I thought I'd rewatch the "Spock trilogy" back-to-back this weekend and record my thoughts...
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
I grew up watching the hell out of this (and it's sequels) but I didn't see
'The Motion Picture' until much later, so I didn't realise how embarrassingly cheap
'The Wrath of Khan' looks. At least 50% of the FX shots must be from TMP (either offcuts, or just repeats), models, costumes and sets are reused to save money (
"let's flip the TMP transfer station upside down and it's now Regula I Lab!") and even the only "new" thing, the USS Reliant is little more than a kit-bashed Enterprise (not that I don't love the Reliant and owned the AMT/ERTL model kit). I have to wonder if the idea to set the finale in the "Mutara Nebula", was more so they could use leftover V'Ger cloud FX and less to create a brilliant submarine-combat style action sequence. Then again, all that didn't matter to the younger me, so it shouldn't matter now, plus it's a demonstration of
George's Lucas' quote
"A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing" because the same shots in TMP did rather test one's patience but in WoK, they are totally thrilling. This time I re-watched the "Director's Edition" DVD, there are some nice moments but I don't like the extra Scotty's nephew revelation, it's too much of a downer. I never get tired of rewatching the duel between Khan and Kirk, including Kirk's brilliant "prefix code" manoeuvre.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
I rate
'The Search for Spock' very highly, perhaps a little above
'The Wrath of Khan'. I love the way it shows the Enterprise bridge crew as a loyal family, ready to sacrifice themselves on the slimmest chance of saving their friend. There are beautiful moments like when Kirk asks his team if they are prepared to follow him and Bones into danger and they all pretend to not have heard his question, and Kirk fondly smiles with pride. The first two movies spent quite a bit of time establishing the idea that Kirk is seemingly bereft without the command of a starship, which informs the powerful moment where he's threatened with
"Kirk. If you do this, you'll never sit in the Captain's chair again" and with a grave face (perhaps contemplating what that means) just says
"Warp speed". As much as being Captain means everything to him, it's nothing to the life of his best friend. I love it! That's part of the "Stealing the Enterprise" sequence, which is one of the greatest sustained combinations of action and music in the movies (alongside the sail-barge rescue from
'Return of the Jedi').
James Horner was such a genius, whenever I listen to the 'Stealing The Enterprise' track, I can see every moment in my head.
Unlike the cheap ST2, every single FX shot is new in ST3, and it's full of brand new models too (IIRC the Enterprise itself is the only thing that's not new), including the iconic Bird of Prey, the gorgeous USS Excelsior and the majestic Starbase exterior and interior. Plus there's the USS Grissom and a special bridge set for the Excelsior that must be on-screen for about 60-seconds. I don't know how
Leonard Nimoy achieved all that expensive innovation on pretty much the same budget as the "corner cutting" WoK. There were glimpses of the Klingons in TMP but virtually the whole look, attitude and culture of the Klingons (including the knives and disruptors) that would endure throughout The Next Generation era, was established here. I don't think ST3 gets enough credit for how foundational it is, beyond being a jolly exciting and emotional adventure.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
I've always had a problem with
'The Voyage Home'. Yes on it's own, it's one of the most entertaining action-comedies ever made, with superb attention to the writing of all the characters but it's a very odd shift in tone after the two previous rather serious, space combat based films. I've long considered ST6 as more of a spiritual continuation of the tone and formula from ST2 & ST3. The other thing that makes it jarring in a 3-movie marathon, is the absence of
James Horner's powerful themes. I enjoy
Leonard Rosenman's work a lot, in this and other films but it's so different to Horner's style and Rosenman's style is particularly distinctive. What makes the humour in ST4 so successful is that it springs from the characters and from how the bright, optimist future of
Star Trek clashes with our (1980s) present. The crew struggle to understand what swearing is, are baffled by money and everyday rudeness, McCoy randomly cures a lady of diabetes, Scotty "invents" transparent aluminium, Enterprise pilot Sulu gets to fly a Huey and of course Chekov is mistaken for a Soviet spy by the cold war mentality of the day. Spock's puzzled observation that
"To hunt a species to extinction is not logical" is one of the most profound lines in all of Star Trek. It beautifully shows the difference between human and Vulcan thinking. Our instinct would always be to debate such an emotive issue on it's morality, not it's simple mathematical irrationality. This time I was really appreciating how brilliantly Dr Taylor is handled by
Catherine Hicks. To make us so easily believe that a scientist would so quickly except Kirk's wild story is a masterpiece of writing, directing and particularly acting. Hicks should've been a much bigger romcom star, she lights up the screen.
"Hello computer?",
"Nuclear wessels" and
"No, I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space" will never not be funny.
ST4 does arguably make a bad mistake by having the supposedly irritating and awful fictional Punk song actually be awesome!: