Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
MEMORIES:
Rooney remembers...This film seemed to have just been made in a hurry. It has undoubtedly been the worst Star Trek motion ... More »
Posted on 05/19/08
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After acclaimed novelist Eric Von Lustbader and former Star Trek screenwriter Nicholas Meyer (Star Treks II and IV) turned down the offer to pen the fifth installment of the franchise, the duties went to one of the more unlikely candidates. Star William Shatner penned the story and manned the director’s chair for his fifth filmic return as Captain James T. Kirk.
With the television sequel Star Trek: The Next Generation now filming on the Paramount studios, Shatner’s crew tiptoed into the facility and used many of the new sets to double for the Enterprise-B. However, due to Industrial Light & Magic’s involvement with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Ghostbusters II, the special effects for Star Trek V suffered greatly. A climax devised to involve rock monsters and demons was whittled down to nearly nothing because of the paltry special effects, forcing Shatner to try and work around the problem without the industrial benefit of light or magic.
Shore leave is brutally interrupted for the crew of the USS Enterprise when they’re summoned to travel to an inhospitable planet called Nimbus III in order to save some hostages. As simple as the mission may sound, a renegade Klingon commander named Klaa complicates matters when he pursues Captain Kirk in order to avenge the death of fellow Klingons at Kirk’s hand in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.
Things aren’t what they seem, however, when the crew finds that the hostages have been taken by Spock’s emotional half-brother Sybok, who has used the scenario as a smokescreen to gain passage onto the Enterprise. Using his unique emotional skills, Sybok earns the crew’s trust and takes control of the ship, steering it toward an entity that lays beyond a dangerous energy field... an entity in touch with Sybok who could very well be God.
But Sybok’s dream backfires when the crew discovers a malicious creature masquerading as deity who intends to use the Enterprise to escape its ages-long entrapment. With enemies on all sides, and one within, Kirk and crew must once again rely on wits and daring to escape death in the final frontier.
Despite being recognized as part of the Star Trek canon, Star Trek V fails to live up to the standard of many fans. For the DVD release of the film, Shatner unsuccessfully lobbied Paramount for the money to improve the climax, much like had been done in previous DVD releases from the series. Still, the exploration of religious themes stands as proof to others that the Star Trek franchise truly is unafraid to boldly go where no one has gone before. The film would also mark the final time that the original Enterprise crew would fly together, as the next installment would see Sulu off to his next assignment.
