There is a common thought amongst STAR TREK fans of the original movies, six in total between 1979 and 1991, that the even number films, THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982), THE VOYAGE HOME (1986) and THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991) are the best of the bunch. STAR TREK – THE MOTION PICTURE (1979) was a big-budget attempt to cash in on STAR WARS’ success, but was heavily criticised for not maintaining the essence and spirit of the classic 1960s series and THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989) lacked the oomph due to budget issues and a poor storyline.
It was the fourth outing, THE VOYAGE HOME, that become one of the best loved of this first phase of movies and even more successful than those before, simply because you didn’t need to have seen anything that had come before and could enjoy it on its’ own terms.
That it utilised a time-travel idea so successfully a year after one of the biggest hits of the type, BACK TO THE FUTURE, sent Michael J Fox into the mega-star bracket.
It is also proof that with the right touch of humour and imagination, any type of story can be retold in a different way.
The crew of the Enterprise are facing court martial on Earth for their unwarranted acts in rescuing Spock from the doomed Genesis planet in THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK and agree to return home in their Klingon Bird of Prey. However, as they approach Earth, they learn of an alien probe which is sending out a signal to the oceans and in the process of destroying Earth whilst rendering all technology and spacecraft useless.
The probe signal appears to be that of the now-extinct hump back whales, which prompt Kirk and co to time travel back to the late 20th Century San Francisco to locate a couple of whales with the view to returning them in their ship and try and save Earth.
However, when they arrive, not only do they have to contend with trying to acquire the whales, but also to convince the present day San Francisco of 1986 that they are for real….
Directed by Leonard Nimoy, who helmed two STAR TREKs, THE VOYAGE HOME is by far one of the fun entries in the series, which up until then had had villains in the form of Khan (Ricardo Montalban) in THE WRATH OF KHAN) and the Klingons led by Commander Kruge (Christopher Lloyd, pre-BACK TO THE FUTURE).
Much of the fun is watching the Enterprise team attempting to deal with city life, as well as demonstrating a more futuristic mindset (some knowing moments of past meeting the future are well orchestrated thanks to a well-written script)