Theatrical Release Date:May 31, 1984 Release Date:June 18, 2008 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Synopsis:
With most of the Enterprise's battle damage repaired after defeating Khan, the ship's crew returns home to bad news from Starfleet Commander Morrow: the Enterprise is to be decommissioned. Even worse, Dr. McCoy begins acting bizarrely. A visit to Kirk from Sarek, Spock's father & the Vulcan ambassador, reveals that McCoy is carrying Spock's Kattra, or living spirit. Immediately, Kirk meets with Admiral Morrow to plead for permission to return to Genesis and rescue Spock. When permission is denied, Kirk & his crew steal the Enterprise and head for Genesis by now a quarantined planet. Unknown to them, the Klingons, led by the psychopathic Commander Kruge, are planning to steal the secrets of Genesis for their own twisted purpose. The Enterprise is crippled in a fight with the Klingon ship, and worse, the Klingons murder Kirk's son, who was among the science team that rescued Spock. Kirk eliminates the remaining Klingons by tricking them aboard the Enterprise and then blowing it up with the auto-destruct, then steals the Klingon Bird of Prey and heads for Vulcan for a ceremony to fuse Spock's body and Kattra.
Spock Need Brain!August 4, 2008 AMP(Somewhere on Earth) The Good Things *Lots of good special effects and action . Includes some really big epic scenes, such as the Enterprise self-destructing, and planet Genesis exploding. *Filming style is good. *Storyline is not bad. Includes lots of dramatic scenes and some good funny comedy. *Characters are not bad. They aren't as great as the last film, but they have their moments. *Writing is not bad; lots of good lines. *Music is good (practically the same themes as in the last film).
The Bad Things *Seems short, sweet, and simple. *Oh, did Kirk's son really have to die?
Although this film seems shorter and weaker, it is essential viewing for the series. It boasts some of the biggest action scenes, and has some very dramatic parts. Not to mention, a lot of funny parts too. It's definately a lot of fun.
The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has good quality, and contains a number of featurettes and trailers.
Leonard Nimoy, Now At Peace As Mr Spock, Spectacularly Directs Himself Back To Life--But In Bennett's and Meyer's Star TrekJune 25, 2008 K. O. Edwards(Helena, Montana) Given that I was essentially pushed into seeing "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" at the theater when it came out, when my son gave me this DVD set for Christmas in 2003 and we watched it together, I found that time, Leonard Nimoy's directing, Nimoy's commentary, and the extra features provided me with a more receptive frame of reference. More to the point, if I set aside the fact that this is not the Star Trek I love--Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek--and watch the film as a science fiction movie, I am able to "enjoy" the movie more. And it doesn't hurt that Christopher Lloyd plays the (now requisite villain in Harve Bennett's new vision of Star Trek), Klingon Commander Kruge.
Besides "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," I have watched "The Search for Spock" the most times. In the final analysis, I would say it is the best non-Gene Roddenberry Star Trek movie. (Please note that I am well aware of the fact that Paramount has "added" Gene Roddenberry's name to this and other Star Trek movies, but both Roddenberry and Bennett/Paramount openly state that Roddenberry's "involvement" was completely ignored). On the other hand, to the degree that Leonard Nimoy understands the character of Mr Spock as intended by Gene Roddenberry, I would argue that it is Leonard Nimoy's influence as the director--and uncredited writer--that is the force that makes "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" more tolerable and watchable. While I cannot say for sure, I suspect it is also due to Leonard Nimoy's direction and writing that all of the characters have well developed roles, which in turn led them to provide some better than usual performances.
Will I watch "Star Trek III - The Search for Spock (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)" again? Yes. Is it a great movie? No; but it is better than average.
Update--1 July 2008: If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.
A must have for any trekieJune 23, 2008 Antonio Gutierrez(Houston, TX USA) This movie is the exeption to the odd nnumber Startrek movie curse. If you see Startrek II The Wrath of Kahn, then you need to see this one to finish the entire storyline.
Search for Spock - he's ba-aack!June 20, 2008 Ophthodoc(Burlington, VT) Average followup to STII:Wrath of Khan. High points: Character development (every key character has something to do in this film), Leonard Nimoy. Low points: Comparatively weak storyline, a weak job by Christopher Lloyd (I guess I am just used to seeing him in the Back to the Future movies). Still worth having in your collection, though, if you like Star Trek.
"Your Name...Is Jim"June 9, 2008 Zachary Koenig(Fergus Falls, MN) During the three-series run of the Star Trek: The Original Series television show, First Officer Spock became one of the most intriguing characters on television. Despite a bit of initial misinterpretation about his character (some thought he was supposed to represent Satan because of his pointy ears!), viewers began to embrace the Vulcan's logical mind and ability to stay cool under pressure. Spock become the perfect antithesis to the emotionally-charged Captain Kirk.
Of course, after almost two decades of being associated exclusively with the "Spock" character, actor Leonard Nimoy decided he wanted a break from the character to try to avoid being typecast, hence Spock's emotional death scene at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Nimoy's "I Am Not Spock" days ended quite quickly, however, when he realized that either the typecasting had already occurred, or he missed reprising his most famous character.
As a result (and partially because the Star Trek writers had left an opening for Nimoy/Spock to return), the quest to re-integrate Spock into the Star Trek cannon comprises most of Star Trek II: The Search For Spock. Though the entire film is not as scriptually solid as the "Khan" effort (as Kirk's "family feud" with the Klingons is not fully resolved until later in the movie series), it makes up for it with the emotional punch of Spock's journey back to reality. The final scene, revolving around the tense and delicate Vulcan ritual that must be undertaken to revive Spock, will have emotional fans reaching for the tissue box. The final words will have you weeping (whether from joy or sadness I will not disclose).
To conclude, the third installment in the Star Trek movie cannon is an emotional journey that, while perhaps lacking an air-tight script, is still a great movie due to the emotional struggle of favorite character Spock. If you just finished the "Khan" movie, you will receive the emotional "finale" of that storyline in this film. The ending will also leave you wondering how the U.S.S. Enterprise crew will ever be able to "seek out new life and new civilizations".
