Star Trek III : À la recherche de Spock

Boldly going where no man (or woman) has gone before, climb aboard the Enterprise and let it fly and soar, as old friends gather, reunite, off to battle and to fight, strange new worlds, civilisations to explore.

A child is discovered all alone, a Vulcan without soul, perhaps a clone, while a Doctor rediscovers, an old friend inside another and a starship's final journey helps them home.

Some things are more important than rules and regulations as the captain of the Enterprise takes his pride and joy to recover what was lost and resurrect what was saved.

My review was written in Mary 1984 after watching the film at a Columbus Circle screening room.

"Star Trek III -The Search for Spock" is an emotionally satisfying science fiction adventure. Dovetailing neatly with the previous entry in the popular series ("Star Trek II -The Wrath of Khan"), the Harve Bennett production (he also scripted) is helmed with a sure hand by debuting feature director Leonard Nimoy, who also appears briefly but to good effect as the indestructible half-human/half-Vulcan Spock.

Relying upon clues (as revealed in flashbacks) cleverly planted in "Star Trek II", film centers upon a quest to seemingly bring Spock, the noble science office and commander who selflessly gave his life to save "the many", back to life. Pic opens in a melancholy mood as the U. S. S. Enterprise limps home in damaged state. It is to be scuttled, as announced by Commander Morrow (Robert Hooks), and only the ship's engineer Scotty (James Doohan) has been reassigned to a flashy new ship The Excelsior.

Spock's friend, Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) is visited by Spock's Vulcan father (Mark Lenard, reprising a guest star role he played in the tv series), who informs him that Spock's living spirit may still me alive via a mindmeld with one of Kirk's crew and must be taken to the planet Vulcan to be preserved.

Kirk discovers who the "possessed" crew member is, and with his other shipmates, steals the Enterprise out of its dock and sets off for Vulcan. Crossed with this mission is footage of Kirk's scientist son (Merrick Butrick) and Vulcan science officer Lt. Saavik exploring the unstable Genesis planet where they find a young but rapidly aging Vulcan boy who appears to be a life-form regenerated from Spock's corpse, which had been left on Genesis.

The enemy are the Klingons, represented by one Commander Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) who defies an impending space treaty between the Klingon Empire and the Federation and attacks Saavik's ship, the U. S. S. Grissom (named for the late astronaut). Kruge attempts to steal the secret of the Genesis effect (life from lifelessness) but is outwitted by Kirk, who successfully arrives on Vulcan with Spock's regenerated body. In a ritualistic ceremony presided over by a high priestess (Dame Judith Anderson), Spock is reintegrated, spirit and flesh, and regains his memories with the help of his human friends in a moving conclusion, that promises not only a soon-to-come "Star Trek IV", but the prospect of the Nimoy as Spock character back in a starring role.

Bennett's script carefully captures the spirit of the Gene Roddenberry-created tv series, even providing satisfying (though brief) scenes spotlighting each member of the crew, including communications officer Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), who gets to state (and demonstrate) that "this isn't reality -this is fantasy".

Countering ongoing trends in science fiction and youth-oriented films, Nimoy's direction is people-intensive, with less of the zap and effects diversions of competing films. However, George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, under Ken Ralston's supervision, has delivered arresting miniature work and animation which, especially in the sequences of the Enterprise docking and departing, impart a sense of realistically vast scale (not looking like tiny models). The point is that the performances, well-delivered by an ensemble rather than star cast.

James Horner elaborates effectively on his score from "Star Trek II", and his orchestral work (even including theremin-like effects) combines with Dame Judith Anderson's mystical three-word incantation (when bringing Spock back to life) to conjure up pleasant memories of Robert Wise's classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and thereby link "Star Trek III" to science fiction tradition. Wise directed the first "Trek" feature but is no longer involved in the series.

"Trek III" will definitely satisfy the fans of the Paramount tv series and along with "Rocky III" demonstrates the effectiveness in a feature film series (unlike the Bond pictures and "Indiana Jones") of preserving a continuity in characters and stories from one adventure to the next.

It is what it is folks, it's a good honest Star Trek story, it beats a real emotive heart and although some may decry the lack of blistering space battles, or end of the universe peril scenarios, it's an essential film for dealing with the protagonists we know and love.

Into the mix here we have our favourite alien enemies The Klingons (led by the oddly cast Christopher Lloyd), Spock's father, Sarek, who adds grace to the story, and crucially Kirk gets an emotional kicker. While elsewhere hardcore fans get a big surprise with the beloved Enterprise.

It's of course merely a set up for the next (and delightfully great) instalment of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but on its own terms this stands up as one of the better character pieces in the series. Due in no small part to having Leonard Nimoy directing it because he shows care and thought about a subject he obviously knows quite a bit about. 7/10

Star Trek 3:The Search for Spock is well done movie it just doesn't stand out. I do admit Leonard Nimoy is good director. Look out for Taxi's Christopher Lloyd as the Klingon captian Kruge. I give this movie a 3 out of 5.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

*** (out of 4)

After the events in the previous film, Kirk (William Shatner) risks his career by stealing the Enterprise to go to a restricted planet in hopes of finding Spock's body who they feel might be alive. Along the way they run into a Klingon leader (Christopher Lloyd) who wants to kill them all. STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH OF SPOCK probably shouldn't have worked since if you've seen the second film then you know what happens to Spock. In order for this "trick" to work the producers and writers really needed to come up with something good and thankfully they did that. I won't ruin what this trick is in "the search for Spock" but I thought it was a rather smart move and it helped make the film a lot more believable. Leonard Nimoy steps into the director's chair here and it's obvious he's very comfortable there as he delivers a good looking film with a good pace and of course the main people back in action. Once again we've got Shatner turning in a good performance as Spock and there's no question that he helps keep the film moving. I don't care what you want to say about the guy but there's no question that he owned this role and could play it in his sleep. Regulars like DeForrest Kelley, James Doohan and George Takei are also good in their roles. It seems a lot of people are split on Lloyd but I thought he was pretty good here. I liked seeing him under all the make-up and thought he did a good job even if the role itself wasn't the greatest. The special effects here are certainly a step up from the previous movie and I'd also say that battle sequences are much better directed. Overall this film doesn't quite reach the levels as the second but it's certainly a worthy sequel.