You didn't think he would stay dead, did you???
Alas, there was a very slim chance that Spock, who I've mentioned is arguably the most popular character from the OG crew (and maybe the entire franchise), was going to die in the previous film and actually stay dead. Especially not after the previous film did so well at the box office. You would have to be one braindead studio executive to even consider the idea. The real surprise is that bringing Spock back from the dead actually works here. I don't think it would be out of the ordinary for most people to think that resurrecting Spock might undermine or “cheapen” his big sacrifice at the end of The Wrath of Khan. And I think the main reason why I don't think that's the case here is because of what seems to be a contingency plan that was written into Wrath of Khan. We'll get into that in a bit.
In the meantime, if you're new here, hi! Thanks for checking out my latest review in my epic Star Trek rewatch! If you're interested in my thoughts on previous installments, you can find them here:
More reviews coming soon once I get them all written up! You can also follow me on Bluesky for my commentary while I'm watching live (or while just living life!)... I also have a website you can check out with more info about me!
Picking up directly after the events of The Wrath of Khan, the Enterprise is badly damaged from its battle with the Reliant and it's slowly making its way back to Earth Spacedock. It's here, however, that Bones starts acting very erratically and manages to get himself arrested. A Starfleet Admiral visits the Enterprise and also breaks some very sad news to them: The Enterprise is scheduled to be decommissioned. Our band of heroes is also forbidden to discuss the entire Genesis fiasco because, as one might expect, it's not exactly a good look to other Federation planets1 or those outside the Federation. Meanwhile, Kirk's son David, who was introduced as one of the creators of Genesis in the previous film, and a newly recast Saavik2 are doing research on the Genesis planet and seem to have picked up on unexpected life signs nearby. This leads them to the discovery of Spock's casket and, in an alarming turn of events, the casket is empty. What does one need with an irradiated Vulcan corpse anyway? They continue to follow their trail only to find a young Vulcan child on the planet who appears to be rapidly aging. The child is Spock, who has clearly been resurrected by Genesis. David later reluctantly explains to Saavik that he had used unstable matter of some sort in the development of Genesis, which I guess somehow explains the why of how Spock is alive and aging. It also explains that the Genesis planet itself is unstable and will likely be destroyed within hours. Complicating matters even further is Kruge3, a Klingon commander manages to receive information about Genesis and, much like Khan, is interested in stealing it for use as a weapon.
After meeting up with Sarek, Spock's father, they come to the conclusion that just before sacrificing himself and dying at the end of Khan, Spock had transferred his living spirit, also known as a “katra” among Vulcans, to Bones. This explains why the doctor has been acting so strangely. It also presents the crew with another ticking clock... If Spock's body and katra are not reunited as one, Bones will die from carrying it. Unable to persuade his superiors to let him take the Enterprise back out to the Genesis planet to fix exactly that, Kirk and the rest of the Enterprise crew bust Bones out of jail, sabotage the U.S.S. Excelsior in order to prevent it from pursuing them, and steal the Enterprise anyway. A tense standoff betwen Kruge's Klingon Bird of Prey and the Enterprise then ensues, ultimately ending in David's tragic death, and the shocking self-destruction protocol of the Enterprise initialized after Kruge's Klingon intruders are the only ones left on board. The crew instead takes over the Bird of Prey, beams everyone aboard, and sets off for Vulcan, where Spock's body and katra are reunited. Though his memory is a little jumbled up, he recognizes his friends and is effectively the same Spock we've always known and loved.
The Search for Spock choosing to continue with the few loose ends leftover from The Wrath of Khan was an excellent decision. It makes this film more of a true sequel to its predecessor. And while I do feel like Khan is more of a fun action-adventure in space, The Search of Spock is a lot more cerebral. I think that it actually does a pretty decent job at blending the feel of both the first and second films, with neither “vibe” really feeling sacrificed here. It helps that, while Spock's name is in the title and Nimoy directed the flick, it doesn't sit solely on Spock's shoulders. The Search for Spock also provides Kirk with a real reason to hate the Klingons after they kill his son, and instead of Spock, I think the Enterprise as a ship is the character that winds up paying the ultimate price.
There were a lot of things that I loved here. Uhura continuing to be a badass by holding a Starfleet officer hostage with a phaser in order to help her shipmates steal the Enterprise is one of them. I loved the pet Klingon targ sitting on the bridge of the Bird of Prey directly beside Kruge. I need to see more pets from alien worlds aside from the targ. There are both cats and dogs belonging to officers in later series, I don't see why Worf or somebody couldn't have had a targ on board! Also, did I spot tribbles?? Y'all know we stan tribbles around here! Christopher Lloyd's portrayal of a Klingon is also so on point here, and definitely paves the way for future Klingon characters. Forehead ridges now included!4
The story in this film was also supreme. As I mentioned in my opening paragraph up above, I believe that the resurrection of Spock doesn't undermine his sacrifice to save the rest of the Enterprise, because he clearly knew what he was doing by transferring his katra to Bones prior to his death. In my mind, I'm confident that Spock knew very well that he will die when he repairs the warp drive in The Wrath of Khan, and did the transfer to Bones as a safeguard. Spock wasn't trying to be a martyr; he was being strategic. He may not have known exactly that his casket would land on the Genesis planet to do the physical resurrection, but I'm certain he must have had some kind of Vulcan foresight that would have indicated to him that he would grace the Vulcan temples and the bridge of the Enterprise once more.
And thankfully, the adventure does indeed continue with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Stay tuned! 🖖