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DVD : Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition) |
- A Comedic GeniusThough Star Trek: The Original Series is probably best known for its diverse cast of characters and mind-bending storylines, many fans of the show consider the comedic-style episodes of the show to be paramount to all others, as they allow the main characters to emote in non-formulaic fashions (remember Sulu brandishing a rapier, Spock hanging from a tree, or the Easter bunny in "Shore Leave"?).
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a throwback to that style of episode. The film is bookended by moments of seriousness (which keep the film from falling too far outside the Star Trek cannon), but the meat of the story is hilarity all around!
The movie begins with the U.S.S. Enterprise crew heading back home (in a Romulan warship) to face the criminal charges stemming from Captain Kirk's decision to destroy the Enterprise. On the way back to Starfleet, however, the crew finds that the world is in great peril and set off back in time (to twentieth-century San Francisco) to make things right.
While in Frisco, the chaos (and hilarity!) begins. Whether it is Kirk and Spock trying to fit in among the locals, Scotty deciphering old computer technology, or Chekhov trying to find his "nuclear wessels", non-stop laughs abound.
When the Enterprise crew finally does return to Starfleet, the scene that follows is one of the most uplifting moments in the entire Star Trek cannon, effectively ending the Star Trek II-IV movie "trilogy" and giving the show new life in the future.
To conclude, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a rousing film filled with non-stop laughs. Though not as serious as all the other "Original Series" films, this movie has been embraced more than any other for its ability to lampoon both present and future cultures alike. If you just finished watching Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and are not in the mood for any more gut-wrenching scenes, this is the breathe of fresh air you need!
Rating:
- Not Even Close to as Good as I RememberedI've been re-watching the classic Star Trek trilogy that includes The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home. This period was, in my opinion, the pinnacle of the Star Trek franchise and of the three I probably had the fondest memories of The Voyage Home argued by many fans to be the best of all the films. Well, after seeing it again I have confess that it has not aged well. Not at all.
To start with the plot is absurd and I have to give major credit to Leonard Nimoy for turning the script into even a half way decent movie. On the other hand Nimoy is the likely culprit for the painfully saccharine sweet feel of the movie. The Voyage Home is without a doubt the most in your face preachy movie in the series. In some ways it reminds me of the tragic Superman IV where Christopher Reeves blackmailed the producers into allowing him to make a message movie. It seems as if actors as directors sometimes forget that the primary reason for movies is entertainment. In the end it's the ham-handedness of the delivery that spoils the message. After The Voyage Home Nimoy went on to direct the mega-hit Three Men and a Baby and then his directorial career just seemed to fizzle out. It's hard to imagine how the director of the biggest grossing movie of 1987 could fall so quickly but maybe there's a limit to just how much heartwarming an audience can take before it turns into heartburn.
The biggest strength of the film is also its biggest weakness. Moving the crew of the Enterprise to the 1980's gave the film tremendous opportunities for humor and The Voyage Home is undoubtedly the funniest of the Star Trek films. On the other hand the film is extremely dated and suffers mightily because of it. After the humorousness of seeing the Enterprise crew wander 1986 San Francisco in full Starfleet uniform wears off it feels a tad goofy.
The last issue that really hurt the film for me is the glaring plot holes. Having the Klingon vessel be capable of time travel at will seems like something that would throw off the entire dynamics of the series. Yes, I realize that the Star Trek crew has traveled back in time in the television series but in movies I think you need to be a bit more diligent. They made mention of trying to avoid influencing the future but proceeded to do things that would undoubtedly have profound effects. At one point Scotty gives away the formula for "transparent aluminum" prompting McCoy to point out that they are probably altering the future. Scotty quips, "How do we know he [the man he gave the formula to] wasn't the inventor" It's a funny line but absurd and hurts the film. In another scene Spock shows concern that Kirk is pawning the glasses McCoy gave him for his birthday. Kirk implies that somehow since they are in the past he will get the glasses as a birthday gift again. It doesn't make any sense. These kinds of things have the feel of lazy scripting used to set up jokes.
Perhaps the most obvious example of how overly cutesy the movie is is the song that plays out the final scene. It sounds like something from a Christmas movie not a Star Trek movie. The films running time is less than two hours but man did it feel longer. It was most disappointing that something I loved from my youth turned out to be not nearly as good as I remembered. What keeps the film decent is the wonderful interactions of the main characters but for me it wasn't nearly enough to offset the films defects.
Rating:
- Admiral There Be Whales Here!!!!Star Trek IV picks up where Star Trek III left off. The crew of the Enterprise(which was intentionally self destructed to trick the Klingons in Trek III)return (in one of the greatest if not the greatest Trek films ever created)to face the crimes for which they were accused of in Trek III. On their way to Earth to face the charges they are sent a message from Starfleet Command warning them to stay away because the transmissions from a probe are destroying the earth. When Kirk and crew learn about this and discover the transmissions themselves Spock picks up on the idea that the transmissions may be meant for a lifeform other than humans. Turns out hes right. The sounds from the probe are the songs of humpback whales. Only one problem: The last of the humpback whales existed back in the late 1980s. So Kirk and crew travel back in time in their beat up Klingon vessel to 1986 San Fransisco where they try to integrate themselves into their society and pick up two humpback whales named George and Gracie and return them to future earth hoping they can talk to this probe and send it on its way. So if youre a Trek fan this one is highly recommended by me but you dont have to be a Trek fan to enjoy this movie!!
Rating:
- Not just a Star Trek fan; I am a fan of this line of DVDs.Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
Simply, for my money, this is the best movie done exclusively by the Star Trek - TOS group. Adventure, social commentary of the 1980's (it is getting a little dated but holds up well). Some may not like the preachy attitude as well. The movie is just the start, all kinds of special features that will keep you entertained and informed. My personal favorite was the text commentary, as it is in all of the movies that I have in the Star Trek (Two Disc Special Collecters edition).
Rating:
- Great Movie. Substandard Picture/Poor TransferYou'd think that after a bare bones edition release several years ago this 'Special Edition' would be a definite upgrade.
Bar the 2nd Disc which makes it a good Special Edition extras wise this package suffers:-
The DVD picture is marred with film dirt, specs, blemishes and is as grainy in scenes. TBH it's like watching a Pirate copy.
Put this on my 84" Projector after watching 2 Indiana Jones movies also 'Paramount' 2003 released titles and boy the difference was day and night.
The Indiana Jones movies were the next best thing to High Definition until we actually get HD DVD releases or Blu Ray.
Why they couldn't give their much loved Star Trek franchise this treatment I don't know.
Star Trek V suffers from the same problem picture wise and also isn't framed correctly. 2, 3 and 6 are acceptable. I don't know about 1 as I never liked that one and give it a miss.
In a nutshell be careful if you're to fork out on a whole set either bundled or seperately of these current Star Trek Movie Special Editions as they are. You may even be double dipping for the 2nd S.E. disc hoping that the Feature itself has a Picture and Audio boost.
I've just bought 2,3,4,5 and 6 and I'm raging at the lacklustre Picture quality on the whole.
Shame on you Paramount for being lazy and providing low quality DVD for such a high quality franchise.
Get your finger out and upgrade these now both new SD and HD releases should be forthcoming soon IMHO and long over due!!
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