A Shatnerian Masterpiece...(Dream theory)
If you look at TFF as a strange dream of Kirks...from the first campsite scene post mountain fall to right at the end of the film with the 'Row Row Row your boat' reprise..then its possible that Trek V is actually a masterpiece of modern day cinema like a Blade Runner or Inception
Consider:
- The events of the movie are a reflection of Kirk's fears: being put back into action while he's unprepared, geting screwed by Starfleet, losing his crew and losing, above all, his friends.
- Events/discussions from the camping trip are mirrored/manifested in the dream: climbing El Capitan/climbing the mountain at the end...the fall from El Capitan/the fall from the turbo shaft...musing around the campfire/musing around the steering wheel....Kirks fear of dying alone/being alone on an uncharted planet with a Godlike alien that wants to kill him.
- The broken and unreliable Enterprise is another fear of Kirk; that no ship can live up to the original.
- The movie follows dream logic: characters appear when needed (Spock in the turboshaft, Scotty in the brig, Spock in the BoP) and reality 'warps' to accomodate the story (70+ decks, the mysterious wheel room, unicorns, sybok, God).
- Kirk ate gods for breakfast, so its no surprise they show up in his dreams. The fight against God' is Kirks subconscious idea of a generic adventure. Likewise, a Klingon is his idea of a generic villain. Also the whole fake God thing can be interpreted as Kirk's own atheist belief that there is no higher power.
- Spock having a brother which was never mentioned before.
- The romantic relationship between Scotty and Uhura.
- A 30 year plus impossible journey to the centre of the galaxy that happens in a few hours.
-the whole Sybok healing everyones pain and the fact that Kirk, Spock and Bones could see each other's illusionary flashbacks.
- the song 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' ends with the line 'life is but a dream.'
- when going through the great barrier and the 3 are in the mysterious wheel room Bones asks 'are we dreaming?' and Kirk goes 'if we are..then life is a dream'
- going to a mystery planet at the centre of the universe to meet god (who looks like youd expect him to look) only for god to turn out evil has a very dream/nightmare like quality to it
- surviving a photo torpedo detonation by ducking behind a pillar
- Being chased by a floating God head which shoots lightning bolts from it's eyes would have had a very nightmare like quality to it
-The Klingons coming to Kirk's rescue is Kirk's subconcious trying to forgive the Klingon's for the death of his son.
- In the end, Spocks saves his ass, just like he saved Spocks.
- Kirk, Spock and Bones remain together for much of the movie..just like at the campsite..
- And of course the story starting and ending in the same spot, with the Kirk, Spock and McCoy wearing the same clothes.
When you look at the movie as a nightmare, a reflection of Kirks subconscious fears and desires, it actually, somehow, makes *more* sense. In fact, it starts making a *lot* of sense
When people finally realise this what Shatner did its going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever....just like was Deckard a Replicant? did the totem fall?