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#158 - Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Leonard Nimoy, 1984
Following the events of The Wrath of Khan, Kirk and the remaining crew of the Enterprise are forced to return to the Genesis planet in order to find Spock's body.
The odds were not good for me liking this film. Leaving aside the fact that it's an odd-numbered Star Trek film, it definitely didn't help that a lot of its most dramatic revelations were spoiled by the fact that I ended up watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home first. Also, obviously Spock comes back to life. With so much of the dramatic tension gone, how would this particular film fare? Fortunately, The Search for Spock may not be the classic that its predecessor was or even the loveably campy ride that its successor was, but it's still a decent enough entry into the Star Trek canon.
Thanks to it being a very immediate sequel, the film still carries over the same atmosphere from The Wrath of Khan. The regular cast (minus Nimoy for obvious reasons) are still as good at their jobs as ever. The main villain this time around is a Klingon captain played by Christopher Lloyd of all people. It does take a while to get used to Lloyd's trademark hamminess being used in a villainous context, but his character has strong enough motivations and development to make up for it. Otherwise, the film is a bit haphazard in terms of quality. The first act is predictably a bit sluggish, as is the entire B-plot where Lt. Saavik and David Marcus explore the Genesis planet. Things pick up a bit in the second act as Kirk and the crew go against orders in order to find Spock while the Klingon antagonists are introduced. The photography and effects are still as solid as ever, plus the score is appropriately triumphant and melodramatic in equal measure. Despite its foregone conclusion, the film still wrings some serious emotion out of a number of scenes in the third act. The Search for Spock isn't likely to become my favourite Trek film, but it's a perfectly serviceable instalment in the series, even if it doesn't stand out much on its own merits.
Leonard Nimoy, 1984
Following the events of The Wrath of Khan, Kirk and the remaining crew of the Enterprise are forced to return to the Genesis planet in order to find Spock's body.
The odds were not good for me liking this film. Leaving aside the fact that it's an odd-numbered Star Trek film, it definitely didn't help that a lot of its most dramatic revelations were spoiled by the fact that I ended up watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home first. Also, obviously Spock comes back to life. With so much of the dramatic tension gone, how would this particular film fare? Fortunately, The Search for Spock may not be the classic that its predecessor was or even the loveably campy ride that its successor was, but it's still a decent enough entry into the Star Trek canon.
Thanks to it being a very immediate sequel, the film still carries over the same atmosphere from The Wrath of Khan. The regular cast (minus Nimoy for obvious reasons) are still as good at their jobs as ever. The main villain this time around is a Klingon captain played by Christopher Lloyd of all people. It does take a while to get used to Lloyd's trademark hamminess being used in a villainous context, but his character has strong enough motivations and development to make up for it. Otherwise, the film is a bit haphazard in terms of quality. The first act is predictably a bit sluggish, as is the entire B-plot where Lt. Saavik and David Marcus explore the Genesis planet. Things pick up a bit in the second act as Kirk and the crew go against orders in order to find Spock while the Klingon antagonists are introduced. The photography and effects are still as solid as ever, plus the score is appropriately triumphant and melodramatic in equal measure. Despite its foregone conclusion, the film still wrings some serious emotion out of a number of scenes in the third act. The Search for Spock isn't likely to become my favourite Trek film, but it's a perfectly serviceable instalment in the series, even if it doesn't stand out much on its own merits.