STAR TREK III picks up where STAR TREK II left off. A damaged Enterprise space vessel is heading back to base. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is heartbroken over the apparent death of his friend Capt. Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
However, what we soon discover is that before Spock died, he mind-melded with Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley). There’s also speculation that the Genesis planet where Spock’s space casket landed may have started the process of re-generating Spock’s body at a rapid rate. Kirk’s son David Marcus (Merritt Butrick, FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2) and Vulcan lieutenant Saavik (this time played by Robin Curtis, instead of Kirstie Alley) are on Genesis studying the newly formed planet, but there may be a problem, besides the murderous Klingon Commander Kruge (Christopher Lloyd, BACK TO THE FUTURE) wanting the secrets of the Genesis project for himself.
But, when Kirk wants to go back to Genesis, Starfleet Command forbids it. So, as Kirk would do, he hijacks the now decommissioned Enterprise with a little help from his friends Scotty (James Doohan), Sulu (George Takei), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols).
Directed by Nimoy, the film doesn’t have anything new in it, but it at least retains the fun of the TV series and second film. With a long running series, sometimes it’s the villain that defines whether the film succeeds or not. Lloyd’s Kruge is kind of forgettable — he’s not Ricardo Montalban’s Khan for sure.
So what makes SEARCH FOR SPOCK worth seeing? Well, the search for Spock. The interaction between Kirk and his crew is still fun while Shatner makes us believe in Kirk’s quest to find his lost friend. Also it’s quite a hoot having Spock’s brain melded with Bones’ mind.
Some parts are cheesy, but the film never loses its sense of humor. It’s having fun and we’re having fun with it. Additionally, in retrospect, there’s a bunch of actors in the film that have gone on to other recognizable things, including John Larroquette (TV’s NIGHT COURT), Miguel Ferrer (TV’s CROSSING JORDON) and James Sikking (TV’s DOOGIE HOWSER, M.D.). It’s not as good as Part 2 or even Part 6, but it’s no Part 5. The title pretty much tells us what to expect. We get a sense that we’re visiting old friends ourselves, who we’ve watched on TV and the screen, and that’s worth our time because we enjoy every moment of it no matter what they do.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
