Star Trek III - The Search for Spock (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)

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I love anything Star Trek., 2010-04-11
Although most of the reviews I previously read do not rate this movie highly, I do. The movie plot provides a plausable reason for Spock's return. A return that I along with other fans greatly appreciated.

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marketing strategy aside, I'm happy with this DVD movie, 2010-02-01
I'm disappointed in not being able to find full screen versions of this without having to buy a set. This DVD being a collector's edition special features type 2-disc set doesn't thrill me. But I do like the movie, and wouldn't grouse like a spoiled little brat so much but I don't buy something like this hoping to turn it back into money later on as if I am investing for resale value. I intend to keep this DVD just like I kept my VHS cassettes until technology obsoleted them. If you're still reading this, if this is the first of the original Star Trek series movies you're going to buy, you might want to shop for the full set of six. Star Trek TOS has each of the following - The Motion Picture; The Wrath of Khan; The Search For Spock; The Voyage Home; The Final Frontier; and, The Undiscovered Country. Those six have the original 1960's cast as the main characters, and I have seen them in a complete set. A full set of all six would be cheaper and you souldn't have to have some of them in wide screen format and others in full screen format. They're being discontinued by the manufacturer so I suppose that means new technology will make me buy them all over again on the new format whatever that is. I just want to watch the movie and enjoy it with my mind having to pay attention without knowing all the special effects tricks and fakery. But yes, I'm happy I bought this DVD.

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Underrated, 2009-12-20
There is an unwritten law concerning the Star Trek movies. All the even numbered movies (2, 4, 6...) are good, and all the odd numbered movies (1, 3, 5...) are horrible. I bought into this, to a point. I completely agree with regard to Motion Picture and Final Frontier. However, I think that of the original six TOS movies, this one is exempt from the rule. I don't think it's quite as good as 4 or 6, or anywhere near as good as 2, but I thought it was pretty close. I think this movie is kind of put alongside 1 and 5 without any real thought put into it. It isn't quite as good as the even numbered ones, so it's considered horrible. br / br /The third movie in the series starts up a few days, or maybe a week after the events of part 2. Spock is dead, having sacrificed himself to save the ship. At the end of part 2, there was a sense of optimism. Spock is dead, but there is hope that the Genesis planet could possibly heal him. And Kirk has finally come to terms with the fact that he is getting old, and it not longer bothers him. At the start of this film, however, everyone appears to be depressed over Spock's death, while in the previous film they seemed to have come to terms with it. It's like they just decided to overrule what had happened in the previous movie. On that subject, David Marcus, Kirk's son, is staying behind to study the Genesis planet. For some reason, his mother, Carol Marcus, is entirely absent from this movie. I mean, she isn't even talked about. Her name isn't mentioned once. I don't really understand why she wouldn't have wanted to stay behind and study the world she helped create. For some unexplained reason, Saavik also stays behind. Kirstie Alley did not want to reprise her role, so her actress was replaced. I don't remember the new Saavik's name, but I couldn't stand her. She just so wooden and bland, even for a Vulcan. But she doesn't have as much screen time in this film, so it's okay. br / br /The Enterprise returns to Earth, where they find out that the Enterprise is no longer going to be used by Starfleet. Starfleet feels that Enterprise is too old and needs to make way for newer ships, like the new Excelsior. Something so one has ever pointed out, to my knowledge, is that this is roughly a week after Wrath of Khan. Why weren't they talking about dismantling the Enterprise in the last film? And why did they send Enterprise on a training cruise if they were planning on dismantling the ship anyway? Maybe they had been thinking about dismantling Enterprise for a while, and in light of the damage inflicted on the ship, they thought it would be too much trouble for them to repair the ship. Okay, fine, but it seems like a plot hole. As Kirk and his crew are mourning the death of Spock, Sarek, Spock's father arrives. He is angry at Kirk. He assumes Spock mind-melded with Kirk just before his death. It turns out that Vulcans can live on even after their body has been destroyed. They just have to transfer their brain to someone else's body. Then they have to have someone transfer their mind back to their own body, on Vulcan. It turns out that instead of Kirk, Spock actually melded with McCoy. So why didn't Spock explain that to Kirk right before he died? And why didn't McCoy start acting like Spock right away? That would have saved everyone a lot of time and energy. On the plus side though, it was pretty entertaining to see McCoy acting and talking like Spock. br / br /Kirk realizes he has to go back to Genesis and pick up Spock's body, then bring him back to Vulcan for the ritual. If he doesn't, any chance of saving Spock will be lost and McCoy will go insane. He asks the Starfleet commander for permission to return to Genesis. Starfleet refuses his request, saying that Spock coming back makes no sense, and that Genesis is under quarantine. Kirk disobeys his orders and he and the rest of the crew steal the Enteprise. The scene where they fly the ship out of the Starfleet hangar is probably my favorite scene in all of Star Trek. And the captain of Excelsior, the pursuing ship, is such an arrogant jerk that it makes you want them to escape even more. They leave earth and head for Genesis. br / br /They get there, only to find the ship David and Saavik and David were on has been destroyed by the Klingons. A Klingon bird of prey, captained by Doc Brown, wants Genesis. A short fight ensues between the two ships. Enterprise is crippled, and they lose power. Doc Brown has captured David and Saavik, along with a reborn Spock. However, Spock is now a young boy. He was regenerated by the planet, but brought back as a young boy. It also turns out that the planet is dying. David engineered it using proto-matter, an unstable element...or something. Spock is rapidly aging along with the planet. He is in a tremendous amount of pain. As a sign that he is serious, Doc Brown has David killed. Kirk pretends to surrenderr, and then he and his crew beam down to the planet just as most of the Klingon crew is beaming aboard Enterprise. Kirk has set the Enterprise to self-destruct, and in what is a great scene, the bulk of the Klingon crew are killed. Down on the planet, Kirk and crew kill the remaining Klingons and rescue Saavik and Spock. Kirk tricks Doc Brown into beaming down to Genesis. The two argue, Doc Brown demanding that Kirk tell him the secret of Genesis, and Kirk calling him an idiot, pointing out that the Genesis experiment is a failure. All the people who try to explain this to Doc kind of miss the point. Doc isn't interested in creating a planet from lifelessness. He wants Genesis for it's destructive power, like Khan did in the previous film. Having the planet destroy itself after Genesis changes it does not really matter to Doc. He wants Genesis as a weapon, nothing else. And whether Genesis can sustain life is irrelevent, as far as he's concerned. br / br /I have to say, Kruge is a pretty scary villian. He would have been better if he had been played by someone else. I'm not saying Christopher Lloys is a bad actor, he just wasn't the right actor to play this role. He's better at playing comical roles than evil villianous roles. So in a throwback to the old TV show, Kirk and Doc have a fight. Doc falls off a cliff to his death. Kirk tricks the remaining Klingon into beaming him up to the Klingon ship. Man, these Klingons are dumb. They leave for Vulcan just as the planet explodes. They perform the ceremony, and Spock and Bones are both saved. It will take some time for Spock to completely heal, but he is at least on the path to recovery. br / br /As I said before, I like this movie. I do not by into the odd-numbered Star Trek rule when it comes to this film. I don't think this is as good as most of the even-numbered movies, but I think it's pretty good and under-rated. I think too many people wanted it to be as good as Wrath of Khan, and in just about every way, it is just not as good. But I still like it. br /

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Has to be "that movie" sequel, 2009-11-07
Right away, I will say that out of 5 stars, I expected a 4 star movie, and I got a 4 star movie. br / br / br /Unfortunately, it suffers from being between two epics: An epic of comedy (The Voyage Home) and an epic of tragedy (Wrath of Khan) br / br / br /I pointed out in my (NEW) Wrath of Khan review that Wrath of Khan was about Kirk, and the "maturation" he suffers by Spock's death. Spock's death shows to Kirk for the first time that he is not invincible, and he has cheated death for so long, that the inevitable came, and did what Khan intended to do: hurt him and make him go on hurting: taking his closest friend from him. br / br / br /Unfortunately, you can't really continue the same Star Trek journeys without Spock. A brilliant writer/director likely could, but it would have to be a genuinely BRILLIANT writer/director, and even then some fans would still whine and complain about Spock. br / br / br /So they have to bring him back. br / br / br / br /To their credit, they did a very good job of bringing Spock back without making it seem like a cheap "I got better" asspull excuse to bring him back to life. The Genesis Planet brings Spock's body back to life, but without his mind, it is a nonsentient animal, confused and in pain, as it rapidly ages with the planet. Teen!Spock has sex with Saavik to sate his Pon Farr, and the Klingons finally return to try to steal the Genesis Project secrets from Kirk. br / br / br /Christopher Lloyd is magnificent as a Klingon. And in terms of effectiveness, I have to say he's in some way better than Khan. While Khan eventually caused Kirk to suffer the death of Spock, it was only after Khan had died, and indirect. Christopher Lloyd's Klingon is cold, calculating, cunning, and brutal. Such things he does and memorable lines include killing his gunner for accidentally destroying a Federation science vessel when he wanted it disabled because he wanted prisoners, or when he has Saavik and David prisoner on the Genesis Planet, he orders one of them killed, and says "I don't care which one". br / br / br /In fact, the Klingon seems to directly affect and hurt Kirk more than Khan did, at least in the short-term. While Khan swerved and screwed Kirk several times, Kirk was always smugly in control of the situation and was a step ahead of Khan. br / br / br /This is the first time in the film that a villain gives pause to Kirk, and seriously hurts him while being alive to do so. First, David is killed while struggling with a Klingon. This news hits Kirk so hard, he falls to the ground in shock and anguish. br / br / br /And then of course, the Klingons' attempts to take the Enterprise force him to have it self-destruct. Another hurt on him. br / br / br /But ultimately, because dollars and status quo and a great character's continuing adventures demand it, Spock must return. Spock's "Remember" mind-meld with McCoy becomes central in this film, as they take Spock's body just as it conveniently ages to Nimoy's current age, and bring it to Vulcan, to "extract" his "Katra" or soul or whatever from McCoy and return it to Spock. The ending is very touchingly heartwarming. br / br / br /But ultimately, because bluh bluh dee bluh mentioned above, Spock must return. And while the movie is decent enough, it loses some points for its severe mood whiplash from the previous film, and the seeming long-term "lesson" and its effects---that being Kirk is not infallible or invincible---being ended, as even though Kirk hurt with the loss of his friend, he got better, and got Spock back eventually anyway.

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Respectable middle movie of the trilogy, 2009-09-22
We already owned Star Trek II and IV and simply wanted to complete our collection of this particular trilogy by adding Star Trek III. br / br /The movie itself wasn't necessarily the wear-with-all but was none-the-less entertaining. br / br /The 2-disc DVD set, though purchased used, was in excellent condition and even had all the original print-material/offers, etc., on the inside.