Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

A given, at least until we hit Star Trek: Nemesis, is that for the run of both the original and Next Generation movies the odd Star Trek films were the bad ones and the even ones were the good ones.  It certainly wasn't planned, but the pattern lasted for nearly two decades, starting with the first two movies.  Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a solid science fiction film, but not good Star Trek, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is an example of how good movie adaptations of the show could get. 

Given that logic, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock should be one of the worst.  While it doesn't quite fit that pattern, it is more of a bridge film, connecting parts two and and four, as the The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home pretty much form a trilogy.  While it doesn't reach the depths of The Final Frontier, The Search for Spock would have a hard time standing as its own movie if it weren't for the two that surround it.  After the emotional ending of Khan, bringing Spock back was a controversial decision, and director Nicholas Meyer decided he wasn't going to return for this one because he believed that Spock's death should be permanent. 

That was a sentiment that was shared, initially, by Leonard Nimoy.  However, he had a change of heart, and decided that he would like to play the character again.  With Meyer gone it meant that someone was going to have to direct, and with Spock being necessarily absent for most of the movie it gave Nimoy a chance to branch out and get behind the camera for his first feature film.  He had some television directing experience, so he wasn't a complete novice, but Meyer and writer Harve Bennett had both pretty much been in the same boat when they put together the second film. 

After the battle with Khan, the Enterprise has suffered massive battle damage and heads back to Earth for what the crew thinks will be a refit.  It turns out that Starfleet has decided to retire the ship, with the members of the crew going about their lives.  That, of course, is not to be, as Spock (Nimoy) transferred his katra, or soul, into Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) before entering the chamber where he met his death.  Spock's father Sarek (Mark Lenard) arrives, expecting his son's katra to be in Captain Kirk (William Shatner), as it is to be laid to rest on Vulcan. 

As the Genesis planet is under scientific quarantine by the Federation, Kirk is forbidden to go there to retrieve Spock's body for the ceremony.  As usual he doesn't take no for an answer and, with the help of Scotty (James Doohan), Sulu (George Takei), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), steals the Enterprise.  Meanwhile Kirk's son David (Merritt Butrick) and Lieutenant Saavik (Robin Curtis) have discovered that the Genesis probe not only transformed the moon but was able to regenerate Spock's body.  Unfortunately, it is without a spirit, and it is rapidly aging, as is the planet.  To further complicate matters a rogue Klingon commander named Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) is after the secret to Genesis for his own use. 

When I saw this as a kid I thought it was absolutely great.  It was nice to see them bring Spock back, as his death was certainly a shock in The Wrath of Khan, but being brought up on shows like this I had no doubt that Spock would return; of course I had no idea about any of the background drama surrounding the show or the production.  I just knew that main characters never stayed dead for very long.  I was quite satisfied with how he was brought back, as like the movie before it there are not a lot of places where it drags, and where it could we have Christopher Lloyd as one of the best Klingon commanders in the canon to liven things up.  The Search for Spock also has a lot of plot points that would affect the later movies, largely Kirk's attitude toward Klingons from this point forward.  The dynamics between the crew has largely returned to where it was in the series, and happily the rest, beyond Kirk and Spock, getting more attention.  

Effects-wise this is one of the better looking Star Trek films at the time, with Industrial Light and Magic doing their best with the ship models and action on the planet.  Vulcan looks more like one would expect a planet set to look like in a major studio film, rather than the bad stage set in the first movie.  Kruge's pet looks great, even though it is obvious there wasn't enough money to get the animatronics to be in motion beyond sitting by his chair, although the organisms on Genesis fair a bit better.  

It doesn't mean that the criticisms of this movie are not valid.  Spock's spirit is possessing McCoy and, while Kelley is able to pull off acting like his own brain is arguing with his Vulcan friend, there is not enough of it.  In fact, Kelley is largely absent from this film, spending a large amount of time standing in the background even though this movie should really focus as much on him and his struggle with carrying Spock's soul as it does on Kirk.  David and Saavik get more time than Bones, which is understandable since the entire subplot has to do with Spock's body regenerating.  Still, Spock thought it important enough to put his mind into McCoy, and I would think Harve Bennett would have thought this was just as important to the plot. 

The other problem is that this movie, unlike most of the Star Trek films, cannot stand on its own.  It needs The Wrath of Khan, at least, to exist, while the previous movie doesn't need it.  Everyone knows Spock lives, appears in the rest of the movies, in TNG and even in the first of the reboots as he tries to resolve the two different timelines.  This brief bit of death is a blip in over 200 years of distinguished life, and how he is brought back can be explained in a few simple sentences to where any casual viewer can get on with the rest of it.  Even though one of the subplots of The Voyage Home is Spock starting to return to normal, The Search for Spock is not an essential movie in the series.  It is still quite enjoyable, and quite fun, but definitely not vital. 

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Time: 105 minutes

Starring: William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Merritt Butrick, Robin Curtis, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Lloyd

Director: Leonard Nimoy