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.
