My review was written in Mary 1984 after watching the film at a Columbus Circle screening room.
"Star Trek III -The Search for Spock" is an emotionally satisfying science fiction adventure. Dovetailing neatly with the previous entry in the popular series ("Star Trek II -The Wrath of Khan"), the Harve Bennett production (he also scripted) is helmed with a sure hand by debuting feature director Leonard Nimoy, who also appears briefly but to good effect as the indestructible half-human/half-Vulcan Spock.
Relying upon clues (as revealed in flashbacks) cleverly planted in "Star Trek II", film centers upon a quest to seemingly bring Spock, the noble science office and commander who selflessly gave his life to save "the many", back to life. Pic opens in a melancholy mood as the U. S. S. Enterprise limps home in damaged state. It is to be scuttled, as announced by Commander Morrow (Robert Hooks), and only the ship's engineer Scotty (James Doohan) has been reassigned to a flashy new ship The Excelsior.
Spock's friend, Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) is visited by Spock's Vulcan father (Mark Lenard, reprising a guest star role he played in the tv series), who informs him that Spock's living spirit may still me alive via a mindmeld with one of Kirk's crew and must be taken to the planet Vulcan to be preserved.
Kirk discovers who the "possessed" crew member is, and with his other shipmates, steals the Enterprise out of its dock and sets off for Vulcan. Crossed with this mission is footage of Kirk's scientist son (Merrick Butrick) and Vulcan science officer Lt. Saavik exploring the unstable Genesis planet where they find a young but rapidly aging Vulcan boy who appears to be a life-form regenerated from Spock's corpse, which had been left on Genesis.
The enemy are the Klingons, represented by one Commander Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) who defies an impending space treaty between the Klingon Empire and the Federation and attacks Saavik's ship, the U. S. S. Grissom (named for the late astronaut). Kruge attempts to steal the secret of the Genesis effect (life from lifelessness) but is outwitted by Kirk, who successfully arrives on Vulcan with Spock's regenerated body. In a ritualistic ceremony presided over by a high priestess (Dame Judith Anderson), Spock is reintegrated, spirit and flesh, and regains his memories with the help of his human friends in a moving conclusion, that promises not only a soon-to-come "Star Trek IV", but the prospect of the Nimoy as Spock character back in a starring role.
Bennett's script carefully captures the spirit of the Gene Roddenberry-created tv series, even providing satisfying (though brief) scenes spotlighting each member of the crew, including communications officer Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), who gets to state (and demonstrate) that "this isn't reality -this is fantasy".
Countering ongoing trends in science fiction and youth-oriented films, Nimoy's direction is people-intensive, with less of the zap and effects diversions of competing films. However, George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, under Ken Ralston's supervision, has delivered arresting miniature work and animation which, especially in the sequences of the Enterprise docking and departing, impart a sense of realistically vast scale (not looking like tiny models). The point is that the performances, well-delivered by an ensemble rather than star cast.
James Horner elaborates effectively on his score from "Star Trek II", and his orchestral work (even including theremin-like effects) combines with Dame Judith Anderson's mystical three-word incantation (when bringing Spock back to life) to conjure up pleasant memories of Robert Wise's classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and thereby link "Star Trek III" to science fiction tradition. Wise directed the first "Trek" feature but is no longer involved in the series.
"Trek III" will definitely satisfy the fans of the Paramount tv series and along with "Rocky III" demonstrates the effectiveness in a feature film series (unlike the Bond pictures and "Indiana Jones") of preserving a continuity in characters and stories from one adventure to the next.
