STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1984)
Article 4354 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-1-2013
Directed by Leonard Nimoy
Featuring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
Country: USA
What it is: “Star Trek” movie, what else?

Kirk discovers that, before his death, Spock left his soul implanted in the body of Dr. McCoy, and in order to retrieve it, he will need to return to the Genesis planet and recover Spock’s body. However, the planet has been set off limits by the Federation, and Klingons are on hand to discover the secret of the Genesis project. Kirk defies Starfleet Command, steals the Enterprise, and heads out to the planet.

The second through the fourth movies of the Star Trek series were something of a trilogy within the series in that each of the later movies had to resolve the issues that were left over from the previous ones. In this one, the goal is to recover Spock as a character, but the cost is quite high, and it would take the next movie to sort that out. The common belief about the Star Trek movie series is that the even numbered entries are superior to the odd numbered ones, and it’s true enough in this case as it is weaker than either of the ones that bookend it. Nevertheless, this is one of the better of the odd numbered ones, and its main problems are that the script is rather uneven and, despite the fact that it features one of the more devastating events in the history of the series, it doesn’t quite have the emotional power to make it really work. There are some nice humorous touches, and each of the characters has fun moments. I would say overall that it’s a good, if not great, entry in the series.