Possibly the most under-rated Trek film

I never got into Trek films until I was like 15 or 16 yrs old "although I never bothered really watching the first them then lol". While everyone was worshipping the Wrath of Khan or even Star Trek 4 with some people "which are both great don't get me wrong", I always loved the Search for Spock. I mean where else do you have Christopher Lloyd as a ruthless Klingon ? Or Kirk getting in a big one on one fight at the end and kicking some ass ?

You also have James Horner's awesome musical score. Yes the late great Jerry Goldsmith did some really good Trek scores as well but I always wished Horner would come back and just do one more. I really hope he comes back to do the score for the announced Trek 11....which will really be a prequel about how Kirk and Spock met on....Brokeback Mountain lol "am kidding about the last part. Anyway Horner's score for me is what made the Wrath of Khan and the Search for Spock seem like the only Trek films that are like space operas. It's one of the most lively Trek scores and the films need him again.

Anyway the film takes place after Spock's heroic sacrifice in the Wrath of Khan. His casket was launched to a mysterios planet. There the planet has a mysterious effect on his body which has him reborn. Kirk steals the enterprise to go to the planet after weird behavior by Bones. It would seem that Spock left a little of himself with Bones before his death. So Bones is sorta possessed by Spock in a way. So they need to get Bones with the reborn Spock to form some sort of ritual. I know that all sounds silly but to me the whole Spock rebirth isn't even what makes the film good for me. I mean you have Klingons killing Kirk's son and get to hear him say "you Klingon [...]!, you Klingon [...]!.....you...killed...my...... son! lol. To me that's about as classic as when he yells "KHAN!!!" in the Wrath of Khan. This is still one of the funnest and most entertaining Trek films ever.

A difficult film to make, and Nimoy and Shatner did it.

Star trek III is widely considered to be an infinitely inferior sequel to The Wrath of Khan, yet is in fact a more complex film and has a much more difficult task set in front of it. Although not perfect, it is an engaging story filled with a number of excellent reversals and a masterful performance by Shatner.

Montalban is the absolute driving force in Star Trek II and much of that film relies on this fact. Christopher Lloyd does a fine job as a merciless Klingon, yet it is up to Shatner to carry this film. And he does an amazing job. His stealing of the Enterprise gives Kirk back the initiative in the entire series, and is one of the all-time great moments for the original cast. Why this sequence, and so many others, is not given more credit is beyond me.

Mired in some necessary exposition, The Search for Spock effectively navigates its way through Klingons, Vulcans, the tragic genesis project, Starfleet regulations... no easy task. The finale is lovingly presented, and tests the depths of not only the crews's emotions but that of the audience and fans. Nimoy did a fabulous job with this film, and it led the way to the unprecedented Star Trek IV.

I'm reviewing the DVD product, not just the movie.

I agree with those who write that Search for Spock isn't quite the movie that Wrath of Khan was. This movie just ground to a almost screeching halt at times. Some of the scenes were hard to watch. There isn't nearly the ambience of movies like Wrath of Khan, The Motion Picture, or First Contact.

What I like about the film is as follows:

1. Robin Curtis. I think she's the ultimate Vulcan babe. I found her Saavik to be much more convincing than Kirstie Alley's. When I saw this movie in the theater I thought "Now there's what a Vulcan woman should look like!" She's never been surpassed in my book.

2. The entire original crew working together to save one of their own. They each get to do something.It's not just about Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

3. Christopher Lloyd. No matter how ruthless his character is, I still want to laugh. Maybe not the most convincing Klingon, but very entertaining, to me anyway.

I could go on, but I would likely repeat what others have said about the movie.

But this isn't just about the movie; it's about all the other stuff you get with these two disc sets. You get commentary tracks and interviews and documentaries.

Wouldn't you like to hear what Leonard Nimoy had to say about Directing the movie? Would you like to hear and see Robin Curtis talk about her approach to playing Saavik and how she was coached through various scenes by director Nimoy?

There's a lot more going on here than the movie itself. So maybe it's a three star movie, but it's a five star product.