I LOVED this movie! THE best Star Trek yet! SOOO good!
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Buoyant, farcical time-travel Enterprise escapade.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 10 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was written by Charles Cassady Jr.
Parents need to know that this Star Trek movie is the most farcical of the big-screen series. As much comedy as adventure derives from the journey of the Starfleet heroes to 1986 Earth, and the relative rudeness and local color they encounter in San Francisco. There are instances of comical swearing and drug references.
Families Can Talk About
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- Families can talk about the movie's emphasis on comedy, and the culture-shock of the future space travelers in (more or less) present-day Earth society. What aspects of this world do you think would bewilder visitors from tomorrow? Also, what eco-messages do you find in the movie?
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More on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
What’s the Story?
Having rescued a returned-from-the-dead Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and committing multiple offenses against Starfleet in the process, the core crew of the now-destroyed starship Enterprise arein exile on the planet Vulcan. Voting unanimously to return to Earth and face justice, they depart in their captured Klingon ship, only to find their home planet besieged by a bizarre, enigmatic alien space probe that's battering Earth through storms and energy drains. The heroes figure out that the probe is trying to contact humpback whales, described as an intelligent species which, by the 23rd century, have been long extinct, hunted to their doom by greedy humans. Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) orders the crew to time-warp back to the 20th century, where humpback whales can be found.
Is It Any Good?
STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME successfully captured the same lighthearted spirit of some of the classic 1960s TV episodes. The bulk of the fun -- and it is, much of the time, played for breezy laughs, despite the mortal peril for the Earth -- centers on the super-competent 23rd-century visitors' awkwardness fitting into 1986 Earth society and dealing with money, rude people, profanity, exact bus fare, and more.
The cast has seldom been more charming (and that's saying a lot), and there's a running undercurrent about Spock gradually reconnecting with his shipmates and learning to balance logic with emotion. Sure, the special effects are good too (note the use of early CGI to simulate the time warp), but it's the beloved characterizations that set it apart from the vast majority of screen science-fiction that's all about the gadgets, rockets, aliens, and monster costumes.
Movie Details
Studio: Paramount Home Video, Director: Leonard Nimoy
Run time: 119 minutes
Theatrical release: 11/26/1986, DVD release: 03/03/2003
MPAA Rating: PG for parental guidance
Run time: 119 minutes
Theatrical release: 11/26/1986, DVD release: 03/03/2003
MPAA Rating: PG for parental guidance
Our Members Say
See all 7 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
Perfect!
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I rate this title iffy for age 5 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
This Movie Is Not That Great For 5 Year Olds
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
great movie
saving the whales is a great message. nice computer history lesson (Scotty and the Apple 2)
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Very positive message and great role models.
I saw this movie first when I was a kid, so I knew it was one of the most appropriate for my kids to see. Outside of a few relatively mild curse-words (d*amn, a$$, etc.) it was perfect. The message of saving the whales for the future of humanity is very positive, as is the comeraderie of the crew of the Enterprise and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
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I rate this title on for age 16 and give it
12 and up??? Really? So "It's okay to make out on your bed in your underwear" is what we want our kids believing???
The commercial, alone, is unacceptable for my 12 year old. She is very interested in "relationships" and it is not helpful to have unmarried couples, in their underwear, "making out" on a bed. How do we, as parents, convince our kids that they should "wait" when nearly every show, implies 1st date sex???
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
Fun Science Fiction
STAR TREK IV is a good movie, and is appropriate for preteens and up. Outside of some tense scenes, language is the only thing wrong with the movie. There are several "a*s"s, "s**t"s, and "d**n"s. Spock uses "hell" in almost every phrase when he thinks it is appropriate to curse on Earth "ex: They told us the hell to come back to Earth". A man flips another off.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
This star trek movie is like almost all of the other star treks. The only main Difference is the the social behavier because there is alot more swearing. The message is also very interesting because a probe is sent to earth to see if there are any whales on the planet. But there aren't any, so Kirk goes back in time to get a whale. Kirk gets the whale for two reasons. First all the have been hunted to extiction, this is the message: save the whales, and to save the the planet.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 67% | of parents say it has language their kids can't use |
| 33% | of parents say there are good role models |
| 33% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
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