Star Trek: The Motion Picture may not be the most highly regarded of the Star Trek films, but it holds up surprisingly well for several reasons. Ten years after the cancelation of Star Trek: The Original Series, James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his Enterprise crew made the transition to the big screen in 1979’s The Motion Picture. With a plot that would not have felt out of place on the television show, The Motion Picture received mixed reviews upon its release and currently sits at 52% on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.
Despite its lackluster reception, there’s a lot to love about Star Trek: The Motion Picture, especially when considering the Director’s Cut of the film. The story follows Admiral Kirk and his crew, as they intercept a powerful enтιтy called V’ger that is rapidly approaching Earth. With fascinating new characters, stunning visuals, and a quintessentially Star Trek story, The Motion Picture is actually a pretty great Star Trek film, even if it does lack the wider appeal of some of Trek’s later blockbusters.
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture Was A New Level Of Visual Effects
All Of The SH๏τs In Space Look Incredible
Although Star Trek: The Original Series incorporated big sci-fi ideas, its visuals were limited by the technology of the 1960s and the show’s often meager budget. While TOS did the best they could with what they had, The Motion Picture introduced an entirely new level of special effects. The new uniforms and interiors of the Enterprise are a bit bland compared to the color of TOS, but the space sH๏τs look truly stunning.
But it’s the USS Enterprise itself that steals the show. Star Trek: The Motion Picture may have been a bit self-indulgent with its lengthy sH๏τs of the Enterprise exterior, but it was the first time viewers had seen the ship in all of its glory on a big screen. The Enterprise looks like a true starship, not a small model floating through a black void. As The Enterprise approaches V’ger, the special effects get even cooler, and Spock’s flight to the heart of the cloud is truly stunning.
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture Has A Stellar Soundtrack
Not Only Does The Film Look Amazing, It Sounds Great, Too
To accompany the new visual effects of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Jerry Goldsmith composed a sweeping score that beautifully captures the wonder and magic of Star Trek. Influenced by the music of Star Wars (which was released in 1977), Goldsmith’s score uses synthesizers and other electronic instruments that were state-of-the-art at the time. The music of The Motion Picture was critically praised and is widely considered to be one of Goldsmith’s best scores.
With its stunning visuals, slower pace, and dramatic score, The Motion Picture draws obvious inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture has a slower, more cerebral plot than many sci-fi movies, but the score elevates the film and makes everything feel more exciting. The soundtrack truly captures the awe and wonder of space exploration, and the music would come to define the Star Trek franchise for generations. The Main Theme of The Motion Picture would be used as the theme song for Star Trek: The Next Generation, further cementing the music as one of Star Trek’s most recognizable songs.
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture Evolves Spock’s Character
Spock Has A Beautiful Journey In The Motion Picture
Spock’s journey in Star Trek: The Motion Picture is one of the best things about the film. Spock spent much of his time on Star Trek: The Original Series trying to suppress his human side and the emotions that came along with it. At the beginning of The Motion Picture, Spock is on the planet Vulcan, undergoing the kolinahr ritual to purge all of his emotions. When Spock detects V’ger’s consciousness, it stirs up his human emotions again.
When Spock first arrives on the Enterprise, he is more distant than ever, but throughout the film, he comes to see the value in human emotion. After Spock mind melds with V’ger, he cries for the enтιтy, as he recognizes that it is searching for meaning just as he is. Spock’s connection with V’ger helps him see that “logic and knowledge are not enough,” and by the end of the film, he no longer wishes to continue seeking kolinahr. Spock’s journey continues throughout the Star Trek films, as he strives to find the balance between his human and Vulcan sides.
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture Introduces Interesting New Characters
Lt. Ilia & Captain Will Decker Had The Potential To Be Great Characters
In addition to reuniting the main cast of Star Trek: The Original Series on the big screen, The Motion Picture also introduced Captain Will Decker (Stephen Collins) and Lt. Ilia (Persis Khambatta). Captain Decker was hand-picked by Admiral Kirk to take over command of the Enterprise and oversaw the ship’s refit. Decker was a by-the-books officer who was eager to embark on his first mission, and he wasn’t afraid to call Kirk out when the Admiral took over command.
Will Decker and Ilia were initially conceived as characters for Star Trek: Phase II and later became the blueprints for Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
A member of the Deltan species, Lt. Ilia served as the ship’s navigator and had been involved in a previous romantic relationship with Will Decker. Although The Motion Picture ultimately reveals little about them, Ilia and Decker both come across as interesting characters with compelling backstories. In the end, V’ger absorbs Ilia and Decker, becoming a new lifeform and giving the two characters a bittersweet, almost happy ending.
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture Ends With A Twist
The Voyager Reveal At The End Of The Film Makes Perfect Sense
Star Trek: The Motion Picture may not feature epic space battles or phaser fights, but it does end with a surprising reveal that recontextualizes the rest of the film. When Admiral Kirk and his crew finally make their way to the center of the V’ger probe, they discover it to be a deep space probe called Voyager 6 that was launched by NASA 300 years before. The probe was designed to collect data and transmit it back to Earth, but it was believed lost to a black hole.
In reality, Voyager 6 emerged on the other side of the galaxy, where it was found by a race of advanced living machines. These machines upgraded the probe and sent it back with a directive to collect as much information as possible and return to its creator. The probe amᴀssed so much information that it developed consciousness and sought to join with its creator — humanity. Although Star Trek: The Original Series had done similar stories before, the Voyager twist works well and nicely brings the story full circle.
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The Motion Picture’s Big Philosophical Ideas Truly Feels Like Star Trek
Star Trek: The Motion Picture May Be The Most Star Trek Of Any Of The Franchise’s Films
Like many of the best Star Trek episodes, The Motion Picture tackles some of life’s biggest questions. Having amᴀssed astounding amounts of knowledge, V’ger seeks connection because it has consciousness but no emotions. Spock, too, begins to realize how important emotion and compᴀssion are to being a complete person. The Motion Picture posits these philosophical questions about human connection, but ultimately leaves it up to viewers to find their own meaning.
Star Trek wrestles with what it means to be human, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture provides a compelling exploration of that question.
Many of the characters in The Motion Picture are on their own journeys of self-discovery, and reach different conclusions about finding themselves. The film also raises whether Ilia and Decker truly die at the end, instead suggesting they have transformed into an entirely new lifeform. All of this feels like classic Star Trek in the best way. In every iteration, Star Trek wrestles with what it means to be human, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture provides a compelling exploration of that question.
