After recent viewings of the first two very good Star Trek movies (Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan) I was pretty geared up for the third installment; "The Search for Spock". What I found was a disappointment a genuine corn fest. Especially near the end of the film when we get old-school Kirk and his version of extreme fighting. The sets look cheap the effects are average at best for the mid-80's and Christopher Lloyd as Kruge and of course Shatner as Kirk are too much for one movie screen to hold. I realize this recalls the original series and its mood but its such a drop off from Star Trek I and II.

Solid film. Slightly outdone by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but still great. We get to explore the relationships between Spock and Kirk & McCoy, see some Vulcan culture, and watch Christopher Lloyd play a Klingon! (To be honest, I couldn't help but visualize Doc Brown from Back to the Future (1985) delivering his lines. Even though this film came first, it was inevitable—and amusing.) With the gang assembled, Kirk sets off on a personal mission to find his old friend again—the title tells us as much—but he ends up getting a lot more to deal with than he expects. Typical Star Trek? Yes. What we as viewers wanted to see? Definitely. (I'm harping again on how Star Trek: The Motion Picture wasn't as much of a true Star Trek production as its immediate sequels were. I might keep that up all the way to Generations.) Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov pull some lovable tricks along the way, and it's just great. There's much less reuse of footage from previous films here. The main musical theme is distinct, but still feels like Star Trek, thanks to the work of returning composer James Horner (who also composed for the previous film). Look for the occasional odd cut here or there—sometimes it appears characters are repeating motions they just made in the previous camera angle—but technically this production is very impressive, and feels like a real stepping stone on the way to the effects we get to enjoy in the later TV series.

Better than the first two movies, but still not a thrilling movie. However, the series goes into the right direction!

Its not bad, but it does feel transitional and not like its own story. The first act (especially) and second act are all pretty solid but the final confrontation between Kirk and Kruge on the Genesis Planet is really, really really rough and a bit corny. My general feeling on the movie is that its messy but it *Tries*, it sincerely tries. It feels less of a product than Star Trek 2009 even though I gave that a higher rating, I sort of respect this one (and the other "bad" pre-Kelvin films) more.