a review by Diane Doyle
to be published in Antares 17, April 2008

After seeing The Wrath of Khan which ended with the death of Spock, many people speculated that the title for its sequel would be In Search of Spock. Considering that Leonard Nimoy was the host of a documentary TV show titled In Search Of..., the most logical plot line would involve searching for a way to resurrect Spock from the dead.

The film opens where The Wrath of Khan leaves off. There is a flashback to Spock’s coffin being left on the Genesis planet. Doctor McCoy is acting oddly; he’s hanging out in Spock’s darkened quarters, quoting Spockian lines, and asking to be taken to Mount Selaya, a mountain on Vulcan. Kirk attributes it to depression and can sympathize as he and the rest of the crew feel the same way.

Sarek arrives on Earth and mind melds with Kirk to see if he has Spock’s katra, a Vulcan’s soul, in order to return it to Vulcan. Kirk would have been the logical recipient for it; however, the captain does not have the katra. Kirk plays back the ship’s log entries of the last minutes of Spock’s life and realizes that McCoy possesses Spock’s katra, which accounted for his strange behavior. Sarek asks that Kirk retrieve Spock’s body from the Genesis planet, return it to Vulcan so it can be reunited with his katra. Kirk reassembles his main crew to comply with Sarek’s request.

Much suspenseful action ensues. Kirk and his crew steal the Enterprise from dry dock and journey towards the Genesis planet. They discover the Genesis planet is degenerating as a result of rapid aging. They discover Spock reborn but he is aging rapidly along with the planet. They also discover that Klingons wish to capture the Genesis device, figuring that any device that can remake a planet would make a great weapon to be used against the Federation. Toward that aim, they destroy the U.S.S. Grissom, a Federation ship assigned to investigate the Genesis planet, killing all hands, except their assigned landing party. Many momentous events happen, including the death of Kirk’s son, David Marcus, at the hands of the Klingons, the destruction of the Enterprise; Kirk winning in hand-to-hand combat with the Klingon commander, Kruge; and finally hijacking the Klingon vessel to journey to Vulcan for the eventual reuniting of Spock’s body with his katra.

In addition to being extremely action-packed, the movie features interesting moments for several of the characters: McCoy in a bar trying to find a ship that can take him to Genesis, similar to the scenes in Star Wars where Luke Skywalker was trying to find a ship; a young officer ("Mister Adventure") ribbing Uhura about currently being stationed at Starfleet Headquarters; Sulu saying, "Don’t call me ‘Tiny’," to an extra large security guard who tries to stop him from freeing Doctor McCoy; and Scotty sabotaging the transwarp drive of the new advanced starship, Excelsior, that was ordered to stop the Enterprise.

The movie has a few negatives: Klingon villains are cartoonish. The climax of the movie is so close to end that there is almost no denouement.

Overall, The Search for Spock is an excellent movie, although not as good as its predecessor, The Wrath of Khan, or its successor, The Voyage Home. It is the one exception to the rule that odd numbered Star Trek movies are bad.

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