--The Sci-Fi Guy
Disclaimer: My reviews will contain many spoilers (and, as a result, this disclaimer). So if you don't wish to be spoiled, be sure and watch the movie before reading my review.
It's really no secret that I'm a huge Trekkie. Unless you don't know me, in which case don't mind the empty bag and the feline happily prancing around. I fell in love with Star Trek during The Next Generation, their sixth season. I saw my first episode, loved it, and was hooked ever since. Being that I was born in the early 80's, I really didn't grow up with the original Star Trek series. So this review is from the eyes of a relative newcomer to the franchise, albeit one that's been with the franchise for about seventeen years now. Let me briefly set the stage for you.
The original Star Trek series aired for three seasons, from 1966 to 1969. Although the show was canceled (twice -- it was revived after fans wrote in and saved the show when it was canceled after its second season), it still had a very strong cult following. After a few years off the air, an animated series was developed and ran for two seasons, 1973-1974. Then a new television series, titled Star Trek: Phase II, was being developed but would be canceled before seeing the light of day when Paramount's Television Service folded.
So after the success of movies such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars (movies which I'll most likely review at some point), and after having been off the air (or in syndication, but no new episodes being produced) for five years, fans finally got what they had been waiting for. A brand-spanking-new Star Trek adventure, and one on the big screen, at that. Would it live up to fans' expectations?.....the short answer is no. But they were happy to have new Trek, and it's still a good movie on its own. For the long answer, read on.
Plot
Since Star Trek: Phase II had been canceled, the writers actually rushed to turn the pilot episode (titled "In Thy Image") into a feature film. (Other scripts written for Star Trek: Phase II made their way into episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.) This is where many people, fans and non-fans alike, really feel that the film falls flat. Now don't get me wrong. At its heart is a very Star Trek story. But it feels like a rehash of certain episodes of Star Trek ("The Changeling," in particular). There are spoilers ahead.
Earth finds itself threatened by a large entity that calls itself V'ger. On its way to Earth it wreaks havoc in its path, decimating three Klingon Birds-of Prey and a Federation starbase, amongst other things. The Enterprise, now under the command of Captain Willard Decker, is ordered to intercept this new threat. Being the only ship in range (how many times have we heard that one before?), the ship is ordered to launch ahead of schedule and to rush finishing the refit. James Kirk (now promoted to admiral), convinces Starfleet brass to give him command of the Enterprise for this mission. Kirk, subsequently, convinces Starfleet to "draft" Dr. McCoy, and Spock (who has been on Vulcan going through the Kohlinahr ritual to purge himself of all remaining emotions) meets the ship en route to V'ger.
That's basically the whole gist of the movie. While it's not the most in-depth plot, there are some very stunning visual effects (and I would recommend you get The Director's Edition, which has been remastered and the special effects look even more impressive). While the effects are archaic by today's standards, they were way ahead of the time for 1979. Star Trek has always been known for pushing the boundaries of special effects, among other boundaries. So there are some pretty slow sections during the course of the film that's basically there to simply show off the impressive special effects. There's a slow trip around the Enterprise by Scotty and Kirk, which I'm pretty sure was also kind of a nod to the fans. Kind of a "welcome back," if you will. Then there are some parts of the movie while the ship is inside V'ger that takes a while to get through, but again the effects look great.
In the course of the film the crew makes a startling discovery. V'ger is actually the Voyager 6 probe, a fictional member of the Voyager series which were sent to explore the farthest reaches of the solar system and beyond. Voyager 6 was pulled into a black hole and presumed lost, but as the crew have now discovered it emerged somewhere on the far side of the galaxy and encountered a race of living machines. They discovered Voyager 6 had a mission, to learn all that was knowable and return the information to its creator. The living machines constructed a spacecraft for the probe and sent it back to Earth. On the way, the probe had amassed so much knowledge that it had attained sentience. Finally on the verge of completing its mission, it gives Earth an ultimatum: bring the creator to V'ger so that V'ger and its creator can "merge," or it will destroy all carbon-based life on the planet.
The film is short on action, and is very cerebral. It almost reminds me of the first pilot episode, "The Cage." That episode was deemed "too cerebral," but Gene Roddenberry was given the rare opportunity of filming another pilot for the series. In the same vein, this movie was almost the "pilot episode" of the films, and just like "The Cage" was too cerebral for the tastes of the fans spawning another pilot, the next movie was filmed much heavier on action. They wanted what they had come to know from Star Trek: an intelligent story with plenty of action.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by the late Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004), who composed much of the music for the Star Trek films, and some of the music for the series'. He was an accomplished composer and aside from Star Trek, composed music for a plethora of other films and television shows. The opening theme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture would later be re-used for Star Trek: The Next Generation.
One thing in particular I noticed about the music Mr. Goldsmith composed is that it's completely natural for the events transpiring in the movie. Oftentimes, I'd be watching the movie completely unaware of the soundtrack as if it's just supposed to be there. It would have been noticeable had it not been there. Everything from the triumphant re-introduction of the Starship Enterprise to building up the suspense upon entry of V'ger, and traveling further inside the living machine. If you feel the movie drags on a bit in places, just sit back and enjoy the wonderful orchestral soundtrack.
Ethics
There are a few themes running through this film. One is Kirk's obsession with the Enterprise. He let himself get promoted to admiral (a fact he would later bemoan to Picard in Star Trek: Generations). Yet he can't let it go that someone else is commanding his beloved ship. He once told Decker that he hopes he has the opportunity to command another ship someday. McCoy points out to Kirk that he's obsessed with the Enterprise, and that he went to a lot of trouble to get her back. However, there's no real resolution to this problem because his obsession actually works out in the end. Decker takes the place of V'ger's creator and "melds" with it, thereby leaving the ship without a captain. Kirk is all too happy to take over.
Another theme turns up in a few places in Star Trek. V'ger and its probe keep saying that the crew and other carbon-based lifeforms are "not true lifeforms." This seems to be a clever juxtaposition of humans who misunderstand androids. Data has to convince a Federation jury that he's sentient in "The Measure of a Man" (TNG). But in this case, rather than deciding the fate of an android, it's mechanical lifeforms who disregard carbon-based lifeforms (i.e. humans) as not truly alive. This is a great way to foster understanding of this dilemma, especially to those of us who have never had to go through it. Kirk and Decker finally convince V'ger that carbon-based lifeforms are true lifeforms by showing V'ger that its creator was, in fact, a carbon-based lifeform.
Finally, V'ger has a crisis of identity. V'ger, upon its return to Earth, has a very important question for its creator. "Is this all there is?" Not necessarily what its purpose in life is, because it knows its purpose and has, in fact, fulfilled it. But what else is there? Even Spock mentions that we, as humanoid lifeforms, can see beyond the physical realm and can make leaps of faith that can't be proven logically. V'ger has to join with its creator to have a new purpose for existing.
Characters
While the original series had six main characters in season one, and seven in seasons two and three, three characters have always been at the forefront of the show: James Kirk (played by William Shatner), Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), and Leonard McCoy (played by the late DeForest Kelley). One reason this film suffers is because the trio isn't even together again until a good way into the movie. This is necessary, of course, because after being off the air for five years they had to find a way to bring the crew back together. But even while together, there was really none of the chemistry of the three from the series. Spock and McCoy didn't verbally spar with each other. Now granted, this could probably be explained away by the gravity of the situation, but that's just it. There's very little humor in the film to get us through the heaviness of it.
The other supporting characters are there: Nyota Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols), Hikaru Sulu (played by George Takei), Montgomery Scott (played by the late James Doohan), and Pavel Chekov (played by Walter Koenig). The problem here is there's absolutely no character development for any of them. They're all there on the Enterprise from the start, so apparently they've all stayed with the ship for the past five years. All of their dialog is geared towards being supporting characters.
There's also Captain Willard Decker (played by Stephen Collins, known for playing Eric Camden in 7th Heaven -- and for trivia buffs, Catherine Hicks, who plays his wife Annie Camden, starred in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as Dr. Gillian Taylor), and Lieutenant Ilia (played by Persis Khambatta). Little to nothing is revealed about these characters other than the fact that Decker was once stationed on the Deltan homeworld and knew Ilia, and that Ilia's vow of celibacy is on file. While her vow of celibacy is never expanded upon, various deleted scenes make reference to it. Keeping this to a family-friendly review, I won't expound on exactly why Deltans in Starfleet are required to take an oath of celibacy, but if you're really that curious about it the information isn't that hard to find.
Overview
So those are the high points of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Again, it was the movie the fans were waiting for but not necessarily the one they wanted. The Powers-That-Be would greatly make up for it with the sequel, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which is largely hailed as one of the greatest movie sequels ever (which are usually worse than the original). However, I can't help but wonder if Star Trek II is hailed as such a great sequel because Star Trek: The Motion Picture is seen as such a lackluster movie. Sequels tend to be worse than the original because they have a hard act to follow. That wasn't the case here. And it's unfortunate, because the movie was actually rushed to be finished and meet its deadline. Also, the director, Robert Wise, was never satisfied with the final product. Thankfully, they churned out a great sequel, which I'll review next.
So again, the movie's not terrible. I wouldn't even call it bad. There are some great things about Star Trek: The Motion Picture. As I noted earlier, I'd recommend finding The Director's Edition. And join me as I review the rest of the movies in the Star Trek saga, and then branch out to other science fiction movies, classic and modern. I'll try to church out the Star Trek reviews as quickly as possible, but then I'll probably limit my reviews to once a week. The greatest thing about science fiction is not just the storytelling and how it gets our imagination going, but the very fact that it can teach us something about ourselves. Let's continue on...for the human adventure is just beginning.
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