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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

A science fiction & fantasy movie directed by Leonard Nimoy.

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Far-Fetched And Wonderful

May 15, 2007

by kfontenot

Rating:

The Star Trek franchise has taken its fans all over the galaxy. From its deepest unknown reaches with "Voyager" to the bridge of the "Gorkon," fans have seen plenty. The peculiar thing is that one of Trek's best tales takes place in late 80's San Francisco in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." After recovering Spock in "Star Trek III," the crew of the Enterprise find themselves as exiles in a Klingon vessel on Vulcan. When repairs to the damaged ship are completed, Kirk and company decide to return home to accept the penalties waiting for them for their numerous violations from the third Trek film. When they do decide to go home, a strange ship is spotted making its way to the Federation's headquarters in San Francisco. Everything in its path becomes inoperable, and it impending arrival on Earth spells certain doom for mankind. The ship is sending out a signal that cannot be decoded.....until Spock deciphers it as the vocalizations of a humpback whale which, as fate would have, are extinct in that particular age of humanity.

Desperate to save mankind, the crew of the Enterprise take their Klingon vessel back in time to San Francisco in the late 80's in order to recover a whale and bring it back with them to their present in hopes to save Earth. Can they do it? The only way to find out is to watch this wonderful film.

Directed by Leonard Nimoy (Spock), "Star Trek IV" is one of the best Trek films I've ever seen (and I've seen them all). The story is very far-fetched, even for Star Trek, but it works perfectly. There is a bit more humor injected into this tale than the other films, especially during the interactions with late 20th century humanity. The film does focus quite a bit on Kirk and Spock, but Scottie, Bones, and the rest of the gang have their own moments as well.

There are plenty of wonderful special features for folks who enjoy that type of thing. A wonderful text commentary, production gallery, and a "making of" documentary are nice, but my favorite special feature was the commentary from Nimoy and William Shatner.

Younger fans may cringe at a few of the special effects, especially those involving the cloaked Klingon ship, but this film was (thankfully) made at a time when films weren't all about special effects. The story is what drives this film, and it is an excellent one.

Highly recommended.

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More Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home reviews

review by kfontenot. September 10, 2010

posted in Where No Website Has Gone Before

Far-Fetched And Wonderful

Comments (1) Compliments (12)

review by Tom_Knapp. August 26, 2010

posted in Where No Website Has Gone Before

I wished we'd learned more about the "space whales" who sent the probe...

Within days of the release of Star Trek III, my brother and I had the plot for Star Trek IV completely plotted. With the destruction of the Enterprise during The Search for Spock, it seemed like getting the ship back would be a top priority. It occurred to me that the destruction scene showed only the primary hall burning up as the rest of the ship drifted into the Genesis planet's atmosphere. What if the secondary hall and warp nacelles survived and were captured by the Klingons, who have … more

Comments (1) Compliments (12)

review by TheJohn. July 26, 2009

posted in Where No Website Has Gone Before

I bet Paul Watson loves this movie

Don't tell me he wouldn't have photon torpedoed a few whaling ships. Last but not least on my Trek movie reviews is the one EVERYONE loves. Proof that funny talking foriegners to some are still funny, Leonard Nimoy smoked something evil when he thought of the plot and that mainstreaming your sci fi movies can rake in some major box office bucks. We'll address all of that in a minute, but first-the plot. Picking … more

Comments (3) Compliments (36)

Quick Tip by TheJohn. May 16, 2010

posted in Where No Website Has Gone Before

A Quick Tip by TheJohn

"The one with the whales" An absurd story that had to sound weird on paper is very entertaining on the screen. Always entertaining.

Comment Compliments (4)

Quick Tip by TheJohn. October 16, 2009

A Quick Tip by TheJohn

Yes, the "Save The Whales" Star Trek movie. A classic case of mainstreaming to make more money but it's entertaining regardless.

Comment Compliments (3)

review by Husher315. May 20, 2009

"Admiral! There be Whales Here!" "The Voyage Home" Timewarps onto Blu-ray!

The third movie (technically the fourth) in what has become known as the Star Trek Trilogy which include The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock, concludes on beautiful Blu-ray. This is the second time I have watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in a span of two months and while it is not one of my favorite Trek films, it has really come to grow on me. The film really comes to life on Blu-ray, having been completely digitally remastered and remixed with Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround. … more

Comments (3) Compliments (12)

review by FreeDom4. June 28, 2009

posted in Movie Hype

A Trek classic

Of all the Star Trek movies, this is probably one of the best and one of the few to make an impact with a wide audience (only Star Trek - First Contact compares). The plotline is funny, uplifting, and memorable. Having seen Humpback Whales in the wild, I also appreciate the movie's message - that in harming our environment, we are harming ourselves. With that said, Star Trek IV is tough to follow if you aren't at least somewhat familiar with the Trek universe. This movie especially … more

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review by KevinTRod. May 20, 2009

Whales? That's What This Is All About?

Of all the Star Trek movies out there, "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is easily the silliest and goofiest of all the Star Trek films. It's also one of the best. The movie resumes where the previous Star Trek film left off. Captain Kirk and his crew have just rescued Spock and destroyed the Enterprise after their deadly fight with the Klingons. They are all feeling worn out after the fight, particularly Kirk and Spock. Kirk because he lost his son in the previous film, and Spock because he feels … more

Comments (1) Compliments (1)

review by ssjakira1. February 28, 2004

Star Trek + Whales = what will they think of next?

Pros: Yay for Star Trek! Cons: Aww no big space battles or ships exploding. =P The Bottom Line: Save the whales - Star Trek style! Hey - why not? =P Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot. Just like with 12 Monkeys, I was flipping channels and landed on Star Trek the Next Generation. After that, however, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home came on. Now I'd seen bits and pieces before and knew something … more

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see all Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home reviews (8)

About the reviewer

Kendall Fontenot (kfontenot)
Ranked #19

Despite looking extremely cool, I have to admit that I'm a dork. I grew up on the outskirts of the small town of Oberlin, LA. I have since relocated to the Lake Charles, LA area.I love my home state … more

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About this movie

Wiki

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series. It completes the loose story trilogy started in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Leonard Nimoy directed as well as starred in The Voyage Home, which earned four Academy Award nominations, for Best Cinematography, Best Effects, Best Music and Best Sound. The original music score was composed by Leonard Rosenman, reusing some material from his earlier score to Ralph Bakshi's animated The Lord of the Rings

Widely considered the best movie in the "classicTrek" series of feature films,Star Trek IVreturns to one of the favorite themes of the original TV series--time travel--to bring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov from the 23rd century to present-day San Francisco. In their own time, the Starfleet heroes encounter an alien probe emitting a mysterious message--a message delivered in the song of the now-extinct Earth species of humpback whales. Failure to respond to the probe will result in Earth's destruction, so Kirk and company time-travel to 20th-century Earth--in their captured Klingon starship--to transport a humpback whale to the future in an effort to peacefully communicate with the alien probe. The plot sounds somewhat absurd in description, but as executed by returning director Leonard Nimoy, this turned out to be a crowd-pleasing adventure, filled with humor and lively...

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