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The film takes place shortly after Star Trek III. Kirk and his crew, in the meantime, had re-fitted the Klingon ship they had hijacked in the last film, so that it would be simple for them to fly. They pack up to go back to Earth, where they are to face judgement for their crimes - stealing and destroying the Enterprise, going to a quarantined planet, and disobeying direct orders, to name a few. Spock wishes to go with them, to lend support to the crew that saved him. He is still not fully himself, and tends to take things too literally and too logically.
Meanwhile, Starfleet ships and starbases across the galaxy are suffering power drains due to a mysterious probe that is sending out signals that no one understands. When it gets to Earth, it stops, pulling up water from the ocean until the Earth is smothered in clouds and rain. As the Bird of Prey comes close to Earth, it gets a warning from the President of the Federation, saying that all ships should stay away from Earth, since the probe disturbs power to such a degree that vital systems (such as life support) are completely shut down. Spock and Uhura analyze the sound that the probe is making, and discover that it would be the same as humpback whale song, if heard underwater. When they research this phenomenon further, they realize that the humpback whales had gone extinct centuries before, hunted down to the last by humans.
In a desperate act, Kirk decides to go back in time - just a simple slingshot around the sun - to retrieve the whales, and fix the problem. Knowing that they could clearly die, given an imprecise calculation, the crew agrees to go through with the time travel. They end up in 1986, and land in a park in San Francisco, cloaking the ship as soon as they arrive in that time period. They also realize that they need nuclear power to get the ship back up to working condition. Splitting off into teams, Kirk and Spock go to find some whales, Chekov and Uhura go to find some nuclear power, and Scotty, Sulu, and McCoy look for materials to build a tank to hold the whales.
Kirk and Spock end up going to The Cetacean Institute - a fictional aquarium - where they meet Dr. Gillian Taylor (Hicks), and George and Gracie, the humpback whales she works with. After determining that the whales are going to be re-introduced into the wild, since Gracie is pregnant, and they can't guarantee the survival of the baby, Kirk and Spock decide that these are the perfect whales to take into the future. Dr. Taylor objects at first, but when they are moved to the ocean before she has the chance to say goodbye, she changes her mind and helps them retrieve the whales in the nick of time before they are killed by some whale hunters.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew has managed to complete their missions, with some various silly hijinks and some fixable danger to Chekov. The crew flies forward in time with the whales and Dr. Taylor in tow (since she refuses to leave her whales). The whales and probe communicate, and, after a brief conversation, the probe takes off to places unknown and leaves the Earth at peace again.
Kirk and his crew are tried for their crimes. Since Kirk was leading the others, they are dismissed of their charges. Kirk is downgraded to the rank of Captain, and "punished" by having to command a starship - the new U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701-A.
I should mention that this film was dedicated to the spaceship Challenger crew, in honor and memory of the tragic accident that occurred in 1983. Props to them for that.
The interesting thing about this movie is that it is the most fun. Even Nimoy, in the behind-the-scenes said that. It's probably the least violent (minus the whale-hunters), the most genuinely funny, and the one with a truly happy ending. The Main Title song for this film highlights all of that perfectly. It's very triumphant - almost Christmas-y. I actually downloaded it onto my iPod, I love it so much.
The only violent bit, as previously mentioned, was a video shown at the Cetacean Institute about whale hunting. It still makes me sick, even with all of the desensitizing I've had over the years from watching various movies. I couldn't watch it as a child, and I still find it very hard to watch.
A note on the bus punk: I LOVED that miniature song - "I Hate You" - as a kid because it had such a fun beat. When I started singing it around the house (because I didn't know what "screw you" meant), my brother had to gently correct me and tell me that Mom and Dad shouldn't hear me singing that, so stop. I still think that's funny and carry a fondness for the character and the song to this day.
I wonder, was the Temporal Directive in play here? Does it apply if they need to change the past to save the world? Would there be any other reason to go back in time besides something utterly dire like saving the world? McCoy and Scotty did have a bit of a stab at this concept when Scotty gave the molecular composition for transparent aluminum to a plastic-maker. McCoy pulled Scotty aside and expressed concern. Scotty said, "How do we know he didn't invent the thing?!" At first, I thought that was a sloppy way of dealing with it, and then I saw it as more of a way for the writers to say, yes, we understand this is not the way they should be dealing with time travel, but it's a fun movie, so forget it. Still, the geek in me is irritated.
I have to say while Wrath of Khan has replaced The Voyage Home as the absolute best Star Trek movie (at least in this viewing), I still hold a very fond place in my heart for the latter. I believe this is the most accessible film for both fans and non-fans. Everyone knows what you're talking about when you mention the "one with the whales."
