Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Colour me impressed. It may be bordering on sacrilege to say it, bearing in mind that this is an odd-numbered sequel and therefore bad, but I found The Search for Spock to be possibly the most purely entertaining out of the three Treks I've seen so far. It and Khan serve as very much a complete two-part story - Spock even starts with an obligatory 'previously on Star Trek' prologue - and although the events of this third film basically serve to undo everything changed in the second, I found it to be handled well with a degree of verve.
I lay some of the film's success at the feet of Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. Spock's demise at the end of Khan had been intended as the character's final farewell, but the film's first weekend box office and, no doubt, a fat wad of cash saw to it that Nimoy reversed his decision to depart the series. He was also tempted back by the opportunity to direct the film, and he proves himself an adept craftsman behind the camera. The whole film is directed with intelligence and sensitivity (an example of which being the scene in which Kirk and Spock's father meet on Earth; Nimoy employs extreme close-ups, which really hammer home the emotion), and its pacing is the most brisk and lean yet.
The title is not only a bit of a spoiler but something of a misnomer too: Spock isn't really searched for. A more appropriate title might have been The Resurrection of Spock or, alternatively, The Return to Genesis (which according to the IMDb was a working title), referring to the continuation of Khan's plot element of a device that can transform lifeless planets into edenic paradises. A fair bit of the film takes place on the Genesis planet, and even though it may have benefited from some location work (again, everything is set-bound), it provides a pleasant variety and an interesting backdrop.
Making up for the noticeable absence of alien races in the first two films (barring a couple of cannon fodder Klingons at the start of TMP and the few Vulcans on Enterprise's crew, Spock included), there's a much greater, er, ethnic diversity this time. The baddies are Klingons, led by Christopher Lloyd, who gets to chew enjoyably on the scenery but does not really convince as an evil warlord. There's also a fun, blatantly Star Wars-inspired scene in a diner, which provides the most colourful selection of species yet.
It's nice to see some of the less prominent members of the crew get more to do this time. Sulu gets his own action scenes, Uhura shows some attitude, Scotty sabotages Starfleet's most advanced ship and Bones gets possessed by Spock's 'Katra' (soul, basically). DeForest Kelley as Bones has been a consistent delight so far, and is quickly becoming my favourite crewmember. His connection with Kirk comes across as truly heartfelt and I'm sure Shatner's performance benefits too.
I'm really loving the old-school effects in these movies. They certainly possess a texture and weight to them that modern CGI, for all its manifest advantages, is not (yet?) able to achieve. The effects in Spock, again supplied by George Lucas's ILM, are consistently superb, with the advances since 1979 already quite apparent.
I've also grown to appreciate James Horner's work on the music more. I still believe that his themes are less instantly striking than Goldsmith's, but they have a likeable melodic quality and certainly contribute to the mood at all the desired points. The continuation of his motifs from Khan adds a pleasing continuity and development that enhances the connection between the two films.
It's true, perhaps, that The Search for Spock could not really work on its own; it relies too much on what Khan has already established to be its own entity. But as a direct continuation of the same story, that could not really be avoided and is not necessarily a flaw. More disappointing is the way in which Kirk's newfound son is unceremoniously dispatched (I wondered where that potentially cumbersome arc would go; the answer is 'nowhere'), but on the other hand, the transformation of Lt. Saavik from Kirstie Alley to Robin Curtis is fairly seamless.
Thus far, the supposed 'odd-number curse' has not materialised at all for me. I can see why some may not like the unusual and slow first film, but for me The Search for Spock was a completely effective and well-judged continuation of what Nicholas Meyer had so successfully started in The Wrath of Khan.
4 out of 5
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