Just perfect...

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Just an enjoyable romp that never takes itself too seriously, gives each cast member moments and something to do, has a message, and manages to capture the spirit of the original show maybe better than any other of the films. Such a fun movie that you can overlook a few issues (like the fact that they left technology in the past... whoops!)

I don't think this really contains spoilers but I checked it just in case someone thinks it did.To give out my perspective I must first point out that I am a fan boy and tend to rank all things Trek a bit better than they may be in reality. That said, even my loving of Trek cannot save this tire fire of a movie. Everything about the movie is just wrong. It feels like a cheesy '70's TV movie. From the terrible TV type music to the end credits run over images of the movie you just wasted your time watching. The plot is monumentally absurd and the actors are trying way too hard to be funny. Sorry, it's not their fault. It was the writers. They wanted a light movie, which is fine. But if you want light, do light in a clever way. Like David Gerald did in his "Trouble With Tribbles" script from the TV show. Shatner showed he had great comic timing when given good material. He and Nimoy just looked sad the entire movie. Nimoy I think was going with the fish-out-of-water with the time travel idea but it just didn't work because it required our normally well educated and diplomatic crew to behave like idiots who had no idea where they were. As a result, save for a precious few moments none of the crew behaved like their normal selves. I could write essays about the pathetic and obvious plot holes (like the alien probe in the opening scene that was so advanced it turns off every device withing a certain radius, completely ignores an obvious advanced species on the planet they are heading for just so they can see why the sounds coming from that planet stopped) but that is actually not the worst part of the movie. Many Trek films have a plot hole here and there but that does not take away from the enjoyment of the story. Not so here. In the end, the movie came across as a souped up version of the Trek Episode "Let That be Your Last Battlefield" (One with the half black and half white races in the series' most obvious allegory and was actually better than this movie was) rather than an original and light hearted fun time it was obviously aiming for. Bottom line... This wasn't just a terrible movie in it's own right. It's a terrible Trek movie too.

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.

So the fourth film wraps up the narrative arc that begun with Wrath..... And this is widely regarded as one of the better Trek films because it's tone is considerably lighter, as the gang all travel back in time, and become metaphorical aliens.....A space probe appears over Earth, emanating strange sounds towards the planet, and apparently waiting for something. As time goes on, the probe starts to cause major storms on Earth and threaten its destruction. Admiral James T. Kirk and crew are called upon once again to save mankind. They discover the strange sounds are actually the songs of the humpback whale - which has been hunted to extinction. They have only one choice - to attempt to time travel back into the 20th century, locate two whales, and bring them back to 23rd century Earth to respond to the probe.....So it's the Eco-friendly one, the one where Kirk saves the whales, and sends everyone in audience a subliminal message telling us to 'look after our planet', but with a few laughs thrown in so it looks like Nimoy isn't preaching too much.And whilst the film is wonderfully entertaining when it's set in 1986, step back and look at the bigger picture, and you'll find that its nothing more than the film being about a big piece of liquorice who is lonely and can't speak any language apart from whale.The makers knew that the story wasn't the best, so they implemented the element of time travel to keep the series fresh and 'down with the kids'.Kelleys is easily the best thing here, his scenes in the hospital are hilarious, and some of his finest comedic scenes in the film series. In fact, everybody seems to be having such a good time, you can't help but go with the comedy.Back in space though, it's a pretty sombre affair. We start with the council watching the third act of Search For Spock, and we end with everybody slapping each other on the back.It's not deserved of its high regard in the Trek universe, but at least you see Kirk throw Spock playfully in the ocean.