Greetings and salutations, my friends.

This is your all-around pleasant group contributor here with another thread.

And today, following my completion of reviewing "Star Trek: The Original Series", I'll be giving you all my first analysis on a Star Trek feature film by reviewing "Star Trek: The Motion Picture".

Here's the summary of this film:

Years after the events of the original series, James T. Kirk reunites with the crew of the Starship Enterprise, along with Leonard McCoy "Bones" and Spock, to once again take command of the ship, temporarily demoting Willard Decker from captain to commander and first officer.

The reason for that is because an unusual and immense new threat has been slowly traveling across space, with a crash course set for Earth. A live machine looking for whoever made it, and will destroy Earth unless its creator is identified.

Will the crew of the Enterprise somehow stop this threat? Or will Earth and the people on it be doomed to perish because of it?

With this movie being the very first Star Trek film of my reviewing career, I'd like to start off with the positives it has.

For a film of the 1980s, especially next to that of the original Star Wars trilogy, the special effects that it had were impressive. Whoever was in charge of them was literally able to make the movie seem like it was being filmed in outer space, and the misty cloud and giant machine seemed so real, one can't help but feel like they're actually witnessing them, and inside of them.

The musical score by Jerry Goldsmith was also something that I found to be groundbreaking. It may not be able to compete with John Williams's work in the original Star Wars trilogy, but it does come strongly close thanks to having a lot of emotional resonance.

In spite of these positives, however, the film as a whole...proved to largely be a waste of time.

Much of the blame for it all especially goes to the direction by Robert Wise, the story by Alan Dean Foster, and the screenplay by Harold Livingston. Considering that producer Gene Roddenberry also contributed to the script, I'd say that he's to blame as well.

The problem with the film was that it was excruciatingly slow. In many points, it focused so much on certain details, much longer than required, that you can't help but wonder when things will be moving on. A prime example is from the moment where Kirk was seeing the Starship Enterprise after so long from a small vehicle he was riding in. It also felt sluggish because it had little to no action, and despite the mystery the crew was trying to solve regarding what they were up against, there was little to no intrigue either.

One part I can't help but particularly call out is the part where the Enterprise is stuck in the wormhole. It was not only sluggish, but painfully disorienting because of the speed of the character voices and the light that was surrounding everyone.

The film's antagonist certainly didn't do the film any favors either, that's for sure. The villain as a whole being a machine largely lacked the memorability of the franchise's previous antagonists, even ones who were also machines. Its quest on "searching for its creator" seemed to be more ridiculous than intriguing, and that's not even considering the fact that it felt like it was making fun of humanity's need for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The acting from the film's ensemble was okay at the most. However, despite the film being able to retain the original cast and characters from the show, and having some impressive new characters and cast members, every performer featured seemed rather bored with the material they were given. They just didn't seem to be putting as much energy and commitment into their performances, and they seemed to be wanting to be somewhere else more than anything. Even though Kirk was obviously having development of character and conflict throughout, one can't help but even go on to wonder what purpose and use it would serve.

The only element of the cast and characters that was able to keep things interesting was Leonard Nimoy and the character of Spock. Just like in the original TV show, Nimoy was able to make any moment he was given count and be notable, and even amongst the film's special effects, Spock's presence is so grappling one could hardly want to look away.

In conclusion, the film's special effects, Goldsmith's music, and the presence of Nimoy were definitely great, but the film as a whole was a lot more dull than fun.

Sad to say, I rate "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" a complete 2½ out of 5 stars.

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It was a product of its time. Too many scenes where it was trying to be like Space Odyssey. Trippy visual effects for the sake of it. Wasn't the worst story in the world but it dragged on and on and on. Thankfully, Wrath of Khan was a lot better and remains a classic to this very day. Has to be if they keep referencing it.