Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

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  • Opened June 1, 1984 
  • 1 hr 45 min
  • PG
  • Parents: Common Sense Media says OK for kids 10+. More on child suitability

  • Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) has defeated his archenemy but at great cost. His friend Spock has apparently been killed, the USS Enterprise is being scrapped, and starship physician Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) has taken ill. McCoy's odd behavior is evidence he's harboring Spock's katra, or animating spirit, and Kirk seeks to take the Enterprise back to the Genesis Planet and find his friend. Rebuffed, Kirk takes dramatic action that results in war with deadly Klingons. Full synopsis

  • Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, James Doohan, Walter Koenig
  • Director: Leonard Nimoy
  • Genres: Sci-Fi Action, Space Adventure, Science Fiction

What's the Buzz?

So-so
Critics say So-So
55 out of 100
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Critic Reviews

80
Time
| Richard Schickel

It features as ghastly a group of interstellar pirates, the Klingons, as ever entered the star log, plus a spectacularly self-destructive planet and plenty of technically adroit and sometimes witty special effects. These are classic directorial occasions, and Nimoy rises to them with fervor, in effect beaming his film up onto a higher pictorial plane than either of its predecessors. Read full review

75
ReelViews
| James Berardinelli

While the sluggish beginning and ending mar this Star Trek outing somewhat, there's still enough here to please fans of the series, and, to a lesser extent, movie-goers in general. Read full review

75
Chicago Sun-Times
| Roger Ebert

This is a good but not great Star Trek movie, a sort of compromise between the first two. Read full review

70
Newsweek
| David Ansen

"The Search for Spock" is everything it ought to be: solemn and shlocky and rousing and heartfelt, like all good reunions. For those whose cup of tea this is, drink deep and enjoy. [11 June 1984, p.80] Read full review

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