Star Trek:TMP is an underrated sci-fi gem

This is a review of the theatrical cut of this movie. (As of right now I am looking forward for the Director's cut this year when it releases on streaming)

I absolutely love this movie. Star Trek TMP captures the spirit of the original series for me. I am not here to bash on this movie unlike many Trekkies for its slow pacing, lack of action, etc but I am here to give this movie much-needed love of its unique and bold ideas and its presentation as a unique blockbuster.

To kickstart things off I have to mention the introduction of this movie which came off from the cult following from The Original Series in the 70's the show became widely popular amongst the pop culture zeitgeist and fans who were coined "Trekkies" by the mainstream media and were often derided for their obsessive love over a "TV show".

Looking at the growing following over this I.P. Paramount first decided to make a TV show called Phase 2 which would bring the main cast (sans Leonard Nimoy) but looking at the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Paramount Studios felt that sci-fi movies could succeed at the box office and so was the birth of The Motion Picture.

Star Trek The Motion Picture is a movie that captures the ideas of the original series exceedingly well. The ideas of space exploration with the answer to the question of life and its meaning are profound in my opinion. Star Trek The Motion Picture is a movie that captures the ideas of the original series exceedingly well. The ideas of space exploration with the answer to the question of life and its meaning are profound in my opinion. The special effects of the V'Ger cloud by Douglas Trumbull are great and scream sci-fi to me even thought at times the special effects don't hold up due to a rushed and difficult production. I was a fan of the slower pacing which builds the mystique of the V'Ger cloud .

The returning cast from The Original Series is great and charming in their roles. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy slip into these characters with ease. De Forest Kelley is charming as D.R. Mc Coy even though I was pretty disappointed by his role and given forgettable material. George Takei as Sulu and James Doohan as Mr. Scott are a blast.

The joining members are pretty memorable, especially Williard Decker played by Stephen Collins who has great charisma. I appreciated the idea of the conflict between him and Captain Kirk and Kirk to be portrayed in a more negative light which was executed well by the screenplay of Gene Roddenberry and Harold Livingstone.

The direction by Robert Wise is solid albeit at times a bit clunky due to the slower pacing in the movie and the editing is pretty loose at times with the theatrical cut ( I am confident that the Director's cut will fix some of these issues for me when it comes out on streaming this year).The direction by Robert Wise is solid albeit at times a bit clunky due to the slower pacing in the movie and the editing is pretty loose at times with the theatrical cut ( I am confident that the Director's cut will fix some of these issues for me when it comes out on streaming this year).

It looks slick due to the efforts by Douglas Trumbull and ILM for their tiresome contributions for this movie It looks slick due to the efforts by Douglas Trumbull and ILM for their tiresome contributions for this movie. The direction by Robert Wise is solid albeit at times a bit clunky due to the slower pacing in the movie and the editing is pretty loose at times with the theatrical cut ( I am confident that the Director's cut will fix some of these issues for me when it comes out on streaming this year). It looks slick due to the efforts by Douglas Trumbull and ILM for their tiresome contributions for this movie