Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, its time for another review and this one is another revisitation of sorts but it will be one that acts as a more substantial update, which is for the Star Trek flick, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Now this film is often considered one of the worst entries in the franchise but I figured I'd give it another look anyway having recently re-watched it.

So, with that said let's see how this film fairs 33 years on from its release...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!! (Although who cares too much with this one?!) ;-)))

STORY 

So, the film begins with the crew of the new Enterprise (after the destruction of the original one in Star Trek III) taking shore leave after their first cruise in the ship goes awry.  And Kirk (Shatner) is sharing his shore leave with Spock (Nimoy) and McCoy (Kelley) as they are in Yosemite Park, but they soon receive a call from Starfleet command which brings their leave to an end.  Kirk and his crew are ordered to go and rescue human, Klingon and Romulan hostages on the planet Nimbus III.  

On arrival at Nimbus III, Kirk and his crew discover that the man behind the hostage crisis is in fact a Vulcan named Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) which Spock soon reveals is in fact his half brother.  During an attempt to end the seige, Sybok captures the Enterprise crew and he also uses his mind melding powers to bend the crew to his will, and he tells them that he plans on taking their ship past the great barrier, to a planet that is known as Sha ka Ree, a place that is shrouded in myth that is said to be the place that was responsible for the creation of life itself.  

However passing the great barrier in itself could prove to be a journey that could destroy the Enterprise, and as Kirk placed in the ship's brig along with Spock and McCoy, it is up to him to try and stop Sybok from achieving his plan....

THOUGHTS 

Star Trek V it has to be said in comparison to the previous films is a bit of a letdown, although it is still fairly entertaining, Shatner seems to have made the franchise a bit of a joke.  Plus also the Star Trek crew at this point are also starting to look that bit older and we are subjected to one or two moments you wish you had never seen, such as Uhura dancing wearing very little and using large feathers to cover herself, which is cringe worthy in itself!  

The humour is also a bit more heavily accented and while there are certainly some amusing moments it is also a bit cheesy at times, and it feels less grounded than the previous films and a bit more like slapstick.  The film itself underwent multiple re-writes and also it suffers somewhat from the fact that ILM were unable to do the special effects for the film, and they used a different team run by Brian Ferren, in order to keep the costs down, so the effects look distinctly less impressive than before. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers but then who cares?? Its Star Trek V! ;-)).  

Performance wise the film is actually not too bad and one of the things that works better here is the dynamic between the three leads of Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley and the scenes they share together are the best in the film.  

Starting with William Shatner who does a fine job once again as Captain Kirk, who is roped into resolving a hostage crisis on Nimbus III, which eventually leads him to Sybok. 

And I will mention just a few of Shatner's scenes to keep this section a little shorter that include the one at the start where Spock drops in (or flies in wearing jet boots) on Kirk as he tries to climb a mountain in Yosemite Park. So, in the scene Spock says to Kirk "I'm afraid, Captain, the record for climbing El Capitan is in no danger of being broken" and Kirk says "That's not why I'm climbing it, Spock" and Spock asks "Then why are you?" and Kirk tells him "Because its there". However, as Spock continues to pester Kirk, its causes him to lose his grip and he falls only for Spock to catch Kirk using his jet boots. And Kirk hanging upside down sees McCoy run towards him and Kirk says "Hi, Bones! I thought I'd just drop in for dinner!". 

Then there is the scene where Kirk is captured by Sybok as they board the Enterprise and are thrown in the ship's brig where Kirk goes off at Spock for not shooting Sybok when he had the chance. So, in the scene Spock ruefully says "Captain, what have I done?" and Kirk angrily tells him "What you've done is betray every man on this ship!" and Spock says "Worse, I betrayed you. I do not expect you to forgive me" and Kirk angrily says "Forgive you?! I ought to knock you on your god damn ass!" and Spock says "If you think it would help". 

Kirk then asks Spock "Why Spock? Why?! All you had to do was pull the trigger" and Spock tells Kirk "If I did then Sybok would be dead" and Kirk defiantly says "I ordered you to defend your ship!" and Spock reveals "You ordered me to kill my brother". And Kirk puzzled says "Look, he may be a fellow Vulcan but..." and Spock explains "No, no you do not understand. Sybok is also a son of Sarek" and Kirk surprised asks "You mean he's "brother" brother?" and Spock nods and Kirk says "You made that up!" and Spock says "I did not". Kirk then shouts back "You did too! Because I happen to know you don't have a brother!" and Spock says "Technically you're right, I do not have a brother" and Kirk smugly says "There! You see?" and Spock says "I have a half brother" and Kirk sighs and says warily "I gotta sit down". 

And lastly there is the scene where Sybok shares visions of McCoy and Spock personal pain and anguish and he then makes to go onto Kirk, who refuses to do so. 

So, in the scene Kirk defies Sybok and says "I know what my weaknesses are, I don't need Sybok to take on a tour to see them!". However McCoy tells Kirk "Jim, try and keep an open mind, this man took my pain away" and Kirk defiantly tells him "Damn it, Bones, you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain!".  

Leonard Nimoy also does a fine job in his reprising his role once more as Spock (or Captain Spock if you like) who's personality has been largely restored after the events of Star Trek III and IV where he was resurrected in a very traditional Vulcan manner and he failed to understand how to relate to humans. 

And Nimoy has some good scenes as well that include the one where Spock sees the video footage of Sybok early on in the film, which shakes him and he stops the video and puts it back to freeze on his face. So, Kirk goes over to Spock and says "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost" and Spock shaken says "Perhaps I have, Captain. Perhaps I have". 

And this is the followed by the scene where Spock tells Kirk and McCoy about Sybok and says to them "There was a young student, exceptionally gifted, possessing a great intelligence. It was assumed that one day he would take his place amongst the great scholars of Vulcan. But he was a revolutionary". Kirk then asks "What do you mean?" and Spock says "The knowledge and experience he sought were forbidden by Vulcan belief. He rejected his logical upbringing and embraced the animal passions of our ancestors". Kirk then asks "Why?" and Spock tells him "He believed the key to self-knowledge was emotion, not logic". McCoy smiles and says "Imagine that, a passionate Vulcan" and Spock says "When he encouraged others to follow him, he was banished from Vulcan, never to return". 

Then there is the amusing scene where Kirk, Spock and McCoy are locked in the ship's brig and Kirk attempts to escape but it is no use. So, Spock tells Kirk "This is the new brig, Captain. It is escape proof" and Kirk asks "How do you know?" and Spock says "The designers tested it, using the most intelligent and resourceful person they could find. He could not escape". Kirk then teasingly asks Spock "This person... he didn't by any chance have pointed ears, and an unerring capacity for getting his shipmates into trouble, did he?". And Kirk who is on the floor after having been zapped by an electrical charge as he tries to escape is then helped up by Spock who admits "He did have pointed ears...". 

And last of all is the scene where Spock in the film's action climax (if you want to call it that!) where the Klingon commander attacks the Enterprise, Spock urges the Klingon General Korrd to help deal with him. So, Spock says to Korrd "General, I am in need of your assistance" and Korrd asks "My assistance?" and Spock says "You are his superior officer" but Korrd admits "I am a foolish old man" but Spock suddenly shows some rare anger and says "Damn you, sir. You will try!". And after Kirk is rescued by Spock and beam onboard the Klingon vessel, Korrd reveals Spock as their new gunner and Kirk says "Spock. I thought I was going to die" and Spock says "Not possible, you weren't alone". Kirk then moves to hug Spock, who stops him and says "Please, Captain. Not in front of the Klingons". 

DeForrest Kelley next up is also very good once again in his role as McCoy, the ship's medical officer who shares his shore leave with Kirk and Spock and also helps in their fight against Sybok. 

And Kelley's notable scenes include the one near the start where McCoy watches Kirk climb up the side of El Capitan through a pair of binoculars. And McCoy anxiously says to himself "You'll have a great time, Bones. You'll enjoy your shore leave. You'll relax." You call this relaxing? I'm a nervous wreck. I'm not careful, I'll end up talking to myself!".

Then there is the scene where Kirk, McCoy and Spock sit around a campfire and prepare to do a sing-along. So, as Kirk and McCoy sing the camp song "Row row row your boat" Spock doesn't join in and Spock says "I was trying to comprehend the meaning of the words". McCoy annoyed says to Spock "Its a song you green blooded...Vulcan. You sing it. What's important is that you have a good time singing it" and Spock says "I'm sorry, Doctor, were we having a good time?" and McCoy fed up says to Kirk "God, I liked him better before he died!". 

This is then followed by the amusing scene where trio make their way toward the Enterprise on a shuttle and Kirk quotes "All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer by" and McCoy says "Melville" and Spock corrects him and says "John Masefield" and McCoy asks "Are you sure about that?" and Spock says "I'm well-versed in the classics, Doctor". So, McCoy then begrudgingly asks "Then how come you don't know "Row, row, row your boat??" and Spock raises his eyebrows. 

And lastly there is Kelley's most dramatic scene in the film where Sybok shows a former memory of McCoy's father dying and McCoy choosing to shut down his life support system to put him out of his suffering.

So, in the scene Sybok says to McCoy "Your pain runs deepest most of all" and he shows the memory of McCoy's dying father and McCoy horrified says "Oh my God! Don't do this to me!". So, as McCoy relives the painful memory and shuts down his father's life support, Sybok asks him "Why did you do it?" and McCoy quietly says "To preserve his dignity". Sybok however then says "But that's not the worst part. What happened next?" and McCoy says "Not long after they found a cure! A goddamn cure!!" and Sybok says "So, if you hadn't killed him he might have lived" and McCoy tormented says "No! I loved my father! I released him!" Sybok says "Then you did what you thought was right!" and McCoy in torment shouts "Yes! No! Yes!" and Sybok hugs McCoy cleansing him from his pain "Purge this pain! You've suffered this pain for a long time!".

 

James Doohan as Scotty once again also delivers an amusing performance as the ship's chief engineer and he helps Krik, Spock and McCoy escape from the brig and he yells "don't you know a prison break when you see one!".  Scotty amusingly later on tells the trio how to escape back to the communications room, and Kirk says he is a miracle, and Scotty replies "oh I know this ship like the back of my hand!" and he then walks into a high beam, knocking himself out. 

Next up is Laurence Buckinhill who gives a pretty good performance as Sybok, Spock's far more emotional and passionate Vulcan half brother.  However it has to be said his performance is a bit melodramatic at times especially in the moments where he uses his mend melding powers to relieve people from their pain. 

Regardless of that though Laurence has some good scenes such as the one where he first meets Spock and says to him "Spock its me. Its Sybok!" almost like a game show host I might add lol! So, Spock looks at Sybok impassively and says nothing and Sybok asks "Have you got nothing to say to me?" and Spock finally says "You are under arrest for 17 violations of the neutral treaty zone" and Sybok suddenly laughs as do his followers and he says to Spock "Spock, you've developed a sense of humour after all!". Spock however serious, says "It was not my intention to amuse you. These are serious charges, however if you surrender now..." and Sybok says "I'm sorry, Spock. I can't surrender now. I'm not through violating Neutral Zone Treaty. In fact, I'm just getting started. And for my next violation, I intend to steal something. Something very big".

Another good scene is where Sybok speaks to Kirk, McCoy and Spock and speaks to them about his goal to find Sha-Ka-Ree, a mythical place where God exists. So, Sybok tells them "Sha-Ka-Ree... the source... Heaven... Eden... call it what you will. The Klingons call it "Qui-Tu". For the Romulans it's "Vorta Vor". The Andorian word is... is unpronouncable. Still, every culture in this galaxy shares this common dream of a place from which creation sprang. For us, that place will soon be reality". Kirk however says "The only reality I see is that I'm a prisoner on my own ship. What is this power you have to control the minds of my crew?" and Sybok says "I don't control minds. I free them!". 

Then there is the scene where Sybok tells Kirk about his vision and how he received a message from God to find Sha-ka-Ree. So, in the scene as Sybok makes to leave Kirk to go to the bridge, he says to him "Wait! You know you'll never make it through the great barrier". Sybok then asks Kirk "What if we do? Will that convince you that my vision was true?" and Kirk asks "What vision?" and Sybok tells him "Given to me by God. He waits for me on the other side" and Kirk simply looks at him and says "You are mad" and Sybok a little surprised asks "Am I? We'll see". 

And last of all is his final scene (SPOILER!) where they finally enter Sha-ka-Ree and meet the spiritual entity that is supposed to be God but turns out to be a malevolent spirit that wants the Enterprise to escape his prison. 

So, in the scene, the entity says to Sybok "Bring the ship closer to me, or watch these puny beings die horribly!" and Sybok horrified says to Spock "What have I done?!" and he says to Spock "This is my doing! This is my arrogance! My own vanity!" and Spock pleads with him "Sybok, we must find a way..." but Sybok determined says "No! Save yourselves! Forgive me, brother! Forgive me" and he clapses hands with Spock using the Vulcan greeting sign. Sybok then approaches the entity and says "I couldn't help but notice your pain" and the entity asks "My pain?" and Sybok says "It runs deep. Share it with me!" and he enters the shaft of light and embraces his evil twin visage. 

As for the supporting members of the Enterprise crew starting with James Doonan, he does a good job in his role again as Scotty, the ship's chief engineer who provides some comic relief as he has to repair the mess that it is the new Enterprise.

And Doonan has two notable scenes that include the one where Scotty rescues Kirk, Spock and McCoy from the brig by blasting it open with explosives. So, in the scene uses morse code to signal the trio to "stand back" and then there is an explosion and a big hole appears and we see Scotty there and he shouts "WHAT ARE YOU STANDING AROUND FOR??!! DON'T YOU KNOW A JAILBREAK WHEN YOU SEE ONE???!". 

And this is followed by the amusing scene where Kirk says he wants to try and get through to Starfleet command to warn them about Sybok. So, Spock says "There is an emergency sending apparatus in the forward observation room" and Kirk says "The only problem is its up there and we're down there". Scotty then says "You might be able to reach it by means of turboshaft number three which is closed for repairs. It's a long and dangerous climb". Kirk then asks "Which way to the turboshaft?" and Scotty says "Straight down that tunnel to the hydro vent and turn right, then left at the blowscreen. You can't miss it". Kirk then says before leaving "Mr Scott, you're amazing!" and Scotty says "Nothing amazing about it. I know this ship like the back of my hand!" and he proceeds to knock himself out on an overhanging pipe!

As for the other cast members such they all do well in their respective roles even if they aren't given as much screen time as the others.

Starting with Walter Koenig and George Takei who have a funny scene near the start where Chekov and Sulu are on shore leave in Yosemite park but they are told by Uhura to come back up to the Enterprise but they are lost in the park and don't want to admit it to her. 

So, in the scene, Chekov and Sulu walk around lost in the park and Chekov says "Admit it, we're lost" and Sulu says "Alright we're lost but we're making good time" and then Uhura comes in on Sulu's communicator "Commander Sulu, come in please" and Sulu says "I don't believe this". And he answers "This is Commander Sulu here" and Uhura says "Bad news gentlemen. Shore leave is cancelled" and Chekov says "Rescued at last! Don't tell them we're lost, we'd never live it down!". Uhura then says "Is there something wrong?" and Sulu feebly says "Yes, we're caught in a blizzard!" and Chekov blows into the communicator and says "And we can't see a thing! Request you direct us to the co-ordinates!" but Uhura says "My visual says sunny skies and 70 degrees". Chekov after an awkward pause says "Look, Sulu. The sun has come out. Its a miracle!" and Uhura smiles and says "Don't worry fellas, your secret is safe with me. I'll send the shuttle craft to pick you up" and Sulu smiles and says "Uhura, I owe you one!". 

Nichelle Nichols also does well in her role as Uhura, the Enterprise's comms officer although she does have a cringe inducing scene where she performs an exotic dance on Nimbus III to distract Sybok's followers. And in the scene the followers sees her just as federation crew are behind her with phasers and she says to them "Hello boys! I always wanted to play to a "captive" audience". Oh God!!

And lastly there is the scene where Scotty having come round from knocking himself out, is comforted by Uhura who has been converted by Sybok. 

So, Uhura says to Scotty "Easy, Scotty. You're back safe with us" and Scotty says "Uhura, I had the strangest dream that the Enterprise had been taken over by a madman" and Uhura says "Scotty, dear, he's not a madman" Scotty says "He's not?" and Uhura says "Sybok has put us into touch with feelings we've always been afraid to express". Scotty then tries to get back up and says "I've got to get back to the transporter" but Uhura stops and says "Scotty! There is so much I want to tell you!". Scotty then says "Maybe it can wait until I'm a wee bit stronger. I don't think I could take it in my present condition...or yours".  

Todd Bryant however is a weaker link in the cast as Captain Klaa, the rogue Klingon leader, who is out for his own personal glory and chases after Kirk and the Enterprise crew. This is of course more down to the fact that his character is poorly written and is just a cliched Klingon baddie, who lacks any kind of menace. 

In fact the one scene I will mention of his is the last one where Klaa is forced to eat some humble pie after his superior officer, General Korrd forces him to call off his attack and offer an apology to Kirk for his actions. So, in the scene Korrd says to Kirk "Kirk, my junior officer has something to say to you" and Klaa with some embarrassment says to Kirk "I...apologise. The attack upon your vessel was not authorised by my government". 

As for the other supporting cast members David Warner does what he can with his very small role as St John Talbot, one of the peace delegates on Nimbus III but he is woefully underused here. Thankfully Warner would be better used in the next Star Trek film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (which I will get to next!). 

Still Warner has one notable scene being his first when Caithlin Dar, the Romulan representative shows up and introduces herself. So, Talbot says to her "Ah, yes. Our new Romulan representative. Welcome to Paradise City, my dear, capital of the so-called 'Planet of Galactic Peace.' I'm St. John Talbot, the Federation representative here on Nimbus Three and my charming companion, here, is the Klingon consul Korrd" who burps. And Caithlin says to Tablot "20 years ago our three governments agreed to develop this planet together. A new age was born". Talbot however says "Our new age died a quick death. And the settlers we conned into coming here, they were the dregs of the galaxy. They immediately took to fighting amongst themselves. We forbad them weapons, but they soon began to fashion their own". And Caithlin says cheerily "Well its looks like I arrived just in time!".

And last of all is Cynthia Gouw as the Romulan representative, who is very pretty and does have at least one line that is worth a mention in the scene where she introduces herself to Talbot and the Klingon general Korrd. 

So, in the scene she says to the men "Gentlmen, I am Caithlin Dar" and Talbot says to her "Ah, yes. Our new Romulan representative. Welcome to Paradise City, my dear, capital of the so-called 'Planet of Galactic Peace.' I'm St. John Talbot, the Federation representative here on Nimbus Three and my charming companion, here, is the Klingon consul Korrd". So, we see Korrd who sits drinking and let's out a loud burp and Caithlin smiles and says "I guess that is Klingon for hello!". 

DIRECTOR 

As for the director, William Shatner takes a turn at the helm for this film but unfortunately he has mixed results here as his effort isn't as impressive as Leonard Nimoy in the director's seat. Shatner goes for too much cheesy humour this time round and the action scenes are somewhat poorly staged and he is not helped by the naff special effects on display due to the more limited budget of the film and a different effects team. To be fair, Shatner still paces the film well enough and its not too long but its no surprise that Shatner would not return to the helm for future films.

MUSIC 

As for the music score, things actually fair alot better here as the score is by the late, great Hollywood composer, Jerry Goldsmith who composed the original Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And his score here is fairly similar to that as he reprises the same theme, which is very memorable and would go on to be used for theme of the Star Trek: Next Generation TV show. Overall its a pretty good one and has some good passages that suit the film and definitely remains one of the better aspects of it. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section my contain spoilers!)

Getting on to the flaws of the film...yes STV:TFF has its share.

For starters one of the biggest niggles is to do with the useless addition of the enemy Klingon captain Klaa, who is far from menacing and is a bit of a joke as far as baddies goes, he decides to pursue Kirk for his own personal glory.  However when Klaa catches up with the Enterprise, the Klingon ambassador stops him from carrying out his attack, and he is told off like a schoolboy and forced to apologise to Kirk. And he's a far cry from Christopher Lloyd's way more effective General Kruge that was in Star Trek III.  

The group dynamic of Kirk, Spock and McCoy does work well in the film, but I do find it a bit difficult to digest that they would spend their shore leave together, as something just doesn't sit right with that.  Surely you would think as McCoy suggests "All that time we spend on the ship getting on each others nerves, and what do we do?  We go on vacation together!" that they would want to spend their shore leave apart. So, I have to say this never sat right with me. 

I also think there are some really cheesy daft inclusions such as in the scene where Enterprise breaches the great barrier and Kirk says "If this happening then life is a dream" and we see a giant steering wheel and below is a sign that says "To boldly gone where no man has gone before". Its just a really cringy moment in the film that we could have easily done without for sure.

And further to this I cannot forget to menion Uhura's very cringey and cheesy exotic dance, which is awful to watch and I'm surprised that Shatner even let it pass into the film itself. I mean come on! I don't and I'm sure many other Star Trek fans (well I'm more a casual one) want to really see Uhura do this especially as she is nearer the age of 60 at this point (well she was 57!). 

The film is also hampered badly by its special effects which look woefully cheap compared to the effects of the previous film. This is especially noticable during the Klingon and Enterprise space battles as well as the effects for Enterprise pushing through the Great Barrier lightning storms, which is mixed in with some weird psychedelic colours a la 2001: A Space Odyssey only nowhere near as good!

And lastly the main villain piece of the film turns out to be (PLOT SPOILER) the God of Sha Ka Ree who is no more than a powerful existential being that wants to escape its planet, and it makes for a rather hasty decision to turn him into a baddie, which leads to the film's rather poorly concieved climax.  Although this scene leads into a funny line from Kirk when Klaa's klingon vessel appears and aims its gun at Kirk who says "so its me you want, you Klingon bastards!" before he is beamed up and rescued. 

And that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier remains one of the weakest entries in the franchise as it suffers from being very cheesy in places with some silly dialogue, weak special effects and a woeful secondary villain in Klingon Captain Klaa. Sybok however does fair better as a main antagonist even if he too is a bit cheesy in the film and the regular Enterprise cast all do pretty well in their roles once again. Its also great to see Jerry Goldsmith return to the series to compose the soundtrack even if it isn't one of the better films. 

So, overall Star Trek V is far from the best film in the series but it does still have some enjoyable moments that make it a curates egg of sorts and there are still worse films in the series.

So, I will rate it:

5.9 out of 10

So, that's it for  now and I will be back with another post soon!

Until then live long and prosper!