This movie opens after the events of Star Trek III, where we find the crew exiled on Vulcan awaiting their fate (they did, after all steal and blow up a starship in Star Trek III. Starfleet command has a problem with that, put it that way.) Spock is retraining his mind and eventually, naturally, the crew decides to go home and face the music. On the way, a big giant cylinder with a rotating ball thinger on the end of it shows up and starts sucking the life out of Earth's oceans (leaving powerless starships, spacedocks and planets in its wake.) Not able to go home, the crew figures out that the big giant cylinder with a rotating ball thinger on the end (hereafter known as the BGCWRBTONE) is dying to talk to some humpback whales.
Unfortunately, in the 23rd Century, they're extinct. So this means our heroes have to go back in time and find some. What follows is a classic entry in the Trek canon that, until the present film was probably the most accessible Trek film to the public at large, even though it's inevitably known as 'the one with the whales.' Dropping the crew of the Enterprise into the middle of the 80s proves to be an inspired choice, as Leonard Nimoy (the director of the film) mines the obvious 'fish out of water' situations for some great moments of humor. (Chekov's 'nuclear wessels', Kirk telling Hicks that Spock did a little too much LDS in the 60s.)
All in all, this movie has something for everyone-- and, naturally, our heroes find their whales and get them back to the future in time to save the world. Because of the whole 'saving the world thing' Starfleet decides to overlook the fact that Kirk and Company stole and blew up an entire starship, demotes Kirk to Captain and, hey, surprise, surprise, gives him a whole new starship along with a stern lecture telling him to have the new Enterprise home by midnight and not to wrap it around a lamppost ('Now Kirk, if you go drinking, you don't drive home-- you pick up the phone and call.') or blow it up anything. And then they warp out to further adventures.
This is, perhaps, one of the greater entries in the Trek canon. Everyone is on top form here- and interestingly enough, Star Trek IV provides us with the second Seventh Heaven connection in the Trek movie series- Catherine Hicks, the Mom from Seventh Heaven proves an able foil/flirting partner for Captain Kirk who eventually hitches a ride back to the future so someone can take care of the hijacked whales.
And you know what, you've probably seen this already- it's like the one Trek movie people have seen outside of Star Trek II and hardcore Trekkers (who have, of course, seen them all- multiple times.) So I'll spare you the detailed analysis- needless to say, this is the most fun you'll ever have with a Star Trek movie.
My Grade: *** out of 4
Overall: Pure fun, but nothing mind-blowing.
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