Star Trek - The Motion Picture (1979)
The human adventure is just beginning
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Stephen Collins, Persis Khambatta
Director: Robert Wise
Running Time: 136 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: u
Science Fiction
On DVD William Shatner reprises his classic role as James T Kirk, once captain of the starship Enterprise and now Admiral Kirk of Starfleet. Stuck with a desk job, Kirk dreams of being in command of a starship once more and adventuring through space. In the meantime, the latest incarnation of the Enterprise is in spacedock, being refitted with the latest technology.
When an ominous cloud-like alien entity of phenomenal size and speed is found to be heading directly for Earth, destroying everything in its path, Admiral Kirk must take command of the Enterprise once more in an attempt to save the world. Kirk takes along his old crew for the mission, as well as some new faces, and they set off at speed to intercept the cloud. But they don't have much time to solve the problem, and to do so they will have to discover the secret of the entity's origins.
This was the film that brought back Star Trek, more than a decade after the TV series disappeared. It is more like an episode drawn out to feature length than a movie screenplay. The holes are filled with too many big-budget special effects, and lots of long visual scenes, but these cannot conceal the fact that the plot is lacking and simply serve to render the film very slow in pace. After the film goes to great lengths to build up the threat posed by the entity, the ending is weak and rushed, leaving the viewer rather dissatisfied with the experience.
The Director's Edition DVD features enhanced visual effects and a new sound mix, and is a significant improvement over the original.
DVD Extras: Very nice to see such an extensive collection of extras on a pre-DVD-era film.
Extras: Commentary by director Robert Wise, special photographic effects director Douglas Trumbull, special effects supervisor John Dykstra, music composer Jerry Goldsmith and actor Stephen Collins, Text commentary by Michael Okuda, Retrospective documentaries with cast and crew interviews, Teaser trailer, Theatrical trailer, Director's Edition trailer, TV spots, Additional scenes from the 1979 theatrical version, Deleted scenes from the 1983 TV version, Storyboard archive, 'Enterprise' promo.
It's Got: Special effects that got an Oscar nomination then and hold up well now.
It Needs: More pace, more plot, and a much stronger ending.
Alternatives: Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan, Star Wars, Titan AE, Independence Day, Star Trek - DVD Movies Collection
Summary: Needless to say, this is a must-see for all Trekkers, however there is still decent family fun to be had from it and it hasn't aged too badly. It also serves as a good introduction to the sequels that have followed, most of which outclass this one.
Review by Andrea Chee
Review Date: 5th November 2003
External Links
Star Trek - The Motion Picture at the IMDB
