The cast of Star Trek: The Original Series took us on memorable adventures and defined that franchise's universe as we knew it. Since the final film featuring the TOS members in 1991, the six Trek films featuring James T. Kirk and company is often divided into two groups. The even-numbered films (The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, and The Undiscovered Country) were considered the "good" films and the odd-numbered entries (The Motion Picture, The Search for Spock, and The Final Frontier) were the "bad" films.
Then, in 1998, a website called Rotten Tomatoes hit the internet and eventually gave movie fans all the information they needed about the first six Star Trek films, including its "Tomatometer" score, which is derived from the critics' reviews. Today, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock holds a "Certified Fresh" RT score of 78%, so let's re-examine this 1984 movie and why it received such high marks.
Original reception of The Search for Spock
When the movie hit theaters, the late film critic Roger Ebert called The Search for Spock "a good but not great Star Trek movie." Perhaps this is where the original perception of the film came from. It's way closer to great than bad, especially when you think about elements like Christopher Lloyd's performance as the ambitious and ruthless Klingon Commander, Kruge, Admiral Kirk's agony at the death of his son, David Marcus, and the destruction of the USS Enterprise. I can never keep a dry eye during this moment!
Fanzines were still very much a thing at this time, and I recall one fan complaining about the movie as being something they could've tacked onto The Wrath of Khan, a la Kirk's supposed death in The Original Series episode, "Amok Time." However, there is much more to this film than meets the eye: It's about grief, loss, hope, and the lengths you might go to save a dear friend.
The Search for Spock's highlights
While this film might not be the sweeping epic The Wrath of Khan was, or at least as far as its reputation told us, there are some truly great moments that are still as entertaining, shocking, and emotional. It also has the one thing The Wrath of Khan doesn't have, and that's more humor.
From Dr. McCoy asking his 1.0 Ferengi fly-by-night transport connection, "How can you be deaf with ears like that?" to Sulu opening a can of whoop-[expletive] on a man twice his size who'd called him "tiny," these moments balance the film's feel and give Star Trek's beloved characters a sense of authenticity as they're allowed to do what they do best.
I can't discuss these moments without Uhura locking a sassy young lieutenant in a closet so Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu can board and take command of the Enterprise.
The Search for Spock breaks the 'odd-numbered movie' curse
The other odd-numbered films' scores on Rotten Tomatoes (The Motion Picture's 51% and The Final Frontier's 22%) are far worse than Star Trek III. Does this mean that The Search for Spock's Tomatometer rating breaks that long-standing belief that the odd-numbered Star Trek movies are all bad? Yes, and as more fans discover and rediscover the film, the more this sequel to The Wrath of Khan finally receives the respect it deserves.
How would you rank Star Trek III: The Search for Spock among the other films featuring the crew from The Original Series'? Do you agree with the RT Tomatometer rating? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die X and Facebook pages.