They might as well have just called this one Star Trek Saves the Whales, because that’s all that this film really amounts to. Straddling the precariously thin line between clever and stupid, Star Trek IV is clearly just in it for the sake of having fun. This isn’t such a bad thing, as the last two Trek films were heavier in tone, one being fairly dark and the other being complex. There is however a line and I feel as though they may have crossed it.
Picking up shortly after the events of Star Trek III, Kirk and company are on Vulcan but have decided to return to Earth and face the punishment for violating Federation rules on their quest to recover Spock. On the way to Earth in their hijacked Klingon vessel, they receive a distress call from Earth. Some bizarre alien probe (looking like a can of soup wrapped in tin foil) is assaulting the Earth and destroying all computer and electrical systems within range. After analyzing the signal the probe is emitting, Kirk’s crew find that it is trying to establish contact with Humpback whales, which have been extinct on Earth since part way through the 21st Century.
The only solution is to travel back in time, via a risky sling shot maneuver around the Sun, transporting our intrepid crew to Earth of 1986. There they find that humans are woefully inferior beings, using coarse language, poor communication skills, and worst of all, have a focus on money (for which there is no need in the 23rd Century). After peppering the audience with some light pro-socialist ideals the film focuses on the struggle to locate some Humpback whales and how to rig the Klingon ship to carry them home.
Chance would have it that Kirk and Spock meet a pretty lady who happens to be the caretaker of two Humpbacks. After much culture shock and coincidence, Scotty builds holding tanks inside the ship and they get their whales. They make it back through time and just barely save the day. While the whales concept has a unique side, as it explores the notion that alien species may not be searching for intelligent life that resembles humans, it’s still a bit too ‘earth first’ goofy for me to really get behind. And besides, they saved two whales. It’s not like the species will survive. Their offspring would be the last generation before inbreeding occurs.
There’s plenty of humor in the fish-out-of water scenario for all the Enterprise crew, and Chekov’s pronunciation of V’s as W’s is hammed up awful fierce, but the film relies on an extended gimmick to support itself. In the end, we are treated to some happiness, as Kirk and his crew are all exonerated, though he is demoted back to Captain. And he gets a new Enterprise.
This was the closing chapter in a 3 movie arc, and may have been meant to be the final Star Trek film for the Original Series cast. While sporting better special effects than usual, it still doesn’t compare to effects masterpieces like Star Wars, but Star Trek never really set out to compete with Star Wars in the first place. Star Trek IV wraps up the story in a pretty neat fashion, with humor and heart to spare.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
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