Star Trek The Motion Picture: 10 Reasons It's Underrated
9. It Was The Most Philosophical Of The Movies
Remember Kirks mid-life crisis in The Wrath of Khan? That got its start here, when we see Kirk spinning his wheels as an admiral. He clearly wants to get out into space again, and so jumps at the chance to commandeer the Enterprise.
Beyond that, we have Spock, wrestling with his personal place in the universe, and relating that to VGers search for identity. This also parallels Deckers development in the story. All of these characters are essentially saying, Is this all there is? Is there nothing more? It is no coincidence the story ended with the phrase, The human adventure is just beginning, because this really was about the human condition and our experiences as people.