Coming on the heels of the far superior Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock had a lot to live up to--and, to be blunt, the third film in the Star Trek film series (released 35 years ago this year) is sorely lacking when compared to Wrath of Khan. However, Search For Spock, while far from being a great film, does fulfill some important fan service duties to the Star Trek canon.
As its name implies, The Search for Spock goes looking for the popular character, who was played by Leonard Nimoy in the classic Star Trek TV series that aired in the late 1960s. But it’s not an easy search; Spock famously died at the end of Wrath of Khan--which was reportedly at the behest of Nimoy, who had grown tired of playing the half human/half Vulcan after three seasons of Star Trek, as well as the first Star Trek film, The Motion(less) Picture, which was released to lackluster reviews (from both critics and fans) in 1979.
Yet when Wrath of Khan proved to be extremely popular--with both critics and the box office--Nimoy had a change of heart and agreed to return to the role that made him famous. But with one exception, and it was a big one: Nimoy wanted to direct the third Star Trek movie. It was a smart move for Nimoy, whose character remained off screen for most of TSFS’s running time, which enabled him to better direct the proceedings without worrying about also acting in a large part of the film.
The third Star Trek film opens with the battered Enterprise returning home to earth, with Kirk (William Shatner) and crew still grieving the loss of their good friend--only to receive more bad news: the Enterprise, badly wounded in its battle with Khan in the previous film, will not be refitted, as its crew hoped. Instead, Starfleet plans to decommission the Big E by sending her to that big starship junkyard in the sky.
Kirk then receives a visit from Sarek (Mark Lenard), Spock’s father, who informs him that Spock still lives in the form of his Katra, a spiritual entity that they must find and return to Vulcan. Kirk quickly determines that Spock had installed his Katra inside the mind of Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelly), who had been emotionally unstable since their return from the Genesis planet, which had been formed since the destruction of Khan and his shipload of supermen and superwomen. Realizing that there is a chance to still help Spock, Kirk decides to return to the Genesis planet in order to retrieve Spock’s body and bring it, along with the Katra, to Vulcan.
But that’s easier said than done. The Genesis planet is off limits, with Kirk being denied permission to return in the Enterprise--and so Kirk decides to steal the Enterprise right out from its moorings in space dock. This is a smart move on the part of the filmmakers, because it restricts the storyline just down to the core Trek officers, making it feel more personal (and desperate) for our main characters--although, for some annoying reason, Uhura is sent on a separate mission apart from the rest of the crew and is not seen for a large chunk of the film.
But one of the main problems in TSFS lies in its villain, the commander of a Klingon scout ship named Kruge who’s played by Christopher Lloyd. While Lloyd plays Kruge with admirable gusto, his villain just doesn’t compare to the sheer intensity and majesty of Khan, and maybe it’s unfair to compare them in the first place (it’s a thankless job coming after such a great performance in TWOK, which is an equally great film, to begin with). But the comical Klingons in TSFS feel like a watered-down threat, which denies the epic feel to TSFS that TWOK had.
Another problem TSFS has is the lack of gravitas in its story, with Nimoy’s strange choice to make certain scenes in the film very silly. While humor is always welcome--especially considering its grim story of literally reviving a deceased character--the humor here is oftentimes so over the top to the point of being cartoonish.
However, The Search For Spock also offers some major fan service in how it introduces several new starship designs that would be reused in future Trek movies (as well as the Star Trek sequel TV series). The USS Excelsior and the USS Grissom would both go on to have long lives in Starfleet by appearing in further Trek productions down the road. And even Kruge’s Klingon scout ship--which was originally meant to be a Romulan scout vessel--would soar on in the last three films with Kirk and company, as well as going on to stalk the crews of future starships and space stations in other Trek productions.
One more interesting note about The Search For Spock is its supporting cast of future stars, which includes Kruge’s second in command Maltz, who was played by John Larroquette, best known from Night Court. The captain of the Excelsior was played by James Sikking (Hill Street Blues and Doogie Howser, MD). The helmsman on the Excelsior was a young Miguel Ferrer (RoboCop, Crossing Jordan). And veteran voice actor Frank Welker (Transformers) provides the Spock screams on the Genesis planet.
Granted, The Search For Spock isn’t a cinematic classic by any means, but 35 years after its release, it’s still a fairly good, workmanship-type film that serves as the centerpiece of a trilogy that began with The Wrath of Khan and ended with The Voyage Home. Star Trek: Enterprise has even created a prequel to this saga with their fourth season trio of episodes: The Forge, Awakening, and Kir’shara. The younger version of a character who appears in The Search For Spock also appears in the ST: Enterprise trilogy, which shows that while The Search for Spock might not have been one of the better films in the series, it still left its mark on the Star Trek universe. --SF
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