Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
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| Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Leonard Nimoy |
| Produced by | Harve Bennett |
| Written by | Gene Roddenberry (creator) Harve Bennett (written by) |
| Starring | See table |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Cinematography | Charles Correll |
| Editing by | Robert F. Shugrue |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 1, 1984 |
| Running time | 105 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17,000,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $87,000,000 (worldwide) |
| Preceded by | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) |
| Followed by | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Paramount Pictures, 1984) is the third feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series. It is often referred to as Star Trek 3 or The Search for Spock. It is the middle chapter in a loose trilogy, preceded by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concluded in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
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[edit] Plot
Following the defeat of Khan Noonien Singh (see Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), the USS Enterprise limps back to Earth, heavily damaged from the battle. Once there, Admiral James T. Kirk is informed that the obsolete vessel's days are over (it is stated to be 20 years old, but official production timelines place it as about 40 years old, with Kirk's command of the Enterprise being about 20 years); it won't be refitted, but will instead be retired, and its crew reassigned. Meanwhile, Dr. Leonard McCoy exhibits strange behavior, somehow related to the deceased Captain Spock. He even seems to be channeling both Spock's behavior and voice.
Simultaneously, Kirk's son Dr. David Marcus and Lieutenant Saavik are now on board the research vessel USS Grissom under the command of Captain J. T. Esteban to explore the Genesis Planet, created when Khan detonated the Genesis Device. While conducting sensor studies of the planet, Saavik detects an unidentifiable life form. Dr. Marcus asks Saavik to conduct a close range scan of the area and they discover Spock's burial tube. Dr. Marcus speculates that Spock's burial tube must have soft landed because of fluctuations in the gravitational field of the Genesis planet during formation. After a request to beam the life form on board is denied, Captain Esteban permits Saavik and David to transport down to the planet's surface to investigate the sensor readings. While there, they discover, much to their shock, that Spock's body has been resurrected by the Genesis effect, although his mind is no longer present and he operates on a purely child-like level. Marcus, pressed by Saavik, admits that he used unstable "proto-matter" in building the Genesis device to solve "certain problems". Without it, he claims that the Genesis Project could have been delayed by years or would have never been completed at all. The unstable matter puts the planet in a state of accelerated evolution that will conclude with its premature destruction within a few hours.
Unknown to them, a Klingon commander named Kruge has intercepted information about Genesis and becomes interested in it (for much the same reasons as Khan: as a weapon). He travels to the Genesis Planet to learn its secrets after stealing additional information related to it.
Spock's father, Sarek, visits Earth and discovers, with Kirk's help, that McCoy possesses Spock's "katra" (soul). Both his katra and body are needed to properly lay him to rest on his homeworld Vulcan; without swift intervention, Spock's consciousness will overwhelm McCoy, and he will also die. Disobeying direct orders prohibiting anyone from visiting the Genesis Planet, Kirk reunites with his bridge officers and goes through a series of highly unorthodox events such as Uhura charming the watch officer (locking him a closet), Kirk, Sulu, and Chekov springing McCoy from the Starfleet jail, Scotty hacking into the Starbase security system to open the massive base doors so the Enterprise can escape, and secondly disabling the pursuing USS Excelsior,'s "transwarp drive", by removing a couple of circuits.
Kruge arrives at Genesis first, accidentally destroying the Grissom with all hands (save for the landing party). He then summarily executes his weapons officer responsible for the Grissom's destruction; Kruge wanted prisoners. His crew locates and captures the scientists on the planet: David, Saavik, and a now-teenaged Spock. Kirk and the skeleton crew of the Enterprise arrive, unaware that the Klingon ship and its crew are cloaked nearby. Unable to hail the Grissom, the Enterprise crew suspects the presence of a Bird of Prey and are able to strike first, hitting the Klingon ship as it de-cloaks. The Bird of Prey fires back, overloading the Enterprise's automation systems. This disables all functions throughout the ship. Kruge demands that they surrender, and orders the troops that he had sent to the surface of the Genesis Planet to kill one of the prisoners as a show of strength. David defends Saavik, who was to be the intended victim, and dies as a result. Kirk is devastated to hear his son has been killed.
Rather than surrender, Kirk orders McCoy and Sulu to the transporter room. Kirk, Scotty and Chekov order the ship to self-destruct, and they escape the Enterprise for the last time. The computer counting down confuses the majority of Kruge's crew who had just beamed over to complete the ship's capture; they are all killed as the ship self-destructs. The crew of the Enterprise watches as their home for the last twenty years disintegrates as it enters the atmosphere. They find Saavik and Spock and free them from their captors. Moments later, Kruge beams to the planet and has everyone but Kirk and Spock beamed aboard his Bird of Prey. Still demanding the technology of the Genesis project, Kruge and Kirk engage in hand-to-hand combat on the disintegrating planet. Kirk defeats Kruge, who plunges into a volcanic rift. Kirk quickly grabs Spock, and, imitating Kruge's voice, shouts the order to beam them both aboard Kruge's ship. The Enterprise crew are able to easily capture the Klingon vessel and the one crewman left on board.
The crew travel to Vulcan, where Spock's katra is reunited with his body in a dangerous procedure called "fal-tor-pan" which will reunite Spock's mind with his body. Dr. McCoy agrees to the ritual, knowing that it is quite risky for both him and Spock. The ritual is successful, and Spock is resurrected alive and well, though his memories are still extremely fragmented. The final scene, a brief discussion between Kirk and Spock, ends with Spock slowly remembering the man before him: "Jim. Your name is Jim."
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| William Shatner | Admiral James T. Kirk |
| DeForest Kelley | Commander (Dr.) Leonard McCoy |
| James Doohan | Commander/Captain Montgomery Scott |
| George Takei | Commander Hikaru Sulu |
| Walter Koenig | Commander Pavel Chekov |
| Nichelle Nichols | Commander Uhura |
| Grace Lee Whitney | Commander Janice Rand |
| Mark Lenard | Ambassador Sarek |
| Merritt Butrick | Dr. David Marcus |
| Judith Anderson | High Priestess T'Lar |
| Robin Curtis | Lieutenant Saavik |
| Christopher Lloyd | Klingon Commander Kruge |
| Robert Hooks | Fleet Admiral Morrow |
| James Sikking | Captain Styles |
| Frank Welker | Spock's screams (voice-over) |
| Leonard Nimoy | Captain Spock |
[edit] Critical reception
Upon its release in 1984, film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film two thumbs up calling it "good but not great". The film has a 71% "fresh" rating at rotten tomatoes,[1]. It made $76,471,046 in the domestic box office.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Production on the film was temporarily shut down after a fire destroyed several soundstages at Paramount Studios in 1983, one of which was adjacent to the set for the Genesis Planet. Initially, the set's pyrotechnics were suspected of causing the fire, but the cause was ultimately ruled to be arson. William Shatner claims to have assisted in putting it out, but other actors have contradicted his account. The fire is discussed in a making-of featurette included with the Special Edition DVD.
- Edward James Olmos auditioned for the role of Kruge. He was Leonard Nimoy's first choice for the role, until producer Harve Bennett convinced Nimoy to cast Christopher Lloyd.[2]
- Leonard Nimoy provided the voice of the Excelsior computer in the turbolift scene with Scotty. Nimoy was credited for that role as "Frank Force".
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at the Internet Movie Database
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at Allmovie
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at Rotten Tomatoes
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at Box Office Mojo
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at StarTrek.com
- Interview with Robin Curtis (Lt. Saavik) in which she describes working with Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and the rest of the cast of Star Trek III and IV
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