Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Is it possible that we were wrong all along about Shatner? This movie is evidence that, perhaps, he knew what he was doing all along. He directed this outing in addition to starring, and the results are surprising in their quality, especially when viewed (as here with this observer) for the first time. There's a certain amount of artfulness in this production that was lacking in the previous two efforts (directed, it's worth noting, by Nimoy). This one returned the franchise to a level more cinematic than its predecessor, and presented a pretty good story at the same time. The plot does have certain echoes of previous Trek stories--even going back to the original series--but that's almost to be expected at this point. Regardless, there's entertainment here, and enough comfort level with a set of "old friends" (who were getting older by the scene) that longtime fans can find pleasure while a new audience can appreciate the film on its own terms. If you're going to eventually be retired, it's good that you can do good work up till the end. This piece qualifies.

Star Trek Vi: The Voyage Home

Watching this again after so many years, it's hard to believe it was released as a major motion picture. Though well received at the time, it plays much more like a TV movie now, demonstrating just how hard it can be to make the jump from the little tube to the big screen. The cast, though increasingly long in the tooth, do a decent job with a good--albeit not exactly riveting--story. All in all, though, the proceedings as a whole come across as mundane. They really were better off sticking to space; take the stars out of the trek and everything becomes a little boring. Still, diehard fans--and no franchise's fans die harder--will probably find a lot of appeal in this outing. But it was clear at this point that it was time for new blood to take over the mission.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Appropriate that this movie is mostly about looking for a dead guy--it's a little stiff. One wonders what happened between the previous outing and this one; a lot of the good momentum from II dissipated here. The movie is largly lifeless and static, there are casting issues (with the supporting cast), and the story, for the most part, just doesn't have nearly enough urgency (or, frankly, interest) for the average viewer. Mostly, this outing was basically just a way to ensure that the titular fan favorite was not really dead going forward, thus setting up future efforts. And that, folks, is how you build a franchise...besides actually making decent movies, of course.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Right here. This is where it happened--where the whole Star Trek franchise passed its bottleneck and became a thing that had a major future in the entertainment world. And, upon re-viewing, it's easy to see how that went down. This movie is a large step up from the previous outing, especially in its story, script, and even its acting (even the notoriously hammy Shatner acquits himself well here). It still comes across as dated, especially in its look and tech conventions--the then state-of-the-art screen graphics are laughable now--but everything else works incredibly well. None of the successor movies made it up to this level, at least where the original cast was concerned, but the effect of this outing was enough to give the property momentum well into the next century. The 23rd century? That's to be determined--but a betting man would probably look at this evidence and conclude the whole enterprise will continue to live long, and prosper.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The galaxy gets attacked by Laserium. I hadn't seen this flick in about 40 years, so it was almost a fresh experience for me. Except, it wasn't all that fresh, because everything seemed so dated. I watched this outing as part of a project to review the entire Star Trek ouvre, and this followed directly on watching all of the original series, which seemed fresher and more inventive in contrast, even with its cheesier elements in place. There was a certain pleasure to be had in seeing those old cast members together and working their way through more of the old hokum, but it was the external details of this movie version of the story--disposable characters whom no one had any particular feeling for, lots of long, ponderous visuals (the sort of thing done better by near-contemporary films like Alien and Blade Runner--I guess they should have hired Ridley Scott to put this one together), and a partially recycled plot-line--that made the work not quite up to snuff. Still, one has to appreciate this movie as the kick-off point for the revival--even creation, in a sense--of a franchise that in the long run has been something extraordinary in the history of science fiction film and television. Few of the sci-fi works before or since the original series and its descendants have ever called upon humankind to follow the better angels of its nature more forcefully than Gene Roddenberry's vision. and a certain amount of gratitude must be felt for that.