While Epinions was down doing updates recently, I found myself bored and flipping through some channels looking for something to watch. I happened upon Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Although I have seen the movie many times, and really have no idea why I do not own it yet, I was absolutely thrilled to watch it yet again!

The Story
In this installment of the Star Trek movies, the crew is heading back to earth in a Klingon Bird Of Prey. The Enterprise was destroyed in the process of rescuing Spock in the previous movie (called Star Trek III: The Search For Spock) and the crew commandeered a Klingon ship in the process. As is usually the case with Captain/Admiral James T. Kirk and crew, many rules were broken and orders disobeyed so the group is headed back to Earth to face the music.

Before getting anywhere close to Earth, the crew receives a communication indicating there is a powerful alien ship or probe in the planets orbit that is sending out a strange signal . It is extremely powerful and is draining all power from any ship or star-base it has encountered, in addition to causing massive storms to build up on earth. These storms are completely blocking out the sun and threatening all life on the planet. Time for Kirk and company to come to the rescue yet again.

After a quick analysis of the signal, Spock figures out that the signal is directed at Humpback Whales in the Earth's oceans, which of course have been extinct for hundreds of years. So the crew slingshots around the Sun to go back in time, back to 1986 to find some Humpbacks and bring them back to save the planet. Then the fun begins!

Although I'm not a big fan of time travel in just about any movie or television series, it does work not bad in this movie. It is time travel so naturally you can't escape all the problems that will be associated with a plot that involves it, but the movie does a good job with dealing with these problems. Not like it's the most unreal thing the crew has ever done either, but it sure makes the tops the list.

I do find it quite amusing that time travel ends up being the best and only option for the crew to save the Earth, and I still generally don't like seeing it. The upside is it does make for plenty of laughs and excitement in this case.

Even more amusing is how the crew goes about the time travel - they do it in a Klingon Bird Of Prey with a cloaking device intact, which ends up coming in very handy! It would probably be very difficult to hide a star ship in our time, so a cloaking device quickly solves the problem. The only other option would have been to just reveal the ship - not a good idea with the possibility of widespread shock, history changes, and even more holes in the plot to go along with it. But I'm sure the writers would have come up with more clever ways to get around most of those problems if they had taken that route.

The Cast
The leader of the crew is, as usual, Captain/Admiral James T. Kirk played by William Shatner. I know a lot of Star Trek fans of various sorts really can't stand the guy, and I admit he can be quite obnoxious at times, but he puts on a most excellent performance this time around. Of course it does help that he has a great cast around him.

Second in command and almost always at Kirk’s side is Spock (Leonard Nimoy). If there is one thing you can rely on in any Star Trek movie involving Spock, it's plenty of insightful and logical comments. And he doesn’t disappoint in this one. The person with the usually tense relationship with Spock is Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley). McCoy can always be counted on for his sarcastic remarks and his amusing analysis or observations of situations.

My favorite member of the crew, Scotty, is played by James Doohan. Not only is he very funny as usual and entertaining in this movie, he just seems like a kind and cool type of person to me. One of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes I ever saw also involved him, titled Relics (1987).

Rounding out the crew are Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), Pavel Andreievich Chekov (Walter Koenig), and Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). They all do an excellent job in the movie, probably highlighted by Chekov and Uhura infiltrating a U.S. Warship. It was very entertaining!

Final Remarks
For a movie released in 1986, the special effects really hold up quite well around the very entertaining story and excellent cast. The only thing that almost bothered me about it was the use of time travel in the plot. I'm really not a big fan of any sort of time travel, but it did result in a quality movie in this case with a great message thrown in.

I have been a big Star Trek fan for a long time, but this movie is a really special one to me because I am such a huge animal lover. The message that results from the movie is the importance of saving and protecting endangered wildlife species. For this reason alone, I believe the movie deserves 5 stars.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older