Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - A light-hearted `Trek'

For those of us who followed the Star Trek (film) saga from the beginning, it's hard to believe that `The Voyage Home' is really a follow-up to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The second outing was dark, brooding and brutal, whereas The Voyage Home is light, fluffy and even political.

The crew of the Enterprise (minus their ship - see III for what happened to that!) are on their way back to Earth when they find an alien probe is on the brink of destroying their planet in the search of whales it made contact with thousands of years ago. The only option - to Kirk anyway - is to travel back in time to present day, pick up a couple of humpbacks and then bring them back to the future to tell this annoying probe where to go.

Yes, you could also call Star Trek IV `Save the Whales.' However, the film is more than just a piece of animal rights propaganda. It never feels like it's stuffing its message down your throat (Avatar, see how it's done!) and it such an enjoyable ride that you really forget about the subtext.

It's probably the most widely-watched Star Trek film to date. People are sometimes turned off the franchise due to its `geeky' reputation. However, you don't need to know that much about the characters to appreciate it, nor do you have to sit through hours of space battles as ninety per cent of the film is set in present day Earth. It's the most `family-friendly' of the Trek movie and, whether you're a fan of the franchise in general or not, I would say that most people should be able to sit down and enjoy the ride.

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather