And the return of Spock is here! I'm glad the movie took the whole runtime to bring back Spock instead of just shoving him back at the start of the film. I thought this movie was fun but a little stale at times, especially with regards to the villain who just felt shoehorned into the movie with not much thought. Anyways, another enjoyable Star Trek film and can't wait for 4!!! Thanks for watching! Have a great day! :)
No spoilers, but some canon stuff a Kelvin-timeline fan might not have picked up: -Pon Farr is basically the Vulcan male sex cycle. They have to either have sex or receive some other kind of hormonal rush or the chemical imbalance will kill them. So it is implied Spock mated with Savik. These plot points come from the Star Trek Season 2 premiere “Amok Time.” -Also a part of “Amok Time” is that Kirk’s feelings for Spock are a little bit closer than friends-although without the sexual tension of “lovers.” In “Amok Time,” Kirk and Spock are framed as an alternate love triangle-Kirk disobeys orders in order to bring Spock to Vulcan. This in turn justifies why Kirk would sacrifice everything, including his own family for Spock. The dynamic between the characters is that Kirk loves Spock, in the Classical Greek sense of the term. (Although in Ancient Greece, there was a sexual dimension to male-male love as well.) This is an element of William Shatner’s acting that has continued in roles such as Denny Crane in the hit TV show “Boston Legal.” It most likely derives from Shatner’s early career in Classical and Shakespearean theater-where these kind of relationships are common. -Leonard Nimoy directed the film in part because of the actor’s experience as a still photographer. Hence why much of the action is toned down in Star Trek III. Nimoy did not have much experience shooting film or tv before this film. Nimoy would go on to have a successful career as a still photographer in parallel to his acting career as Spock. -James Horner as Composer was known for Wagnerian theory in his soundtrack, using operatic motifs to communicate plot and character in different scenes. However, incorporating motifs and instruments from folk and indigenous music was also common in later Horner soundtracks-Dances with Wolves, Titanic, Avatar. To my recollection, the soundtrack on the Vulcan homeworld is the first instance of Horner incorporating non-traditional percussive instruments into one of his film scores.
This might be the perfect time for you to watch the 1983 fantasy film Krull (It has Hagrid!). James Horner did the score for that between Khan and Spock and you can see that it's all the same music. Like, Krull isn't copying, it's just that it was all being written at the same time (and there is a scene or 2 in Krull where, to me, there is a bit of the ST2 Nebula music).
Hey there:) I'm so glad you took on the original Star Trek films. I grew up with Star Trek (esp. the 60ies series, The Next Generation, etc.) and still feel like a true trekkie after all these years. I think JJ Abrams did a great job with the 2009 and 2013 movies (the third one was a bit a failure in my opinion), because that's what Star Trek needed : a comtemporary reboot with heart, very well done and the right spirit. BUT: There are certain serious qualities to the older movies which are unmatched till today. The chemistry between the characters, the craftmanship, the writing and of course the epic, unique score. Still one of my favourites among my top 10 film scores. Have a look at the documentary "For the love of Spock", directed by Nimoy's son. It's really worth it, very interesting and touching. (Especially for a Spock fan like you ;-).. I'm looking forward to your other reactions to the following Trek movies. Need any hint or info on Star Trek - just ask ;-) Great job as always!
Lt Uhura has always been my favorite character. She embodied the very best of what Star Trek stood for. She was the model of professionalism yet had a subtle but crisp sense of humor. She never lost her cool, nor her grace, nor who she was. I just loved her for that. RIP Nichelle Nichols.
Interesting movie fact: When Kirk took that step backwards and tripped falling back to the floor after hearing that David was killed, that scene came about when Shatner accidentally stumbled backwards during a take. Both Nimoy and Shatner liked the idea that it would show Kirk more vulnerable in that moment than just him taking a step backwards, so they kept it in. I think it works out better this way.
I saw this in the theater when I was a kid. It was SO thrilled to have Spock back after WOK destroyed me. But man, when they blew up the Enterprise, I cried all over again. You're exactly right. The Enterprise is a character, a friend.
This movie show why this crew is the best. Their plan went without a hitch, they detected and countered the klingon trap and only were set back because the repairs didn't take hold under unforeseen stresses. And then Kirk, while still grieving for his son, still came up with a plan to turn the tables. And finally, he tried his best to save the man responsible for the death of his son, showing great mercy.
1. The mindmeld to Bones IS in the previous movie... easy to forget! 2. Kirk a gymnast? Not quite, but... in the original series he can be quite a brawler, dishing out drop kicks and tumbling everywhere. It's awesome.
The dynamic between Spock and McCoy is the argument between Logic and Emotion. Kirk is the one between, taking what they both say and navigate with their advice.
The scene in Wrath of Khan where all 3 debate the ramifications of the Genesis Project might be my favorite moments for the entire franchise. Perfectly encapsulates each character while also forcing the viewer themselves to 'pick a side' in arguing the consequences of achieving god-like power to create and destroy. Overlooked great scene in a movie with a crazy amount of great scenes.
Info i found...... After Star Trek:The Motion Picture, Leonard Nimoy was not fond of portraying his Mr. Spock character any longer, and only agreed to do WOK if his character died in that film. As a quick aside, this story got out, and that's why he 'died' right at the start of the film in the simulator, to try and show people "See? He died, just like you heard". Anyways, during filming, and very shortly after wrapping, there was tremendous buzz for and around the film. So much so, Leonard Nimoy started to have second thoughts about his character dying. Very much in a nutshell, he agreed to continue on if he was 'resurrected', but in trade, he would be allowed to direct ST III:TSFS. So, they get all of the filming crew back together, and they write the 'Remember...' scene (neck pinch, gloves off, mind meld...). Mr. Meyer was incensed by this, and wanted NOTHING to do with it. This scene was written, filmed, added to original film, all of that without the directors input or consent. And, yes, it was in the theatrical release.
The shot shown in 3 is edited differently from the one shown in WoK, as in that movie, as soon as Spock touches McCoy's face in the wide shot, it cuts to an extreme closeup of Spock's hand on his face. You don't actually see Spock saying "Remember", you just hear it during the close shot of McCoy. In this movie they stick with the wide shot with both of them in frame.
According to Nimoy, he said he never required Spock to die in the second film. He claims that was just rumor. However, he also has said at that point in his life, he didn’t know what else to do with the character. He claimed that the love of the fans is what caused him to carry on. He also claimed he used his character’s death and potential return in the third film as a bargaining chip to direct the film.
Yes, the mind meld with Dr. McCoy did happen in ST2 Wrath of Khan. It was added last minute by Harve Bennett, writer and producer, "just in case" Wrath of Khan was a success and they were able to do a 3rd move. Also -- Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home, is the conclusion to this whole story. It's lighter, fun, and has a great ending.
The destruction of the Enterprise is, to many, JUST as traumatic as the death of Spock. Enterprise was always the uncredited last main character of the show.
Khan's vengeance was felt well beyond the grave. Kirk got Spock back but at the cost of David and the Enterprise, and they're all now criminals. Actually Kirk had effectively lost the Enterprise the moment Khan detonated the Genesis device. That's why the Enterprise was to be scrapped. The federation is in deep political crap because the destruction of that nebula looks like a show of force of a terrifying new weapon.
@@nedrini1055 At the very end, for about a minute. They go from Vulcan to Earth on the Bird of Prey, and they spend the rest of the movie in San Francisco. That's the movie I watched.
One of my favorite of the Star Trek movies. It has so many epic scenes, stealing the Enterprise, the first time the Enterprise encounters the Bird Of Prey, the destruction of the Enterprise, the fight between Kirk and Lord Kruge, the Bird of Prey landing on Vulcan and in each part the excellent music of James Horner, building up the excitement. During the production, the cinematographer wanted to filmed the Genesis scenes in Hawaii and Vulcan at Red Rock Canyon but the production didn't have the budget for it.
Going to Condition Red isn't just alerting the crew. Torpedo warheads are loaded, energy is transferred to phaser banks and the shield grid and other automatic defense prep is taken.
I love the "good of the many" and "I have been and always shall be your friend" lines and of course all the old old school lines "live long and prosper", etc... But " You did what you had to do. What you always do. You turn death into a fighting chance to live." is also one of my favorite quotes from all of Trekdom and I think it gets overlooked too often with how meaningful it is.
Yes, indeed. And I always have thought it was a load of b.s. when David says that Kirk had never faced death. He faced death in nearly every episode of TOS, in one way or another. Kirk just figured out how to turn the tables on death, as in "The Corbomite Manuever"! David should have done a bit of homework on his father's career, before spouting off such nonsense. I really hate that line! I've always thought it was quite condescending towards an original thinker like Kirk, from this young know- nothing kid. Who else agrees?
Captain James T. Kirk was raised in Iowa. Captain Christopher Pike was born in the Mojave Desert. The self-destruct device is a reference to "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"(season 3, 1969).
"His secret identical twin, Brock..." Oh gods, Spock's twin brother in a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, flip-flops, and shades; his nose coated with zinc oxide; toting a surfboard and making the Vulcan salute with a big grin. 🤣🤣🤣
One of the things you miss from not having watched the original series is just how strong the bonds are between these characters, including the Enterprise. Kirk loves the Enterprise as much as, and potentially more, than anything or anyone he's ever had in his life, and that's what makes his sacrifice of her so much more impactful in this movie.
Like Khan, Sarek is also from the Original Series, with the same actor (Mark Lenard). You’re absolutely right about Sarek’s fatherly love toward Spock, although he can’t show it due to Vulcans not showing emotion. You can see this in the Next Generation episode “Sarek”, which you really should check out.
Spock's mind meld with McCoy was absolutely in Star Trek II. After Spock's death was written into the script and contingent on Leonard Nimoy reprising his role "one last time", Nimoy had second thoughts after such a positive experience. Producer Harve Bennett asked Nimoy and director Nicholas Meyer to maybe insert a way to bring Spock back in the future. They improvised this scene and inserted it into the final cut. The "Red Alert" status, in addition to telling crew to go to battlestations, also activates defensive systems aboard the ship like charging phasers, diverting power to structural integrity fields, loading Torpedo tubes, and sealing essential bulkheads. This is even more important when you take into account that Scotty had to Jerry rig the Enterprise to operate with a skeleton crew. Just because we as the audience see and here Klingons speaking English, in fact they are speaking Klingon. Also your rank and file Klingon probably can't read human Alpha numeric code . Pronunciations: Again Nee-Moy Kruge = Kroog If there were no villain, where does the source of conflict come from. The presence of the Klingons is almost essential. There needed to be astro-political ramifications for the Federation apparently detonating a weapon of mass destruction. The continuity of the Star Trek universe almost demands that the Klingons immediately insert themselves into the story. Personally, I really liked Kruge. He wasn't super deep, but his motivations were clear. He was ruthless, he was a nationalist, he was discontented with his leaders and the current cease-fire and he was looking to start a movement. I also liked how much he mirrored Kirk's contemplative and thoughtful qualities. He was a good reader of people perhaps even better than Kirk.
17:45 - I love that lady's look there. She's like, 'I didn't just hear that, right?'. So here's the thing. Death in Star Trek typically has a sort of finality to it. In fact, it usually has everything of a finality to it. There's no Dragon Balls or other magical MacGuffin that just brings people back to life (unless there's some plot reason, like they weren't dead in the first place or something). So bringing Spock back from the dead was a huge thing for Trek.
An easteregg: Mark Lenard, who played Sarek, Spock's father, was the klingon commander at the first movie. The Excelsior's pilot, Miguel Ferrer was the Robocop project's manager. It is not necessary to watch the original series episodes to like the movies, I say it by myself, I watched the movies before when I was a kid.
I find it funny that you say that Bones doesn't have emotion. He is the one that's supposed to be the one that has passion to counteract Spock's cold logic. That's why Kirk has them as his two closest friends. Because he uses them to guide his decisions.
Remember, the Enterprise was supposed to end as target practice in some war games. This end was more dignified. She 'died' to safe her crew and went down in a blaze of glory. Yes, it hurt. The only time the near destruction of a ship in science fiction hurt more was the Battlestar Galactica in the 2003 reboot after her last FTL jump.
There's a video on YT of a real life ship that I briefly served on that was expended as a bombing target. Although I was on her for only a few weeks and I hated nearly every minute of it, it was still very sad to see her go like that.
When was it stated that the Enterprise was supposed to end in “target practice for war games?” I’m sure you’re paraphrasing, but I’ve seen these movies countless times over the last 30+ years, and never remember that.
The "Remember" line is in the 2nd movie. It's there because news of Spock's death leaked before the movie's release, it was included to leave the possibility of his return.
Another great ST commentary! It's amazing how you can pick up on some of the characters' backstory and motivation without having seen any of The Original Series (TOS). And yes, the Enterprise is a character, too. Many of us long-time viewers were as shocked as you at her destruction back in the day. Very nice of you to toss out a respectful salute -- you have some idea of how those of us who grew up with the show felt -- almost as deeply as Spock's death in the previous film.
So the point of going to red alert - once activated, the computer activates several systems automatically. Shields and weapons are brought online, targeting systems activate, structural integrity systems increase power as do inertial damping systems. Basically, it readies the ship for combat and danger with one command.
My 3rd favorite Star Trek movie. everything gets taken away from kirk, he lost his ship, his son.. its pretty dark for him, and the loyalty shown by the crew to save Spock. love this movie.
I'll always remember a story about this film told by George Takei. During the filming of the scene as the cast watch the burning wreck of the Enterprise travel across the sky, Leonard Nimoy directed one of the stage hands to hold a pole in the air and walk in front of the cast to give them something to focus on. Take 1: Stagehands bolts across the floor at light speed. Cast nearly get whiplash trying to follow the pole. CUT! Take 2: Stagehand ordered to take it slower. Stagehand inches across the set at a snail pace. Scene would have lasted half an hour at the pace he's going. CUT! Take 3: This one looks good, he's going at a steady pace, it's almost perfect when he suddenly trips and falls at the halfway point. The cast, watching the pole move steadily across suddenly snap their eyes downwards as the stagehand tumbles to the floor. CUT! Eventually they get the shot. That choked up emotional look on everyone's face is actually them struggling not to crack up laughing as they wait to see how the stagehand is going to f*ck it up this time.
13:29 When I saw this film opening weekend of June 1984; I had just turned 14 (do the math, I'm THAT old) and I went with my parents to see the movie. And when that scene came up, and McCoy realized what Spock did before he died, there was so much laughter from the audience; not just because he cursed, but with the following line about "its his revenge for all the arguments he lost". We couldn't hear what the next line was because of the laughter. It's a moment that I've never forgotten all these years later. Great to see the reaction for this film; hope you'll be continuing on with the next film; The Voyage Home.
I'm the same age - I was also fourteen when I first saw this film. It was the first ST film I was ACTIVELY awaiting and it BLEW ME AWAY. I found it to be epic, spectacular and emotional beyond words. The themes of going to the end of the galaxy for your friend resonated SO deeply within me.
😅BOTH my parents originally SAW it when it was in theaters- Dad felt sad and hated seeing that version of the Enterprise gradually explode- Mom really felt bad, too. It was one of the few things that they'd keep agreeing on- 😜 My parents, especially my mother even used to go to Star Trek Conventions that had THE REAL CAST MEMBERS in them! SHE even managed to take REAL PICTURES OF James Doohan- BUT, somehow due to her own mental issues, it took her 27 YEARS to get her roll of 1984-INSTAMATIC KODAK Film developed! LOL. All of the pictures came out very blurry due the film being aged for nearly three decades of being in her purse, a box or even left in the family's '85 Nissan Sentra and later the family's '89 Dodge Minivan.
With today's technology I wonder if it's possible to restore the images if I were you I'd look into it pictures of them would be such a great thing to have
Pre-emptive like. I know what I'll be doing with part of my evening. I think ST3 is somewhat underrated. I've always enjoyed the blend of tension and comedy in this episode. I think it's pretty well written and very well directed.
It's fine to "pre-emptive" like Ollie's stuff. He's pretty honest, and I haven't ever had to "remove the Like" after viewing. But I have "forgotten" to hit the Like on a few videos here and there. Nothing wrong with hitting it as you start.
The Vulcan priestess was Dame Judith Anderson, best remembered as Mrs Danvers in Hitchcock's 'Rebecca'. P.S. Oliver - the only person who can go on a two weeks break and still provide more content than most TH-camrs.
Leonard Nimoy didn't want to do the 4th film unless it said something, and that's exactly what they did. In a retrospect, they did actually change the world for the better.
11:11 Yes, Spock did the mind meld and said "Remember" in Star Trek 2. 39:02 Saavik calls herself Vulcan, but she's half Vulcan and half Romulan. Duality of heritage was one of the reasons she and Spock were close.
I love Spock's surprise when Kirk says: "you would have done the same for me". Because it wasn't logical, and Kirk goes on to invert what Spock takes as an axiom, saying that the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many. Spock had sacrificed himself, as much as he was thinking of logic, for the sake of loving his friends. He gave that away, implicitly, as he died. Compassion and love for others here continues to trump the idea of logic, it being the true logic. This is part of Spock's journey, half human, trying to figure such things out. This journey of Spock's absolutely featured in the TV series, but also plays out in the movies. Begin with Spock's rejecting Kolinar in the first movie, and follow it through the rest of them. Now, the Wrath of Khan featured dueling literary themes: Tale of Two Cities and Moby Dick. But there was a third, indicated by Scotty's playing Amazing Grace and continued here by McCoy's identifying himself as "son of David", and that is an overt New Testament theme. So getting back to the inverted logical axiom: one person sacrificed his life for the sake of the others. The rest of them then were willing to sacrifice everything that had been important to themselves in pursuit of the of one who had first saved them.
Like it or not, the USS Excelsior design eventually served as the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B at the beginning of the seventh Star Trek movie, Generations. I think the initial idea was to introduce the Excelsior as a better, faster replacement for the Enterprise. That idea was even used in a comic book series that followed up Search For Spock, having said that I think you will like the solution worked out by the end of Star Trek IV.
25:10 Yes, there is a countdown but the boarding party probably didn't understand english. Personally I would've had them only speak klingon in that scene to drive the point home a bit better.
@ 9:40 Hey Ollie. The character Sarek here was first introduced on the original '60s series episode called "Journey to Babel" along with Spock's human mother. The same two actors from the series played the two parts, his dad in this movie and Spock's mom in the next one. BTW, the actor playing Sarek, Mark Lenard, also played the Klingon captain battling the "cloud" at the very beginning of Star Trek The Motion Picture. Ollie, as far as trying to do the Vulcan salute try holding your hand up with thumb and 4 fingers side-by-side together. Then keeping your fingers together concentrate on spreading apart just your middle finger and ring-finger ONLY. Do it slowly at first until you can spread those two apart while keeping the others together. Or move just your ring and little finger away from the others. May take a little practice. Don't feel bad if you can't ever do it because there was an actress, Celia Lovsky, playing a high Vulcan official and Spock's relative in a good TOS episode called "Amok Time" who couldn't do it either, though she had to give the salute to Spock. To accomplish this an assistant below her and out of camera view had to hold her fingers in place and let her go when she raised her hand in camera view with the salute in place! 🖖😎 And what you said about Enterprise and its looks, keep in mind that Enterprise looked a bit different from TOS. So in The Motion Picture, which is about 10 years later, Enterprise got a major refit including new warp nacelles and that's why Kirk and Scotty did the long inspection of it. And it had been a long while since fans had seen Star Trek or the Enterprise so it was not just a sentimental scene for fans, but one to show the exterior of the ship's changes in detail. 11:11 Actually it's in the second movie. You might have looked away at the critical moment and missed the mind meld and Spock saying "remember" to the knocked out McCoy. That's why at the end of "The Wrath Of Khan" on the bridge Bones said Spock would always be alive so long as we "remember" him. It was giving fans watching #2 reason the think there would be this followup movie you watched here. Someday watch all these movies again to pick up little scenes and nuance missed on first viewings. 19:36 A topic first covered in "Amok Time" as well! 29:52 This scene is much more meaningful knowing their dynamic in TOS. You got a taste of that dynamic on The Motion Picture. I think you'll love the original series Ollie, even though it's lower budgeted '60s special effects the stories are great! If you watch TOS someday just remember NOT to watch the unaired pilot called "The Cage". It will actually end up being used in a 2-part episode in the first season. Ready for ST:IV! 🖖😎
Trekkie here, glad that you're enjoying the films. It's fine that you haven't watched any of the show. It's just good background info. Keep enjoying these films. Star Trek IV is honestly my favorite, and I keep going back to it at any time. Live Long and Prosper, friend
Yeah, the “Stealing the Enterprise” music, and the scene and dialogue as well are so amazing, it’s one of a handful of movie scenes I will pull up on my big screen, all by themselves. Lights off, sound up, home theater rocking. Also, the first attack in Wrath of Khan, and Superman (1978) opening credits, among a couple others. The DOORS Mr. Scott…. Aye, sir, I’m workin’ on it. Maybe the greatest lines in the whole movie.
Great review! Although Leonard Nimoy hadn't directed a feature film before, he'd been a keen photographer all his life and knew first-hand about lighting, lenses, and composition--that's why certain shots look so stunning. Nimoy also had a few books of fine art photography published.
Virgil “Gus” Grissom He and astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire in Apollo 1 on the launch pad during a system test. The Apollo capsule used a pure oxygen atmosphere, and a spark caused the fire. The hatch opened inwards, so the pressure from the fire prevented them from opening the hatch to escape. They died within seconds.
This is the most underrated movie of the original Star Trek films by far. There's this goofy idea that the odd-numbered films are bad. This movie just happens to be caught between Star Trek II and Star Trek IV, which are both regarded as some of the best of the franchise. Which they certainly are. But it doesn't mean this movie is bad by any means. This movie is so much fun, it has incredible emotional performances by the actors(particularly Shatner), and introduces so much to the Star Trek lore that lasts basically forever. And Christopher Lloyd as a psycho Klingon!!! Come on, how can you not love that?!
Must've been noted by others but "remember" was in both versions of STII. I recall when I first saw it, I wondered "remember what?" Assumed it would be a set up or answered IF we got a ST3 (not a foregone conclusion back then). Fortunately we did. And if you thought Nimoys direction was lackluster (I feel he muffed Davids death), wait till you get to Shatners!
It has been said that Kirk Spock and McCoy are one person. Spock the logical side, McCoy the emotional, and Kirk the balance. When Kirk is being too emotional Spock reigns him in. When Kirk being too by the book, McCoy reminds him of what his humane. And when Spock and McCoy are locked in one of their Passion V Logic pissing matches, Kirk brings them both back to the middle. So when he says, "It seems as though I have left the noblest part of myself back there." This is how I feel about it.
The "Remember"-Shot WAS in Star Trek 2. They added it last minute without really knowing what to do with it later, but to have some kind of "bridge" to Star Trek 3. 🖖
Great reaction, yet again! This film ranks fourth for me out of the 6 with the original crew. Still, not bad at all. Kruge was not the central villain like Khan was, but he importantly facilitated the events. Excelsior and its captain were more like foils or speed bumps along the way, used to humorous effect. Lloyd did an entirely acceptable rendering of a Klingon. He was a little reserved compared to some others we were already familiar with from the series. You got it right when you noted that he had to dominate and kill the worm - he was just being a Klingon. In the series, McCoy was always being emotional to balance out Spock's logic as the twin shoulder angels Kirk carried with him. This film put him much more in the spotlight than the first two. Having to carry Spock's katra was very tough for him, and he was able to display that. I am surprised you didn't catch the Star Wars parallels along the way. McCoy trying to hire a pilot (Han Solo) in a bar (the cantina) who talked backwards (Yoda). Breaking McCoy (Leia) out of jail (the detention block), Sulu (Han) shooting the panel just before the security guards (stormtroopers) arrived in the elevator. There is still really good stuff ahead. Your joke was nice. Not ROFL-level but nice. I also like that tee shirt! Final note: when you watch ST IV, keep in mind who used to own what ship and what that person was otherwise famous for. It's good for a chuckle.
You will be like 75% lost if you don't watch at least a few Next Generation episodes before the next generation movies. And they are totally worth it!!! At least the first two are. But bare bones, before you go into those movies you at least need to see these episodes of TNG: "Q Who" "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1" "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2" "Family" That will prepare you like 55% for the Next Gen movies... If you want to be prepared up to 95% then you need these 20 episodes (Star Trek: The Next Generation alone has 178 episodes so this is really not a bad deal): 1. "Encounter At Farpoint, Part I" 2. "Encounter At Farpoint, Part II" 3. "The Measure of a Man" 4. "The Emmisary" 5. "Q Who" 6. "Sarek" 7. "Sins of the Father" 8. "Yesterday's Enterprise" 9. "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" 10. "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" 11. "Family" 12. "Brothers" 13. "Reunion" 14. "Redemption, Part I" 15. "Redemption, Part II" 16. "Unification, Part I" 17. "Unification, Part II" 18. "Relics" 19. "All Good Things... Part I" 20. "All Good Things... Part II" Best Regards!
"Kirk, I thank you. What you have done is..." "What I have done, I had to do." "But at what cost? Your ship. Your son." "If I hadn't tried, the cost would have been my soul." Not an entirely bad movie, but being between two really great movies has not helped it's assessment objectively. Fun Fact: In the opening credits, there is an extra long pause between William Shatner and DeForest Kelley's names, where Leonard Nimoy's name would normally be. Old Man Yells At Sky Fact: According to Robin Curtis in the Blu-ray making-of documentary, Christopher Lloyd didn't fully understand the use of the communicators. He would often shout his lines into the air rather than speak into the communicator. An example she used: When he says "Bring me up" while on the Genesis Planet, he yelled at the sky as if the ship could hear him. He had to be repeatedly told not to yell at the sky. Better Saavik Fact: When negotiating Kirstie Alley's contract for Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982), Paramount Studios did not offer or include any options or clauses regarding any possible sequels. According to director Leonard Nimoy, this left Alley open to negotiate a new contract for this film, resulting in Alley's excessive salary demands, which led to her being dropped and replaced by Robin Curtis. I personally think Robin Curtis makes for a better Valcan to be honest.
I saw this in the theaters with my younger cousin. He fell asleep but i was loving the movie. The "remember" scene is in part 2. In this time before Back to the future Christopher lloyd had played a villian in 2 of my favorite movies, Star Trek 3 and The Legend of the Lone Ranger.
I know I'm late to this party, but as an old fan who's been with this franchise since the beginning, I have an anecdote ... Standing in line to see this film as a teenager, I made the acquaintance of a young lady standing in front of me. We sat next to each other watching it. When the _Enterprise_ was destroyed, she reached over and clutched my hand in sorrow. We were both feeling the same thing. It was like losing a member of the _Star Trek_ family. Sadly I never saw her again. I'm sure that given her looks, she already had a boyfriend -- she was way out of my league. But we did share a moment. As the old saying goes, "Ships that pass in the night."
Fun Facts: The female captain that stands when she see's the Enterprise return is Commander Rand... Formerly Yeoman Rand from ST:OST. She became Captain Sulu's number 1. -Captain Kruge's second in command is played by Night Court alum John Larroquette. -This movie introduces the Klingon Bird of prey. -Kirk spares the Klingon, not realizing that he's dishonouring him by not killing him. -The guy McCoy meets in the bar is a proto Ferengi.
I think the Excelsior class starship is just as beautiful as the Constitution class refit. I love when we get to see different starships. It really makes the world feel bigger.
30:40 you didn’t include the line, but when the Vulcan priestess addresses Sarek, she refers to him as “sarek, child of Skon, child of Solkar” - naming his father and grandfather This is only relevant because whilst not named on screen, there’s a character from a later movie named Solkar…SPOCKS GREAT GRANDFATHER…and only had one line…appropriately “live long, and prosper”
1984 was a great year for movies. A lot of wonderful films came out that year. You should check out "1984", for one thing. The best version of that dark, classic work of fiction. A story everyone should be familiar with, and the ultimate dystopia. (One of the first, in fact.) Perfectly cast and gorgeously filmed. I think you'd find it worthwhile. :)
Hey, Ollie. 😀 I'm glad that I found your channel when I did! I love watching people react to movie favorites of mine and now that you're half way through the classic Trek movies, only 3 more until you get to my all-time favorite one, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country! I eagerly await that reaction and review! I also wanted to say that you are an absolute dork! And I could NOT say that with more respect and adoration! I can't stand people who take themselves too seriously. My closest friends who have come to mean the world to me are some of the biggest dorks I've ever met, and I love them all the more for it! It is definitely one of the most appealing personality traits that draws me to people, so, yeah. You're a dork and I love your videos for it. 😉 Looking forward to more reactions to come! 😁
T'Pal -- on Vulcan who performed the ceremony -- played the same role on the original series. Also, Serek (sp?), Spock's father, also played the same role on TOS.
I love how hyped you get from watching Star Trek man! I hope you enjoy the next one, that one is a fan favorite and also one of mine. The quality of the film stock in #4 is phenomenal and the 2K and 4K transfers are absolutely beautiful.
lol. I'm surprised that you're somehow unable to do the 'Live Long and Prosper' gesture. No pressure though. I'm myself now *_*38_**- I've been into the 80s movies PROBABLY since 1988! '88 was ALSO between the 5th 6th movies! Spock was originally a key character in the original series as the Science Officer- his uniform color was BLUE. 😮💨👌🏻
7:59 By this time, the Enterprise was actually 40 years old. (Launched in 2245) With the advent of the Excelsior Class, the Constitutions were starting to be phased out. The Enterprise, as the second oldest and most beat up of the bunch, was to be the first to go.
You are one of the few reactors to appreciate that the Enterprise is as much a "character" as Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the others. This is especially impressive since you haven't watched the series, where the pivotal role of the Enterprise was more developed....in that, time after time when other ships would have failed or been destroyed, the Enterprise pulled them through. It's almost as if the ship also didn't believe in a no win scenario either. Also, FYI since it's not mentioned in the movie but only in the book version of the movie (there are nearly 100 star trek books including book versions of all the movies based on the original scripts), Saavik is half-Vulcan and half-Romulan - so like Spock torn by two cultures, one that masters their emotion and one that does not.
And the return of Spock is here! I'm glad the movie took the whole runtime to bring back Spock instead of just shoving him back at the start of the film. I thought this movie was fun but a little stale at times, especially with regards to the villain who just felt shoehorned into the movie with not much thought. Anyways, another enjoyable Star Trek film and can't wait for 4!!!
Thanks for watching! Have a great day! :)
No spoilers, but some canon stuff a Kelvin-timeline fan might not have picked up:
-Pon Farr is basically the Vulcan male sex cycle. They have to either have sex or receive some other kind of hormonal rush or the chemical imbalance will kill them. So it is implied Spock mated with Savik.
These plot points come from the Star Trek Season 2 premiere “Amok Time.”
-Also a part of “Amok Time” is that Kirk’s feelings for Spock are a little bit closer than friends-although without the sexual tension of “lovers.” In “Amok Time,” Kirk and Spock are framed as an alternate love triangle-Kirk disobeys orders in order to bring Spock to Vulcan.
This in turn justifies why Kirk would sacrifice everything, including his own family for Spock. The dynamic between the characters is that Kirk loves Spock, in the Classical Greek sense of the term. (Although in Ancient Greece, there was a sexual dimension to male-male love as well.)
This is an element of William Shatner’s acting that has continued in roles such as Denny Crane in the hit TV show “Boston Legal.” It most likely derives from Shatner’s early career in Classical and Shakespearean theater-where these kind of relationships are common.
-Leonard Nimoy directed the film in part because of the actor’s experience as a still photographer. Hence why much of the action is toned down in Star Trek III. Nimoy did not have much experience shooting film or tv before this film.
Nimoy would go on to have a successful career as a still photographer in parallel to his acting career as Spock.
-James Horner as Composer was known for Wagnerian theory in his soundtrack, using operatic motifs to communicate plot and character in different scenes. However, incorporating motifs and instruments from folk and indigenous music was also common in later Horner soundtracks-Dances with Wolves, Titanic, Avatar. To my recollection, the soundtrack on the Vulcan homeworld is the first instance of Horner incorporating non-traditional percussive instruments into one of his film scores.
This might be the perfect time for you to watch the 1983 fantasy film Krull (It has Hagrid!). James Horner did the score for that between Khan and Spock and you can see that it's all the same music. Like, Krull isn't copying, it's just that it was all being written at the same time (and there is a scene or 2 in Krull where, to me, there is a bit of the ST2 Nebula music).
Before you watch the Next Generation films (film 7-on), you should watch The Next Generation episodes "Best of Both Worlds 1 and 2" and "Family".
Hey there:) I'm so glad you took on the original Star Trek films. I grew up with Star Trek (esp. the 60ies series, The Next Generation, etc.) and still feel like a true trekkie after all these years. I think JJ Abrams did a great job with the 2009 and 2013 movies (the third one was a bit a failure in my opinion), because that's what Star Trek needed : a comtemporary reboot with heart, very well done and the right spirit. BUT: There are certain serious qualities to the older movies which are unmatched till today. The chemistry between the characters, the craftmanship, the writing and of course the epic, unique score. Still one of my favourites among my top 10 film scores. Have a look at the documentary "For the love of Spock", directed by Nimoy's son. It's really worth it, very interesting and touching. (Especially for a Spock fan like you ;-).. I'm looking forward to your other reactions to the following Trek movies. Need any hint or info on Star Trek - just ask ;-) Great job as always!
You know Leonard Nimoy also directed the comedy " 3 Men And A Baby"
Lt Uhura has always been my favorite character. She embodied the very best of what Star Trek stood for. She was the model of professionalism yet had a subtle but crisp sense of humor. She never lost her cool, nor her grace, nor who she was. I just loved her for that. RIP Nichelle Nichols.
Uhura, and Nichelle Nichols, both embodied pure class. There was always a compassionate strength there.
her grace, that is an element don't see often in characters, and I love when I see characters with that trait
Interesting movie fact: When Kirk took that step backwards and tripped falling back to the floor after hearing that David was killed, that scene came about when Shatner accidentally stumbled backwards during a take. Both Nimoy and Shatner liked the idea that it would show Kirk more vulnerable in that moment than just him taking a step backwards, so they kept it in. I think it works out better this way.
I think in the commentary Nimoy says he doesn't know if Shatner intended to stumble or not. If he did he says it was a good choice.
If it was an accident, props to Shatner for carrying on.
My favorite scene in the movie. "You Klingon bastards, you've killed my son."
Shatner does some of his best work as Kirk in this movie.
Interesting fact: you're wrong. Shatner did it on purpose.
Spock and blue go together because blue is the uniform color of science officers in TOS. Spock & McCoy both wear the blue shirts 👍
the poster for III is blue too, (maybe bc he wore the blue shirt in the tv series)
@@bozotheclown169 it seems he often chooses colors which are predominant on the movie poster
I saw this in the theater when I was a kid. It was SO thrilled to have Spock back after WOK destroyed me. But man, when they blew up the Enterprise, I cried all over again. You're exactly right. The Enterprise is a character, a friend.
This movie show why this crew is the best. Their plan went without a hitch, they detected and countered the klingon trap and only were set back because the repairs didn't take hold under unforeseen stresses.
And then Kirk, while still grieving for his son, still came up with a plan to turn the tables.
And finally, he tried his best to save the man responsible for the death of his son, showing great mercy.
This comment encapsulates what made the original crew, and The Original Series, in my opinion, superior to the reboot or remake.
1. The mindmeld to Bones IS in the previous movie... easy to forget!
2. Kirk a gymnast? Not quite, but... in the original series he can be quite a brawler, dishing out drop kicks and tumbling everywhere. It's awesome.
and his two handed fist shot LOL
The Shatner drop kick is the deadliest technique in all martial arts.
Got to get the shirt off if possible! 😆
The fight with the Gorn (as seen in Tropic Thunder) is a legendary demonstration of 23rd century hand to hand combat skills.
Kirk-Fu!
The dynamic between Spock and McCoy is the argument between Logic and Emotion. Kirk is the one between, taking what they both say and navigate with their advice.
Also have been compared effectively to Id, Ego, and Superego.
Kirk is the Heart, Spock is the Mind, McCoy is the Soul.
The scene in Wrath of Khan where all 3 debate the ramifications of the Genesis Project might be my favorite moments for the entire franchise. Perfectly encapsulates each character while also forcing the viewer themselves to 'pick a side' in arguing the consequences of achieving god-like power to create and destroy. Overlooked great scene in a movie with a crazy amount of great scenes.
The music score is so good in this. That scene when they steal the enterprise is one of the best sequences of all the films.
And it's totally due to the music! Without that score it would be totally boring.
@@toddjh Yep.
That explosion shocked me the first time I saw it as a kid.
Info i found......
After Star Trek:The Motion Picture, Leonard Nimoy was not fond of portraying his Mr. Spock character any longer, and only agreed to do WOK if his character died in that film. As a quick aside, this story got out, and that's why he 'died' right at the start of the film in the simulator, to try and show people "See? He died, just like you heard".
Anyways, during filming, and very shortly after wrapping, there was tremendous buzz for and around the film. So much so, Leonard Nimoy started to have second thoughts about his character dying. Very much in a nutshell, he agreed to continue on if he was 'resurrected', but in trade, he would be allowed to direct ST III:TSFS.
So, they get all of the filming crew back together, and they write the 'Remember...' scene (neck pinch, gloves off, mind meld...). Mr. Meyer was incensed by this, and wanted NOTHING to do with it. This scene was written, filmed, added to original film, all of that without the directors input or consent.
And, yes, it was in the theatrical release.
Well Nimoy got to direct Star Trek 3 so maybe it was all a bargaining chip
The shot shown in 3 is edited differently from the one shown in WoK, as in that movie, as soon as Spock touches McCoy's face in the wide shot, it cuts to an extreme closeup of Spock's hand on his face. You don't actually see Spock saying "Remember", you just hear it during the close shot of McCoy. In this movie they stick with the wide shot with both of them in frame.
According to Nimoy, he said he never required Spock to die in the second film. He claims that was just rumor. However, he also has said at that point in his life, he didn’t know what else to do with the character. He claimed that the love of the fans is what caused him to carry on.
He also claimed he used his character’s death and potential return in the third film as a bargaining chip to direct the film.
Yes, the mind meld with Dr. McCoy did happen in ST2 Wrath of Khan. It was added last minute by Harve Bennett, writer and producer, "just in case" Wrath of Khan was a success and they were able to do a 3rd move. Also -- Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home, is the conclusion to this whole story. It's lighter, fun, and has a great ending.
The destruction of the Enterprise is, to many, JUST as traumatic as the death of Spock. Enterprise was always the uncredited last main character of the show.
Yeah. I've seen that movie so often in the last 30 years and the moment the saucer-section explodes still stings me in the stomach.
Absolutely - surprisingly shocking and heartbreaking. Always gets me every time I watch it.
Khan's vengeance was felt well beyond the grave. Kirk got Spock back but at the cost of David and the Enterprise, and they're all now criminals.
Actually Kirk had effectively lost the Enterprise the moment Khan detonated the Genesis device. That's why the Enterprise was to be scrapped. The federation is in deep political crap because the destruction of that nebula looks like a show of force of a terrifying new weapon.
Star Trek 4 is great. It picks up right where this one ends and it has a great message intwined into it
Yep, "Remember where you park." ;)
It's a crowd-pleaser. But it doesn't even have the Enterprise. Or a charismatic nemesis. This is a better Star Trek movie.
@@miller-joel what movie did you watch? The Enterprise WAS in it.
@@nedrini1055 At the very end, for about a minute. They go from Vulcan to Earth on the Bird of Prey, and they spend the rest of the movie in San Francisco. That's the movie I watched.
@@miller-joel oh sorry. I thought you were talking about the search for Spock.
Nice reaction. "Stealing the Enterprise" is one of my all time favorite pieces of all soundtracks ever done. Horner at his best! ♫♪
One of my favorite of the Star Trek movies. It has so many epic scenes, stealing the Enterprise, the first time the Enterprise encounters the Bird Of Prey, the destruction of the Enterprise, the fight between Kirk and Lord Kruge, the Bird of Prey landing on Vulcan and in each part the excellent music of James Horner, building up the excitement. During the production, the cinematographer wanted to filmed the Genesis scenes in Hawaii and Vulcan at Red Rock Canyon but the production didn't have the budget for it.
Going to Condition Red isn't just alerting the crew. Torpedo warheads are loaded, energy is transferred to phaser banks and the shield grid and other automatic defense prep is taken.
I love the "good of the many" and "I have been and always shall be your friend" lines and of course all the old old school lines "live long and prosper", etc...
But " You did what you had to do. What you always do. You turn death into a fighting chance to live." is also one of my favorite quotes from all of Trekdom and I think it gets overlooked too often with how meaningful it is.
Yes, indeed. And I always have thought it was a load of b.s. when David says that Kirk had never faced death. He faced death in nearly every episode of TOS, in one way or another. Kirk just figured out how to turn the tables on death, as in "The Corbomite Manuever"!
David should have done a bit of homework on his father's career, before spouting off such nonsense. I really hate that line! I've always thought it was quite condescending towards an original thinker like Kirk, from this young know- nothing kid. Who else agrees?
@sarahfullerton6894 you thought I was a bs line and hated it cause you took it the wrong way.
Captain James T. Kirk was raised in Iowa. Captain Christopher Pike was born in the Mojave Desert. The self-destruct device is a reference to "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"(season 3, 1969).
For me the stealing the Enterprise and destruction scene is the absolute pinnacle of everything I've seen in all of Star Trek... it's just epic!
Just noticed the 1st officer of The Excelsior is Miguel Ferrer...of Twin Peaks, RoboCop, The Stand, Traffic, and much more. RIP
"His secret identical twin, Brock..."
Oh gods, Spock's twin brother in a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, flip-flops, and shades; his nose coated with zinc oxide; toting a surfboard and making the Vulcan salute with a big grin. 🤣🤣🤣
"The Enterprise... is like a good friend dying." And another generation understands Star Trek.
One of the things you miss from not having watched the original series is just how strong the bonds are between these characters, including the Enterprise. Kirk loves the Enterprise as much as, and potentially more, than anything or anyone he's ever had in his life, and that's what makes his sacrifice of her so much more impactful in this movie.
Like Khan, Sarek is also from the Original Series, with the same actor (Mark Lenard). You’re absolutely right about Sarek’s fatherly love toward Spock, although he can’t show it due to Vulcans not showing emotion. You can see this in the Next Generation episode “Sarek”, which you really should check out.
Christopher Lloyd is actually one of my favorite ST bad guys - his performance was absolutely brilliant to my mind
Spock's mind meld with McCoy was absolutely in Star Trek II. After Spock's death was written into the script and contingent on Leonard Nimoy reprising his role "one last time", Nimoy had second thoughts after such a positive experience. Producer Harve Bennett asked Nimoy and director Nicholas Meyer to maybe insert a way to bring Spock back in the future. They improvised this scene and inserted it into the final cut.
The "Red Alert" status, in addition to telling crew to go to battlestations, also activates defensive systems aboard the ship like charging phasers, diverting power to structural integrity fields, loading Torpedo tubes, and sealing essential bulkheads. This is even more important when you take into account that Scotty had to Jerry rig the Enterprise to operate with a skeleton crew.
Just because we as the audience see and here Klingons speaking English, in fact they are speaking Klingon. Also your rank and file Klingon probably can't read human
Alpha numeric code .
Pronunciations:
Again Nee-Moy
Kruge = Kroog
If there were no villain, where does the source of conflict come from. The presence of the Klingons is almost essential. There needed to be astro-political ramifications for the Federation apparently detonating a weapon of mass destruction. The continuity of the Star Trek universe almost demands that the Klingons immediately insert themselves into the story. Personally, I really liked Kruge. He wasn't super deep, but his motivations were clear. He was ruthless, he was a nationalist, he was discontented with his leaders and the current cease-fire and he was looking to start a movement. I also liked how much he mirrored Kirk's contemplative and thoughtful qualities. He was a good reader of people perhaps even better than Kirk.
17:45 - I love that lady's look there. She's like, 'I didn't just hear that, right?'. So here's the thing. Death in Star Trek typically has a sort of finality to it. In fact, it usually has everything of a finality to it. There's no Dragon Balls or other magical MacGuffin that just brings people back to life (unless there's some plot reason, like they weren't dead in the first place or something). So bringing Spock back from the dead was a huge thing for Trek.
An easteregg: Mark Lenard, who played Sarek, Spock's father, was the klingon commander at the first movie. The Excelsior's pilot, Miguel Ferrer was the Robocop project's manager. It is not necessary to watch the original series episodes to like the movies, I say it by myself, I watched the movies before when I was a kid.
It not an Easter egg.
Only James Horner could have made a scene about backing the car out of the garage ....absolutely epic
Doc Brown and Dan Fielding making the weirdest Klingons you ever did see! :)
Man, the change in timbre when Spock says "Jim," I'll never forget it.
“I do not deserve to live.
Fine. I’ll kill ya later.”
I find it funny that you say that Bones doesn't have emotion. He is the one that's supposed to be the one that has passion to counteract Spock's cold logic. That's why Kirk has them as his two closest friends. Because he uses them to guide his decisions.
"I found him guys, he's behind the cameras!" I'm dying.
Remember, the Enterprise was supposed to end as target practice in some war games. This end was more dignified. She 'died' to safe her crew and went down in a blaze of glory.
Yes, it hurt.
The only time the near destruction of a ship in science fiction hurt more was the Battlestar Galactica in the 2003 reboot after her last FTL jump.
There's a video on YT of a real life ship that I briefly served on that was expended as a bombing target. Although I was on her for only a few weeks and I hated nearly every minute of it, it was still very sad to see her go like that.
When was it stated that the Enterprise was supposed to end in “target practice for war games?” I’m sure you’re paraphrasing, but I’ve seen these movies countless times over the last 30+ years, and never remember that.
No, the Enterprise was just to be decommissioned. You're probably thinking of the Enterprise-A from the Shatner novel "Ashes of Eden".
Decommissioning is associated with dismantling. Either way, Enterprise was done.
She gallantly rode off into the sunrise here.
The "Remember" line is in the 2nd movie. It's there because news of Spock's death leaked before the movie's release, it was included to leave the possibility of his return.
Star Trek 4 is all about having fun with a message. If you’re having a bad day, the next movie will put a smile on your face.
Next up Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
My favorite star trek movie with the original cast.
Another great ST commentary! It's amazing how you can pick up on some of the characters' backstory and motivation without having seen any of The Original Series (TOS). And yes, the Enterprise is a character, too. Many of us long-time viewers were as shocked as you at her destruction back in the day. Very nice of you to toss out a respectful salute -- you have some idea of how those of us who grew up with the show felt -- almost as deeply as Spock's death in the previous film.
The actress who plays the high priestess is Judith Anderson. She played Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca.
So the point of going to red alert - once activated, the computer activates several systems automatically. Shields and weapons are brought online, targeting systems activate, structural integrity systems increase power as do inertial damping systems. Basically, it readies the ship for combat and danger with one command.
Thanks to James Horner, Kirk backing his ship out of the driveway is the most epic sequence in Star Trek history.
Sabotage, no Beastie Boys required.
Dr. McCoy tried to do the Vulcan salute in the episode "Journey to Babel"(second season, 1967). He told Spock that "it hurt worse than his uniform".
32:47 hits right in the gut. RIP Leonard!
"I found Spok! He's behind the camera!!!" Hahahaha!
The Vulcan High Priestess was played by Judith Anderson who also played Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca.
My 3rd favorite Star Trek movie. everything gets taken away from kirk, he lost his ship, his son.. its pretty dark for him, and the loyalty shown by the crew to save Spock. love this movie.
I'll always remember a story about this film told by George Takei.
During the filming of the scene as the cast watch the burning wreck of the Enterprise travel across the sky, Leonard Nimoy directed one of the stage hands to hold a pole in the air and walk in front of the cast to give them something to focus on.
Take 1:
Stagehands bolts across the floor at light speed. Cast nearly get whiplash trying to follow the pole.
CUT!
Take 2:
Stagehand ordered to take it slower. Stagehand inches across the set at a snail pace. Scene would have lasted half an hour at the pace he's going.
CUT!
Take 3:
This one looks good, he's going at a steady pace, it's almost perfect when he suddenly trips and falls at the halfway point. The cast, watching the pole move steadily across suddenly snap their eyes downwards as the stagehand tumbles to the floor.
CUT!
Eventually they get the shot. That choked up emotional look on everyone's face is actually them struggling not to crack up laughing as they wait to see how the stagehand is going to f*ck it up this time.
we DID see this in the second movie, what they show here is footage from it. "Remember."
The Excelsior kinda grew on me over time. The more angles you see it from the better it looks.
13:29 When I saw this film opening weekend of June 1984; I had just turned 14 (do the math, I'm THAT old) and I went with my parents to see the movie. And when that scene came up, and McCoy realized what Spock did before he died, there was so much laughter from the audience; not just because he cursed, but with the following line about "its his revenge for all the arguments he lost". We couldn't hear what the next line was because of the laughter. It's a moment that I've never forgotten all these years later.
Great to see the reaction for this film; hope you'll be continuing on with the next film; The Voyage Home.
I'm the same age - I was also fourteen when I first saw this film. It was the first ST film I was ACTIVELY awaiting and it BLEW ME AWAY. I found it to be epic, spectacular and emotional beyond words. The themes of going to the end of the galaxy for your friend resonated SO deeply within me.
😅BOTH my parents originally SAW it when it was in theaters- Dad felt sad and hated seeing that version of the Enterprise gradually explode- Mom really felt bad, too. It was one of the few things that they'd keep agreeing on- 😜
My parents, especially my mother even used to go to Star Trek Conventions that had THE REAL CAST MEMBERS in them! SHE even managed to take REAL PICTURES OF James Doohan-
BUT, somehow due to her own mental issues, it took her 27 YEARS to get her roll of 1984-INSTAMATIC KODAK Film developed! LOL. All of the pictures came out very blurry due the film being aged for nearly three decades of being in her purse, a box or even left in the family's '85 Nissan Sentra and later the family's '89 Dodge Minivan.
With today's technology I wonder if it's possible to restore the images if I were you I'd look into it pictures of them would be such a great thing to have
@Josh Gellis I'm sorry about your mom. Having mental illness is a tough thing to deal with.
Pre-emptive like. I know what I'll be doing with part of my evening. I think ST3 is somewhat underrated. I've always enjoyed the blend of tension and comedy in this episode. I think it's pretty well written and very well directed.
It's fine to "pre-emptive" like Ollie's stuff. He's pretty honest, and I haven't ever had to "remove the Like" after viewing. But I have "forgotten" to hit the Like on a few videos here and there. Nothing wrong with hitting it as you start.
I agree - ST III is my second favorite, only to II. Very underrated.
3 is very watchable, as a second part of a trilogy it's a little of a lull, but it's a solid movie
The Vulcan priestess was Dame Judith Anderson, best remembered as Mrs Danvers in Hitchcock's 'Rebecca'.
P.S. Oliver - the only person who can go on a two weeks break and still provide more content than most TH-camrs.
The Spock hand gesture is something you have to practice a lot to get your hand to do it. I learned but it took time. But now I can do it with ease
The last Klingon was played by John Larroquette, who was a huge star on Night Court -- and who will star in the upcoming Night Court.
"What a flipping amazing shot" is just a bit of burning steel wool on a wire. Yay for practical effects.
Leonard Nimoy didn't want to do the 4th film unless it said something, and that's exactly what they did. In a retrospect, they did actually change the world for the better.
11:11 Yes, Spock did the mind meld and said "Remember" in Star Trek 2.
39:02 Saavik calls herself Vulcan, but she's half Vulcan and half Romulan. Duality of heritage was one of the reasons she and Spock were close.
This and the last one have some of Shatner's best acting, where he really gets to show his dramatic chops.
I love Spock's surprise when Kirk says: "you would have done the same for me". Because it wasn't logical, and Kirk goes on to invert what Spock takes as an axiom, saying that the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many. Spock had sacrificed himself, as much as he was thinking of logic, for the sake of loving his friends. He gave that away, implicitly, as he died. Compassion and love for others here continues to trump the idea of logic, it being the true logic. This is part of Spock's journey, half human, trying to figure such things out. This journey of Spock's absolutely featured in the TV series, but also plays out in the movies. Begin with Spock's rejecting Kolinar in the first movie, and follow it through the rest of them. Now, the Wrath of Khan featured dueling literary themes: Tale of Two Cities and Moby Dick. But there was a third, indicated by Scotty's playing Amazing Grace and continued here by McCoy's identifying himself as "son of David", and that is an overt New Testament theme. So getting back to the inverted logical axiom: one person sacrificed his life for the sake of the others. The rest of them then were willing to sacrifice everything that had been important to themselves in pursuit of the of one who had first saved them.
Of all the original movies, this was the one that was the closest in tone and style to the original series, right down to the cheesy fistfight!
My mom and I actually wept when the Enterprise was destroyed. She was beautiful, and Kirk's one true love.
Like it or not, the USS Excelsior design eventually served as the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B at the beginning of the seventh Star Trek movie, Generations. I think the initial idea was to introduce the Excelsior as a better, faster replacement for the Enterprise. That idea was even used in a comic book series that followed up Search For Spock, having said that I think you will like the solution worked out by the end of Star Trek IV.
25:10 Yes, there is a countdown but the boarding party probably didn't understand english. Personally I would've had them only speak klingon in that scene to drive the point home a bit better.
@ 9:40 Hey Ollie. The character Sarek here was first introduced on the original '60s series episode called "Journey to Babel" along with Spock's human mother. The same two actors from the series played the two parts, his dad in this movie and Spock's mom in the next one. BTW, the actor playing Sarek, Mark Lenard, also played the Klingon captain battling the "cloud" at the very beginning of Star Trek The Motion Picture.
Ollie, as far as trying to do the Vulcan salute try holding your hand up with thumb and 4 fingers side-by-side together. Then keeping your fingers together concentrate on spreading apart just your middle finger and ring-finger ONLY. Do it slowly at first until you can spread those two apart while keeping the others together. Or move just your ring and little finger away from the others. May take a little practice. Don't feel bad if you can't ever do it because there was an actress, Celia Lovsky, playing a high Vulcan official and Spock's relative in a good TOS episode called "Amok Time" who couldn't do it either, though she had to give the salute to Spock. To accomplish this an assistant below her and out of camera view had to hold her fingers in place and let her go when she raised her hand in camera view with the salute in place! 🖖😎
And what you said about Enterprise and its looks, keep in mind that Enterprise looked a bit different from TOS. So in The Motion Picture, which is about 10 years later, Enterprise got a major refit including new warp nacelles and that's why Kirk and Scotty did the long inspection of it. And it had been a long while since fans had seen Star Trek or the Enterprise so it was not just a sentimental scene for fans, but one to show the exterior of the ship's changes in detail.
11:11 Actually it's in the second movie. You might have looked away at the critical moment and missed the mind meld and Spock saying "remember" to the knocked out McCoy. That's why at the end of "The Wrath Of Khan" on the bridge Bones said Spock would always be alive so long as we "remember" him. It was giving fans watching #2 reason the think there would be this followup movie you watched here. Someday watch all these movies again to pick up little scenes and nuance missed on first viewings.
19:36 A topic first covered in "Amok Time" as well!
29:52 This scene is much more meaningful knowing their dynamic in TOS. You got a taste of that dynamic on The Motion Picture. I think you'll love the original series Ollie, even though it's lower budgeted '60s special effects the stories are great! If you watch TOS someday just remember NOT to watch the unaired pilot called "The Cage". It will actually end up being used in a 2-part episode in the first season.
Ready for ST:IV! 🖖😎
Mark Lenard was also the Romulan Commander in the Original Series episode "Balance of Terror."
Trekkie here, glad that you're enjoying the films. It's fine that you haven't watched any of the show. It's just good background info. Keep enjoying these films. Star Trek IV is honestly my favorite, and I keep going back to it at any time.
Live Long and Prosper, friend
People give this one shit but it’s always been my favorite. Come on, that music during the Enterprise escape?
Yeah, the “Stealing the Enterprise” music, and the scene and dialogue as well are so amazing, it’s one of a handful of movie scenes I will pull up on my big screen, all by themselves. Lights off, sound up, home theater rocking. Also, the first attack in Wrath of Khan, and Superman (1978) opening credits, among a couple others.
The DOORS Mr. Scott…. Aye, sir, I’m workin’ on it. Maybe the greatest lines in the whole movie.
Great review! Although Leonard Nimoy hadn't directed a feature film before, he'd been a keen photographer all his life and knew first-hand about lighting, lenses, and composition--that's why certain shots look so stunning. Nimoy also had a few books of fine art photography published.
"Funny farm" is slang for mental hospital. U.S.S. Grissom is named after a NASA astronaut who died in a 1967 mishap.
Virgil “Gus” Grissom
He and astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire in Apollo 1 on the launch pad during a system test.
The Apollo capsule used a pure oxygen atmosphere, and a spark caused the fire. The hatch opened inwards, so the pressure from the fire prevented them from opening the hatch to escape. They died within seconds.
The lead Klingon at 20:46 is Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future!!🎬🎬
This is the most underrated movie of the original Star Trek films by far. There's this goofy idea that the odd-numbered films are bad. This movie just happens to be caught between Star Trek II and Star Trek IV, which are both regarded as some of the best of the franchise. Which they certainly are. But it doesn't mean this movie is bad by any means. This movie is so much fun, it has incredible emotional performances by the actors(particularly Shatner), and introduces so much to the Star Trek lore that lasts basically forever. And Christopher Lloyd as a psycho Klingon!!! Come on, how can you not love that?!
Agreed. This one is definitely the best of the odd numbers.
Must've been noted by others but "remember" was in both versions of STII. I recall when I first saw it, I wondered "remember what?" Assumed it would be a set up or answered IF we got a ST3 (not a foregone conclusion back then). Fortunately we did.
And if you thought Nimoys direction was lackluster (I feel he muffed Davids death), wait till you get to Shatners!
It has been said that Kirk Spock and McCoy are one person. Spock the logical side, McCoy the emotional, and Kirk the balance. When Kirk is being too emotional Spock reigns him in. When Kirk being too by the book, McCoy reminds him of what his humane. And when Spock and McCoy are locked in one of their Passion V Logic pissing matches, Kirk brings them both back to the middle. So when he says, "It seems as though I have left the noblest part of myself back there." This is how I feel about it.
The "Remember"-Shot WAS in Star Trek 2. They added it last minute without really knowing what to do with it later, but to have some kind of "bridge" to Star Trek 3. 🖖
Great reaction, yet again! This film ranks fourth for me out of the 6 with the original crew. Still, not bad at all.
Kruge was not the central villain like Khan was, but he importantly facilitated the events. Excelsior and its captain were more like foils or speed bumps along the way, used to humorous effect. Lloyd did an entirely acceptable rendering of a Klingon. He was a little reserved compared to some others we were already familiar with from the series. You got it right when you noted that he had to dominate and kill the worm - he was just being a Klingon.
In the series, McCoy was always being emotional to balance out Spock's logic as the twin shoulder angels Kirk carried with him. This film put him much more in the spotlight than the first two. Having to carry Spock's katra was very tough for him, and he was able to display that.
I am surprised you didn't catch the Star Wars parallels along the way. McCoy trying to hire a pilot (Han Solo) in a bar (the cantina) who talked backwards (Yoda). Breaking McCoy (Leia) out of jail (the detention block), Sulu (Han) shooting the panel just before the security guards (stormtroopers) arrived in the elevator.
There is still really good stuff ahead. Your joke was nice. Not ROFL-level but nice. I also like that tee shirt!
Final note: when you watch ST IV, keep in mind who used to own what ship and what that person was otherwise famous for. It's good for a chuckle.
You will be like 75% lost if you don't watch at least a few Next Generation episodes before the next generation movies. And they are totally worth it!!! At least the first two are.
But bare bones, before you go into those movies you at least need to see these episodes of TNG:
"Q Who"
"The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1"
"The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2"
"Family"
That will prepare you like 55% for the Next Gen movies...
If you want to be prepared up to 95% then you need these 20 episodes (Star Trek: The Next Generation alone has 178 episodes so this is really not a bad deal):
1. "Encounter At Farpoint, Part I"
2. "Encounter At Farpoint, Part II"
3. "The Measure of a Man"
4. "The Emmisary"
5. "Q Who"
6. "Sarek"
7. "Sins of the Father"
8. "Yesterday's Enterprise"
9. "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I"
10. "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
11. "Family"
12. "Brothers"
13. "Reunion"
14. "Redemption, Part I"
15. "Redemption, Part II"
16. "Unification, Part I"
17. "Unification, Part II"
18. "Relics"
19. "All Good Things... Part I"
20. "All Good Things... Part II"
Best Regards!
I'm not sure if you noticed: Dame Judith Anderson played T'Lar. You saw her in the Alfred Hitchcock film "Rebecca" as Mrs Danvers.
"Kirk, I thank you. What you have done is..."
"What I have done, I had to do."
"But at what cost? Your ship. Your son."
"If I hadn't tried, the cost would have been my soul."
Not an entirely bad movie, but being between two really great movies has not helped it's assessment objectively.
Fun Fact: In the opening credits, there is an extra long pause between William Shatner and DeForest Kelley's names, where Leonard Nimoy's name would normally be.
Old Man Yells At Sky Fact: According to Robin Curtis in the Blu-ray making-of documentary, Christopher Lloyd didn't fully understand the use of the communicators. He would often shout his lines into the air rather than speak into the communicator. An example she used: When he says "Bring me up" while on the Genesis Planet, he yelled at the sky as if the ship could hear him. He had to be repeatedly told not to yell at the sky.
Better Saavik Fact: When negotiating Kirstie Alley's contract for Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982), Paramount Studios did not offer or include any options or clauses regarding any possible sequels. According to director Leonard Nimoy, this left Alley open to negotiate a new contract for this film, resulting in Alley's excessive salary demands, which led to her being dropped and replaced by Robin Curtis. I personally think Robin Curtis makes for a better Valcan to be honest.
I saw this in the theaters with my younger cousin. He fell asleep but i was loving the movie.
The "remember" scene is in part 2.
In this time before Back to the future Christopher lloyd had played a villian in 2 of my favorite movies, Star Trek 3 and The Legend of the Lone Ranger.
ROFL! I think that's the first time I've ever heard anyone say, "I found him guys, he's behind the camera!" omg, still laughing.
I know I'm late to this party, but as an old fan who's been with this franchise since the beginning, I have an anecdote ...
Standing in line to see this film as a teenager, I made the acquaintance of a young lady standing in front of me. We sat next to each other watching it. When the _Enterprise_ was destroyed, she reached over and clutched my hand in sorrow. We were both feeling the same thing. It was like losing a member of the _Star Trek_ family.
Sadly I never saw her again. I'm sure that given her looks, she already had a boyfriend -- she was way out of my league. But we did share a moment. As the old saying goes, "Ships that pass in the night."
Red Alert in Starfleet is Immediate Shields and defensive systems, not just for the crew, although that does mean changing the lighting bulbs.
Fun Facts: The female captain that stands when she see's the Enterprise return is Commander Rand... Formerly Yeoman Rand from ST:OST. She became Captain Sulu's number 1.
-Captain Kruge's second in command is played by Night Court alum John Larroquette.
-This movie introduces the Klingon Bird of prey.
-Kirk spares the Klingon, not realizing that he's dishonouring him by not killing him.
-The guy McCoy meets in the bar is a proto Ferengi.
I think the Excelsior class starship is just as beautiful as the Constitution class refit. I love when we get to see different starships. It really makes the world feel bigger.
The Grissom was a 25th century Federation starship Oberth-class type, a tier 6 light science vessel class in Starfleet service .
The Klingon Bird of Prey is still one of the sweetest ship designs in sci-fi history.
30:40 you didn’t include the line, but when the Vulcan priestess addresses Sarek, she refers to him as “sarek, child of Skon, child of Solkar” - naming his father and grandfather
This is only relevant because whilst not named on screen, there’s a character from a later movie named Solkar…SPOCKS GREAT GRANDFATHER…and only had one line…appropriately “live long, and prosper”
The "Remember"-bit *was* actually shown in the second movie, but it wasn't this take but a closeup of McCoys face.
Hello they did show Spock touch McCoy in the second film. You weren't paying attention.
Watching this when I was small and unfamiliar with the phrase, "up your shaft," I thought Scotty was talking to the elevator.
The fight at the end was pretty consistent with the fight scenes from the TV show.
Well, Ollie, in the original series, Spock wore a blue shirt as part of his uniform when serving as first officer of the USS Enterprise
History of "This is where the fun begins"...
1977 - Han Solo
1984 - David Marcus
2005 - Anakin Skywalker
1984 was a great year for movies. A lot of wonderful films came out that year. You should check out "1984", for one thing. The best version of that dark, classic work of fiction. A story everyone should be familiar with, and the ultimate dystopia. (One of the first, in fact.) Perfectly cast and gorgeously filmed. I think you'd find it worthwhile. :)
Hey, Ollie. 😀 I'm glad that I found your channel when I did! I love watching people react to movie favorites of mine and now that you're half way through the classic Trek movies, only 3 more until you get to my all-time favorite one, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country! I eagerly await that reaction and review!
I also wanted to say that you are an absolute dork! And I could NOT say that with more respect and adoration! I can't stand people who take themselves too seriously. My closest friends who have come to mean the world to me are some of the biggest dorks I've ever met, and I love them all the more for it! It is definitely one of the most appealing personality traits that draws me to people, so, yeah. You're a dork and I love your videos for it. 😉
Looking forward to more reactions to come! 😁
T'Pal -- on Vulcan who performed the ceremony -- played the same role on the original series. Also, Serek (sp?), Spock's father, also played the same role on TOS.
The character on TOS was called T'Pau and is not the same character as the High Priestess here (T'Lar). They are played by different actors too.
I love how hyped you get from watching Star Trek man! I hope you enjoy the next one, that one is a fan favorite and also one of mine. The quality of the film stock in #4 is phenomenal and the 2K and 4K transfers are absolutely beautiful.
lol. I'm surprised that you're somehow unable to do the 'Live Long and Prosper' gesture. No pressure though. I'm myself now *_*38_**- I've been into the 80s movies PROBABLY since 1988! '88 was ALSO between the 5th 6th movies! Spock was originally a key character in the original series as the Science Officer- his uniform color was BLUE. 😮💨👌🏻
Kirk - "Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels... his was the most... human."
Saavik - "No need to be insulting at his funeral, Admiral!"
7:59 By this time, the Enterprise was actually 40 years old. (Launched in 2245)
With the advent of the Excelsior Class, the Constitutions were starting to be phased out. The Enterprise, as the second oldest and most beat up of the bunch, was to be the first to go.
You are one of the few reactors to appreciate that the Enterprise is as much a "character" as Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the others. This is especially impressive since you haven't watched the series, where the pivotal role of the Enterprise was more developed....in that, time after time when other ships would have failed or been destroyed, the Enterprise pulled them through. It's almost as if the ship also didn't believe in a no win scenario either. Also, FYI since it's not mentioned in the movie but only in the book version of the movie (there are nearly 100 star trek books including book versions of all the movies based on the original scripts), Saavik is half-Vulcan and half-Romulan - so like Spock torn by two cultures, one that masters their emotion and one that does not.