Review of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) by Jason D — 05 Jan 2010

In Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home, the gang (all of the returning players) are wrapping things up (i.e. Spock's rehabilitation) and begin their voyage back to Earth to stand trial for the "crimes" of stealing the Enterprise and rescuing Spock and others in the previous film, but before they get their, the Earth and entire Starfleet is under attack by a strange alien presence sending out unknown messages to an unknown force.

It turns out, the alien is sending out messages to its race that once inhabited Earth, humpback whales. So, the gang goes back to Earth in the 80's where they engage in hilarious culture shock shenanigans as they try to take back two humpback whales from a museum who are cared for by 80's Earth chick Catherine Hicks (Child's Play), whose every bit as charming and fun to watch in this as the rest of the crew.

In another Leonard Nimoy directed Star Trek, this one definitely goes the way of Rocky 4 by embodying the 80's full-throttle and turning up lots of hilarious (intentional AND unintentional moments).

Still, it's a terrific story and another fun entry in the franchise that cuts loose a little. Overall, I had a blast watching this one. The entire cast works terrifically together and do an excellent job of showing off their comedic skills.

In a sense, not as seriously-minded and epic as the first three films, but high in entertainment (though a bit cheesy and silly). I'd say a great 80's film moreso than a great Star Trek film.