Do you want to see ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’?

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 32
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 17

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 4.8/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 60,785

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Movie Info

When plans to launch a second Star Trek television series in the late 1970s were scrapped by Paramount Pictures, the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry, instead transformed the aborted program's 2-hour pilot into this big budget theatrical feature. Five years after the legendary voyages of the starship Enterprise, James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is an unhappy, desk-bound admiral at Starfleet headquarters. Kirk goes aboard his old vessel to observe its re-launch under new captain Will Decker

G, 2 hr. 23 min.

Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Robert Wise

In Theaters: Dec 7, 1979 Wide

On DVD: Nov 6, 2001

Paramount Home Video

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Trailer & Photos

More Photos (9)

Cast

William Shatner
James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy
Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley
Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Stephen Collins
Cmdr. Willard Decker
James Doohan
Montgomery "Scotty" Sco...
George Takei
Hikaru Sulu
Majel Barrett
Christine Chapel
Persis Khambatta
Lt. Ilia
Walter Koenig
Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols
Uhura
Mark Lenard
Klingon Captain
Billy Van Zandt
Alien Boy
Grace Lee Whitney
Janice Rand
David Gautreaux
Commander Branch
Marcy Lafferty
Chief DiFalco
Michael Rougas
Lt. Cleary
Ralph Brannen
Crew Member
Roger Aaron Brown
Epsilon Technician
Ralph Byers
Crew Member
Paula Crist
Crew Member
Gary Faga
Airlock Technician
John D. Gowans
Assistant to Rand
Jon Rashad Kamal
Lt. Commander Sonak
Tom Morga
Klingon Crewman
Franklyn Seales
Crew Member
Paul Weber
Vulcan Master
Joel Kramer
Klingon Crewman
Momo Yashima
Crew Member
Susan Sullivan
Woman
Craig Thomas
Klingon Crewman

Critic Reviews for Star Trek: The Motion Picture

All Critics (32) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (18) | DVD (28)

Nothing but a long day's journey into ennui.

May 3, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

| Comment

Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

Top Critic

The expensive effects (under supervision of Douglas Trumbull) are the secret of this film, and the amazing wizardry throughout would appear to justify the whopping budget.

May 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

This 1979 movie adaptation of the cult TV series is blandness raised to an epic scale.

May 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment (1)

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

[It's] like attending your high-school class's 10th reunion at Caesar's Palace. Most of the faces are familiar, but the d�cor has little relationship to anything you've ever seen before.

May 9, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Vincent Canby

New York Times

Top Critic

Star Trek - The Motion Picture: Director's Edition is no 2001 (its obvious inspiration -- a fact that is more evident here than ever before), but it represents thought-provoking, well constructed science fiction.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment (1)

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

First big-screen flight of the Enterprise.

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

Star Trek's freshman big screen effort was crippled by a plodding pace and a somber tone.

June 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs

| Comment

Scott Nash

Three Movie Buffs

The special effects hold up pretty well and make for some attractive viewing. (Blu-ray Collection)

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

More of an event than a movie...more flash than content.

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

If the endless interstellar vistas of 2001: A Space Odyssey tested your patience, Star Trek: The Motion Picture will make you cry like a little star child.

March 22, 2009 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm

| Comment (1)

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

a little too boring

July 5, 2008 Comment

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

sbs.is

As an exploration of the loneliness of a unique machine consciousness, great! As an exciting SF experience, maybe not.

May 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Matthew De Abaitua

Film4

Director Robert Wise has no feeling for Trek's pop insouciance, and the movie unfolds ponderously.

May 19, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

For non-addicts, the smart plot and effects go some way towards compensating for the plastic characters and costumes.

August 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment (1)

Time Out

The long, majestic scene in which Scotty (James Doohan) takes Kirk in a shuttle toward the refurbished Enterprise is still breathtaking.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Star Trek: The Motion Picture

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This certainly isnâ(TM)t the ideal sci-fi film, but rather a decent one. Itâ(TM)s quite likely that fans of the original series will not enjoy it all too much, whereas mostly anyone else should enjoy it well enough. Although one who turns off his or her brain will enjoy it much more, it might be better to just

December 23, 2011

Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

When this came out in 1979, it was a big deal. It was the first piece of new Trek in a decade. Then, as now, this is a baffling movie, and back then, probably not what people expected. I kind of liked it though. It basically is something like the Star Trek version of 2001: A Space Odyssey. That's cool, because it shows

February 18, 2010

Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Quotes

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1. James T. Kirk: Warp drive, Mister Scott!
– Submitted by Blair S (35 days ago)

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