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Star Trek III - The Search for Spock

Star Trek III - The Search for Spock

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Outlaws...
Review: What could be cooler than to steal the Enterprise? Would you ever have thought Kirk & Co. would go that far? STIII is a shocker in many ways. Its character charisma retains well and bands them into (of all things) outlaws in cohoots with the Vulcan Ambassador, Sarek. The movie plays on the feelings left over from the end of STII and creates a gut-wrenching, tight story. III provides, ST fans with new toys...the Klingon Bird of Prey, science vessels, and the "great experiment" USS Excelsior (a far superior ship than the refitted Enterprise). Although, the Excelsior is not immune from Mr. Scott's handiwork, it's still a nice visual site (as is the interior of Spacedock). The crew goes on a forbidden mission back to Genesis, steals the Enterprise, and duels with the Bird of Prey. These luxuries combine to a few sad moments, a goodbye to a ST mainstay, and the spiritual ending that leaves you wanting for more and anticipating ST: IV. I left one star off because it does have a few boring moments...about 7 minutes worth. The adventure begins, again...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An Entertaining Feature Film, Near-Classic
Review: STAR TREK III: The Search For Spock is almost as good as THE WRATH OF KHAN and THE VOYAGE HOME, but it has its own strengths working for it. It is indeed an essential part of the Trek phenomenon, and there is a bit of action and human essence in this movie.

The Enterprise crew is headed for the starbase battered from the raging battle with Khan, that resulted in the birth of the Genesis Planet. When Kirk and crew finally arrive and the Enterprise is due to be decommissioned, Kirk and a few crew members (Scotty, McCoy, Chekhov, and Sulu) highjack the Enterprise and race to the Genesis Planet after they learn McCoy is carrying the soul of Spock, and Spock is alive, aging rapidly like the planet that rebirthed him...but essentially, has none of his marbles which McCoy possesses. When the Enterprise encounters the Klingons and Commander Kruge, it results in the untimely destruction of the Enterprise. Down on the Genesis planet, Kirk and crew find Spock and Valeris, but David, Kirk's estranged son, is dead. After ridding themselves of Kruge, Kirk highjacks the Klingon vessel to get to Vulcan, where Spock and McCoy are put back to their rightful places.

Overall, The Search For Spock is an enjoyable edition to the Trek adventures with Leonard Nimoy's directorial talents to go even further with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Star Trek III is essentially satisfying and would be a welcome addition to your Trek collection, no matter what kind of Trekkie you are.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Movie, Great Trek
Review: With the death of Spock at the end of the last picture, and his funeral in the Mutara Nebula, now quickly forming a planet in the wake of the Genesis device, an enormous chapter in the Star Trek Universe has ended. . . Or has it? The movie pits the crew of the Enterprise verses a rather rowdy group of Klingons, bent of obtaining information from the Genesis Project, which the Klingons see as the ultimate doomsday weapon, and against Starfleet, unwilling to let Kirk go back to Genesis to recover the body of his lifelong friend. And to top it all off, Dr. McCoy seems to be losing his faculties, when it is realized that he is the unknowing carrier of Spock's soul.

This movie is pretty good. Christopher Lloyd was a pretty good, rather pale, Klingon. The crew of the Enterprise has always been a tight-knit group, but their utter dedication to one another is paramount in this film. They are willing to fight and die for one another.

Robin Curtis takes over the role of Lieutenant Savak, played previously by Kirstie Alley. It is an improvement in my eyes. Ms. Alley was good, but not quite "Vulcan" enough for me. A great deal happens in this film that shapes the course of Star Trek films to come, it is definitely needed to understand how the events at the beginning of Star Trek IV.

Leonard Nimoy sat in the directors chair for "The Search For Spock." It was strange not to see Spock as a main role along Kirk, Mccoy, and Scotty. But, the movie is good, and fun to watch.

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Beats the odd-number rule
Review: The oft-quoted rule that has even-numbered Trek movies beating odd-number movies was never that convincing - and this flick proves it wrong.

Picking up at the moment where "Wrath of Khan" left off, "Search" has Spock's coffin soft landing on the Genesis planet. Dr. Marcus and Saavik return to their to investigate that world's development. Meanwhile, the badly damaged Enterprise returns to Earth where Captain Kirk learns the ship is to be scrapped. On the way there, they spot Excelsior, a new breed of starships intended to make Enterprise obsolete. When Dr. McCoy begins showing signs that he was "mind-melded" with Spock - thinking he actually is Spock - he tries to get a ship back to the Genesis planet where Spock's body was left (in a scene that sends up the cantina scene from the first Star Wars flick and has McCoy up against an alien who bears a resemblance to the Vorvon from "Buck Rogers"). Kirk, informed by the vulcan Sarek that both McCoy and Spock's body must be returned to Vulcan, tries to get to Genesis himself. Unfortunately, Starfleet has quarantined Genesis, and isn't about to lift it for Kirk and his Vucan ghost stories. Meanwhile, Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), a rogue Klingon warlord with his own ship and crew, penetrates federation space greedy for the secrets of Genesis.

Though this flick seems a bit abbreviated - a filler between "Khan" and "Voyage Home" it's still a lot of fun. The script has our heroes working outside starfleet regulations and having loads of fun with each other. Prime examples: Scott explains how he saboutaged the Excelsior to McCoy, dropping that ship's isolinear chips into McCoy's palm like spare change ("From one Doctor to another, when youve learnt how to clean the pipes, you know how to stop the drain"). Kirk, when meeting up with the spock-possessed McCoy holds his hand up in the Vulcan salute, asking the Doctor "how many fingers am I holding up"; and let's not forget that magic moment when Bones tries to give a Starfleet Security the Vulcan neck-pinch. Laughs aside, the script is tight and sticks with its central theme of pulling life from death - epitomized by the rescue of Spock and the awesome self-destruction of the Enterprise. Christopher Lloyd's Klingon was underused, but he showed some potential. The special effects beat anything I've seen on the Next-Generation movies and the script makes the characters seem a whole lot livelier. If you've put off this flick because this was an odd-numbered Trek movie, think again and give it a try.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good, but no TWOK SE
Review: A good DVD, but lacks the extras that made the Star Trek I and Star Trek II DVDs so awesome. No new scenes, no new effects, it looks like a basic transfer of the theatrical print. Quality is pretty good. Regardless, still a needed item for the endearing trekkie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A somber and darker trial for the enterprise crew.
Review: After the huge sucess of The Wraith Of Kahn , Lenoard Nimoy took on the challenge of directing this feature film which is the
3rd entry in the soon to be 10 film series,the only film to be as
dark as this one would be the upcoming NEMISIS,but come on now we
all knew spock would return didn't we with Nimoy directing this
film you would think the cast and the crew would be estatic not
the case as said in this two disk version but he did his best
but it would be his next entry in directing The Voyage Home
that would be the payoff.

After Spocks death and his honarable resting place on the
Genisis planet Capt.Kirk seem to be trying to cope with his beloved crew member and his best friend Spock who was killed
in a radiation leak in the last film , but has given his Katra
to Lenoard ''Bones'' Mccoy, but Kirk can't figure out why or what is making ''Bones'' is going insaine,when Spock's father
Sarek visits to find out why Kirk had left his son on Genisis
he finally finds out that Bones and Spock are very connected
and must take Bones to Mt. Selea on Vulcun but to do this he
will have to do the impossible and steal the soon to be out
of service Enterprise the ship is old and has been through
to much war but Kirk does not care he will save his friends
at all costs even if it means his career in Starfleet and
a confrontation with the new Excelceor.

Meanwhile Klingon commander Kruge (Cristopher Lloyd) who
makes a brilliant foe for Kirk , has accuired the information
to the Genisis torpedo and is in presuit to gain it , Science
officers Lt.Savik and Kirk's son David (Robin Curtis,Meritrick
Butrick), are investigating the Genisis planet that will soon
become a totally devistated planet , when given permisson to
beam down they find that a vulcan child is there it is Spock.

But just as they try to contact there ship , Commander Kruge
destroys the Science vessel and leaving them trapped setting up
the showdown between Kirk and Kruge that is worth the wait in the film for the tragic death of his son David, he must hurry
to save Spock and flee from the planet and get to Selea in time to save Spock and Mccoy before all is lost.

Although The Search For Spock is a somber and much depressing
film then The Wraith Of Kahn it is fun to see how the crew goes
through it's trials and tests to stay together as a crew to help
save there friend this two disk version provides a 30 minute documentary of how the film was made if you can withstand Willam
Shatner going on about how he saved the day and his I, am god
of Star Trek attitude I, just can't wait till the next one comes
to see what he says no wonder the cast said he was hard to work
with , it also includes documentarys on ships and Space docks
and the language of the Klingon's that if it hadent been for this movie Klingons would have been silent as well as it has
production photo's and cast photo's and a trailer all in all

it dosen't have as much as The Wraith Of Khan two disk set
but it will hold you over nicely until The Voyage Home two
disk set which i garentee will have more features on it,pick
it up and add it to your collection.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "I...HAVE HAD ENOUGH...OF YOU!"
Review: Star Trek III: The Search For Spock picks up were the previous Trek film left off: Kirk discovers that he must retrieve the remains of Mr. Spock from the Genesis planet so that his Katra - his living spirit, embedded in Dr. McCoy's mind, may be reunited with his body. This is a decent Trek outing, not up to the level of the second film, but certainly better than the first. Like the second film, the highlights generally revolve around the often-amusing dialogue, my favorite bit from which (occuring during a cool hand-to-hand combat scene between Bill Shatner and Christopher Lloyd) gives this review its title. If you're a fan of any of the ST series, you'll want to see this one.

As for the DVD: in yet another of Paramount's "make the consumer buy as many products as possible" ploys, they have, of course, released the Special Edition DVD AFTER releasing the no-frills single-disc version, which is the version reviewed here.

Rating (1-5 star scale):
Film: 3 stars
DVD: 2 stars
Average: 2 1/2 stars

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Loyalty, Honor, Sacrifice.
Review: Though lacking the philosophical depth of The Motion Picture, and the heart-pounding action of The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ultimately succeeds because it's primarily a character driven story, which recalls the best episodes of the original series. Spock's resurrection is handled convincingly--no magical regeneration with a shiny blue animated line here. In all aspects, Leonard Nimoy does a fine job in his directorial debut--he can clearly handle a camera and brings forth strong performances from his actors. Robin Curtis more than holds her own in the role of Lt. Saavik, originally portrayed by Kirstie Alley. The consistently underrated William Shatner shines here, giving a performance which is by turns somber and impassioned. DeForest Kelley also deserves praise as the Spock-possessed McCoy.

Most of the special effects have held up well over the years, and the few that haven't are not overly distracting. Star Trek has never been beholden to special effects, but has generally relied upon character development and story--and this emphasis has served it well over the years.

The picture is identical to the first DVD issue, which improved on both the VHS and Laser Disc issues--the colors are more vibrant and crisper. The sound also has more impact than the earlier versions.

This is one of the few films where the theatrical cut WAS the director's cut, so there are no added scenes here. The commentary by Nimoy and the rest is interesting and informative, as is Michael Okuda's text commentary. The cast interviews, as always, are entertaining, although I would have liked to have heard more of what REALLY happened during the infamous 1983 fire at Paramount studios. Less entertaining are the featurettes on terraforming, the Klingon language, and the visual effects, which contain almost no behind the scenes footage.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An improvement over the previous release of STIII
Review: The real winner in this set is the text commentary option for the film, as written by Michael Okuda (whose visuals have made the franchise's view of the future so interesting)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A very interesting DVD
Review: Although this is not the best film in the series, that title went to the previous movie, The Wrath Of Khan. In my opinion, I think its the best of the reissued Star Trek DVD's so far. Why you ask? On disc 2, you get to hear Willian Shatner as the sorest man in Hollywood, slamming poor old Leonard Nemoy and the executives at Paramount. I am not going to ruin it for you, just watch as Shatner explains how he saved the day and what a wonderful man he is!


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