Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize Earth's oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.
Star Trek IV stands out for its genuinely audacious and playful premise — time-traveling to 1980s San Francisco to rescue humpback whales — which gives it exceptional novelty among sci-fi blockbusters. The fish-out-of-water comedy lands well and the environmental message is unusually earnest for a big-budget adventure. Acting is solid ensemble work, warm and charming but not exceptional. Cinematography is competent TV-movie level for the era, unremarkable. The plot is breezy and fun but thin on dramatic stakes. The ending resolves neatly but without much surprise or emotional punch, typical of the series' lighter entries.