Rating: 
Summary: Take the Voyage
Review: Short Review: 4/5The crew of 'Star Trek' warp into the past to save the world, the whales, and their franchise. Leonard Nimoy directs this light sci-fi romp. A thoroughly enjoyable film with a surprisingly wide appeal.Acting: 4/5The cast is comfortable in this, their fourth movie in the first twenty years of 'Star Trek.' As Shatner and Nimoy enjoy the best onscreen chemistry of any of the six Original Series films, the supporting cast gets better airtime than ever before. The separation of Doohan, Kelley, Nichols, Koenig, and Takei from Shatner and Nimoy was a good move, and allowed their characters to breath a little more.Supporting cast includes some surprises including Mark Lenard (Sarek) and Majel Barett-Roddenberry (Chapel) among others 'Trek' alums. Their roles seem to exist primarily to ground the viewers in the future and thus are somewhat superfluous. True fans will probably beg to differ!The main 'guest star' is Catherine Hicks, now known as the mother on the WB television drama '7th Heaven.' Hicks is fun and surprisingly believable in her plight to save the two Humpback whales.Directing: 3/5Nimoy showed Paramount that he could be trusted with tens of millions of dollars in directing when he helmed 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.' But in that film, he appeared onscreen for mere minutes. Here he has considerable screen time, so I was a bit concerned. Nimoy handled the plot and the comedy admirably.The DVD (and Director's Series VHS edition) contains an interesting featurette with Nimoy, which unfortunately was transferred from video and is somewhat pixelated.Special and Visual Effects: 5/5On-stage effects are spectacular. The Humpback whale mock-ups are the most believable whales created to date. The detail and accuracy of movement made things work so nicely you'll scarcely think about the whales as effects at all.Visual effects are stunning as well. ILM used some fantastic techniques in models and computer graphics to create a compelling visual look to the second unit footage. Scenes to watch for are the 'dream flight' sequence toward the beginning and the bird of prey crashing into the ocean at the end. Picture: 4.5/5The picture is quite clear, with the possibly exception of the 'wet' scenes, which get a bit murky and blue. Artifacts are minimal elsewhere.Sound: 4/5Good but not excellent sound effects and wonderful tracked music enhance the film greatly. An attached stereo will do wonders for the movie experience. (Popcorn doesn't hurt either).Advice:Pay full price and enjoy the show.
Rating: 
Summary: Do you think Spock shuold chang his mind ?
Review: Of all of the post series original movies, this one captures the essence of the series best. Yes it carries an important message, as that is the purpose of sci-fi. The technology is consistent with the series. And the charters conform to type.But what make this movie stand out is the character interaction. You have seen it many times in episodes like [Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 28: The City On the Edge Of Forever (1966) ASIN: 6300213323.] Oh, you say that was history but it was also love, not humor. O.K. how about "Spocko" and Kirk trying to drive in the twenties [Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 49: A Piece of the Action (1966) ASIN: 6300213536.] Yes you say there are exceptions but it would never happen on the enterprise. What little you know. [Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 42: The Trouble With Tribbles (1966) ASIN: 6300213463] and there are quite a few more examples. I will not bring up all the fun scenes as it is more fun to watch them unfold. There is a lot of trivia that make this film interesting. Many reviewers had information that they personally find interesting. For me it was the scenes at the Institute in Alameda, because I was there and it is really the Monterey aquarium.
Rating: 
Summary: Sad, stupid movie.
Review: I love Star Trek but when the actors think that they know more about the audience than the originator, it gets ugly. Here's a perfect example of why actors should be in front of the camera and not behind it. No, comedy is not why the original series was so popular. No, I don't want want to see the original cast members make complete idiots of themselves. And no, I don't think that "Save the Whales" is a worthy topic for Star Trek to tackle. Yeah, it's just a TV show but it was a good one and doesn't deserve this treatment.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but where the heck is the extras?
Review: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the considered to be the best trek film, and for good reason. After 2 dark films, this one is a light comic fantasy, with great character interaction and laugh-out-loud situations the characters find themselves in. But I am here to review the DVD, so you all can make an intellegent decision on whether to buy it or not. The ONLY feature is a documentary that you can find on the VHS version, so there is nothing new here. The only reason I can think of for Trek fans to shell out their wallets on this is because of digital picture. The sound quality is not that good either, it sounds much better on the Wrath of Khan DVD. Hopefully Paramount will release a more loaded version later, but now if you already own this on VHS it won't be a major improvement.
Rating: 
Summary: Greatly overrated.
Review: Here's just one example of overreaching to get a laugh: Scotty's mistaking a mouse for a microphone to be used in talking to the computer. Would he really be that ignorant of early computer technology? If you went back in time and saw an early typewriter, would you look for the electric cord or the disk drive? The point I'm getting at is that the humor was contrived. There were good moments in the film (Kirk and Gillian in the pizza parlor, for example). But there were also many heavy-handed moralistic moments regarding the whales, along with the aforementioned forced humor. So 3 stars is about the most I can give it.
Rating:
Summary: By FAR the FUNNIEST of ALL the Trek films!
Review: This is the Star Trek for those who normally do NOT like Star Trek. I know of so many people who have enjoyed this movie even though they either dislike Trek altogether or find it just mildly entertaining. WHY?? I would have to say that very little of this movie actually takes place IN SPACE. Our heroes of the future head back in time for a trip to save the Universe (yet again) from a probe that is headed to earth to talk to humpback whales. Now when I first heard about the whale portion of the story, I could HARDLY imagine why it was so popular. C'Mon! WHALES?? But believe-it-or-not, the storyline WORKS, and well, too. Time travel. Star Trek fans are familiar with this...it HAS been done before--but few better than this. Trek IV picks up immediately after Trek III leaves off (which is appropriate) with Spock re-training himself after just having been resurrected from his untimely demise on the Genesis Planet in Trek II (are you following this). Uh, oh! The Planet Earth is under attack, but by what?? Nobody seems to know, or figure outl--except until Spock in short order does what nobody else on Earth apparently COULD do: Solved the problem. The alien probe is looking for humpback whales, which unfortunately have been extinct for a few hundred years. Another problem is that this probe will kill the planet unless something is done...this is where Kirk & Co. come in to save the world as we know it. They take their stolen Klingon Bird Of Prey 'round the sun back in time to the mid 80's when humpbacks are alive and well on earth--but endangered. The sheer fun of watching folks from the 23rd century deal with earth of the 80's is worth the price of buying this great film. From Spocks experiment with swearing to Scotty talking to a computer mouse like its a recording device, it all makes for an extremely entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. Funny, witty and all around a great addition to the Trek Universe, whether or not you are a fan of the genre or not. Pick it up, and enjoy, I know you will.
Rating:
Summary: Good Trek
Review: That the series took a comedic turn with Star Trek IV is well known, though the 80s-style humor seems a bit forced and dated now (punk rocker, Russians, etc.). Nimoy's second turn at directing is more imaginative than his first Trek, even if this one suffers occasionally from stock characters and a case of the "cutes." Star Trek IV delivers on most fronts--good dialogue, decent special effects, competent acting. The plot is recycled sci-fi: Kirk and crew timewarp to save Earth from a menace that's never quite explained or explored. Along the way, they deliver a heavy-handed message about ecology and have some misadventures. Leonard Rosenman's asymetric score will make you pine for Goldsmith and Horner, and Catherine Hicks is at times grating and juvenile, but there's some genuine warmth here. Widescreen also makes this look like a movie, rather than a big TV show. Basically completes a story that took three films and five years to finish.
Rating:
Summary: The Best "Trek" Ever.
Review: "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" completes an exciting trilogy in which the crew of the Enterprise battled their most dangerous foe, lost their ship and rescued their friend Spock. What happens next is a lighter, more humorous adventure as Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise crew travel back in time to the 1980's to save the 23rd century. This film is filled with the best sound and visual effects to date, and the writing and acting haven't been topped in a Star Trek film since. There is very little violence in this film, a total contrast to the last two Treks. While those two films were successful in showing the high drama and danger in Star Trek, "Voyage Home" shows us that in some adventures there needn't be a villian with phasers, but a complex problem which can only be solved through investigation and teamwork. "Star Trek IV" delivers action, suspense and a lot of humor. It is the best film in the "Star Trek" series.
Rating:
Summary: Flaws in the very nature of Star Trek
Review: Since when could a ship jump into warp in a planetes atmosphere? What about disrupting the time line? Nuclear powered warp engines ? These are some things that disapoint me about the movie, Remember City on the Edge of Forever? were Mcoy disrupts the time line by saving one persons life, Causing a Nazi controlled earth, But Kirk brings the Biologist to the future, Scotty gives formula of transparent Aluminum to some foreman, or Mcoy giving the old lady the liver pill? These sertainly would have major efects on time line. Now to warping out of a planet's atmosphere, In theory this could not be done without damage being caused to the ship or the planet, Warp drive places a ship in a subspace bubble out side of normal space, Thats why ship have to drop to impulse when entering a system, the star and it's planets gravitational field would reak havok on the star ship's warp engines. All these are major factors in the star trek universe. This movie was fun to watch, and has an interesting story and good moral " Human beings should stop to think about how we effect other creatures of this planet, and to change the way we think about our selfs as being superiour life forms". Good change of pace in the series of movies, better that ST V, equal to ST III, but doesn't come close to ST II and VI.
Rating:
Summary: Voyage Home Vs. Wrath Of Khan As Best S.T. W/Original Crew!
Review: Let me begin by stating that Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was the first S.T. film I saw in the movie theaters. This wasn't by choice, however. When Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan came out in theaters I was only seven years old and my dad said it was too violent for me to see (I know! ). Sadly the DVD version is the first time I ever saw it in the widescreen format. Before that it was always the pan an scan video with the cool boxed pictures of the film as the cover art. I have read many reviews about both films and there seems to be a huge debate over which of these excellent films is the best Trek of all. I really like them both immensely and even though, to me, it feels like Part II has the majority vote I must go with the minority and say that Part IV is the best. Again, please understand that doesn't mean that II is not wonderful. It is. I'd give it 4 and a half out of 5 stars. But IV gets all 5. Maybe it is because it was the first one I saw on the big screen. There was a great atmosphere and the place was packed. In fact everytime I go see a S.T. film there's this bond I feel with the other audience members that you don't feel when you see most films. Every punchline got huge laughs. It was like we were all friends. I have always enjoyed the lighter side of Star Trek. The Trouble With Tribbles comes to mind immediately. It was so funny making a little furry round animal into this menace that constantly multiply when given food. Why should you always have to take yourself seriously? In fact that's one reason why I watch Part IV more often than II...it's more relaxing. And I mean that in a good way. Nobody dies in this movie, unlike Part II where many people are killed. Don't get me wrong. I love action and sci-fi put together (The Matrix)but they really do suck the energy right out of you. The concept of an alien probe coming to earth seeking to communicate with humpback whales but to no avail since they've assumedly been extinct and in the process knocking out all main power to anything it comes in contact with may seem outrageous to some. I think it was a nice way of saying if we don't stop killing off species one day it's gonna come back and bite us in the butt. Leonard Nimoy called it an "Ecological house of cards" in the director featurette on the DVD. One day we could pull a keystone card and the whole house will fall down. The whales by the way looked incredible. Until I got the DVD I had no idea that only 5% of the whale shots were real and the rest weren't. The dialogue with the cast is terrific and I really enjoyed the fact that Spock wasn't fully himself and that he still needed time to find out who he was and how he felt. You could sense that with his attempted use of "colorful metaphors" and such. Oh and that crowd cheered forever when he gave that punk on the bus the Vulcan neck pinch for playing his radio loudly. In this film Kirk got to be Mr. Romantic again, the way many remember him from the television series. Charming, witty but a bit clueless at times (L.D.S.?). The dinner scene was his best as he's trying to persuade Gillian to give him the whale's as his communicator goes off and he tells Scottie to tell Uhura and Chekov "Phaser's on stun, good luck, Kirk out" with this goofy look of embarrassment on his face that works so well. Everyone has an important task to finish: McCoy and Scottie getting the glass walls to hold the whales in and paying for them by giving the owner info on transparant alumminum ("Is it worth somethin' to ya or should I just punch up clear?"), Sulu must get a helicopter to transport the walls (I still wonder how he stole it...perhaps he put his communicator inside when he was talking to that guy and they beamed it somewhere else later..who knows..it doesn't matter), and Uhura and Chekov have to get energy to recharge the Klingon dillithium crystals by stealing them from a nuclear "wessel" called, oddly enough, the Enterprise. Chekov's interrogation scene is hilarious. Not a single weapon is fired with the exception of a harpoon which gets deflected by the Bird of Prey. The rescue of Chekov gives McCoy his best scenes, giving a woman a pill that grows her a new kidney and mixing words with 20th century doctors ("We're dealing with medievalism here") and the way in which they escape the hospital was outstanding (I love the frantic pace). After the whales are saved and beamed up it's another sling shot around the sun (anyone remember when they first tried it on TV in the episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday")? As you can tell I love this film. I only wish they had done another like this with the original crew. I know the majority will still say Star Trek II, which by the way has one major flaw in that Khan could not have recognized Chekov (he was not yet a member of the Enterprise crew during Episode #24, Space Seed, which I like to watch before putting in Part II. Chekov's first appearence was Episode #30, Catspaw (The Star Trek Encyclopedia))is the best film. But for me Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home stands tallest in the end.
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