This is the hardest Star Trek movie for me to review, so bear with me.On the one hand, it is forced in its social-message earnestness. The apocalyptic set-up takes too long and is rather lame besides. The hug-it-out ending is the kind of thing earnest old Gene Roddenberry might have rejected as too cloying by half.On the other, it's the most enjoyably comic entry in the "Star Trek" canon barring "A Piece Of The Action" and maybe "Galaxy Quest," showcasing some of the best cast chemistry among The Original Series regulars.In short, I find it somewhat tedious on the whole and very entertaining in much of its parts, especially the 65-minute middle section which brings James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew to San Francisco in 1986.I'd rather not waste time setting the film up. The film itself does too much of that, and it only falters in the explanation. Something about a mysterious craft that has the power of shutting down all power in and around the planet Earth. It's sending out unrecognizable lines of communication; Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) recognizes humpback whalesong. Since humpbacks are extinct in the 23rd century, Spock determines the best way to handle this is find some whales in Earth's past that can respond and send the craft back from whence it came.It's a weak device, throwing up a lot of unanswered questions (what became of all those unfortunate crewpeople on ships that we see in the opening drifting powerless into space's vaccuum?) All you are supposed to care about are the usual suspects, Kirk and the gang of the late U. S. S. Enterprise, now aboard a stolen Klingon bird-of- prey. If you can, good for you.Give Nimoy a lot of credit. I don't like the script he helped write, but as director he makes it work by building up his fellow actors from the TV show. Anyone notice how Spock never gets the last word this time in his exchanges with Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley)? Instead, he's the butt of much of the humor, as when he strains futilely to inject profanity in his exchanges in order to fit in on 20th-century Earth."He's not exactly working on all thrusters," McCoy reminds Kirk.A silly-looking Spock is not what you expect, but watching him try to drop "hells" and "damns" with unbecoming Vulcan gravity is a joy of repeated viewings.I can do without the save-the-whales message being troweled on like mortar. Kirk's female contact on 20th century Earth has a "I Heart Whales" bumper sticker, and there's a long section showcasing whale slaughter in gory detail. I don't need the violins as I tuck into my whale steak and heat my cottage with blubber oil.Yet "Star Trek" did inject social commentary a lot in its TV period, along with some fairly comic outings. In both cases, "Star Trek IV" serves as a pleasant return to the well, reminding us why it was so enjoyable for so long. Humor comes across to some degree in other outings, but here it becomes more central than usual. Not all the jokes are great, but the delivery is solid. Even Chekov (Walter Koenig) gets some overdue attention as an object of last-minute rescue.Who doesn't get a kick out of watching Kirk and Spock negotiate mass transit? Non-fans will enjoy the digs, while fans who balance their loyalty to the franchise with an appreciation for popular-if-dated entertainment tropes will find this a worthwhile if minor addition to the mythos that is Trek.

This film is the fourth film of the franchise and clearly addresses a naturalistic theme, very dear of this time, when ecological movements began to be noticed. In fact, the script itself consists of a trip to the past to save the last representatives of a certain species of whales. Obviously the issue around time travel is pure science fiction and the way the Enterprise craft does this seemed unlikely, but everything else is extremely positive in the movie. I loved the way the script made comedy with the shock of the future travelers (especially Dr. McCoy) with our social and technological backwardness. These moments of humor are the strongest and most appealing point of this film. The technical details of the film are roughly the same as the previous films, in particular with regard to the special effects that these days do not seem very surprising due to the computer effects we get used to. And as for the actors it can be said that it is the film of DeForest Kelley par excellence, in that the actor gets some of the most memorable scenes. The remaining cast, however, live up to our expectations, contributing to make this film a worthy continuation of the franchise.

I know amongst the nerd community that there are a lot of fantasy and sci-fi movies in the 80's that must take the premise to modern-day to save on it's budget and most of them were pretty bad. I haven't seen these movies myself but from what little I've seen of some, I really don't want to. This however is how to do this premise right because what could have been a standard time travel episode of the original show (with a larger budget) ends up being a very good sci-fi comedy with a lot of memorable moments.So the plot is that an alien probe starts sending a message that screws with space and Earth. on Vulcan continuing from 3 the crew decide to analyse the message and find that the only creatures that can hear it are humpback whales but they all died in a non-specific time frame between this movie and their time. They decide to time travel to find some so that message can get a reply. They try their best to accommodate to their new time and usually hijinx ensues but... unlike others of the time the comedy of trying to keep a low profile while Spock is mind-melding with a humpback whale in Sea World is actually funny.I'll say the effects are quite good for their time and the actors do pull through something... worth seeing (I say worth seeing because Shatner has never been a good actor other than when he plays egotists or just parodies of himself) but the main draw here is the comedy. I will always laugh at the bit where Spock nerve pinches a punk to get him to turn off his stereo while a bus cheers. If there is anything to say against it I would say while there is a villain they're probably the most uninteresting villains in Star Trek history (it's just the American authorities in 1986) and that... It's not that I dislike what was done here it's just that when I watch Star Trek I do prefer it when it's actual space exploration, new worlds and aliens (unless it's Insurrection!). I'd say this is also the most accessible of Star Trek movies (either this, Wrath Of Khan or First Contact). so I would recommend this.

10/10 This is very much a personal rating and not a critical rating. I love this film! It's fun and silly, and it's my favorite Star Trek film. The whole premise of going back in time to save the world by saving the whales, ridiculously fun!! :) It may not be the most serious Star Trek or be the one that makes you look into yourself and challenges you, but not all movies have to do that. I grew up watching this film with my family and I guess my dads love for the film rubbed off on me.