Among the Star Trek close , and even casual moving picture fans , it ’s well known that the even - numberedStar Trek movies — II , IV , VI , andVIII(First Contact ) — are the “ good ” unity , the one exception beingX , Nemesis , which ( some would say , mercifully ) ended big CRT screen Trek until JJ Abrams ’ 2009“Kelvin ” timelinereboot .
But there ’s another exception among the odd - numbered “ bad ” Trek films that ’s a bit underrated , and that’sStar Trek III : The Search for Spock . While not as inspired asThe Wrath of Khan , The Voyage Home , or ( my favorite)The Undiscovered Country , the movie still holds up pretty well in terms of tale and ocular effects . It also persist one of the most emotional and crucial Trek story , a fan love - in for characters ( and actors ) who were already aging 40 years ago when the film premiered in the summer of 1984 .
Star Trek III leans heavily on Wrath of Khan (that’s a good thing)
Grossing $ 76 million in domestic box office , Star Trek IIIwas a solid , though not spectacular , hit for Paramount.(In dividing line , Star Trek IV : The Voyage Homemade $ 110 million 2 years later . ) That may have been because the movie leans a minute heavily onThe Wrath of Khan(WOK ) for its story , rather than spinning a fresh tale , asWrath of Khandid followingThe Motion Picture .
After the mixed success ofStar Trek : The Motion Picture(it made money but was not beloved by fans or critics ) , Paramount enlisted a new originative squad of author / manufacturer Harve Bennett and theater director Nicholas Meyer forWrath of Khan . The pair responded with no less than an instantaneous classic , a film that fans felt hewed much close to the essence of Star Trek .
It made sense that executive would be tentative about departing from the formula . As such , Star Trek IIIis a direct sequel , literally starting with footage from the previous entry of Spock ( Leonard Nimoy , who also direct ) break down and his torso being redeem to the newly - formed Genesis satellite via torpedo . Yes , it remind viewers of secret plan points they need to remember , but it also serves to evoke all the flavor from that motion picture to ground the audience for a similar emotional journey — one that likewise dramatizes big theme of friendly relationship , loyalty , ritual killing , and ruefulness .
As inWrath of Khan , the villain — Klingons this time — are still after the Genesis gadget for its potential destructive power . And there is another big showdown between the Enterprise and an enemy ship in which a disadvantaged Kirk prevails through superior gamesmanship ( common in the TV show as well ) .
emphasise everything — literally — is James Horner ’s lush orchestral music fromWrath of Khan , minus Khan ’s themes , of course . In this case , nothing new was needed . Horner ’s Star Trek music remains as stirring as anything John Williams ever wrote for Lucas or Spielberg .
The plot nub on the exploit of Admiral Kirk ( William Shatner ) and the officers of the USS Enterprise to reunify Spock ’s body — left behind on Genesis — with his “ katra , ” or individual , which Spock reassign to Dr. McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ) before he died . Spock ’s body , meanwhile , has been regenerated by the new in - magnetic flux Book of Genesis into a Vulcan male child who is now growing in tandem with the rapidly aging and deteriorating planet .
The author do n’t even bother inventing plausible - sounding sci - fi gobbledygook for this . They know viewer wo n’t deal if it means Spock will return . They just have Kirk ’s scientist son , David Marcus ( Merritt Butrick ) , confess to using unstable protomatter in the Genesis “ intercellular substance , ” and then have him pay the price for his hubris at the stage business end of a gnarly - looking Klingon knife .
David ’s slaying leads to a touching bit of acting by Shatner , evoking yet anotherWrath of Khanmoment — Kirk ’s reaction to Spock demise — and again , the histrion skilfully evokes natural sorrow . Butrick died in 1989 of complications from AIDS , making his part ’s death feel even more resonant in the twelvemonth since .
There are a surprising number of fun moments
Nimoy does overnice work direct the actors , with whom he shared so many scene over the years . Kelley has the trickiest part . In the absence seizure of Spock , he fundamentally play both McCoyandSpock . When McCoy disclose Spock ’s mind meld is the reason he ’s been canalize his one-time shipmate , he give up one of the movie ’s best rooter - service lines : “ That green - blooded Logos of a b*tch . It ’s his revenge for all those argumentation he lost . ”
Nimoy also gives George Takei , Walter Koenig , James Doohan , and Nichelle Nichols ( as Sulu , Chekov , Scotty , and Uhura , severally ) generous closeup and entertain moments . Nichols gets to show off her mirthful timing , not something she pay back a fortune to do in the ’ 60s serial . Doohan meanwhile take to holler hilariously about the new starship , Excelsior , that is primed to put the Enterprise out of business enterprise .
The movie is still visually impressive
Not every visual event place upright up — that was true at the time — butStar Trek IIIstill features plenty of dazzle shooting . Part of that has to do with the manufacturer bringing back ILM , George Lucas ’ extra effect house , which had done such great VFX work onWrath of Khan . The infinite battles and chase , especiallythe wipeout of the Enterprise , are still exciting and convincing today as they were back then .
Nimoy shows off his talent for mise - nut - scène elsewhere in the film as well . Another of the movie ’s best shots has the work party staring in shock at the detonate Enterprise as it hurtles into the Genesis atm like a shooting star . And he stages tantrum on the bridge circuit like stark theatre of operations , the faces of the characters hurl into harsh limelight or evanesce into smoky darkness .
The Search for Spock introduced lasting Star Trek lore
ThoughStar Trek IIIisn’t consider by fans as one of the more influential entries , the moving picture did introduce a number of canonic franchise constituent . First and foremost , it debuted the Klingon Bird of Prey ship , with its ability to “ cloak , ” or interpret itself inconspicuous , to enemy . The slick Bird of Prey ship found its way into a wad more Star Trek over the years , and here Nimoy and company get full enjoyment out of by making it able to take flight in - aura . This leads to some gorgeous snap late in the movie as it swoops through Vulcan canyon at dusk .
The Klingons themselves evolved here into the way of character they have more or less resembled for the last four decades ( save for their ultra redesign inDiscovery ) . They hold out costumes familiar from the first film , but in that movie theyappear like Wolfmenfrom an previous Universal word picture . Their faces hardly movie under all the hair and rubber-base paint .
The film showed audiences more Vulcan mythology
mayhap to make up for the absence seizure of Benjamin Spock himself , The Search for Spockalso pass away all in on the Vulcan lore and design . It usher in the concepts offal - tor - genus Pan , that allows for Spock ’s mind and dead body to be refused ; and returns the Vulcan pairing ritualpon farr , first presented in TOS . InStar Trek III , Saavik hire inpon farrwith a teenage Spock to help chill “ the burning of his Vulcan blood . ”
The scene feels out of place in the neuter sci - fi of the 1980s , but it does echo the original show , which became famous for its libidinous theatrical role and suggestive situations . Though Trek writers confirmed that Saavik became fraught after the encounter , that story never made it on screen , and the only mating inStar Trek IVis between hunchback whale .
The picture also establish out the pattern of the planet Vulcan with its magisterial ceremonies and elaborate costumes , all of which would proceed to appear throughout Trek . This is seen most recently inStrange New Worlds , which , among other thing , make Spock ’s affiance , T’Pring , a more central ( and likeable ) character than she was on the show .
lastly , Mark Lenard , who had briefly played Sarek inStar Trek : The Motion Picture(and a Romulan commandant in the ’ sixty show ) , centre the film with a sense of gravity and makes the spiritual stake of hold open Spock ’s eternal soul find pressing and necessary .
The Search for Spockholds a station in the “ good ” Trek pantheon primarily because it understand its beloved characters inside out . It bring in affection by having them pledge their veneration to one another , then make honorable on it through action and sacrifice .
The Enterprise crew is one of pop culture ’s original “ retrieve kinfolk , ” and this movie lean into that moral force with unassumingness , even sentimentality . It suggest you could find a tender center to the galaxy if you keep seek , which trekker have been more than glad to keep doing ever since .
you may watch all the Star Trek movies and show onParamount+ .
