I grew up with a dad that loved Star Trek so it has been part of my life since I can remember. I will admit that I grew up during The Next Generation era, but I do have a fondness for the original series and especially the movies. However, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is actually one of my least favorite Star Trek movies, and over the years when I have rewatched them, I have skipped this one more often than not.
How to Download Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released on December 7, 1979. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Check out also newer Star Trek movies: Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek Beyond (2016), as well as the TV show Star Trek: Picard (2020).
The Movie Review
To be fair, Star Trek: The Motion Picture does a lot of things right. It brings the crew back together after ten years and it lets those who are new to Star Trek get an idea of who people are, but it also gives you bits of information about what characters like Spock and Kirk have been up to. I feel that they appeal quite well to hardcore fans and those who are not all that familiar with Star Trek.
A Cloudy Threat: The Plot Breakdown
I have seen a few jokes over the years about how Star Trek: The Motion Picture is basically a movie where Kirk and crew are fighting a space cloud and that is kind of what it is. A devastating cloud is traveling through space, destroying anything that gets in its way. You know, it is kind of like how The Fantastic 4: The Rise of the Silver Surfer handled Galactus now that I have thought about it!
The Starship Enterprise has been getting a lot of work done on it and it has a new captain in Willard Deckard. However, Kirk kind of just takes over and is put back in charge as the Enterprise is sent into space to deal with this cloud. You know, Captain Kirk is kind of an asshole at the start of this movie. I have seen this many times and as a working adult, I side with Deckard more and more with the way Kirk just swans in and takes over… to be fair, it is Star Trek and I am probably looking into this way more than is necessary.
A Sentient Cloud and a Slow Burn
To be fair, I think the idea of this sentient cloud and how it is actually tied back to humanity is pretty interesting. The thing is Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a kind of boring movie. It has way too much pretentious dialogue that just seems to go on forever. It is like the characters need to explain the tiniest detail of every single thing that is happening and by the end of it, you feel like it has lasted way more than the little over two hours run time it has.
Visual Effects and a Lack of Action
The special effects hold up fairly well, but there is simply not enough action here, there is drama, but it is kind of boring drama if that makes sense. I am kind of shocked that as a kid, I was able to watch this and it did not turn me completely off the original series of Star Trek, I think it is probably because when I was introduced to the movie series as a whole and I watched Wrath of Khan shortly after this.
A Respectful Nod to the Past
I can see why some people have a soft spot for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but this is certainly not a movie I would make any effort to watch. I respect its place in Star Trek history and without this, we very well may not have all the Star Trek stuff we have today. Yet, despite the respect and nostalgia I have for this, I think I would put it quite near the bottom of my Star Trek movies ranking list.
