Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) * * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Leonard Nimoy

Starring:  William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig

This is the best of the Star Trek film series.  It is goofy, unrestrained fun which gives the entire Enterprise crew a chance to steal some scenes and breathe life into their characters.  They aren't just sitting on the bridge following Kirk's orders.  

The plot, which is preposterous in the most entertaining way, involves a powerful alien probe which approaches Earth, rendering all power sources useless and wreaking havoc on the atmosphere.  The planet will be annihilated in a matter of minutes, unless there is some way to answer the probe's communication.  After some ingenious thinking from Spock (naturally), it is determined the probe is speaking in the language of the humpback whale, which has been extinct for hundreds of years.  The crew then time travels back to present-day Earth to retrieve two humpback whales and transport them to the 23rd century in hopes they can save all life on the planet.  

This mission is fraught with challenges, and not just because the crew are all fish out of water.  "Spread out, you look like a cadet review," Kirk tells the group when they arrive on the streets of San Francisco.  The ship (not the Enterprise thanks to the events of the third film) exhausted its power during the time warp and can only be energized using nuclear energy and then there is the logistical nightmare of beaming up two whales and accompanying water to the ship while Scotty has to construct a makeshift aquarium onboard.  

Kirk and Spock encounter sympathetic marine biologist Dr. Taylor (Hicks), who doesn't believe Kirk's story but at the same time distresses that the two whales at her institute will soon be released to the wild for budgetary reasons and thus in danger from whale hunters.   Her story arc doesn't result in a romantic relationship with Kirk, but follows its own logic.  If the whales make it to the 23rd century and can tell the probe to stand down, then Dr. Taylor would be the only expert on the planet with actual experience in working with these mammals.

There are further events which complicate the mission, naturally, but it isn't a spoiler alert to say everything turns out well in the end.   Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home doesn't get bogged down.  It is exciting and amusing, and after what Spock went through in the previous two installments, it is thrilling to see him fully recovered, living long, and prospering.