Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Special Collectors Edition
It's the 23rd century, and a mysterious alien power is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In a frantic attempt to save mankind, Kirk and his crew must travel back to 1986 San Francisco where they find a world of punk, pizza and exact-change buses that are as alien as anything they've ever encountered in the far reaches of the galaxy. A thrilling, action-packed Star Trek adventure!
Member Reviews
Definate Favourite - PopcornGallagher
Of all the original Star Trek flicks made I'd have to say that this one ranks as my favorite. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was because we saw it at the IMAX theater at Ontario Place and I also saw it with my mother who enjoyed the movie immensely. Again, all the characters are so beloved and Spocks character is particularly enjoyable as he is trying so hard to understand "earths people" in that time frame. A definite must see.Star Trek Reaches Out to the Casual Moviegoer...and Succeeds - MovieProf
"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is a complete departure from any of the other films in the franchise for the simple fact that here the crew of the recently-destroyed Enterprise travel back in time to San Francisco, circa 1986. This was a bold move on the part of the producers: in reaching out to casual moviegoers in an effort to further capitalize on the success of the previous two films, they risked alienating true and loyal fans, fans who appreciated Star Trek because it was so foreign to the world of 1986.
The move worked brilliantly. "The Voyage Home" was a huge success, both commercially and critically, and ensured the franchise would continue on.
The story is simple: after returning home from Vulcan in the same Klingon vessel from the previous film, and with a now rejuvinated Mr. Spock, the Enterprise crew learns that Earth is under the painful spell of a strange alien. The alien is crippling the Earth to such an extent that the planet and its unhabitants might well die before long, unless someone can find a way to communicate with it. The answer: humpback whales. The problem: they no longer exist. The solution: attempt time travel to return to an Earth when they did exist, bring some back, and hope they can communicate with the alien.
Heartwarming, engaging, comical at times, action-packed at others, "Star Trek IV" is as good as its predecessors. A wonderful political statement about the plight of whales doesn't hurt either.Star Trek At It's Most Accesible - Gregg
A mysterious probe has come to Earth from some unknown galaxy and it is broadcasting a strange message aimed at Earth’s Oceans. Although not overtly hostile the probe drains the energy of any ship that it approaches and begins to vaporize the world’s oceans and disrupt the atmosphere with catastrophic effect. Enter the heroic crew of the Enterprise now aboard a commandeered Klingon Ship following the destruction of their ship in Star Trek III. Though they are facing a number of charges for their actions in the previous film and despite the fact Spock my or may not have recovered fully after being restored to life they are the only one in a position to save Earth from catastrophe. They are the ones that discover the only way to save Earth is to go back in time to the 1980's to find whales.
While retaining a number of the traditional Star Trek elements and having a serious theme, much of the movie could best be described as light comedy, and in that genre it works. Despite the genre, and the light hearted tone though, the film also has a message that is surprisingly resonant. Another interesting aspect of the film is that included no real violence or hostility, which was a very big shift from previous two films in the series. Much of the humor is based on a fish-out-of-water scenario (no pun intended) wherein our protagonists from the future must deal with Earth in the 1980’s. There is also some not so subtle commentary on the problems of late 20th century earth including the cold war and pollution.
Once again as with all of the Star Trek Special Editions there are loads of special features some of which relate directly to the film and others exploring admittedly superficially subjects raised in the film. There is a Feature Commentary with Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner as well as a text commentary covering various trivia. Overall the quality of these features is at best average, but for the dedicated fan it's quite comprehensive.
Member Reviews
Read All...
Definate Favourite - PopcornGallagher
Of all the original Star Trek flicks made I'd have to say that this one ranks as my favorite. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was because we saw it at the IMAX theater at Ontario Place and I also saw it with my mother who enjoyed the movie ...Star Trek Reaches Out to the Casual Moviegoer...and Succeeds - MovieProf
"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is a complete departure from any of the other films in the franchise for the simple fact that here the crew of the recently-destroyed Enterprise travel back in time to San Francisco, circa 1986. This was a bold move on the ...Star Trek At It's Most Accesible - Gregg
A mysterious probe has come to Earth from some unknown galaxy and it is broadcasting a strange message aimed at Earth’s Oceans. Although not overtly hostile the probe drains the energy of any ship that it approaches and begins to vaporize the world’s oceans ...