Movie Notes: Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home

May 9th, 2009

= 4 stars

Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks
Directed by Leonard Nimoy

Synopsis

Captain Kirk (William Shatner) takes the crew of the Enterprise back in time to 1986 to find two humpback whales to prevent the Earth’s destruction in their future time period.

The Good

• Shot in San Francisco (the future home of Starfleet), featuring all-too familiar locations such as the Marina, North Beach, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
• A welcome return of Trek-style comedy. It’s worth remembering there were some comedic episodes of the original series — Mudd’s Women, The Trouble With Tribbles. I still get a kick out of Spock pinching a punk, Scotty talking to a Mac, Kirk seducing a scientist, and McCoy blasting the twentieth century idea of modern medicine. All classic bits, and it’s mostly situational — the differences between the 23rd century and our own.
• Catherine Hicks (the mom from Seventh Heaven) plays a spunky marine biologist who cares for the two whales Kirk and Spock decide to steal. Her skepticism (set off when she sees Spock doing a mind-meld with a whale) leads to Kirk trying to charm her, and we come to the realization there isn’t any sarcasm or colorful metaphors in the 23rd century. Classic stuff.
• All the core cast members are given something to do, most notably Scotty and Chekov.
• Time travel was a staple of the original series (City On The Edge Of Forever), while the whales as an endangered species contains a philosophical message as did many episodes of the original series (Let That Be Your Last Battlefield). Yes, voyaging back in time to retrieve whales to save the future is a pretty ridiculous premise, but amazingly, combined with the aforementioned sense of humor and a refreshing lack of self-consciousness — it works.

The Bad

• The plot of a mysterious alien craft threatening Earth is a rehash of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
• Shatner is is getting more than little “Priceline.”
• Scotty and Uhura inexplicably gained weight on Vulcan.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed re-watching this one. I’m a sucker for movies set in San Francisco, and the comedy is inventive and contains genuine heart. To all the serious Trekkies who consider the cornball nature of this installment a travesty — double dumb-ass on you.

IMDB: Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
Wikipedia: Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
Rotten Tomatoes: Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home