A direct follow up to the previous film, this middle part of an unofficial trilogy continues the melancholic feeling of the previous entry. Devoting an entire film to what is essentially a cheat may seem unnecessary, but despite the film's obvious flaw, It does well to tie its plot to threads from the previous film which helps to sell the implausibility of its central story, and importantly the characters suffer consequences to their actions, notably Kirk with another fine performance from Shatner. The film can't help but suffer from the absence of Nimoy from the film and its exploration of Vulcan culture is more suited to devotees of the Trek franchise and less accessible to a general audience than the previous film. That being said, the film contains some great sequences, as Kirk and his crew go out on a limb for their friend and face down the Klingon villains and it forms a cohesive companion piece to Wrath of Khan. More importantly, it does not lessen the impact of those moving final moments from Khan, which are replayed here at the beginning.