Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - Review

The Star Trek marathon continues with the third film in the Star Trek saga. I should mention too that I need one of my buddies with me while watching these films because if you're a "normie" like me, then you will be just a little lost with these original films. The JJ Abrams reboots are much easier to understand because of the mainstream appeal and target audience but for these original films, you should have a "trek" with you as your own personal guide. With that being said, let's get into Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. The title itself is a spoiler, isn't it? Right off the bat, the visual effects have improved and remind me a lot of Star Wars. Just replace a Star Destroyer with the USS Enterprise and you can tell that these effects look similar. Along with that, it has the classic Star Trek magic feel to it with the music and the Tomorrowland looking world. It gives you a great feeling of whimsy inside that not many other film franchises can do. What makes this entry different than the previous two is that this is probably the simplest plot. At no point was I asking, "What's happening". Sure, I had to ask who some people were or ask for some basic Star Trek facts, but I understood what the characters wanted, why they wanted it and what they were going to do to achieve it. However, this is Star Trek after all, so the way they go about getting what they desire comes with no visual excitement or any sense of urgency from the cast until maybe the last 30 minutes of the film for the climax. Nothing really happens until then. Now I know I said the same thing about the first film, but at least it was visually entertaining and the score carried it along. Here, based on the title and knowing even the slightest hint of what happens in future films, I basically knew what was going to happen and I was wanting the film just to hurry up and get it over with. It is still watchable, but I feel like if there could have been any more extra excitement added into the mix, this film could have been a great fun science fiction adventure. However, this film falls into the 'okay' pile for me. Glad I saw it and looking forward to the next entry in the series.