I was able to watch the movie last night on video with my girlfriend. I had bought it in December, but I had yet to watch it because of my busy schedule and class-work at college. Now that we are out for the summer, I have a lot of free time on my hands to catch up on all of the movies that I have not watched in a long time. I must admit that I am a pretty big Star Trek fan, but I do not really consider myself a "Trekkie." (The title given to really big fans of the Star Trek franchise) I have been a fan since the original television series, and now I even watch Star Trek Voyager as well. I purchased this movie for $6.99 at the local store, and I think that you can get it pretty cheap at Walmart as well. So, it was pretty much an impulse buy when I purchased it in the first place, but since I like Star Trek a lot, I knew that I would like it.

Now for those of you who are not Star Trek fans, I will explain the quick basis of the series. The main characters of Star Trek, fly through space on a star-ship called the Enterprise. Their goal is to seek out new life forms and boldly go where no man has gone before. This quote, in fact, is said pretty often through-out the stay of the Star Trek series’. The crew consists of 3 pretty big-name actors that had their careers made by these installments on film. They are William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley.

Shatner plays James T. Kirk, the Captain of the ship. Nimoy plays Spock, who is an inhabitant from the planet Vulcan, and plays his first officer. Kelly is the ships doctor, and goes by the nickname "Bones." These are the 3 main people of the ship, but there are 4 others that have reoccurring minor roles in the movies as well. This being the 6th movie in the series to come from the Star Trek series, the characters have already been pretty well developed by the time this movie came around. So, going into it, those people who have seen the first 5 have a slight advantage, but new-comers to the series are not just left out in the cold. This is a movie that can sit by itself, so catching up is pretty easy for everyone.

The plot of the movie revolves around two species in the movie trying to end 70 years of conflict that they have survived through. Those two races are humans, and the Klingons. The Klingons are a race that is known for its violent tendencies and short-tempers. The Enterprise is enlisted as the group that will escort the Klingons High Chancellor (their version of a President), to a meeting with the leaders of many other planets to discuss a peace plan.

To add a little twist to the whole process, Kirk's son was killed by Klingon's in Star Trek 2, and thus he holds a huge grudge against the whole race of people because of it. He feels that they can not be trusted, and will go back on their word of trying to form a piece. Of course there is a deception along the way, and Kirk is forced to deal with all the thoughts that he has had, and even things that he has said in the past. Little does he know how they will come back to haunt him, until they are presented in a trial where his life is on the line.

For huge Star Trek fans, Warf (a character in the "Next Generation" spin-off) makes a cameo appearance in the film a the lawyer defending Kirk in the trial. This movie ha all the needed ingredients to make it a great Star Trek movie. It has the ship-to-ship fighting scenes, it has the hand-to-hand combat, and it also shows what good diplomacy can do to bring two nations together. I loved the film, because I am intrigued by all aspects of what can go on in space, and the disagreements that could possibly occur if we were ever to come across other species in the Universe. Being human is actually put on trial, and we are able to see that not everyone will share our opinions and point-of-views on how the Universe should work.

The acting in the movie makes it one of the better films in the series, and this actually turned out to be the last film that this group of actors would participate in. Following this one, the cast of the "Next Generation" took over the films in the movie "Generations." What makes this movie really good, is the acting of Christopher Plummer. He plays the high General of the Klingon fleet, and he is pit up against Kirk in the ultimate show-down.

I highly recommend purchasing the movie on video, even for those that have seen it, because it has 3 additional minutes of footage that did not make it into the theaters. This film also deals with some of the issues that face each of us everyday, and deals with some very serious prejudicial issues. There is some violence in the film, and I think that it might scare younger children, so I would have to say that 13 and older is a good group to watch this film. If you want to catch up on the film series before you watch this one, give Star Trek II the first view.









Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older