Having lost his fellow officer and close friend Mr.Spock in the battle against space tyrant Khan, and having sent his body to rest on the newly-formed planet created by the launch of the regenerating Genesis Probe, Admiral James Kirk is still in mourning when he is approached by Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, the medical officer of the Enterprise. McCoy tells Kirk that he feels as if he is almost possessed by the spirit of another, feeling as if there is someone else living in his body. He believes Spock may not be 'dead' in the human sense of the word but is still alive as a lifeforce somewhere. After consulting Spock's parents, he is told that Spock may have bonded with a crew member via a mindmeld, and his body has to be taken back to Vulcan to complete the rebirth ceremony. Breaking all the Federation rules and risking everything, Kirk hijacks the Enterprise, with the blessing of the crew, and goes to the Genesis Planet to see if it holds the secret of Spock's spirit...
Review:
An excellent third outing for the
Star Trek crew on the big screen, helmed by Leonard Nimoy with few artistic flourishes but with a good impetus to the plot. DeForrest Kelley, a veteran actor since the fifties, is actually given more to do here than react incredulously to some piece of medical data or other in the role of 'Bones' McCoy, reacting to the possibility that Spock's spirit has invaded his body. The script by Harve Bennett adds some depth to the character of Kirk, and Shatner is just about up to coping with the added depth. Nimoy makes a cameo appearance at the end, as if you hadn't guessed, but it's another step away from the snail's pace of
Star Trek: The Motion Picture and another hit.