Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Director:

William Shatner

Writers (WGA):

Gene Roddenberry (creator: based on "Star Trek")
William Shatner (story) ...

Release Date:

9 June 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The Enterprise is back. This time, have they gone too far?

Plot:

Capt. Kirk and his crew must deal with Mr. Spock's half brother who hijacks the Enterprise for an obsessive search for God.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Vulcan | Climbing | Futuristic | Teleportation

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan	...	Capt. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Walter Koenig	...	Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Cmdr. Uhura
George Takei	...	Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
David Warner	...	St. John Talbot
Laurence Luckinbill	...	Sybok
Charles Cooper	...	Gen. Korrd
Cynthia Gouw	...	Caithlin Dar
Todd Bryant	...	Capt. Klaa
Spice Williams-Crosby	...	Vixis (as Spice Williams)
Rex Holman	...	J'onn
George Murdock	...	God

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor) | Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Italy:T | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Régie du Cinéma Québec) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

According to William Shatner on the DVD Commentary, two of his stunt doubles in the movie were his stunt doubles on "T.J. Hooker" (1982).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kirk and McCoy climb on to Spock while hovering in the turbo shaft, both of them step onto foot supports on Spock's boots. However, when the camera points down, both Kirk and McCoy's feet are dangling. With the way they are hanging onto Spock in regular shots, there is no way they could hold on. Both would fall to the bottom of the turbo shaft.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sybok: I thought weapons were forbidden on this planet. Besides, I can't believe you'd kill me for a field of empty holes.
J'Onn: It's all I have.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Alvin & the Chipmunks: Star Wreck (The Absolutely Final Frontier) (#8.6)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

The Moon's A Window To Heaven

This potentially good film could have been so much better.

Having recently purchased the box set of all 10 Star Trek films (including Next Generation), I watched Star Trek V, not having seen it since it was released, hoping that it would improve on a second watching.

Watching it now, I can see that here was a story that could have been very, very powerful, and the film could have been an equal to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which is also underrated by non-Star Trek fans.

The overwhelming sense I got in this film was that everything proceeded so quickly, as if the producers/director felt that a successful film was trim, with no excess fat. Those people who really enjoy a good steak, enjoy that little bit of fat on the edge, or marbled through the meat. It makes it all so much more tasty, even if it has little nutritional value. To remove myself from the metaphor, Star Trek fans enjoy the taking of time over certain elements - seeing the ship, seeing it travel, dialogue en route, etc.

If there was a director's cut, or another cut, that wasn't so very lean, I think the new pace would work to the film's advantage. Of course the worst element of pacing is the finale. When we finally arrive at the centre of the galaxy, Kirk & Co. march straight in without much ado. Think to the Enterprise venturing into the cloud that surrounded V-GER. We were given time to savour the beautiful visuals set to a engaging score.

To my mind this doesn't happen in Star Trek V, and this is its weakness. I think it is still a reasonable film. The scene where Spock and McCoy are shown there heart's deepest wound is quite moving. With a little more breadth, this could have been incredible. It's frustrating that the film will not get the best treatment the story deserves. When watching the special features, it seems that the production was not smooth sailing, the finale weakened due to poor response (according to Shatner) from special effects teams. As a Star Trek fan, I can't give this film less than a 5. I hope that's not out of sentimentality.