Review of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) by Daniel C — 29 Aug 2012

An unknown but dangerous space entity is on its way to Earth. In its path it takes out a trio of Klingon warships and a Federation station. Admiral Kirk takes command of the newly refurbished Enterprise in order to intercept and hopefully stop whatever it is.

Star Trek's first move onto the cinematic screen comes 10 years after the final Original Series episode. Our characters have aged, but they are all familiar. The Motion Picture does its part in reintroducing us to the crew and what they may have been up to in the mean time. We are reintroduced to the Enterprise following her refit and meet two new crew members in Decker and Ilia.

The Motion Picture is a journey and some could say it's a long and drawn out one. From the 6 minute tour of the Enterprise in drydock to the time spent exploring the outside and insides of the V'Ger probe, this movie has more in common with 2001: A Space Odyssey than Star Wars. But it is ultimately Star Trek. We are out there, exploring the unknown and eventually we see the possible creation of new life. While this is probably not the strongest movie of those that have been released so far, this movie is definitely Star Trek and an important step as it would spawn 5 follow up movies and all the continuing sagas of Star Trek that would air on TV.