WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!With the Star Trek movies, there exists a rule of thumb which states that the odd-numbered films are inferior to the even numbered ones. I beg to differ, as Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is quite interesting and a good follow up to The Wrath of Khan.
The story takes place right where Khan left off. The Enterprise is headed back to earth, where it will be decommissioned. Spock, having died at the end of Khan, is not aboard the ship. Or so they think. Evidently, shortly before Spock perished, he mind-melded with Dr. McCoy, so his spirit lives on in McCoy’s mind, while causing him quite a bit of mental duress. Once the crew returns to Earth, Kirk is met by Spock’s father who informs him of the situation. Kirk feels like a fool and is intent on resurrecting his friend.
The only problem is that Spock’s body was jettisoned to the surface of the new planet created at the end of Khan. What’s a space Admiral to do? Why, steal his old ship and go after his friend of course! Kirk and crew hijack the Enterprise, violating many rules in the process, and goes vigilante to find his friend (hence the title).
To add a little spice to the story, a rogue group of Klingons are desperate to get their hands on the plans for the Genesis experiment, seeking its power to destroy an entire planet. They destroy a Federation starship and ambush a science team (the same one from Khan, including Kirk’s son) holding such plans.
It all makes for an interesting face-off resulting in the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons (creating another memorable line- “You Klingon bastards, you murdered my son!”) and the destruction of the Enterprise. The crew all escapes safely after hijacking the Klingon’s own vessel, with Spock’s recovered body in tow. They head for Vulcan, where they will be momentarily safe from both the Federation and the Klingons out for Kirk’s blood. Spock’s soul is reunited with his body and the film ends on an uneasy note of what the future will bring.
The thing I liked most about this film is how deep and contemplative it gets. The Vulcans are very Buddhist in their approach to life and understanding. Being a fan of Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies, I enjoyed the subtle deep concepts running all through this film. While Khan was well-received for being the most exciting and fun Trek installment, The Search for Spock is appreciable for being the smartest and most thought-provoking of the series. It does, however, suffer from a few minor cases of poor special effects, which factor pretty significantly with my ratings.
All in all, it’s a good companion piece to its predecessor. It’s also interesting to see Christopher Lloyd as a Klingon. Great Scot!
RATING: 3.25 out of 5
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