--- title: "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock" critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984): what the critics said Critics' score 72 from 11 reviews: 9 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like it: nine of the eleven reviews are positive and none is negative. The praise clusters around Leonard Nimoy’s direction and his feel for the cast. Several reviews credit him with bringing back the small character moments of the television series and giving each crew member something to do, so the ship feels like a family again. William Shatner’s handling of Kirk’s losses is noted approvingly, as are Christopher Lloyd’s Klingon, Kruge, and DeForest Kelley’s McCoy. They part over how much the film suffers from following The Wrath of Khan. Most agree it lacks the second film’s energy and does not quite justify undoing Spock’s death, though earnestness carries it a long way. The spread is fairly narrow, running from warm to lukewarm. The Los Angeles Times is the outlier at the top, finding real spirituality in it; Den of Geek and Paste sit at the bottom, pointing to a cheap-looking Genesis planet and to doubts over the effects and the plot. ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 June 1984. Nimoy's direction respects his colleagues and undercuts the corniness affectionately, delivering a splendid adventure that champions old-fashioned virtues of loyalty, bravery and sacrifice. The film has genuine spirituality and moves even non-Trekkies. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-star-trek-search-spock-review-19840601-snap-story.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Howard Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 16 June 2009. The critic finds the film the most faithful and enjoyable of the original-cast Star Trek movies, crediting Nimoy's direction for infusing it with the essence of the TV series through small character moments. They single out the Klingon villain Kruge and the supporting crew highlights like Uhura and Sulu for praise while noting it does not withstand close scrutiny. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/summer-of-84-odd-man-out-star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock/) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Not quite as good as the second or fourth voyages but light years ahead of the first, Nimoy's directorial debut follows the crew going AWOL to resurrect Spock in an atypically tragic story. The critic singles out the impressive visual invention by Nimoy and the reliability of the cast for keeping the franchise strong. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/star-trek-iii-search-spock-review/) ## The AV Club — Zack Handlen Rating B-. 20 August 2009. The critic finds the film fun and charmingly old-school despite being redundant and not justifying its existence by undoing Spock's death. They single out the strong sense of the crew as a family unit, with each member getting moments to shine, for praise. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/star-trek-star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock-star-t-1798206840) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 June 2024. The critic calls it a weighty but fun threequel that deals with themes of matter, death and eternal life. They single out the passionate bromance between Kirk and Spock, and the extraordinary sacrifices Kirk makes for his friend, as the film's core. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jun/14/star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock-review-kirk-sacrifices-all-in-the-name-of-bromance) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 June 1984. The film is helped by the cast, director and screenwriter's wholehearted belief in the saga, though Nimoy hasn't matched the playfulness and energy of the second film. It makes up for this in earnestness, which goes a long way toward making the material touching. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/01/movies/film-latest-in-the-star-trek-series.html) ## Collider — Liam Gaughan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2021. The critic argues that Star Trek III deserves recognition as top-tier Trek, praising its character focus, emotional depth in Kirk's arc, and the fun elements despite following Wrath of Khan. They single out the emotional consequences and character understanding for praise. [Read the review](https://collider.com/star-trek-3-search-for-spock-best-trek-movies/) ## Film Stories — A J Black Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2023. The critic views the film as cementing the big-screen Star Trek formula of high-concept blockbusters with adventure and villains, following up on the previous entry by undoing its emotional sacrifice of Spock in a commercially driven but risk-taking story focused on Kirk. It singles out the destruction of the Enterprise and Shatner's raw reaction to his son's murder as standout moments that give the film genuine consequence and emotional weight. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/star-trek-revisited-the-search-for-spock-1984/) ## /Film Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 December 2021. The piece ranks the film seventh among Star Trek movies and praises how it thoughtfully revives Spock at great personal cost to Kirk and the crew, highlighting Shatner's dramatic range in wrestling with loss and the symmetrical storytelling around sacrificing the Enterprise. It notes that the action has aged poorly in places but overall sees it as a fun adventure with weightier themes. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/718751/every-star-trek-movie-ranked-worst-to-best/) ## Den of Geek — Adam Sloman Rating 3/5. 6 May 2009. The film is a good, fine entry in the franchise that breaks the odd-numbered Star Trek movie curse, though not on a par with The Wrath of Khan. DeForest Kelley’s performance as McCoy shines, along with strong special effects in sequences like stealing the Enterprise, while the Genesis planet looks cheap. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock-retrospective-review/) ## Paste — Michael Burgin Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2022. The critic notes the challenges of following Wrath of Khan and questions around effects and plot, but praises Nimoy's directorial awareness of cast strengths and Christopher Lloyd's memorable performance as Kruge. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/star-trek/ranking-star-trek-movies-worst-best) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/star-trek-iii-the-search-for-spock.md