I won't list them all, if you're reading this you probably know them better than I do anyways), and their natural chemistry has never been more endearing or spot-on. Each cast member brings a natural comfort and believably to their respective roles and have arguably never been better. Maybe since they were being directed by their previous co-star, that probably had something to do with it. They basically hit all the right notes, they can be funny, dramatic, and ready for action whenever the film calls for it. I also have to give a special shout-out to Christopher Lloyd as the villainous Klingon Commander Kruge. Lloyd has always been an underrated actor, and while than flawless Hero/Villain rivalry between Kirk and Khan is sorely missed this time around, you can't hold that against Lloyd. His character never ends up being anything more than one-note, but Lloyd's natural theatricality and presence makes him one hell of an entertaining Klingon, and in the hands of a lesser actor would have probably crashed and burned. None of the performances quite blew me away, but everyone brought their A-Game and made the film entertaining. That's good enough for me!

When it comes to the visuals and action, it's a bit of a mixed bag but overall works. The effects this time around are more-or-less on par with Wrath of Khan. None were incredible, but once again it was less about the effects themselves and more about how they were presented. They still managed to utilize some creative camera angles and editing to make them work, and the huge finale had a few stand out visuals. There were a few scenes that had some dodgy effects shots, but given the time and budget, they're decent enough. The action keeps the movie entertaining, with a good confrontation between Kirk and Kruge plus a decent space battle and some other reasonably suspenseful scenes. The pacing isn't as perfect this around though, as there are some points where it drags a bit, but that said it's not even close to the bore-fest of the first film. It's adequately paced, well-shot, and entertaining enough to hold your attention, and I can honestly say that I was rarely bored by it. The action and effects probably won't win over any Trek-haters or the uninitiated but for Sci-Fi and film fans like myself, it does what it needs to.

SPOILERS LIE AHEAD!!!

Okay, I put up the spoiler warning... so if you don't want anything revealed, skip ahead to the next paragraph. The story this time around is... okay. It's not a particularly ambitious screenplay nor is it as character-driven as it's predecessor. That said, it begins with a good hook that gets you interested and has a certain mystery that keeps you invested. As I mentioned, my main problem is the way it undoes many of the choices made by it's predecessor. Kirk's son, David Marcus is killed by the Klingon enemy while on the planet Genesis. Speaking of which, that planet Genesis... yeah it blows up. Spock's emotional death is completely done over, as by the end of the movie, the character is revived. Yeah, Spock is awesome, and it was cool to have him back, but for all the chances that Wrath of Khan took and the way it tried to progress the story, that's a huge letdown. Clearly audiences or the producers preferred the status quo instead of daring new story-threads so they just went back to what they new worked. That's kind of a drag. Still, there are some really strong and powerful scenes, even somewhat operatic, scattered throughout the film, so it at least has some emotional impact. If Wrath of Khan was about death, Search for Spock was about life, and that has to count for something. For that, I give it some credit.

SPOILERS END!!!

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock isn't great, especially standing next to it's predecessor, but it is good. The film has some really strong moments, some cool action, and an endearing cast. There are some people who lump this film among the worst of the Trek films, and while it does have it's flaws, I think it's negative reputation is fairly undeserved. If you're not a fan, you might want to give it another try, you might be surprised to find it's pretty good. For everyone else, it's worth a watch.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5!