Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Review by Kevin Knight

Special thanks to SpiderMonkee for the screencaps!

Original Release Date: December 7th, 1979
Stardate: 7412.6

The Story

We open with a shot of three Klingon attack cruisers in approach of an unknown cloud-like formation. The captain of the lead Klingon cruiser signals for a tactical analysis of the cloud formation. Moments later, the Klingon captain orders torpedoes fired into the cloud. On the tactical display, the Klingon officers notice the torpedoes are destroyed by the cloud. The captain orders evasive maneuvers.

Earth station Epsilon IX intercepts the distress signal sent from the Klingon fleet. The station commander is informed and he, along with several other crew members, observe the transmission. One officer manages to establish an external visual, and they observe the vast cloud formation fire what appears to be some plasma burst that destroys the Klingon fleet. They then plot the course of the cloud; it is on a direct course for Earth.

On Vulcan, Spock, having left Starfleet, is undergoing the Kolinahr ritual; the shedding of all emotion and the achievement of total logic. The high priestess is about to place the Kolinahr medallion around Spock's neck, when he stops her. She initiates a mind meld with Spock and learns that a consciousness is calling to Spock from space. She also states that he cannot find his answer with them, and that he has not achieved Kolinahr. She drops the medallion onto the ground, and her along with the other priests, walk away.

Admiral James T. Kirk arrives at Starfleet Command in San Francisco via shuttle. Kirk is on his way to a meeting with Admiral Nogure, when he runs into Spock's replacement, Commander Sonak. Sonak is at Starfleet Headquarters undergoing final briefings before returning to the Enterprise. Kirk orders him to meet him on the Enterprise in one hour.

At the orbital office, Commander Montgomery Scott welcomes Admiral Kirk as he transports from the surface. Kirk asks why the transporter on the Enterprise is offline, and Scotty assures him that it's a temporary problem. The two enter a shuttlepod and depart for the Enterprise. Scotty complains that the Enterprise will not be ready for launch in twelve hours since they have spent eighteen months refitting and redesigning the Enterprise. Kirk says that "ready or not, she launches in twelve hours." Scotty also says that the crew does not have enough transition time with all the new equipment, the warp engines have not been tested at warp power, and that the captain is untried. Kirk surprises Scotty by saying that Starfleet has given the Enterprise back to him.

Kirk is speechless as the two approach the newly refitted Enterprise. He observes all the changes that have been made to the ship's exterior, and Scotty flies the shuttlepod around the port side, and over the top of the ship. They dock the shuttlepod, and depart. Kirk makes his way around the ship and meets the senior officers again. He orders Chekov to assemble the crew in the recreation lounge for a briefing on what the mission is. Kirk then makes his way to main engineering to inform Captain Decker that he has been temporarily demoted to Commander. Decker is angered by this news, and remembers when Kirk recommended him for this command. Moments later, a control panel shorts out the transporter. Scotty tries to reverse the process, but two crewmembers are already in transport. Kirk and Scotty rush to the transporter room. In the transporter, Yeoman Janice Rand is attempting to save Sonak and another crewmember from the transporter. Starfleet says they cannot retrieve their pattern, and Kirk takes the controls. Scotty informs Kirk that they're starting to lose their pattern, and Rand notices that they are beginning to form. Distorted screams are heard from the transporter pad, and the beam is reversed by Starfleet Command. Kirk asks Starfleet if they retrieved the beam, in which Starfleet responds "...what we got back didn't live long, fortunately." Afterwards, Kirk meets Decker in the corridor and informs him that with the loss of Sonak, Decker will now have to double as Executive Officer and Science Officer.

In the recreation lounge, the crew watch the footage of the destruction of the Klingon fleet by the cloud. Kirk and the other senior officers enter and he informs the crew that their mission is to intercept, investigate and take whatever action is necessary, and possible. Moments later, Epsilon IX sends a signal and gives the Enterprise some more data. The could is 2 AU's in diameter. All attempts at communication have failed. Then they begin to detect a strange power surge from the cloud, and believe their scans could be interpreted as a hostile act. The power surge continues, and Epsilon IX says they're under attack. Kirk orders the external visual and the crew witnesses the cloud destroy Epsilon IX.

On the bridge, Uhura informs Kirk that the navigator, Lieutenant Ilia was onboard and on her way to the bridge. Decker turns and looks with a bit of surprise because they had a relationship in the past. Uhura then adds that she's Deltan. The turbolift doors slide open, and Ilia enters the bridge. Kirk introduces himself, and she becomes reacquainted with Decker. Uhura then informs Kirk and the last officers are ready to transport onboard, but that one is refusing to step into the transporter. Kirk automatically knows who this officer is, and proceeds to the transporter room to greet him; Doctor Leonard McCoy.

The spacedock moorings clear from the Enterprise, the lights dim, and the spacedock shuttlepods and other spacecraft clear the dock as the Enterprise prepares to leave spacedock. Kirk orders a orbital departure, and the Enterprise glides out of spacedock. Scotty informs the bridge that impulse power is ready. Enterprise leaves Earth's orbit and Kirk sees the stars again.

Two hours after launch, Kirk is anxious to intercept the intruder as the earliest possible time, and orders warp speed. Scotty insists that the engines are not ready, but Kirk does not relent. The Enterprise enters warp one, and for a moment everything seems to be normal. This changes as a wormhole forums around the Enterprise. Directly ahead, an asteroid is in their flight path and threatens to destroy the ship. Kirk, still unfamiliar with the redesign, orders Chekov to arm the phasers. Decker countermands Kirk's order, and orders Chekov to arm the photon torpedoes. The torpedoes are fired, destroying the asteroid and saving the ship. Kirk, embarrassed and angered by Decker's actions, orders him to join him in his quarters. McCoy goes along with the two. In Kirk's quarters, Decker tells Kirk that with the Enterprise's redesign, the phaser power is increased by channeling it through the main engines. When they went into imbalance, the phasers were offline. Kirk, surprised admits that Decker saved the ship. Decker then says that Kirk has not logged a star hour in two years, and his unfamiliarity with the newly refitted ship seriously jeopardizes the mission. Kirk dismisses Decker, and McCoy tells Kirk that Decker may be right. McCoy tells Kirk that he has used this emergency to get the Enterprise back, and that it's an obsession that could blind him to more immediate dangers. The bridge then calls to report that a Federation transport is nearby and wishes to lock on. Kirk orders Chekov to see to it.

Chekov meets the transport at the docking area, and is surprised to see Spock depart and request permission to come onboard. Chekov happily grants permission and escorts Spock to the bridge. On the bridge, the turbolift doors slide open and Uhura gasps as Spock enters the bridge. Kirk excitedly greets him, but he seems different now. Spock offers his services as science officer. He then makes some calculations and asks Kirk's permission to proceed to engineering to assist Scotty with the warp engines. Later, the warp engines are ready and the Enterprise warps away at warp seven. Spock then meets Kirk and McCoy and the three talk. Spock informs Kirk about the consciousness he has sensed and that it may hold his answers. Uhura interrupts to report that they are about to encounter the intruder.

As the Enterprise approaches the intruder, Uhura tries to communicate with the cloud. All attempts fail. Decker suggests that the Enterprise take a more defensive gesture, but Kirk thinks that will be a sign of hostility. Decker begins to disagree with Kirk, when Spock suggests he believes there is an object at the heart of the cloud. Ilia reports that they are five minutes from the cloud boundary and Kirk orders a parallel course inside the cloud. Spock begins to sense an intelligence from the cloud. He senses puzzlement because they have been contacted but they have not replied. Suddenly, the cloud fires it's plasma toward the Enterprise. The weapons slams into the shields, severely weakening them. The shields hold, but cannot withstand another attack. Spock then determines the cloud's means of communication and programs the computer to respond. Next, a second plasma burst is fired, and at the last moment Spock sends the signal and the attack is called off. After briefly conferring with Spock and Decker, Kirk decides to proceed inside the cloud.

As they pass into the cloud, the crew is stunned by the absolute vastness of it. After several minutes, they come upon a large open area. Kirk orders full stop, and a probe from the cloud suddenly appears on the bridge. It begins to scan the computer and scans the history banks, including Earth defenses and Starfleet strength. Spock damages the computer console, and the probe attacks him. Next, it targets Ilia and attacks her, vaporizing her. Next, a tractor beam grabs onto the Enterprise and begins to pull them deeper inside. They attempt to break free, but do not have the power to do so. After they are pulled inside another chamber, their escape route is closed and they are trapped inside. Ahead, they see another opening and proceed to enter. As they move forward, the opening closes. Spock theorizes it leads to part of the vessel's inner mechanism. He then senses another presence, and the intruder alert sounds. Kirk, Spock and security proceed to deck five. The intruder is another probe from the vessel, in the form of Ilia. The probe states it has been programmed by V'Ger, to observe and record the normal functions of the carbon based units infesting the Enterprise. McCoy enters and Kirk orders him to scan Ilia. Kirk begins to ask Ilia who V'Ger is, and if V'Ger is the name of the caption of the alien vessel. Spock notices a place on her neck that is the sensor/recording device. McCoy reports that Ilia is a mechanism. Kirk asks why does V'ger travel to the third planet of the solar system ahead. Ilia responds by saying V'Ger is looking for the creator. Shocked, Kirk asks what V'Ger wants with the creator. Ilia replies by saying that V'Ger and the creator will become one. Spock suggests that the probe be taken to sickbay for further examination.

In sickbay, McCoy and Chapel examine the probe and notices its near perfect copy of Ilia. Decker enters and the probe calls him by his name along, not the "Decker Unit." Spock, Kirk and Decker enter a room and inform Decker that Ilia is a probe, and suggests that her memory patterns could have been copied, and that it could have been copied too precisely. Kirk and Spock suggest that Decker use his past relationship with Ilia to gain information and use the probe.

Four hours away from Earth, no progress has been made to retrieve Ilia's memory patterns from the probe. Decker shows the probe the recreation room, and shares a game with the probe Ilia enjoyed. For a moment, the probe seems to retrieve some of Ilia's memory, but then returns to normal. The probe asks Decker why the Enterprise requires carbon units and that more information is needed before the carbon units are reduced to data patterns for storage. Decker suggests that he help the probe retrieve some of Ilia's memory patterns, and that it may help it understand their functions better.

Meanwhile, Spock steals a thrustersuit and exits out one of the airlocks. He is going to attempt to enter the next chamber of the cloud and report back what he finds. In the meantime, McCoy, Chapel and Decker show the probe some of Ilia's possessions and it begins to act like Ilia. McCoy has to remind Decker that the probe is a machine. Decker asks the probe about the creator, and it responds by saying V'Ger does not know.

Outside, Spock programs the computer for a ten second countdown for thruster firing. He records a message to Kirk, recording his attempt to contact the aliens. Chekov reports this to Kirk, who then takes a suit and proceeds after Spock. He succeeds and makes it into the next chamber. He notes that he sees an image that could be V'Ger's home planet. Also he notices the Epsilon IX station, and numerous planets, stars and moons. It's possible that V'Ger has recorded it's entire journey. He then admits that all of this is V'Ger, and that they are inside a living machine. Next, he encounters an image of Ilia and attempts to mind meld with the sensor. The mind meld is so staggering that it renders him unconscious. Kirk then finds Spock floating back to the Enterprise, unconscious.

In sickbay, Chapel and McCoy are scanning Spock. There are some indications of some neural trauma. Spock is heard laughing and Kirk moves over to him. Spock says that V'ger is a lifeform of its own, and that with all of V'Ger's knowledge and pure logic it is cold and barren. He then says that simple friendship is beyond V'Ger's ability, and that it's asking "Is this all that I am? Is there nothing more?" Uhura contacts sickbay and reports that V'Ger is in final approach to Earth and Sulu reports that the cloud is dissipating rapidly. On the bridge, the crew observe a tactical report o V'Ger's location and that it's transmitting a signal. Spock analyzes this and determines that it's a simple binary code transmitted by a carrier signal - radio. When the creator fails to respond, V'Ger launches more powerful plasma charges that begin to orbit Earth. Spock reports that the devices can devastate the entire surface of the planet. Kirk asks the probe why, and it says that the carbon units must be destroyed from the planet, and that the creator and similar lifeforms are the only true lifeforms. Spock suggests to Kirk that V'Ger is a child and needs to be treated as such.

Kirk then tells the probe that the carbon units know why the creator has not responded. Kirk refuses to tell the probe why, and the probe and V'Ger become angry by blocking all contact with Starfleet and begins to destroy the Enterprise. Kirk then says that the information will be disclosed if the orbital devices are removed. The probe then answers that the orbiting devices will be removed, but only if the carbon units will disclose the information. Spock then suggests that the vessel is operated by a single brain, and Kirk tells the probe that the information must be disclosed to V'Ger directly. V'Ger then pulls the Enterprise inside and creates a breathable atmosphere, gravity and a walkway to the center. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Decker make their way to the center.

When they reach the center, the probe points to a satellite and says "V'Ger." They make their way to the satellite and Kirk notices the name plate has the letters 'V,' 'G,' 'E,' and 'R.' He then removes some smut from the rest of the plate and discovers that this satellite is really the Voyager 6 satellite. Decker reports that Voyager 6 was lost in a black hole. Spock suggests that it fell into the machine planet's gravity and the inhabitants discovered its primitive programming. They constructed the vessel for its return voyage. Kirk then orders the Enterprise to transmit the old signal to trigger Voyager to start transmitting its data. They attempt, but V'Ger burns out the antenna leads to force the creator to come in person, and to join with it. Spock tells the others that V'Ger knowledge has reached the limits of this universe and it must evolve. Decker suggests there are other dimensions and higher levels of being, but Spock says that the existence of those cannot be proven logically so V'Ger cannot believe in them. Decker then transmits the signal in person, and he with the probe join together to form a new lifeform, and disappear.

On the Enterprise, Kirk asks Spock if they have just seen the beginning of a new lifeform. Uhura reports that Starfleet wants to know vessel status and crew losses. Kirk reports that Captain Decker and Lieutenant are missing. Kirk then tells Scotty that it's time to give the Enterprise a proper shakedown. The film ends as the Enterprise warps away.

 

Review

It must have been a great feeling in 1979 to Star Trek fans when The Motion Picture premiered. Roughly ten years after the series cancellation, Star Trek was still alive and strong and Paramount delivered a film that was worth the wait. Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a beautiful piece of art, and a movie that laid the foundation for the five other Original Series films.

If you watch the original version on VHS, you can see how wonderful the effects were done for a 1979 movie. The refitted Enterprise is a true classic, and spacedock scenes with the shuttlepods were wonderfully done, and of course, the V'Ger scenes were done quite well. With the release of The Director's Edition DVD, these effects were cleaned up quite a bit, and some were completely redone; such as the scene with V'Ger approaching Earth, the creation of the air/gravity envelope and walkway, and when the first probe entered the Enterprise. During the original release, I think the red alert klaxon sounded a little better then the revised klaxon used on the Director's Edition. It's cool that they wanted to use a TOS-like sound effect, but it comes off sounding cheaply done. On the original release you do not get to hear many of the background bridge noise, but on the Director's Edition we get a mix of a slight TOS sound effect, and the effects used in the later movies. Combined, these make a good combination for the background sound effects.

The basic plot and story is an interesting one, yet many parts of it are borrowed from The Original Series episode entitled "The Changeling," in which a powerful probe is in search for its creator, and mistakes Kirk for its creator. Despite this, I believe the V'Ger element and its search for its creator was written and done well. One element about the story I have never liked was Kirk's promotion to Admiral. During The Original Series, it was implied that Kirk never wanted to lose his command, and even in "The Naked Time," he made the comment "I'll never lose you.." regarding the Enterprise. I thought it might have been better to just have Decker as Spock's replacement as first officer and Sonak as the new science officer. It also doesn't seem right to have Kirk so unfamiliar with the ship that it almost costs its destruction. Also it was odd, yet not totally undesirable, to have the confrontational relationship between Kirk and Decker during the beginning of the movie. Seeing the two put their differences aside near the end, and even having Decker refer to Kirk as Jim, was a nice touch. Also it was interesting to see the change Spock underwent during the Kolinahr ritual and how he seemed more Vulcan like and less Human in the beginning, but near the end we see Spock slowly returning to his original self. One slight contradiction to the Vulcan logic Spock possesses is the scene where he sheds tears for V'Ger. He makes the comment "I weep for V'Ger as I would for a brother." This seems odd for a Vulcan, but it can be dismissed as his Human side shining through, such as V'Ger's consciousness touching him from space in the beginning of the film. Yet, what cannot be dismissed as easily is the laughing scene where he admits he should have known V'Ger was a living machine. A Vulcan, half Human or not, would not easily admit his error.

It's hard to work many long hours at a job for years, lose that job, then return ten years later and try to do a repeat performance. The same can be said with the acting in The Motion Picture. We do not see the same chemistry between the characters as we witnessed during The Original Series, yet DeForest Kelley done the best job to preserve the McCoy character. This is evident in the transporter room scene where he comes onboard as the same grouchy country doctor we saw during The Original Series. We also see McCoy's sense of humor as evident during the bridge scene with the V'Ger probe when he says "This child is about to wipe out every living thing on Earth. Now what do you suggest we do, spank it?" It's also a shame we did not get to see much from the other main characters, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura and Scotty.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is one of those films that does not rank high on many fans' top favorites lists. It has many qualities that make it a great film, and one worth watching time and time again. I do admit it's not the best Trek film, but there are some that are worse than this one.

Grade: B

Cast

William Shatner as James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as Spock
DeForest Kelley as Doctor Leonard McCoy
James Doohan as Montgomery Scott
George Takei as Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig as Pavel Andreievich Chekov
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

Guest Starring

Stephen Collins as Decker
Persis Khambatta as Illia

Creative Staff

Screenplay by Harold Livingston
Story by Alan Dean Foster
Directed by Robert Wise
Edited by Todd Ramsay
Produced by Gene Roddenberry
Music by Jerry Goldsmith

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