STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK

(June 1984, U.S.)

Spock was dead. It was something I and every other fan of STAR TREK had to contend with for two years. Oh, we knew he was coming back somehow, someway in the next film, and we were pretty sure it would have something to do with the new Genesis planet created at the end of STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. Still, the waiting was tough. I also have very specific memories of the movie theater I saw STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK at, as well. There exists a prominent shopping district in the town of Manhasset on the North Shore of Long Island called the Miracle Mile (Billy Joel even mentions it in his song, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”). There was once a movie house among all these upscale retail stores. Their programs were predominantly independent and art films, but every once in a while they would feature first run movies. This was my first visit to this single screen gem. At the time, I had no feelings of sentiment toward what was just another movie theater. Today, of course, I look back on it with nostalgia every time I think about STAR TREK III or any other movie I managed to see there because it was closed and razed decades ago.

The crew of the USS Enterprise, emptier now, are still in mourning over the loss of Spock. As they're nearing their return to Earth after battling and defeating Khan, there's an uneasiness on the ship. McCoy is acting strange. Following a visit between Spock’s father Sarek and Kirk, we finally learn what Spock’s final word to McCoy was when he placed his hand on his head and said, “Remember”. We discover that Spock, before saving the Enterprise, transferred his living spirit or katra, to McCoy. In effect, Spock is now a dead body without a spirit, and McCoy is a living body with Spock’s spirit. I suppose on paper, it sounded confusing when we all first heard it, but I managed to retain the spiritual meaning behind it pretty well from the beginning. Kirk swears he'll retrieve Spock’s body from the new Genesis planet and bring it to Spock’s home planet, Vulcan, so that body and spirit can once again be joined, even if it means disobeying orders from Starfleet and stealing the Enterprise for his own mission, which he does, along with his most trusted and loyal friends. Meanwhile, Kirk’s son, David Marcus is now the leading scientist in charge of the new Genesis planet, along with Mr. Saavik (goodbye Kirstie Alley!) at his side. As they investigate strange happenings on the planet, they're pursued by Klingons (the lead one Kruge played by Christopher Lloyd just one year before his infamous Doc Brown) determined to steal the secret of Genesis and use it as an ultimate weapon of power. Back in 1984, I think this had been the first time I’d really gotten to know what the Klingon spaceship (called a Bird of Prey) was all about (STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE gave me only a brief glimpse). The fact that this ship could cloak itself to hide in space was pretty cool. On the planet, however, even as David and Saavik are fighting for their own lives, Spock’s reborn body is aging at a fast rate. His growth from a little boy to a young man happens in only hours, but he's still a Vulcan without a brain and burning blood. As he grows to manhood and withstands unbearable pain along the way during the Vulcan ritual known as Pon Farr, which is apparently some form of sexual awakening that Saavik helps him with, the planet is slowly destroying itself.

Inasmuch as the life and death (and life) of Spock is key in this movie, there's something quite pivotal at the moment when the Enterprise is sitting dead in space and at the mercy of their enemy. Upon learning that David has been killed by the "Klingon bastards", rather than surrender their ship, Kirk, Scotty and Chekov order the ship’s computer to self-destruct the Enterprise. Holy crap! Is this really about to happen? After eighteen years on both TV and film, are we really about to see the legendary USS Enterprise destroyed? There's still something so unbearable about this. It isn't simply the end of an era, but also the end of a very strong part of our pop culture. Watching Kirk and his crew gaze up into the sky from the planet below as they watch their beloved ship come crashing down, it's easy to see in their faces that they felt the same way I do toward something they love. Clearly, as director, Leonard Nimoy knows how to reach his STAR TREK audience on the proper emotional level.

I’ve often had this habit of going against the grain when it comes to popular culture, particularly the movies. There have been some films that the rest of civilization loves and I hate, and vice versa. I’m probably alone in this opinion, but STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK is my favorite film in the entire STAR TREK movie franchise, and that opinion is not without what I consider to be good reason. It's true, while the true action and excitement may lie in STAR TREK II and the comic fun may lie in STAR TREK IV, making them the more popular films, it’s the self-seriousness and spiritual themes of friendship, camaraderie, honor, sacrifice and loss that make STAR TREK III a far more dramatic and poignant film than the others. Kirk’s trauma at the loss of his best friend is unbearable, and it’s strengthened by deep feelings of guilt due to his inability to reach Spock behind impenetrable glass. Even for that brief moment when Sarek tells him that, “Everything he knew, everything he was, is lost”, it’s Kirk who speaks up, unable to accept the idea that Spock’s death could so final without any possibility of hope. Kirk says it perfectly when he tells Sarek, “Spock would have found a way.” As STAR TREK fans who can only sit back and watch the big screen, we only wish we had a true friend like James Kirk who would stop at nothing to find us when we’re lost and return us to the place we call home. That deep meaning of friendship can perhaps best be defined in a single camera shot featuring Spock and Kirk on either side of the screen as they face each other for the first time since Spock’s resurrection...

While there’s the obvious confusion and puzzlement of these two men finding each other again through extraordinary circumstances, you can clearly see in their faces that there’s also the obvious truth of the history behind these two warriors and the adventures they’ve shared. We’ve watched it all before, and now because a single word has been spoken, “Jim”, we can now look forward to watching it all again, because Spock is alive, and we’re glad to have him back!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Sarek: "Forgive me. It is not here. I had assumed he mind-melded with you. It is the Vulcan way, when the body's end is near."
James Kirk: "We were separated. He couldn't touch me."
Sarek: I see. Then everything he was...everything he knew...is lost."
Kirk: "Please wait. He would have found a way. If there were that much at stake, Spock would have found a way."
Sarek: "Yes. But how?"
Kirk: "What if he joined with someone else?"