Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takai, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Catherine Hicks
Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
Rating: PG
Genre: Science Fiction
1986

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: When a mysterious space probe approaches Earth, threatening to destroy it if it does not return its communications. However, its message is delivered in a song of humpback whales- a species long since extinct on Earth. The crew of the Enterprise travel back in time, to the 20th century, to retrieve two humpback whales, and hopefully, save the world.

Review:

Tim: I really enjoyed this movie. While many people consider it the best of the original Star Trek films, I think it comes in a close second to The Wrath of Kahn. Still, it is a very entertaining movie. I really like the change of pace. This movie isn't as focused on outer space, instead focusing on the strange, foreign world of the 20th century. This infuses new life into the Star Trek franchise, and gives us some of its finest scenes.

The movie's big appeal comes from the Enterprise crew struggling to fit in to the 1990s culture. The highlights are undoubtedly Kirk and Spock's adventures. They interact with Catherine Hicks, who turns in one of the best Stark Trek supporting performances of all time. She is hilarious, and I love her scenes with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. I laughed more during this movie than any other Trek film. Some of the funniest moments are Kirk and Spock trying to blend in by using profanity. I love these scenes.

The movie is also interesting because it is almost entirely focused on the Enterprise crew trying to take two humpback whales back with them into the 23rd century. This is very different from all the other Trek movies, and a welcome departure. There are also some other good scenes, including Scotty giving away some secrets about the future, and Chekov being arrested. However, the movie's best scenes involve Shatner, Nimoy, and Hicks.

This movie is much more focused on comedy than it is on action. There is also some interesting commentary about how we humans impact the other species on our planet, and how we are more connected than we might realize. This is a fairly straightforward movie, but in director Leonard Nimoy's hands (he obviously learned some lessons from directing the previous Trek film), this movie works.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is different from every other Trek film, and for that reason, it is refreshingly unique. I really enjoyed this movie. It is the most lighthearted film in the franchise, and one of its best.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Star Trek, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Wars, Galaxy Quest