Star Trek: The Motion Picture
"Mr. Scott, an alien object of unbelievable destructive power is less than two days away from this planet. The only starship in interception range is the Enterprise. Ready or not, she launches in twelve hours." - Kirk
release year: 1979
genre: science fiction
viewing setting: home DVD 6/27/22 and 11/6/15 and 9/6/13 and 8/8/09 and 7/30/06
synopsis: Admiral Kirk comes out of retirement to take a refitted Enterprise and save Earth from a mysterious, powerful alien energy cloud.
impressions: Obviously, this movie was really for fans of the 1960s TV show, so I'll assume you know all about it and its characters. The movie was rated "G" but it was basically okay. There weren't a lot of aliens or starship combat, but rather the things that marked the better moments from the show: science fiction, exploring the unknown, and humans working together to overcome superior power and bad odds. A note about the special effects: they were top-notch, and stand the test of time compared to all the computer-generated stuff we see 25+ years later.
something this movie has that no other movie has: A bald female navigator.
acting: All of the main cast reprise their roles well. The new people (Stephen Collins as the reluctant first officer, Persis Khambatta as the bald alien navigator) do good jobs as well.
final word: A good, two-plus hour episode of Star Trek.
back to the main review page