Star Trek V...old trek versus new trek

God in the center of the galaxy in Star Trek V

Star Trek V...old trek versus new trek

When the original run of the Star Trek movies is mentioned, Star Trek V The Final Frontier is usually the one that gets the 'worst' nomination.  The original Star Trek the motion picture had wooden acting, a thin script padded out with expensive effects, but that film had the saving grace of a studio push behind it with production money.

 Star Trek V, directed by William Shatner (James T. Kirk) is a weird anomaly following the crowd pleasing Star Trek IV.  At this point, Star Trek had returned to the small screen with Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG as its called in fan circles)  That would in affect both the reviews and box office of Star Trek V. 

Federation infidels in the citadel on planet Nimbus III

The plot in a nutshell was the mad quest of the long lost brother of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) called Sybok(Laurence Luckingbill).  This brother would kidnap and capture ambassadors of peace on Nimbus III.  Sybok had turned his back on the non logic of the Vulcans to accept a higher path.  From there Sybok would eventually hijack the enterprise, convert her crew to followers, and try to find God in the center of the galaxy.  Add to the mix is a glory hungry Klingon captain who craves the battle with Kirk to cement his standing in the empire.  The Enterprise enters the center of the galaxy and there on a desolate world is God...or is it?

Brother against brother, Spock tries to stop the zealot brother Sybok

  So far so good, the story sounds good in concept.  Nimbus III and the followers of Sybok have an eerie connection with the modern unstable Middle East.  Certainly, Sybok's quest is a mad one with obvious connections and parallels with religion, power, and faith which leads to direct conflict with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

Sybok's followers which eerily recalls the Arab Spring years later

 Whether they intended to showcase some of the conflicts of Islam or if it was an unintended background...certainly the years after its release there seems to be an eerie resonance in the story.  It turns out Sybok's God is actually a deceptive alien craving a star ship to leave its exile.  It turns on Kirk, and Sybok realizing his mistake offers his life in combat with the alien force to help Kirk, Spock, and McCoy escape.  The Klingon commander then shows up and after a very inert battle and conflict, the alien is destroyed... Kirk is saved and there is resolution.  The film then ends on a quiet note with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy finishing up their camping trip...quietly singing at a campfire realizing that their 'family' is each other.

 While this sounds good on paper, the actual execution of the film was a mess.  Partially the budget is nil...ILM which usually handled the films efx was not used and the replacement EFX house had very shoddy efx.  The characters didn't act like they usually did, and to top it off there was vibe that it came off like a third season episode of the original run (It honestly felt like a retread of the third season episode The Way to Eden....Spock's vulcan harp shows in both that episode and in this film).  

Sybok turns against the deceptive alien pretending to be God

 

While some have targeted Shatner for his direction, the film moves at a brisk pace but the cheapness of the film and shoddy script flares up and would sabotage any director.  Due to a writer's strike, production was rushed on the film, and despite the best efforts of Shatner...the film is still a mixed bag.

 In a way, Star Trek V was victim of the success of TNG.  The new show was tackling the same themes, but with a way to make it work within its limited budget.  Star Trek V seems like a very weak third season episode, and being released in a blockbuster laden summer with  Batman, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade it fell victim to anemic box office and mixed reviews.

 I sat down, and recently watched it again.  It's not the worst thing ever on film, but it does feels odd and almost like a parallel universe fan fiction Star Trek.  Worth a second look, if nothing else for the potential versus execution of the Star Trek concept.