Star Trek: The Motion Picture

While it may be visually stunning and somewhat thought provoking, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is, unfortunately, boring. If it were not for the blaring red alert alarms, I think I might have slept through most of the film.

The movie begins with a huge, ominous cloud destroying three Klingon ships as it moves towards the planet Earth. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner), having been relegated to desk duty, seizes the opportunity created by this crisis to once again take command of the Starship Enterprise and attempt to save Earth from this unknown energy cloud.

The Enterprise proceeds to the center of the cloud where they find V'ger, a mysterious creature that appears to control the cloud. V'ger takes the Enterprise's new navigator Ilia (Persis Khambatta), kills her, and then returns her to the Enterprise in a robotic form that is controlled by V'ger. Communicating with V'ger through Ilia, the Enterprise's crew learn that V'ger is returning to Earth to find it's creator and if it doesn't, it will wipe out all life on the planet.

Although, as I said before, this is a boring movie, it's not all bad. The special effects are some of the most beautiful and realistic ever put to film -- even by today's standards. The opening scene where the Klingon Warships are destroyed by the cloud is striking and ,along with the excellent musical score, sets the tone for the entire film.

The performances by the major cast members are also very good and are perfectly suited for the movie. Even though it takes a while for Kirk, Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew to return to their TV show rhythm, they eventually get there. Besides, when Star Trek: The Motion Picture came out in 1979, it had been ten years since the original TV show had ended and it was exciting enough just to see them all together on film again.

The real downfall of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is it's pacing. In an attempt to be a "pure" science fiction movie, there is almost no action. Combine that with the excruciatingly long special effects sequences (like the 20 minute journey to the center of the cloud) and this movie is so slow it could (and probably will) put you to sleep. At points it's so bad, it's like watching paint dry! Other than the aforementioned "Red Alerts, there wasn't much to keep me from falling asleep.

Slow pacing aside, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the first Star Trek film and as such is a must see for all Trekkies. I'd even recommend it for people who are not big Star Trek fans. If you can get through the beginning third of the movie, you might actually be able to stay awake to the end.

More Star Trek: The Motion Picture Movie Reviews

Movie Review of Star Trek: The Motion Picture at ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Star Trek: The Motion Picture Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database