Star Trek: The Motion Picture

When an unidentified alien destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command.

Critics broadly found the film visually impressive and intellectually ambitious but hindered by slow pacing, limited action, and an overextended philosophical premise.

• The Enterprise crew investigates V'ger while its nature and purpose become tied to questions of consciousness and creation.
• V'ger's immense artificial intelligence and its interaction with the crew center the film's conflict.
• The film emphasizes prolonged views of the Enterprise, V'ger, space phenomena, and large-scale visual effects.
• The original Star Trek cast reunites for the franchise's first feature film, backed by Paramount's major theatrical production.

• 2001: A Space Odysseyshared cerebral science fiction, vast extraterrestrial mystery, philosophical questions, and deliberate pacing
• Star Warsshared space opera scale, exploratory starship adventure, cosmic threat, and emphasis on visual effects
• Close Encounters of the Third Kindshared thoughtful science fiction, first-contact mystery, human-machine themes, and measured atmosphere
• Solarisshared crew-based space exploration, alien intelligence, and visually ambitious science fiction adventure

Director

Robert Wise

Release Date

1979-12-07

Runtime

131 min

Rating

6.5 / 10 (2038)

What is Star Trek: The Motion Picture about?

Admiral Kirk reunites the Enterprise crew to confront a planet-threatening intelligence whose search for meaning becomes a test of human consciousness.

What is Star Trek: The Motion Picture like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture as slow, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.

Is Star Trek: The Motion Picture violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Star Trek: The Motion Picture as mild.

What did critics think of Star Trek: The Motion Picture?

Critics broadly found the film visually impressive and intellectually ambitious but hindered by slow pacing, limited action, and an overextended philosophical premise.

Which films are like Star Trek: The Motion Picture?

Films with a similar feel include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Solaris.

How long is Star Trek: The Motion Picture?

Star Trek: The Motion Picture runs 131 minutes.

Where can I watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture?

In United States, Star Trek: The Motion Picture streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.