Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979) - Review

Shatner and Nimoy Slowly Go Where Some Films Had Gone Before

May 9, 2009

On the 30th anniversary of its release, does the original Star Trek movie still hold up?

The year was 1979. The original Star Trek TV series had been off the air for a decade. While it had only lasted three seasons, falling two short of its stated "five year mission", the show found a surge of new life through the magic of syndicated reruns. It was so popular, in fact, that Paramount made an attempt to bring the show back as a new series, Star Trek: Phase II, to air on their brand new "Paramount Television Service" network. The network then collapsed in development, leaving the project in limbo.

Wanting to capitalize on the immense popularity of recent science fiction films such as Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Paramount decided to harvest the pilot script of Phase II as the basis for Star Trek:The Motion Picture. So 30 years and five spin-off series later, and with the release this weekend of the 10th sequel to that film (aptly and simply titled Star Trek), what better time to re-examine its merit?

Synopsis of 1979 Star Trek Movie

All has been quiet in the universe. James T. Kirk has been promoted to Admiral, but at the same time relegated to desk duty as Chief of Starfleet Operations on Earth. When a Federation outpost documents a trio of Klingon warships being handily destroyed by a huge and mysterious cloud that is then detected as heading, of course, straight toward Earth, Kirk is called up to retake command of the Enterprise, intercept the cloud, and see what's what.

Cast Includes William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy

William Shatner does well as Kirk here, showing a more restrained performance than would come in some of the later films, but this could also be a reflection of the slightly emotion-less script. More on that later. Leonard Nimoy fits right back into the role he was born to play, as Lt. Spock, on a quest to reconcile his emotional half-human heritage with the strict discipline and teachings of the emotionally suppressing logic of his Vulcan side. The mysterious cloud might hold some answers for him in this regard, and his reaction to its revelations are credibly and effectively done. Only DeForest Kelley, as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, seems out of his element. He lays on the corn-fed country doctor bit a little heavy at the outset, as if he's overcompensating for 10 years away from the role.

Stephen Collins, as deposed Enterprise Captain William Decker, and Persis Khambatta, as the mysterious Deltan Lt. Ilia, are just plain fine. Khambatta is given the thankless job of playing a droning automaton for most of the film; a kind of character that shows up often in Star Trek stories, but she handles it ably. Interestingly enough, these two characters and their relationship later served as the basis for Commander Riker and Deanna Troi of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Script by Alan Dean Foster and Roddenberry

Here we go. The story, by Alan Dean Foster and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, is a good one. The mystery of the cloud is compelling, and its true purpose is satisfying and logical, pardon the expression. It's also nice to see Kirk go through his bumps as he gets used to commanding again. But the screenplay's roots as a television script are clear; the cerebral tone and overall lack of action may suffice as a good one-hour episode, but not so much as a full length feature. It was criticized as much then, and it's still true.

Direction by Robert Wise

Robert Wise's direction doesn't help, as it's not exactly brisk. Perhaps he felt the pressure of bringing Star Trek to the screen for the first time, and he wanted to give the eager, hungry fans a lot to gawk at. Several times in this film, Wise absolutely luxuriates in drawn-out sequences of his characters staring out the window at special effects, saying nothing. For example, Kirk and Scotty's shuttle trip from the space station to the newly factory-refurbished Enterprise takes 4 minutes and 44 seconds. Yes, it's the first time we see the famous ship in a movie, but in wordless screen time, that's an eternity. Perhaps Wise was also aping similar sequences in 2001: A Space Odyssey, or Close Encounters. But their effects were better, and the scenes were not as egregious.

Overall, the movie is still worth a look for the sake of completism or curiosity, keeping those few caveats in mind, and the fast forward button at the ready.

Interesting and fun notes

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