Review of For the Love of Spock

By Dave B.

​Before his death in 2015, Leonard Nimoy and his son Adam began work on a documentary about what is perhaps science fiction’s most well-known character, Spock. Following his father’s passing, Adam continued the project and expanded it, creating For the Love of Spock (2016, currently on Netflix), a tribute to the beloved First Officer of the Enterprise and a love letter to an accomplished, flawed, and widely respected father.

​In many ways Nimoy was a modern day renaissance man. Besides a successful acting career, the Bostonian also was a notable musician, photographer, poet, and movie director. His work ethic was prodigious and directly contributed to a tumultuous relationship with Adam. Through interviews with colleagues, family, friends, and fans viewers gain a unique insight not only into Spock the character and Nimoy the man, but also into how each impacted the lives of countless others for over 50 years and will continue to do so for…well…maybe forever. Personally, I never would have gotten into outer space consulting if not for the influence of Star Trek in general and of Mr. Spock, in particular.

In truth, I had intentionally avoided watching For the Love of Spock for years, despite being a huge fan of all things Star Trek. Although Nimoy had an incredibly successful career, I knew that his life wasn’t without its troubles and strife, and I didn’t want my image of Nimoy the man and Spock the character to be tarnished. Fortunately, this documentary is truly a labor of love. While it does address some of the challenges that Nimoy faced in his life, it doesn’t dwell on them. ​

​This movie is a celebration of a character, a man, a fandom, and of life as a whole. I highly recommend it, not only to fans of Star Trek, but to anyone who feels like seeing something that is uplifting, but that also isn’t sappy or overly sentimental. In fact, this is my second favorite documentary that I’ve watched this year behind The Rachel Divide. For the Love of Spock is not a short watch at 111 minutes, but I enjoyed every second of it and if you give it a chance, I think that you will too. 

Rating: 8.5/10