Jacob Martin (formally known as The Movie King)’s review published on Letterboxd:
Some people favor The Wrath of Khan's compelling revenge tale. Others love the Cold War-fueled The Undiscovered Country. And to the .001% that believe the greatest Trek film is that awful turd known as The Final Frontier, go. Just leave. You're making Leonard Nimoy roll around in his grave right now! Anyway, as for me, when it comes to the ultimate Trek film, one that truly surprised me when first experiencing these films, is The Voyage Home.
Closing a story arc that started with "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN", the plot of The Voyage Home sounds ridiculously stupid on paper. Our heroes have to travel back in time to the 1980's San Francisco to retrieve some humpback whales to save the earth from annihilation while also repopulating its species. Seriously, WHALES! WHALES!!! Even though I normally despise environmental storylines, this film is not at all heavy-handed or preachy. Instead, director Leonard Nimoy does a different approach. He makes sure to entertain its audience despite its absurdity and just have fun with it. The humor alone is what drives the film to greatness. Seeing Spock "punk out" a punk rocker and attempt to use "colorful metaphors" makes for a rather entertaining storyline. The lack of villain involved gives the film a sense of divine feeling, as I take the probe to be a divine power that's trying to correct the mistakes of humanity.... a plot device that fails miserably in The Final Frontier. I also dig Leonard Rosenman's score; the odd vibe for the space probe is one of the more disturbing sounds I've ever heard in my life!
The Trekkies can favor Wrath of Khan all they want, but as for me, my money for best Trek film goes to The Voyage Home. Considering its completely absurd plot, Leonard Nimoy's direction and dedication to craft some truly hilarious situations for its characters is worth mentioning about. It's also great that the film tackles environmentalism without offending those who despise preachy messages like Avatar and Pocahontas seemed to annoy to so many people. Plus, who doesn't crack up when that Russian dude Chekov is searching for "nuclear wessles"!
RIP Leonard Nimoy!
"Well that's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word."
10/10 (PHENOMENAL)