Released: June 9, 1989
Director: William Shatner
Produced by Harve Bennett
Screenplay: David Loughery
"I can't help but notice your pain...it runs deep...share it with me!"
That line, which I think is just great, is one of the few things that stands out about Star Trek V, a film that is commonly seen as being the single weakest film in the series. It confuses me that, coming off the back of the brilliant and massively successful Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the followup could be so average. A sub standard plot involving a journey to the center of the galaxy to find "God", combined with noticeably weak visual effects compared to the previous outings, caused William Shatner's first turn at directing to be the thing that almost killed the franchise according to some.
Its actually quite a funny film at times, but you get the impression that a lot of the humour was either unintentional or there to pad out the fact that the story wasn't quite up to scratch. The visual effects aren't as good because ILM couldn't do it, and the poor guys they drafted in to do it had half the required time to get it together. Surprisingly, the film apparently did alright when it opened, but it wasn't long before the critics began hurling words like "mess" and "shambles", and not without some justification. Now, that said, The Final Frontier isn't a complete failure. The campfire scene between Kirk, Bones and Spock is cool. You can't help but laugh when Scotty walks into the wall and knocks himself out, while in the middle of saying "I know this ship like the back of my hand..." (then again, this is such an obviously slapstick moment), and the scene where the character's inner demons are brought out into the open is one that I've always remembered. Then of course, we have Kirk questioning "God" like only Kirk would. I agree, what the hell does God need with a starship? The brilliant David Warner also makes an appearance, but as we know he would return in the next film and do much better. Was that a conscious decision, I wonder?
If you're a fan of Trek, even the weaker movies have some value and are worth watching, if only to get an idea of just how much better the high points of the series really are. The Final Frontier is more of a curiosity than anything else, as it does show some glimmers of potential. Had they had more time and the budget they needed, I'm sure it would have turned out a lot better. Thankfully, with the next film in the series, they got back on track in a big way and produced a fitting end to the series of original Trek films. That film is unmissable. You can safely skip this one, however.
That line, which I think is just great, is one of the few things that stands out about Star Trek V, a film that is commonly seen as being the single weakest film in the series. It confuses me that, coming off the back of the brilliant and massively successful Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the followup could be so average. A sub standard plot involving a journey to the center of the galaxy to find "God", combined with noticeably weak visual effects compared to the previous outings, caused William Shatner's first turn at directing to be the thing that almost killed the franchise according to some.
Its actually quite a funny film at times, but you get the impression that a lot of the humour was either unintentional or there to pad out the fact that the story wasn't quite up to scratch. The visual effects aren't as good because ILM couldn't do it, and the poor guys they drafted in to do it had half the required time to get it together. Surprisingly, the film apparently did alright when it opened, but it wasn't long before the critics began hurling words like "mess" and "shambles", and not without some justification. Now, that said, The Final Frontier isn't a complete failure. The campfire scene between Kirk, Bones and Spock is cool. You can't help but laugh when Scotty walks into the wall and knocks himself out, while in the middle of saying "I know this ship like the back of my hand..." (then again, this is such an obviously slapstick moment), and the scene where the character's inner demons are brought out into the open is one that I've always remembered. Then of course, we have Kirk questioning "God" like only Kirk would. I agree, what the hell does God need with a starship? The brilliant David Warner also makes an appearance, but as we know he would return in the next film and do much better. Was that a conscious decision, I wonder?
If you're a fan of Trek, even the weaker movies have some value and are worth watching, if only to get an idea of just how much better the high points of the series really are. The Final Frontier is more of a curiosity than anything else, as it does show some glimmers of potential. Had they had more time and the budget they needed, I'm sure it would have turned out a lot better. Thankfully, with the next film in the series, they got back on track in a big way and produced a fitting end to the series of original Trek films. That film is unmissable. You can safely skip this one, however.
My rating: 2.5/5
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