Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis planet to recover Spock's body.

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek), Harve Bennett

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Capt. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scotty
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
George Takei	...	Sulu
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Robin Curtis	...	Saavik
Merritt Butrick	...	David
Phil Morris	...	Trainee Foster
Scott McGinnis	...	Mr. Adventure
Robert Hooks	...	Admiral Morrow
Carl Steven	...	Spock - age 9
Vadia Potenza	...	Spock - age 13
Stephen Manley	...	Spock - age 17

Storyline

In the wake of Spock's ultimate deed of sacrifice, Admiral Kirk and the Enterprise crew return to Earth for some essential repairs to their ship. When they arrive at Spacedock, they are shocked to discover that the Enterprise is to be decommissioned. Even worse, Dr. McCoy begins acting strangely and Scotty has been reassigned to another ship. Kirk is forced to steal back the Enterprise and head across space to the Genesis Planet to save Spock and bring him to Vulcan. Unknown to them, the Klingons are planning to steal the secrets of the Genesis Device for their own deadly purpose.

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Plot Keywords:

planet | sacrifice | regaining one's memory | dying planet | stabbed to death | 

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Taglines:

Join the search

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

StarTrek.com [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon Russian French

Release Date:

1 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek III: In Search of Spock

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,673,229, 3 June 1984

Gross USA:

$76,471,046

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Cinema Group Ventures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To keep the secrecy, the name "Spock" was never used in the movie script, but instead the alias "Nacluv" (spell it backwards) was used.

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Goofs

They totally redid the set for the inside of the turbolifts between this movie and the last one, so the turbolifts look completely different inside, meaning Scotty while attempting to repair the battle damage from the last movie apparently thought it necessary to make drastic changes to the inside of the turbolifts on the way back to space dock.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Spock's dying words, repeated from the previous film]
Captain Spock: Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many outweigh...
Kirk: ...the needs of the few.
Captain Spock: Or the one. I have been and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper.

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Crazy Credits

During the closing credits, they thank US Marine Corp/Twenty-Nine Palms, California.

It should have been spelled Marine Corps.

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Connections

Spoofed in To Boldly Flee (2012)

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Soundtracks

I Remember You
by Johnny Mercer & Victor Schertzinger

User Reviews

The weakest of the "trilogy."

3.5 out of 10

Star Trek III, naturally entitled The Search for Spock, should have been an exhilarating adventure that lauded the bonds of friendship and honor, but instead, it comes off as a hokey, boring journey lacking in imagination and exciting conflict. Even the movie's key scene, the destruction of the Enterprise, is delivered in ho-hum fashion.

It turns out Spock is still alive, mind-melded into the doctor's body while his own physical state is currently regenerating on the planet Genesis (why Spock would do this without knowing his body would be regenerated is pretty harsh, considering the schizoid mental problems McCoy begins to suffer from). Thus, Kirk disobeys his superiors, hijacks the Enterprise, and goes on a quest to mend Spock's body and mind together.

Highlighting the movie's biggest flaw is the horribly unconvincing soundstage that represents Genesis. Most of the visual effects are quite good, but any scene set on that planet's surface throws all "reality" out the window. The film also moves at a painfully slow pace, never delivering much in the way of taut suspense, and the plot fails to conjure up any intriguing ideas or surprises. This Trek was a necessary installment, and at least the follow-up, The Voyage was superior, but this is one movie that's hard to plod through, and I'm a Trek fan.