So after Paramount says, "Ok, this will be the last Star Trek movie" three times, they decide to say it one more time. Well, it's obvious it wasn't. This one is considered the oddball of the series since it takes place in then current day 1986. We'll see how this factor affects the grading scale.
Now here's the story:
The film begins with a gigantic blobish probe thingy from outer space coming to Earth. It is blocking out the sun and sending out these weird transmissions that no computer can communicate with. Without the sun, Earth will die.
There is also a trial taking place on Earth about Kirk's betrayal to the Federation. The Klingon ambassador says that Kirk is a destroyer of peace, while Sarek, who conviniently shows up, says that he is innocent. The end factor will be decided later.
Meanwhile, Kirk and company hide out on Vulcan while their fates are being decided. Spock, who is fresh back from the dead, is relearning everything. He knows the people around him, but little knowledge is in his head otherwise. Saavik stays behind as the rest of the crew head off in the stolen Klingon Bird of Prey from the last movie.
The president of the Federation sends out a message to all ships telling about the probe, and Kirk recieves this. Also attached is the sound the probe is making. Spock runs it through the computer and finds out that it is similar to that of a whale call, actually from a humpback whale. But in this time in the future they are extinct. So they decide to go back in time and bring whales back to save Earth.
They manage to make it back to Earth to 1986. They land, hide the ship, and break up. Kirk and Spock will get the whales, Sulu, Scotty and Bones will get the transparent alluminum they need to case the whales, and Checkov and Uhura are off to get replacement for the crystal ore or something like that that powers the ship.
Kirk and Spock meet Dr. Gillian Taylor who works with the humpback whales. She tells a tourist group that at this time they are near extinction. Spock dives into the water and communicates with the whale for some reason or other, which makes Gillian curious about these two guys. She decides to have dinner with Kirk to learn more about him.
Checkov and Uhura find out the only way to get their power source is to sneak inside a nuclear powered boat in the harbor. Sulu learns how to pilot a helicopter, and Scotty and Bones give a technician the formula to transparent alluminum, which worries Bones in a sort of Back to the Future worrying about the chain-reaction that will destroy the entire universe! Well, not really, but he worries that changes in the past will affect the future.
Kirk tells a half-true story to Gillian about what he is actually doing there, and she half believes him but thinks its all foolish anyway. Checkov and Uhura, meanwhile, sneak aboard the boat. Uhura gets what they need, but Checkov is caught, interrogated, and puts up a chase. He falls onto the dock and suffers a sort of concussion of some sort. When the crew find out, they find out he is not expected to survive.
To save their friend, Kirk, Bones, and Gillian, who believes Kirk now since she learns the park with the whales has betrayed her by setting them free, go to the hospital Checkov is located. Bones heals him in a second after arguing with a doctor on how to operate on him, and they manage to escape.
The next step: get the whales. Unfortunately, Gillian sneaks onto the ship and is stuck with them. They go out to sea to get the whales but find out that whalers are just about to kill them. They scare the whalers by appearing right in front of them. Naturally, seeing a futuristic spaceship right in front of you in 1986 would be a little freaky. They get the whales aboard and go back to the future. Har har har.
Final step: release the whales and save Earth. Unfortunatley the Bird of Prey crashes right into the ocean and begins to sink. Kirk, Scotty and Gillian manage to get the whales free just before death takes the whole lot, and the whales talk with the probe, which flies off back into space.
Despite the fact that he just saved the world, Kirk is demoted from admiral to captain, but fortunately for him, he is assigned to a new version of the Enterprise. Sulu is assigned to the Excelsior though, and will not be joining them, and Gillian gets a job in life sciences. While the ship is new, Kirk, Spock, who through the film relearns his old ways, and the rest have the same old duties and responsibilities. Just the way it should be.
So now for the grades:
Acting: 8 out of 10. The Earth scenes in 1986 are quite comedic and these sci-fi actors do surprisingly well.
Entertainment: 9 out of 10. Great comedic moments and fantastic entertainment value.
Screenplay: 7 out of 10. A few question marks here and there with the probe, but the rest is great.
Directing: 6 out of 10. Leonard Nimoy, the actor who plays Spock, is back as director and star this time, but he has improved.
Technical Credits: 10 out of 10. I loved everything: cinematography, music, special effects.
Genre Fit: 5 out of 10. Seems to be more of a comedy than a sci-fi adventure, but its really your pick.
MPAA Rating: 10 out of 10. A perfect PG. Nothing too graphic or too light.
Stupid Scenes: 7 out of 10. A few comedic moments are just too cheesy, but most work.
Deeper Message: 9 out of 10. The whole fish out of water template works very well and sets up a whole lot about finding one's self or, in Spock's case, refinding one's self.
Beginning: 26 out of 30. Right away it starts off great.
Middle: 25 out of 30. Many entertaining scenes.
Ending: 27 out of 30. Pretty good ending.
Final Rating: 149/180 or 83%. An A-, tetering on a B+, but its still fine.
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