Star Trek V - The Final Frontier (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition) (1989)

What can I say? ST:5 is weak on many levels.

First, the ship's crew is way too small, less than a skeleton crew (they had like, what, five trainees besides the Classic cast?). Second, the ship is far more buggy than it should be. It's not as if General Dynamics builds these things, after all, it's suppossed to be a starship! A few bugs, sure, but to be in as bad a shape as the new ship is strains credibility.

Then there's the whole "barrier" thing. As any Trek fan worth his toy tricorder knows, the "barrier" is not at the center of the galaxy, but at the edge. It's also supposed to be pink, not Indiglo blue. Of course, they simply should have called this new "barrier" something else, but be that as it may, this kind of slip highlights a certain basic sloppiness in the production. Also, the ship gets there way too quickly, and the skeleton crew is subverted to Sybok's vision too easily (is only Kirk capable of putting up a fight?).

And what about Sybok? "Where'd he come from?!" (or so I asked when I first saw the picture). Another good question would be, "Where'd he get all this power?! Regular Vulcans don't have it, so why should he?"

There's plenty of dopiness on hand to be sure, but if I had to point out any one element that brings the picture down, it would have to be the effects. As Shatner himself comments in one of the featurettes on the new disc, they "were not well-served" by the New Jersey-based effects team hired for the film. They were out of their league, and it shows.

The effects range from really interesting to really bad. The more interesting ones are almost totally confined to the luminous dyes and other elements used on the "God" planet. The worst effects are reserved for the starships. For example, when the Enterprise escapes a Kingon torpedo, the ship looks clunky and "pasted" onto the backgrounds, the sudden motion not realistic or believeable. Other shots share the poor movement, and the shabby lighting of the models just adds to the cheap-o look of the movie.

As for the entity imprisoned on Shakaree, it's a plot point taken directly from one of the animated Trek episodes, and was adapted into one of the "Log" books which recounted the animated episodes in novel-length form.

So, what we have here is a pretty weak Trek, with bad effects and a mish-mosh of dull plot points.

On the other hand, out of all the Trek movies, ST:5 feels the most like a television episode (no doubt, due mostly to Shatner's directing experience up to that point).

Lukinbill's Sybok is really a pretty interesting character. His ability to control others through charisma is excellently portrayed, too.

The Yosemite elements at the beginning and end of the film are the best and most personal depiction of the interaction between the triad of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. The "visions" of Spock and McCoy are pretty powerful (some of Spock's vision were cut, and are on Disc 2 as an extra). The attack on Paradise City is well staged. Lots of action, and when Kirk gets attacked by the cat dancer, you don't even wonder why he went in the bar without having his phaser drawn. The humor used throughout the picture is also right on the money.

But despite all of the plusses, the film just doesn't seem to overcome all of the minuses. The film strikes an odd note at best, and is the pariah of Trek movies at the worst.

The DVD treatment of the film in the new 2-disc set is very nice. The animated menus are probably some of the best in the Trek movie sets so far, and there are plenty of interesting elements. Besides the usual intellegent documentaries (one dealing with the search for God), the Kingon couple is interviewed, and the "making of" documentary is comprehensive, (if a bit one-hand-tied-behind-its-back). Deleted scenes are on Disc 2 (pretty much all but the extended Spock-vision deserved to be cut, I think), and there is some rock-man footage that shows us what the monsters were supposed to have looked like. There is also a press conference held on the ST:5 bridge, and a video pitch from Harve Bennett to the Paramount sales staff. The extras earn it an extra star, I think, the movie being a "3".

The disc is worth adding to your collection, especially for Classic Trek fans. Time may have afforded fans the ability to forgive the film somewhat, as it is a product from the pre-sickeningly PC Trek of the 90's and today that fans are forced to suffer. Time may also help the fan hate the bad elements of the movie less, and appreciate the good elements of the movie more.

So is ST:5 moronic, or just misunderstood? Frankly, the answer is "both," but it's still strangely worth watching.

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But it is actually because of all of STAR TREK V's flaws that I have longed for this DVD above all the rest of Paramount's line of Special Collector's Edition Star Trek DVDs. I'm eagerly awaiting learning all about the film's troubled production and Paramount's butchering of the budget. It may help to improve my (as well as countless others') opinion on the film.

But I must admit that I am extremely disappointed in Paramount's decision not to grant William Shatner a Director's Edition. I mean, they gave one to THE WRATH OF KHAN, for God's sake! Though a DE is always welcome, the film was is no need of one! It was perfect as it was. Meanwhile, they deny a DE of THE FINAL FRONTIER, the most in need of new special effects, added scenes, digitally remastering, and all other aspects of a DE. Oh well . . . . . . I take what I can get.

Here's the run-down on the Special Features (not yet posted on Amazon.com), and judging from them, I'd say this looks to be the best Star Trek DVD yet:

Disc 1
THE FILM
*The original theatrical version, presented in widescreen format enhanced for 16:9 televisions. Sound is Dolby Digital English 5.1, English and French Dolby Surround.
*Commentary by William Shatner and Liz Shatner (daughter and author of "Captain's Log - William Shatner's personal account of the making of Star Trek V - The Final Frontier")
*Text commentary by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, co-authors of the "Star Trek Encyclopedia."

Disc 2
THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE:
*"Herman Zimmerman: A Tribute" - An examination of the visual influences production designer, Herman Zimmerman, has had on Star Trek since he first joined the Trek family on "Star Trek V." This retrospective illustrates what Mr. Zimmerman has contributed to not only the Star Trek features but also the TV series The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise. Includes interviews with Zimmerman, John Eaves (concept artist), Harve Bennett (producer), Penny Juday (project coordinator) and Michael Okuda (scenic artist).
*"Original Interview: William Shatner" - An original, unedited interview with William Shatner, filmed during the production of "Star Trek V."
*"Cosmic Thoughts" - In "Star Trek V," the crew of the Enterprise are searching for God and, as it turns out, spirituality has its place in the universe of Star Trek. This featurette examines the theme of religion throughout the TV series, the Star Trek movies and the annals of science fiction as a whole. Interviews include Ray Bradbury (sci-fi author), David Brin (scientist, sci-fi author), Frank Drake (head of SETI Institute), Charles Beichman (JPL, Terrestrial Planet Finder Project), Ted Peters (Exo-Theologists teaching at Berkeley), Eugene W. Roddenberry (son of Gene Roddenberry), Louis Friedman (executive director of the Planetary Society), Ralph Winter (executive producer) and David Loughery (screenwriter).
*"That Klingon Couple" - Actors Spice Williams and Todd Bryant reminisce about when they portrayed Klingons Captain Klaa and Vixis.
*"The Green Future?" - "Star Trek V" opens on location in Yosemite National Park and an environmental tone is woven throughout the film. This featurette gives a snapshot of the global environment of the future. Interviews include David Siegenthaler (Yosemite ecologist), Richard Turco (UCLA Institute of the Environment) and Julia Parker, a Native American spokesperson with insights into Man's impact on the environment.

PRODUCTION:
*Harve Bennett's Pitch To Sales Team - A pep talk by producer Harve Bennett to the Paramount sales team, firing them up about "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier."
*The Journey - Behind-The-Scenes Documentary - Memories of how "Star Trek V" was conceived, produced and directed. Interviews include William Shatner (director), Leonard Nimoy (actor), Ralph Winter (executive producer), Harve Bennett (producer), David Loughery (screenwriter), Michael Okuda (scenic artist), Andrew Lazlo (cinematographer), John Eaves (concept artist) and Herman Zimmerman (production designer).
*Make-Up Tests - An assembly of camera tests for various characters from the film.
*Per-Visualization Models - Spaceship model makers rehearse special effects moves with models.
*Rock Man In the Raw - Design elements and test footage of the aborted Rock Man costume.
*"Star Trek V" Press Conference - A reconstruction of the multi-camera press conference held on the last day of shooting for "Star Trek V" and hosted by William Shatner.
*Deleted Scenes - A variety of deleted scenes from "Star Trek V."

ADVERTISING
*Trailers - The teaser trailer, theatrical trailer and the trailer for "The Complete Adventures of Indiana Jones".

ARCHIVES
*Production Gallery - An assembly of stills and footage that capture behind-the-scene moments of production.
*Storyboards

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1) A strong emphasis on character development, particularly with Spock, Kirk and McCoy. The campfire scenes are classic, and there are few moments in the film series which match the drama of McCoy confronting his "inner pain."

2) Final Frontier was the closest in spirit to the original series. The plot and (unfortunately) the special effects are reminiscent of such classic Trek episodes as "Who Mourns For Adonis."

3) Sybok, the "passoinate Vulcan" and half-brother of Spock, is an intriguing antagonist for the main characters.

4) Jerry Goldsmith delivered what I feel is his best Trek score for this installment.

What's keeping this movie from being one of the best in the Trek cannon?

1) The worst special effects put on film since the invention of the motion control camera.

2) A somewhat anti-climactic climax. (The original script called for a big FX battle between Kirk and a flock of gargoyles summoned by the God Monster, but it was cut for budget.)

3) Not revealing Kirk's "secret pain" feels like a cheat (although his "I need my pain" speech was good).

4) A couple of embarrasing moments for the Trek supporting crew-- Scotty bonks his head and knocks himself out? Uhura, who otherwise gets her best Trek movie role, as an exotic dancer? Puh-lease!

We'll never see it, but it would be great if Paramount would spend a few million to create a "special edition" with improved special effects and the original ending.

While they're at it, could they throw in a couple thousand to remaster the film for DVD? It looks like a bad copy of the laserdisc-- the "widescreen" is masked off from a 4x3 frame instead of enhanced for 16x9. The image itself is very grainy and a bit washed out.

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