LogFAQs > #969304669

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

I'm actually surprised they were allowed to make an explicitly comedic film. Good to touch on, at the time, current events.

Kirk showing responsibility for his actions is great, especially given how Wrath of Khan went. Justifiably heartbroken over how Spock still seems to not fully remember him. Picks up 80s attitudes remarkably quickly. That said, his confusion over things like exact change is golden.

Shatner seems to understate his acting right up until they time travel. After that, he's back to his usual, charming theatrical shenanigans. The stress over Spock swimming with the whale is especially great. His exclamation of "whales" when figuring out the plot seems to convey both Kirk and Shatner's disbelief.

A decent amount of time is devoted to Spock re-engaging his mind. It was a little disappointing to have him back in pure logic mode, having mostly forgotten his character development. I could mostly tolerate it in the show, but I expect a little more progression in a film series. Still, his deadpan nature gives him some of the best mannerisms and lines. Ripping his dressing gown for a headband, nerve pinching the rocker and the argument in the car are both truly fantastic, as is failing to fully get 80s vocabulary, but trying anyway. Glad that the near death of a friend reawakens his emotions. And that final message to his mother is perfect.

McCoy is genuinely delighted to have Spock back, which returns to annoyance when he realises he's back in pure logic mode. Felt the frustration over being unable to discuss the afterlife. That said, their relationship has only gotten more cordial. Gets some wonderful sarky lines over the time travel plot. Interesting that he seems to fit in to the 80s better than anyone. Might be a consequence of his being an old country doctor. Loved him calling out Scotty over liking his professor role too much and trying to help at the hospital.

Speaking of Scotty, it's delightful that the biggest barrier to figuring out the ship is learning Klingon. Didn't mention it last time, but Sulu is a badass. Takei's voice is mesmerising even when he's just reciting warp numbers. Being the most normal of the bunch, he fits in decently well with the 80s, too. And hes not the only one interested in the Excelsior. Uhura gets to do far more than be a one scene wonder (though it was a great scene). Pairing her with Chekov is absolutely brilliant. Chekov himself is bloody surreal, being a Russian asking an American for nukes during the cold war. The submarine and hospital scenes are a wonderful fiasco.

Sarek is his usual great self and Amanda had a pretty great scene. Do not agree with Saavik basically being told to fuck off. She absolutely should've been part of the main cast (ideally, with her original actor). The Klingon ambassador is kind of cool. Slightly more decent than other examples of his species. Don't reckon too much to the president. I guess he's decent.

Gillian is a bit of an Edith Keeler type. Better than the society she lives in and very much Kirk's dream woman. So, its fantastic that she avoids Keeler's fate and gets to arrive in the future.

The music is proper triumphant. Absolutely love it. The probe sort of has that planet killer vibe of being simultaneously simple and eldritch. It's noise is appropriately haunting. A lot of the Federation scenes are shot like horror/disaster movies, so, its impressive that it gels well with the more comedic rest of the film. And, then, there's a seamless transition back to apocalyptic. The designs of the many ships and other space bodies are beautiful. Vulcan is always shot gorgeously. The lighting truly is astounding. I haven't mentioned it up till now, but, much as I think the originals did an amazing job with less, I am loving just seeing the crew walking through the various ships now that we have a decent budget. Reminds me of the feeling I had when Red Dwarf came back and suddenly the ship actually felt like it was several kilometres long. Really like the apocalyptic scenes of Earth getting fucked. Probably the best part of the whole thing is simply the surreal sight of these colourful characters wandering about at the time modern Earth.

I almost welled up at Kirk becoming captain again, and, then, it nearly happened again upon seeing the new Enterprise.

The conservation theme is pretty obvious, so, there's not much to say, except that I fully agree. There's also how the probe is just as destructive to us, as we are to other creatures. Slightly more interesting to talk about is how it follows from the previous films. Given that a key theme of them was that Kirk and, by extension, the franchise, was growing old, after casting off and remaking the worst parts of the show, all that's left is to demonstrate what you can do. Turns out you can be relevant to the 80s, just like you were to the 60s. You can, in fact, continue to provide cautionary tales and hopeful idealism through Sci-fi allegories. And, above all, you can seamlessly turn the next big budget, darker, edgier, epic movie into a delightful comedy and have it work brilliantly. We even get a new Enterprise. Kirk getting his captaincy back is a metaphor for this renewal. He's feeling young and full of potential, again. And the franchise, even more so. So much so, that maybe a new series with a new cast is in order.

I'm actually astonished how these four films (more so, the latter three, but I'm not completely excluding The Motion Picture) has kept a continuous thematic arc.

It's an obvious summary but this really was a whale of a time.

Gonna be an Encounter at Farpoint for The Next Generation.