UHD Review Star Trek V: The Final Frontier UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[JoshZ]

I remember being incredibly excited for this film in the lead-up, and ultimately very disappointed when I finally saw it. It was the (rather big) summer of 1989: Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, IJ and The Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II, Honey I shrunk the Kids, and Star Trek 5. ST4 had been such a huge hit, and this trailer played well.

The summer of 1989 was a very exciting time to be a teenage movie buff. In addition to all those, we also had Karate Kid III, The Abyss, Licence to Kill, Weekend at Bernies, Turner & Hooch, Parenthood, Uncle Buck, Friday the 13th VIII, and Nightmare on Elm Street 5 all opening in close proximity. (Not to mention some of the more adult titles like Do the Right Thing, When Harry Met Sally, or Sex Lies and Videotape.)

Star Trek V wasn't the only dog in that pack - nor even the worst of them, IMO - but for a movie-obsessed kid with a lot of free time available and a multiplex within biking distance, that summer was glorious.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I sometimes will use my Plex server to make a playlist so that when I watch a movie, I begin it with some trailers that might have been seen around the same period. Star Trek V is great for that - so many good 1989 trailers to put on before it.

 

[Sam Favate]

Oh yeah, big fan of the summer of ‘89 at the movies. Heck, I even enjoyed Great Balls of Fire, the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic.

 

[B-ROLL]

Oh yeah, big fan of the summer of ‘89 at the movies.

I think I started saving money in February to be able to see all the kewl stuff coming out that summer on opening week.

 

[Tommy R]

I turned 3 years old the summer of ‘89, and I remember having my VERY first theater-going experience in the form of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It made a HUGE impression on me and made me love going to the movies. Though I don’t remember seeing any of the other films from that legendary summer, I was aware of Batman and all the Bat-mania going around. I did see it when it came to VHS though. That would have been a great year to be older.

 

[Wiseguy]

I'm such a forgiving Trek fan. I LOVE Spocks Brain. They even use it on a really great Wonder Years. After this in 1989 I drove home in silence, feeling and looking like the funeral was too long.

Well, its use on The Wonder Years had nothing to do with its quality, but rather its commentary on relationships between men and women in the 1960s when the episode was filmed (and when Wonder Years was set).

 

[jayembee]

Well, its use on The Wonder Years had nothing to do with its quality, but rather its commentary on relationships between men and women in the 1960s when the episode was filmed (and when Wonder Years was set).

His comment about loving "Spock's Brain" wasn't to my mind so much about quality in and of itself, but clearly a contrast to my referring (negatively) to STV as "the 'Spock's Brain' of the movie run". That episode is generally considered the nadir of the original series (though it's often in competition with "And the Children Shall Lead" for that spot).

 

[Sam Favate]

At least Spock’s Brain is colorful and is clearly having fun (even the title is goofy), but And the Children… is just dull. I often fall asleep in that one.

 

[Phil Menard]

If we are talking about story, not script, its a good one, with a tried and true high concept gimmick. With time, a few more passes at the script might have fixed it up quite nicely. As someone already pointed out though, having new characters appear and be related to older, established ones, is lazy, contemptible, and unnecessary. Still enjoy the film very much though.

 

[Tommy R]

I prefer Spock’s Brain to quite a few episodes of TOS.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’m not really a big fan of any of the episodes where the Enterprise just so happens to discover a planet that has developed exactly as Earth did, down to the vernacular and the decor. (I’m not counting episodes like A Piece of the Action where cultural contamination by an earth ship led to the society emulating Earth.)

It was sort of Roddenberry’s go-to approach when he had a message idea he wanted to push - he had been pushing The Omega Glory since the pilot stage and that’s an example of the kind of episode that falls flat for me.

 

[jayembee]

I’m not really a big fan of any of the episodes where the Enterprise just so happens to discover a planet that has developed exactly as Earth did, down to the vernacular and the decor. (I’m not counting episodes like A Piece of the Action where cultural contamination by an earth ship led to the society emulating Earth.)

It was sort of Roddenberry’s go-to approach when he had a message idea he wanted to push - he had been pushing The Omega Glory since the pilot stage and that’s an example of the kind of episode that falls flat for me.

Yeah. That happening once would've been a stretch. Happening more times after that was snapping credulity in two.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Scott mentioned in the other thread that this movie, V, felt to him like a third season episode. I had never had that thought before but watching the movie this week, I couldn’t get it out of my head.

There’s an ambition to this film that some of the other ones don’t have, somewhat hamstrung by release date pressures, effects limitations and a writers strike, but there’s a solid foundation at its core, in my book.

Luckinbill gives a fantastic performance that really sells the whole thing. I instantly buy him as being who he’s supposed to be. He makes for a tremendous antagonist, and yet (to the credit of the film and his performance), he’s not a villain. That’s a distinction that isn’t made as much in films and shows these days. And the character, once faced with the undeniable reality of the situation, instantly accepts the truth and, without hesitation, takes measures to try to make it right.

I don’t think this is a film that could be “fixed” in the way the directors edition of TMP tries to correct some of that film’s shortcomings. The problems in V, ultimately, are more about needing another few weeks behind the typewriter to finish developing the ideas already in place than they are about polishing effects. I understand why the film isn’t a favorite for some of the cast and for many fans. But much like TMP, it’s a film that uses the platform of Star Trek to question the nature of existence and belief, and I will always admire Shatner for using his shot to swing for the fences. He very easily could have chosen an easier, more obvious route like doing another comedy or another sequel to a popular episode and instead used his moment to try for something larger, something more.

 

[Wiseguy]

At least Spock’s Brain is colorful and is clearly having fun (even the title is goofy), but And the Children… is just dull. I often fall asleep in that one.

There have been reports that Gene L. Coon wrote it as a joke (under a pen name) (perhaps because he was no longer associated with the show) but the producer took it seriously and filmed it.

 

[KPmusmag]

I heard it said at a Star Trek convention (not by anyone associated with the show, at least AFAIK) that Spock's Brain was a satirical response to the "brainless" execs at NBC who wanted to cancel the show. I, too, prefer Spock's Brain over And The Children Shall Lead.

On another subject, I wonder if the planets evolving exactly like Earth had something to do with the fact that Paramount surely had tons of costumes, props and sets from World War II and Roman epic movies that made it inexpensive to produce those shows. Just a thought.

 

[B-ROLL]

I heard it said at a Star Trek convention (not by anyone associated with the show, at least AFAIK) that Spock's Brain was a satirical response to the "brainless" execs at NBC who wanted to cancel the show. I, too, prefer Spock's Brain over And The Children Shall Lead.

On another subject, I wonder if the planets evolving exactly like Earth had something to do with the fact that Paramount surely had tons of costumes, props and sets from World War II and Roman epic movies that made it inexpensive to produce those shows. Just a thought.

Scripts like Spectre of the Gun & Patterns of Force were pitched as "you can just use the backlot so they would be cheaper" ...

 

[Brian Husar]

It’s not great, but it does have its moments. 1989, the year of 70MM and 6 track Dolby Stereo in a THX theater. The Summer of Batman, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, Ghostbusters 2, The Abyss, Born On The Fourth Of July. A big year. This film, to me, was right at home in 1989. Shatner has wanted to do a directors cut like Nicholas Meyer’s did for Wrath Of Kahn and Undiscovered Country, but he said Paramount was not interested in it. It would be interesting to see what a directors cut would be for this.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

The Summer of ... Born On The Fourth Of July.

Maybe if you lived in Australia. In the US it opened in December 1989.

 

[Brian Husar]

Maybe if you lived in Australia. In the US it opened in December 1989.

It did. I should have posted that 89 was a big year for 70MM blow ups. But yeah it opened Christmas week. I saw it first week of Jan 1990 in 70MM

 

[JoshZ]

Shatner has wanted to do a directors cut like Nicholas Meyer’s did for Wrath Of Kahn and Undiscovered Country, but he said Paramount was not interested in it. It would be interesting to see what a directors cut would be for this.

I don't think he filmed enough footage to make a worthwhile director's cut, unfortunately. A lot of the stuff he wanted to do never went before cameras.