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by doctor7
Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:28 am
Forum: Movie-Specific
Topic: doctor 7's overlooked films - Star Trek V The Final Frontier
Replies: 3
Views: 9037

doctor 7's overlooked films - Star Trek V The Final Frontier

First off let's get this out of the way:
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Yes this is the Star Trek movie with the tri-titted catgirl that has spawned many a mind-bendingly terrifying fan fiction since. Anyhow, on with the thread.

Why Star Trek V: The Final Frontier?
Frankly it's generally considered absolute trash by critics and Star Trek fans alike. According to the Wikipedia entry on it William Shatner actually said he felt terrible about making it because he thought it would kill the franchise. It sits with a 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 4.9 average on IMDB and according to Criticker I should have given it a score of 23/100. I honestly gave it a 70.

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So what's the plot?
After Star Trek IV the Enterprise crew gets some time off (well everyone except Scotty because the Enterprise barely works). While vacationing an intergalatic incident occurs on the planet of galactic peace: Nimbus III. Nimbus III is in fact an intergalactic shithole created by the Federation, Romulans and the Klingons with the intent of fostering relations between the factions. Needless to say it didn't work. A strange vulcan, who is clearly emotional and not ruled by logic, leads a group of terrorists and proceeds to capture and detain representatives from the three factions. The Enterprise is ordered to move in and try and resolve the situation.

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Computer: "RE-RE-RED alERT. RE-RE-RED alERT."
Scotty: "I just fixed that damn thing."

Yo dawg, I heard this is retarded because they find God and then kill him.
Whoever told you that is either retarded because they totally misunderstood what alien entity they find actually is or they're deliberately misleading you as to what happens in the film. I won't give it away but honestly this just isn't the case.

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I heard this movie was terrible!
No doubt you have. However I think the problem with it's reception is that culture just wasn't ready for the tone of the movie. It's not like any other Star Trek film I have seen. Why? Because it's packed with about the same amount of jokes as an episode of Josh Whedon's Firefly. It's not dead serious Star Trek and I think sci-fi nerds get an ingrained notion of what should happen to "their franchise" and then shit themselves with rage when it doesn't adhere to what they want. I honestly think that if these jokes were in Serenity 2 the audience would be laughing their God damn assess off. Here is an example:

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Kirk: "In order to lower and raise the shields as quickly as possible we're going to forgo the tractor beam and fly [the shuttle] in manually."
Bones: "Manually?"

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Sybok: "Have often have you done this?" Image

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Sulu: "Actually, it's my first attempt." Image

That shit right there is God damn hilarious. There are other fantastic moments with superb humour in this. Without this is a superbly enjoyable Star Trek V because it doesn't take itself too seriously and drown in it's own self-righteous drama.

I should also note that the music is by Oscar winning composer Jerry Goldsmith and it is really, really good. Even if you hate the movie with a passion you should be at least able to admit the soundtrack really does add a lot to the movie.

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Ah, doctor 7, you wily minx. I have cyber-stalked you and thus know you prefer Star Trek to Star Wars you giant fanboy.
This is true. I will readily admit that I find the Star Trek franchise, on a whole, more enjoyable than Star Wars. But seriously after Episodes 1-3 can you blame me? To be clear I have seen every episode of The Next Generation, but I'm no meganerd so I can't tell you the episode names or what happened in what season. I don't like The Original Series much at all, however I think The Original Series movies are superb, with Star Trek II and Star Trek VI being my favourites. However I'll readily admit that Voyager wasn't very good and Enterprise was just plain garbage (apparently it got better in it's last season but I gave up way before that). I don't go to cons, I don't consider myself a "Trekkie", I don't collect action figures or anything. The most Star Trek I have is the 10 movie special edition box set that was a gift.

Well there has to be bad parts if it received such horrid reviews and William Shatner directed it? Come on.
This is true. Some of film is definitely amateur in hindsight. The film's opening scene closes as Sybok belly-laughs while the film makes a slow-white out with a zoom in, which is trademark cliche by now. However, one must keep in mind this was made right at the tail end of the 80's and, let's be honest, a lot of 80's movies just plain fucking sucked. The special effects are pretty dated and weren't very stellar, even for their time. While not Avatar quality they're certainly not bottom of the barrel and only require a bit of suspension of disbelief to not really notice.

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OK so it's funny with a good score, anything else memorable?
There is a surreal moment where Sybok ventures into the pained minds of both Spock and Dr. McCoy. This is undoubtedly the highlight of the film in terms of acting from everyone. Nimoy, Shatner, Kelley give what could arguably the most emotional moment in their careers in Star Trek. Laurence Luckinbill, who plays Sybok, isn't outplayed and doesn't make himself a 4th wheel in the scene. Plus there's something else:

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What's that? Is that mise-en-scene? I THINK IT IS SIRS. That's right, something undoubtedly overlooked by the nerd crew which literally dropped my jaw the first time I watched it in over a decade. Mise-en-scene in a Star Trek film. Directed by William Shatner. I'm impressed.

So how should I watch this?
The same way you watch Firefly or Serenity. It's just serious enough to have dramatic moments but it doesn't take itself so seriously it can't have some fun. In short, give it another go. I'm not going to lie and tell you this is a great film. It's not. However it is a good film and not the cinematic cesspool it has been made out to be.

How do you rank it doctor 7?
It's currently in my "Good" tier on Criticker with a score of 70/100 (as already stated). No I'm not shitting you when I say I honestly think it's worth a watch.
Review
Many people say this is the low point of the Star Trek film series with the original cast but I disagree. The film does have some excellent scenes, especially between DeForest Kelley, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. Admittedly reuses some old plots (klingons after Kirk... again) but overall I was entertained. The surreal dream-pain sequences were most compelling with some great mise en scene. I enjoyed it despite it's flaws.


Previous Overlooked Films:
Open Range (9/10)