Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A Trekkie's Dream Come True
Review: THE STORY: Kirk and crew must go back in time to late 20th century San Francisco and bring back a couple of humpback whales to save 23rd century Earth from a strange alien space probe that is attempting to commune with whales, but can't because they've become extinct (!!).

The movie's title, "The Voyage Home," is appropriate not only in terms of the film's plot, but also represents the revival of the fun character interplay and spirit of adventure that have endeared the original cast to ever-growing legions of loyal fans (although, admittedly, we enjoyed a nice little dosage of this in the previous film in the series). Shatner referred to this quality as the joy of living. This joyful energy that the characters possess would at times verge on tongue-in-cheek but would never cross the line. He believes the best Star Trek hours include this texture. He pointed out that there's a fine line that the actors and writers have to walk in order to maintain a sense of reality and keep from devolving into camp. They did a fine job of walking this line in The Voyage Home; some of the dialogue and situations are absolutely absurd, in fact, the film could even be regarded as a comedy, but the pic strangely maintains a sense of reality throughout, avoiding the rut of campiness. (The next film in the series would not be as successful in this regard).

One amusing recurring theme is the characters' attempts to add profanities to their every-day speech in order to fit into present-day America. Their efforts are noble but it goes without saying that they fail abysmally, especially Spock. Kirk's first attempt is in response to a cab driver who calls him a "Dumbass!" for walking in front of his cab. Kirk responds by giving a quick uncertain glance at his comrades and then spouting, "Well, a double 'dumbass' on you!"

The cast members have unanimously expressed that The Voyage Home was the best Star Trek feature film, or at least one of the best. Nichelle Nichols felt the first movie was certainly good science fiction but it wasn't a faithful adaption of the television Star Trek (i.e. it lacked the action, humor and character interplay), the second film was centered around Spock dying and the third around bringing him back to life. She pointed out how there was never enough time to introduce the qualities that made Star Tek on TV so great. She believed these qualities successfull came to the fore with The Voyage Home.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Everything magically comes together on this fourth film outing to give us a tale every bit as good as the best TV episodes. In fact, it's BETTER because it's a feature film and looks so good (unlike the cheap sets of the original three-year TV run). I gotta hand it to Leonard Nimoy for coming up with such an intriguingly bizarre and original tale involving humpback whales that communicate with aliens. If I didn't know better I'd think he was influenced by some trippy foreign substance. Great fun and grand entertainment of the highest order -- even if you're not a Trek fan; in other words, this is the most accessible of the feature films for non-Trekkers. Without a doubt, the best of the film series -- the most entertaining, the most popular and the most profitable.

Rating:
Summary: Not much price difference.
Review: As I explain in all of my Star Trek reviews, a good rule to remember with the Star Trek motion pictures is to watch only the even numbered ones (2, 4, and 6) and avoid the odd numbered ones (1, 3, and 5.) The even-numbered ones are extremely good while the odd ones (except for the first film which is rather average) are extremely bad. This continuation of Star Trek 2 and 3 directed by Leonard Nimoy himself is a pleasant viewing experience with a great screenplay, decent acting, and good special effects. A film worth owning or at least watching several times.

Our famous Federation crew starts on Vulcan where Spock has been re-educated in his Vulcan ways after coming back to life on the Genesis planet in Star Trek III. He was of course dispatched in Star Trek II while fighting Kahn. Deprived of the Enterprise, the crew takes off to Earth in their Klingon bird of prey but are interrupted by a mysterious space monolith that is disrupting the Earth's oceans. The Earth is on the verge of destruction and our heroes must go back to 20th century Earth to find the answer. Once on Earth, the crew is in total culture shock with their ancestors' primitive ways. Their mission is soon helped with the reserved guidance of a marine biologist (Catherine Hicks.) Will they come back to the Earth of the future in time to save humanity?

This plot is not the action-drama that pervades Star Trek II and VI. Instead, this is more of a science fiction-adventure-comedy with little to no dramatic tension at all. I wouldn't worry too much about the link with Star Trek III because it's simply better to avoid watching that horrible film and accept that Spock just came back to life. A very pleasant film to watch with plenty of comical cultural contrasts between future and past characters and situations; not to mention the perpetual clash of views between Spock and McCoy: "You green-blooded inhuman." Leonard Nimoy directed this film quite well and the actors are comfortable in their roles. A fun film for the entire family.

Rating:
Summary: Time Travel is Always Great!
Review: When I saw The Motion Picture, I was fascinated with it. Then we got a good trilogy arc with; The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock and finally The Voyage Home.

One thing about this film, is the fact that you don't have to be a Trekkie to watch it. It has Whales. People love Whales. It's written by Nicholas Meyer too. Out of the three chapters in this trilogy, I choose The Voyage Home as my favoite. It's better than The Wrath of Khan and Search For Spock put together . . .

Rating:
Summary: Bringing It All Back Home
Review: Like The Trouble With Tribbles,IV may not be the best(II tops them all),but it's certainly many fans favorite.
What makes this film work is its humor as well as its warmth and heart.The cast look like they're having so much fun filming it, that it rubs off on the audience.Equally funny is seeing our beloved crew of the USS Enterprise,looking awkward and out of place in the 20th century.
The movie is also fast paced as many obsticles(the Klingon Crystal depletion,the search for the whales in the ocean as well as the hospital scenes)pile up upon one another yet successfully resolving themselves.Subsequent film that try to replicate IV's formula end up looking clumsy(V and Insurrection)because they miss the point that behind great comedy is heart.