Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Review

After much delay I have finally gotten back to reviewing the Star Trek movies...

     Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was released in 1984 (which, by the way, is probably my favorite year for movies). It is directed by Leonard Nimoy and written by Harve Bennet. In it Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) still recovering from the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, learns that Spock's katra (his living spirit), which was transferred to Doctor McCoy (DeForest Kelley) must be reunited with his body and laid to rest on Vulcan. He must risk his career in order to return to the now restricted Genesis planet and retrieve the body of his departed friend.

     Star Trek III: The Search for Spock has the unenviable task of following up one of the best science fiction films of all time, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It is also burdened with bringing Spock back from the dead, a move that can't help but come off as corporately mandated. After all, it would be difficult to market Star Trek without its most iconic character. Thematically, it parallels but also subverts The Wrath of Khan. Kirk's emotional loyalty to his dead friend in this film is contrasted with the cold logic of Spock's sacrifice in that film. "The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many" Kirk tells Spock near the end of the movie, the idea being that, while sacrificing oneself for the good of the many is noble it's also noble to risk one's life for a single human person, especially a friend, or even for a whole group to do this collectively. Jesus laid down his life so that "the many will be made righteous" but we also know that he would have done the same thing even if it would have saved only one person. "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons."

"He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth,
which had been on Jesus’a head."

    It may seem odd to quote scripture in a review for a Star Trek movie but then, this film is filled with religious allusions. A comparison could be made between Kirk's efforts to retrieve Spock and Dante's journeys in the Divine Comedy. After his experience in Wrath of Khan Kirk goes on a sort of quest, descending into purgatory and then hell, metaphorically, in order to regain his lost friend. Spock's return from the dead, on the other hand, evokes the Resurrection of Jesus. When David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) and Lt. Saavik (Robin Curtis) come across his coffin (a torpedo casing) they, like Peter and John on Easter morning, find his burial robes. Then, just before finding the newly reborn Spock, an earthquake occurs. "There was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone." If Khan in Star Trek II can be likened to Satan from Paradise Lost seeking revenge against Kirk the "god" who banished him from paradise, then Spock is like Jesus, who sacrifices himself to save paradise and then is brought back to life through Kirk's efforts.

     As in Wrath of Khan, the characters in this film are faced with the consequences of their actions. David, we learn, used an unstable element to create Genesis, reducing the device to a destructive force, a mistake he pays for with his life. Kirk regains the friend he lost but loses his ship and his son in the process. The destruction of the Enterprise is this films greatest conceit, as it makes Spock's return feel earned. It's also just a great, cinematic moment. The death of David Marcus, on the other hand, is its biggest mistake. Star Trek II ended with the prospect of Kirk forming a relationship with his son. Essentially he had become a father. Because David dies here, that will never come to fruition. It doesn't help that his execution by the Klingon's feels unnecessary and lacks the emotional impact it should have, as we've barely gotten to know the character. 

     I should note however, that his death will have important repercussions later one in Star Trek VI, where Kirk must put aside his hatred of the Klingons in order to pursue peaceful relations with them. Indeed, Star Trek III probably contributes more to both Klingon and Vulcan mythology than any big-screen Trek adventure. Christopher Lloyd clearly has a lot of fun in the role of Commander Kruge and imbues the character with that strange combination of savagery, loyalty and uncompromising sense of honor that would forever after be the mark of the Klingons in Trek.

     The biggest flaw of Search for Spock is it's pacing. The main conflict of the film only takes up about 40 minutes of run-time. This is preceded by nearly an hour of set up and then a 20 minute resolution where Spock's body is reunited with his katra on Vulcan. This imbalance between the three acts makes for a rather awkwardly paced movie. It's also shot and edited in a rather dull manner and, despite having a bigger budget than Wrath of Khan, it has a cheap look and feel much of the time. On the other hand the score, once again by the late, great James Horner, is magnificent. Appropriately, it's much less rousing then that of its predecessor, filled instead with understated, somber music befitting this film's subject matter. Horner also utilizes Alexander Courage's original theme for the show, making Star Trek III one of the few films of the series to do so.

     The biggest advantage Star Trek III has is it's director, Leonard Nimoy. If there's anyone who knows what makes Trek work its him. There's a real feeling of camaraderie among the Enterprise crew in this film, largely thanks to Nimoy's familiarity and friendship with the rest of the cast. Both Sulu and Uhura get nice little moments, though they are rather fleeting. The cast, generally, is in good form, though Nimoy has barely any screen time and DeForest Kelley is well, not himself through much of the run-time. As Kirk says at the beginning of the film "Enterprise feels like a house with all the children gone." In many ways that's the entire crux of this film: to bring the crew back together again so Kirk (and the franchise itself really) can begin the new lease on life that he felt he gained at the end of Star Trek II.

     Out of all the Star Trek movies, this one feels the most like an episode of the original series. This is partly due to the cheap look it often has but it's also because of the film's relatively short run time. Cut out about 15 minutes and this could easily be a two part episode of a tv show. In many ways it relies on its predecessor in order to work and, because of this, it will always be stuck in that film's shadow. It may be the weak link in the loose trilogy made up of Star Trek II, III and IV, but it's still a pretty decent film in it's own right and, in many ways, an essential part of Trek canon.

Score: 8/10