Star Trek: The Motion Picture, produced by Gene Roddenberry and directed by Robert Wise, was made 10 years after the television series was canceled. The plot? When a dangerous and curious life form plots a course straight for Earth, Admiral Kirk retakes command of the Enterprise to investigate and prevent the Earth's demise. While it may hold very special sentimental value for many viewers, I grew up on The Next Generation and have no nostalgic feelings for it. I value it as a movie, and not too highly at that. While there was doubtless acres of history I missed out on, the movie subtly hinted at it without boring those who already knew it. And it was probably just as exciting as the show used to be, but much longer.
The pacing is abysmally slow. Much of the movie seems to give us time to be awed by what we are seeing on the screen, but the dated special effects do not amaze us. In fact, they bore us. (Although I guess it's better than the George Lucas alternative of re-editing the movie with CGI to satisfy our modern sensibilities.) The score is reminiscent of Italian horror films like Deep Red--in a word, atrocious--although it was great to hear the familiar theme music once more. The acting and dialogue were also laughable, as was the costuming. The best part about the movie was the alien life form, more specifically how it raised questions regarding the nature of life. It explored some very intriguing philosophical thematics as it approached its finale. Still, it's not enough to see this movie. If you love the original Star Trek, you will probably love this movie. As for myself, I cannot help but laugh at it.IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/