Coming back to our retro-rewatch series, after watching arguably the best Star Trek movie with the kids, next on the list, of course, was Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Because what do you do when your “final” movie turns out to be a massive blockbuster, but you killed off a major character in one of the greatest scenes in modern cinema? You figure out a way to resurrect him, obviously.
To my own recollection, Star Trek III is the mostly unloved middle child in a trilogy of excellent movies. It lacks the dramatic tension of Star Trek II, and the humor and fun of Star Trek IV. However, it’s a necessary component which sets up everything which comes after it. It also gets saddled with the “Odd Numbered Movie” category, where (most) of the mediocre Star Trek movies seem to reside.
That said, there are some great moments in the movie. Kirk’s reaction to the death of his son is one of Shatner’s great moments of acting. Christopher Lloyd as the Klingon commander, while not quite up to the scenery chewing standards of Ricardo Montalban, is still equal parts villainous and theatrical in his role. Both Uhura and Sulu get some rare excellent one-liners and big-screen time. The fiery demise of the Enterprise NCC-1701 is one of those shocking, dramatic moments that won’t be equaled in Star Trek for many years to come.
There’s a critic’s argument that claims a bunch of parallels between Christian theology and the death/rebirth of Spock. While I certainly can’t disagree that the parallels exist, I question strongly how intentional it was. If it intentional, then it certainly extends into the fourth movie (which we’ll get to next week).
Ultimately, Star Trek III feels like what it essentially is… a quickly written follow-up that bridged the gap into all future Star Trek movies and shows. It’s a perfectly average movie, which might even be a great movie in its own right, if it weren’t bookended by two excellent movies.