MovieChat Forums > Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Discussion > Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Is a Bet...

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Is a Better Movie Than Fans Remember

posted 9 months ago by TMC-4 (19465)
6 replies | jump to latest

https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-v-final-frontier-better-than-fans-remember/

Dubbed one of the franchise's worst films and plagued by production problems, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a better movie than fans remember.

[–] Zinger (2186) 9 months ago

What does God need with a star ship?

[–] thingmakersback (1229) 9 months ago

Oh bullshit. It was never a TOTAL load of crap but it was and is awful on almost every level. After this one the next worse was the dull Insurrection and the muddled Nemesis, and neither of those was laughably bad.

[–] bozo_500 (12344) 9 months ago

As a first-time feature film director, there was bound to be a learning curve for William Shatner. At one point, according to The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek, Winter and other producers tried to get The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer in to replace him

.
I did not know the producers tried to get shatner replaced with Nicolas Meyer, I knew Meyer was approached (as he often was to direct Trek movies after II) but thought that was before Shatner had the job not during (I think I read in one if his books Shatner saying he approached Meyer to write the script but he declined)

One wonders what would've happened had Meyer agreed to take over! (Meyer never would bc he wouldn't do that to Shatner but more important it wouldn't have been his story/script like II and VI were, plus as he's said he only works on the even numbers!) but just to imagine for one minute, a Nicolas Meyer directed Star Trek V.. Would he have used the God story already there? (completely rewritten by Meyer in about 5 days of round the clock furious non stop coffee fuelled typewriting) or throw it and start over? Ideally it would be the latter for his and no doubt the producers sake (Bennett was never keen on 'the Enterprise crew meets god' plotline), but say there wasn't time to start over with a completely new story and Meyer had to make do and adapt/rewrite Shatners 'search for god' story - obviously it would've been vastly superior to the eventual script. Filled with literary (biblical) references (Paradise Lost, Shakespeare, The Bible etc), building toward a better more cohesive finale (not 'reliant' on out of budget Rockmen or gargoyles - and as a result maybe Ralph Winter would've been able to twist ILMs arm into doing the FX). the film itself would've felt more polished, the acting (esp Shatner) all the better/more on point, the tone more serious/nautical, the humour more witty/sharp (as the stipulation by the studio to be comedic after the success of IV).

[–] VinceD (6961) 9 months ago

I legit love this movie and always have.

It has the some of the best Kirk, Spock, and McCoy moments, and the Kirk's delivery of his lines when he's questioning "god" was such a great payoff to what the film had been building up too. Also, I thought Luckinbill's performance as Sybok was great.

Screw the haters, it's one of my favorite Trek films.

[–] seagal72 (1838) 8 months ago

It's my favourite of the franchise (always was)

[–] liscarkat (16737) 2 months ago

No, it's not.