User Reviews

The Voyage Home is the Star Trek film that had the highest box office gross. It captured the imagination of the public who were eager to see Kirk and the crew in present day (1986) San Francisco. Luckily, the film was solid in all aspects and was enjoyed by long-time fans of the series as well. Although the outcome of the film is never in doubt, it never loses the attention of the viewer and entertains throughout. It actually felt fresh and original despite the fact that time travel had been done before (in the TV series) and it was the fourth film in the franchise. Recommended, 8/10.

The fourth entry in the "Star Trek" movie series is the most popular and unarguably the best-liked of these entertaining movies. It has a fine variety of scenes, intelligent comedy to leaven the more serious adventures. it is fast paced, beautifully directed by Leonard Nimoy who also plays "Spock". What prevented it from being even better perhaps appreciated is a deliberate attempt by the writers to write short, choppy-sentence dialogue that in some scenes does not work as well as more formally-structured words might have worked. The film is bright, the art direction is very good, the music by Leonard Rosenmann is outstanding. And the story line is one of the best that sci-fi filmmakers have yet devised, in my judgment, because it has everything. As Captain James T. Kirk of the 23rd century starship Enterprise, William Shatner acts with unusual intelligence and even strength to get by. As his half-alien First Officer Spock, just recovering from a traumatic experience that caused him to have to be reeducated from ground zero, Leonard Nimoy is even better. Everyone of Jim Kirk's crewmen, including James Doohan as Engineer Montgomer Scott, De Forest Kelley as CMO Leonard McCoy, Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura of Communications, talented George Takei as Helmsman Sulu, and Walter Koenig as Navigator Pavel Chekhov, have good scenes to perform and do them seamlessly and with professional style. Others in the cast including Brock Peters, Jane Wyatt, Mark Lenard, Grace Lee Whitney, Alen Henteloff, Robert Ellenstein and a relative unknown as the earthwoman who becomes enmeshed in the Enterprise officers' mission,are given telling moments. There are many memorable visual moments, including the departure of a stolen Klingon warbird from the planet Vulcan, the near-wreckage of Starfleet Headquarters, the landing of an invisible vessel in Golden Gate Park, a slingshot run around the sun, a descent from the invisible craft to the ground, scenes around the Alameda Navy Yards, a chase in a hospital and scenes at the cetacean Institute all make themselves hard-to-forget. It is the sheer fun and adventure of the storyline--sending a starship back in time to rescue two hump-backed whales and save the earth from alien destruction--that sets this film apart. Ignored by critics who have nearly always ignored sci-fi achievements, this cinematic attainment set a standard for future sci-fi to which hardly any film's maker has yet approached. The revelation of character could have been deeper, but the relevance of every moment to the plot line could hardly have been bettered. Harve Bennett deserves some of the credit for this script's excellences; so do the special-effects creators, since for once in Hollywood, every such effects serve to further the progress the central character and his helpers are making. This is probably a film to be watched over and over; I wish there were more such adult sci-fi efforts that eschew pretension and present so much intelligent dialogue, acting and intriguing "differences".

I saw the Special Collector's Edition of this(which I understand doesn't have any additional scenes that weren't in the original). Ah, 'the funny one'. There is a theory that after a few heavy or dark episodes in a row, they'd have a fun one. This is the movie version of said lighter one. And yet, it's smart, dramatic and, well, a blast. Again directed by Nimoy, and this also partially penned by him, this is superior to the one before it. This could be absolutely lousy, given the concept, but it's... not. It's marvelous. The humor is genuinely well-done, timing, material, it all works. Most of it is verbal, with a little bit of silly, with none of it being childish or worse. The prerequisites to "getting" it, apart from knowing the series, are simply understanding American culture and slang, specifically that of the period. The plot is good. The situations are resolved in a satisfying manner, albeit certain aspects might benefit from more seriousness. The dialog is excellent, possibly the best of any of these I've seen thus far. The language is pervasive, to a greater extent than earlier(and harsher, as well), though some of it is there for a purpose(namely, hilarity). There is another minor offensive thing in this. If viewers can tolerate or look past them, they're likely to thoroughly enjoy this. This has a moral, but it isn't preachy. I recommend this to fans of Star Trek and/or sci-fi, and will suggest that the second film be watched first(the third is perhaps optional). 8/10

This is without question the best STAR TREK movie in the series. It is full of great special effects, clever dialogue, sharp humor, and absolutely dazzling action sequences. It is the most fun to watch out of all the STAR TREK movies and is the most creative of them too. This is was easily one of the best movies of 1986.

This might be the most unusual Star Trek movie out there as the original Star Trek prime regulars go back to 20th century San Francisco to get a pair of whales. It's a matter of survival for the earth.

There's a real threat to the planet as a super race (maybe it's the Q continuum) that has sent a probe to the earth that is causing all kinds of climate change. And they are sending out all kinds of sgnals causing massive flooding around the planet. They are sending out a signal to the humpbacked whales, the theory being that if the whales respond the planet is being taken care of.

But in our time the whales were hunted to extinction or at least this species of. So William Shatner and the gang go back to get some whales and save the earth.

This is one wild and far out story, but it's compelling and draws you in. Best scenes are Leonard Nimoy trying to fit into 20th century earth.

This film got 4 Oscar nominations in the technical categories. It's still enjoyable after over 30 years.

This is not my favorite of the series, but it is in my top 3. The cast, after acting together for more than two decades is just plain good together. The humor in this film was great as well. Spock is almost back to his former self, and all seems right in the world. Like many things Trek, this does have a lot to do with what was happening in the time that this movie was filmed. This one tackles the human capacity to destroy other species. As Spock so eloquently states, "To hunt a species to extinction is not logical". A great movie with a great message.

This following from 'The search for Spock'(by Leonard Nimoy), again reunites the cast of the popular television series. This time a weird probe is menacing Earth causing disasters, storms,destruction and broadcasting a sounds that anybody understands. Admiral Kirk, Spock who say goodbye to his Vulcanians parents(Mark Lenard as Sarek,and Jane Wyatt),and Bones(DeForest Kelley 1920-1999)along with the crew, Commander Scotty(James Doohan,1920-2005),Chekov(Walter Koenig),Uhura(Michelle Nichols), Zulu(George Takei), Commander Janice Rand(Grace Lee Whitney) and Dr. Christine Chapel(Majel Barret, married to Gene Roddenberry)must time travel to 1986 San Francisco where they know Dr. Chapel(Catherine Hicks) who help them.The entire crew of the Starship once more boldly go where no man has gone before in this Star Trek adventure.They must locate a humpbacks whales ,extinct in the 20th century, which can respond to strange alien and bring them back to 23rd century Earth. Besides Kirk to face legal charges after his unauthorized assignment. Admiral Kirk is judged by disobeying and degraded as Captain and given command USS Enterprise A , NCC1701.

This appealing, lighthearted entry is fun to watch, and Trekkies are sure to love it and non-fans will most likely find it top-notch. The charming movie is full of enjoyable characters, comedy, and overemphasis on excellent special effects. Entertaining story with intelligent ecological message about a humpbacks whales saving mankind.Evocative musical score with usual leitmotif by Leonard Rosenman. Colorful and glamorous cinematography by Don Petterman. The motion picture is well directed by Leonard Nimoy in his best film. Suitable for family viewing , it's a bemusing adventure which young and old men will enjoy. Fans of the series will find very amusing and fun, but followed by an inferior outing: Star Trek 5: The final frontier(1989) directed by William Shatner.

10/10 This is very much a personal rating and not a critical rating. I love this film! It's fun and silly, and it's my favorite Star Trek film. The whole premise of going back in time to save the world by saving the whales, ridiculously fun!! :) It may not be the most serious Star Trek or be the one that makes you look into yourself and challenges you, but not all movies have to do that. I grew up watching this film with my family and I guess my dads love for the film rubbed off on me.

"The Voyage Home" (a.k.a Star Trek 4) ranks as my most loved "Original Series" based film. The other Kirk and Co adventures were good but just not as good as this. The comic value of this film is just great and I think that this was what made the film so loved by some and hated by others. For me however, the crazy adventures of the ever aging cast placed a smile on my face and a laugh in my mouth. This deserves at least 7 out of 10.

First off, I'm not a big BIG 'Star Trek' fan. I've seen the first six films, and catch an episode of the TV series every now and then (I saw the whole first season recently, which made me re-visit the Shatner/Nimoy films). I did however, find this film extremely entertaining! In fact, it was about as much fun as I think you can have at home with a (tasteful) video! I found 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' a tad dull, although I still enjoyed it. And II and III work well together, and are both enjoyable sci-fi action flicks ('Wrath of Khan' is another classic, but I feel IV pips it to the post). However, when 'The Voyage Home' was over, I had no idea that a film with a plot which involved two humpback whales and mid-1980s San Fransico could be so damn fun.

Shatner is on great form as the rogue Capt. Kirk, and Nimoy is brilliant in conveying Spocks absolute confusion at being stuck on a planet he partly understands, in a time he cannot comprehend. When Kirk explains Spocks oddness to the brilliant and frankly underused actress Catherine Hicks, Kirk says that Spock did a lot of "LDS" back in college.

Kelley, Takei and company are all on fine form, and the score, direction and script all work brilliantly. The fact that the 1980s now seems so long ago (it after all, did not age as well as some decades) only adds to the films premise.

I would thoroughly recommend this film to anyone - 'Star Trek' fan or not - as it is a wonderfully entertaining film for all ages. I'm sure wherever Gene Roddenberry is, he looks back on this film venture with a wry smile and a bag of popcorn.

STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME was, for me, the most entertaining of the Star Trek movies so far, purely because it feels like an episode of the original series blown up to movie length. The time travel plot is an ingenious excuse for Kirk and co to have some fish-out-of-water fun, and fun it certainly is!

This is a notably lighter film than the previous instalments and there's plenty of workable comedy to see it through. The cast feel more relaxed than before and there's a holiday atmosphere to the whole thing. Shatner is even charming on occasion while Kelley and Nimoy make the most of their comic bonding.

The film also has a more modern, less dated feel than the previous outings. It's worth noting that the new TV Show, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, was starting around this time, which may have influenced things, so the special effects are better and there's more originality in the alien races who provide window dressing.

Yes, the film has a political message to convey - it's all about saving the planet and protecting the whales - but it's done so in a matter-of-fact way that refuses to preach to the viewer. The focus, instead, is on having a good time, with the result that the audience does too.

WARNING!!! POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!! "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is arguably the greatest Trek. It is the most popular Star Trek film (not including the 2009 reboot). Before the reboot, it was the only Trek to gross over $100 million domestically, plus it was extremely well received by critics and fans alike. It surpassed every expectation that it had set up for itself, simply because it is the funniest and most light hearted Trek.

The best part is the interactions between the characters. Yes, the film was nominated for 4 Oscars (once again, the most of any Trek) including best effects, but the effects aren't the best part. It was the success of this film that convinced Paramount Television to give a spin-off series a shot. As you probably know, TNG, DS9, ST:V, and ST:E were all very successful, and they were the result of a chain reaction which started with the success of "The Voyage Home".

The film also noted Leonard Nimoy as a top-notch comic director. This won him the job of directing "Three Men and a Baby".

If you like Star Trek, this is definitely the film for you. Everyone else? Just research the characters a bit and I'm sure that you'll have a good time.

This film earned its money and its acclaim. It features many classic moments (Spock mind-melding with the whale, Scotty talking to the computer, Kirk using "colourful metaphors" to handle an angry cabbie, Spock using the nerve pinch on a punk on the bus, Kirk and Spock arguing over their preferred foods, and that's just scratching the surface!).

10/10 A Sci-Fi Comedy along the quality of "Ghostbusters", "MIB", and "Back to the Future"! That might be an overstatement, but I think it's true!

For me, "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" hasn't aged very well. When I saw it in the theaters (Sunrise Multiplex, Valley Stream, NY) it was my favorite Star Trek movie. Now I put it towards the bottom of the original cast films. It's not the cast's fault. They are great, mostly (Walter Koenig seems to be a bit over his head). It's the story. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments but, at the end of the day, it's just kind of silly. "Star Trek IV" is not a bad movie. Far from it. It's just not my favorite anymore. Honorable mention: a dreamy Catherine Hicks.

Many people, both "Trek" fans and the general public, consider "The Voyage Home" to be the best "Star Trek" film with the original cast, if not the best "Trek" film period. I disagree. However, I do not feel that "Voyage Home" is necessarily a bad film; merely that I did not enjoy it.

There's something about playing the "Trek" set-up for laughs that just doesn't sit well with me. I agree that "The Search for Spock" bordered on space opera and that many critics found that film too serious, but IMHO the producers went too far in the opposite direction for the follow-up. I don't see what is gained by putting these characters in a present-day setting. This "fish out of water" premise worked on the TV series (particularly in "The City On the Edge of Forever"), but it wears thin on such a grand scale. I found the most interesting character in the piece to be Gillian, the scientist who cares more for the whales than anything else. She could be seen as an analogy for those of us who hope that the future will bring a civilization in which the quest for money is not our primary concern.

Further, many feel that the true appeal of the original series was the interplay between the characters of Kirk, Spock and McCoy; so it makes sense that the producers would try to mine the possibilities of having Kirk try to explain 20th Century Earthling behavior to Spock as they go along on their bizarre journey. But to me, this just doesn't ring true.

It has been said of science fiction that it concentrates too much on technology and effects and too little on character. Perhaps the producers of this entry were trying to change that with this one. But to this viewer, the experiment just didn't work. I have no qualms with those who like the film, I'm just saying I don't.

This one is great-I remember laughing my butt off the first time I saw it, and it still works now. Very well done, the time travel angle was better handled here then it has been in other Trek films, shows, etc.-and one thing that makes this work is that they didn't take themselves too seriously. What a romp! The crew come back to save the whales so they can save themselves in the future-and make some commentary on 1986, too.

Personally I donno if this is the best of the run-Undiscovered Country and Khan are its main competition-but I applaud them for doing this; and hope they can lighten up the newer generation too now. It is needed.

*** outta ****, good stuff.

'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' is the most popular of the Trek films and quite right too. Not only does it appeal to both fans and non-fans of the show but it revels in the spirit of what Trek has always been about: how perfect and Utopian the citizens of the twenty-third century are compared to their Neanderthal ancestors of the late twentieth century!

The film sees Kirk and his crew, in disgrace after disobeying Starfleet orders to save Spock following the events of 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock', travel to 1986 San Francisco to retrieve a pair of hump-back whales, a species extinct by Kirk's era. The whales are the key to communicating with an alien probe that is in the process of destroying Earth. As well as the non-too-subtle eco-message ('don't allow any animal be hunted to extinction as they may save us all in the future!'), there is much fun to be had as Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty and the ever-logical Spock struggle to integrate themselves into most alien situation they have ever been in. They are clueless about exact-change buses, pizzas and why 1986 doctors think it's a good idea to drill into someone's head.

It is very light-hearted at times but I imagine this is the film Gene Roddenberry is most proud of given the way it portrays the best of all our favourite characters and reaches the heart of the ethos of 'Star Trek'. When I first watched this as a child, I wished Kirk would come and let me join him in the twenty-third century. In fact, the only thing that could improve this film would be if the probe had aimed its venegeance entirely at Japan and Norway in retaliation for the sins of these countries' backward twenty-first century 'ancestors'. After all, it's these two countries who will surely bring about the extinction of whales.

While this doesn't delve too much into the mythology and background of Trek, it is a great film and deserves to be counted as the best of the ten films. It is also an excellent option for Trek fans trying to convert friends and family to 'seeing the light' and loving Trek!

One point Star Trek has always attracted criticism on is its white-hat view of the future. Nowhere is this more evident than in Star Trek IV, or the Greenpeace Episode, as I like to call it. Sometimes, it can be seen as pure entertaining fluff. Sometimes, it almost feels like someone in the Bird Of Prey is going to flip a switch on the chameleon circuit, and it will morph into the Rainbow Warrior. Given that Greenpeace has been denounced by one of its founders as a mob of scientific illiterates who use Gestapo tactics, it does make the eco-friendly message of the film incredibly hard to swallow.

By the way, you can stop reading now if you don't want to be told what happens in the film.

The plot begins with an alien space probe traveling across the galaxy, sending out signals that, seemingly unknown to the intelligence behind said probe, disables any electronic circuit within shouting distance. Even worse, once it gets near the Earth, it begins to ionise the atmosphere and vaporise the oceans. If this is a subtle comment about how greenies are definitely not above using terrorism to achieve their goals, then it certainly achieved its goal there. However, for the most part this is irrelevant because we are only shown the alien device for ten minutes of establishing footage.

When the Enterprise crew get word of this alien thing attacking Earth, they manage to deduce that the signal is in fact the song of Humpback Whales, which have apparently been hunted to extinction during the twenty-first century. This eventually leads to the decision to attempt a crude form of time-travel back to the year in which the film was released. There, the crew hope to secure a Humpback Whale in the hope that the probe will hear an answer from it, and thus go away.

The logistical nightmare this would pose aside, one must also ponder what the long-term intentions of the Federation are, regarding the continued existence of the whales. From the earlier references, it seems time travel is a very dangerous hobby to be attempted only under such extreme circumstances. This makes a bit of a contrast to later Trek, where they seem to do it every second week. However, without going back several times to bring more whales to the future, the future Humpback Whale generations are going to be frighteningly inbred. And what happens if the Humpback Whales die out naturally, like so many species have done long before humans figured out how to bang the rocks together? Do the aliens come back to wipe out every other species, including thousands that cannot respond in this manner, once again?

Where The Voyage Home succeeds is with the cross-culture references. Plunge astronauts of the future into situations where what they take for granted is a real struggle (medicine being the most successful example), and listen to the audience laugh. This is one area where the film works brilliantly. Another area where the film excels is in the use of widescreen photography, where the evolution of cinema to use a 2.35:1 frame is celebrated well. The DVD-Video includes a featurette in which Leonard Nimoy shows why he prefers to use the 2.35:1 ratio and what he thinks of the difference made by removing half the frame in order to fit the television screen. I have a basic saying that goes something like if you still believe you're getting the whole picture after seeing this, you're a moron.

In all, I gave Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home a six out of ten. The eco-friendliness message counts against it, especially in this day when a lot of such groups have exposed themselves as anti-choice terrorists, but the film saves itself from being a total loss by not taking itself so seriously. It's not the best of the series, but it will entertain for a couple of hours.

An alien probe is heading towards earth causing tidal waves and hurricane winds. The probe is trying to get in touch with humpback whales which no longer exist.In time honoured tradition it is up to James kirk and crew to go back to the 20th century, find some humpback whales,take them home with him and save the day again. This is by far the funniest of all the star trek films due to the fact that it is played totally tongue in cheek and the cast aren't afraid to poke fun at themselves.To the crew it is like visiting an "undiscovered country" and the customs of modern man confuse them totally. Catherine Hicks plays their 20th century contact,joins in the fun and adds to the confusion they are feeling by playing her role totally straight. Some classic scenes include Scotty trying to instruct a computer by talking into the mouse,Dr Mcoys horror when surgeons are about to drill into Chekovs skull and Spocks solution to dealing with an arrogant yob on a bus. However it also has a serious ecological message.If we don't stop destroying our planet then the day could well come when every kind of whale will cease to exit.Some video clips, shown in the scene in the museum,displaying images of men killing whales are disturbing because they are real. Watch this film ,enjoy it, but remember that sometimes fact is more disturbing than fiction. In memory of James Doohan 1920- 2005 RIP.

I left the theater years ago, feeling so good about this movie. It had everything I wanted. A fascinating plot. A sense of humor. A task that needed to be done with ingenuity. Spock's evolution after the events of the Third film are quite interesting. It also fit into a kind of reverence for the humpbacked whales that were a part of our culture at the time. What really makes the film is these people of the future, coming to a scientifically sophisticated era, but still having to treat it like it was a medieval time. Also, the culture in San Francisco was a puzzle to them.

This film was a bigger disappointment than Star Trek the Motionless picture. It was more like Police Academy than anything out of the ST universe. Everything about it was too silly for words. Firstly an alien race turns up and on failing to contact whales for some reason not explained they shrug their shoulders, if they have any, and decide to boil Earths oceans away! From that point the film only gets worse as the crew camp it up around a Los Angeles that seems to have taken loss of its senses! Ridiculous. I nearly walked out before the end! However I did persevere to the final titles seeking some valid conclusion to the plot , in vain. I will concede that this film has some great humour in it possibly to the detriment of the plot but to me its still the worst StarTrek movie of them all. Sorry!