December 17, 2011

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock



Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, 1984. Two people sharing one brain need to recover a lost body... in Space! Directed by Leonard Nimoy. Written by Harve Bennett, based on a TV show by Gene Roddenberry. Starring William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Robin Curtis, Merritt Butrick & Christopher Lloyd.

Concept: 3/4 (Good). So, if I was going to pick a classic episode for a movie to emulate, "Spock's Brain" wouldn't exactly be my first choice. But negative associations aside, it's a pretty good concept.
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). Why are Klingons even in this movie? Because if you didn't have battles and fisticuffs, it would be too damn science fictiony, I guess. Okay, blowing up the Enterprise is pretty cool - but is it worth turning what could have been a unique psychological drama into a mediocre action vehicle?
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 1/4 (Bad)
Special effects/design: 1/4 (Bad). Most of the effects are excellent, but the entire climax of the film takes place on Planet Styrofoam.
Acting: 3/4 (Good). Shatner and Kelley are both surprisingly excellent. Curtis, however, is painful to watch. Who would have thought a movie could ever suffer from not having Kirstie Alley?
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). It's close to being a good movie. The script is quite nice, regardless of my pet peeve with the The Third Act Of All Films, Regardless Of Genre, Must Be An Action Sequence formula. If only that action sequence had been any good...
Objective Rating (Average): 2.1/4 (Okay)

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