Star Trek V: Final Frontier

After four films in the Star Trek series, you really thought you saw everything. The movies included many genres including comedy, drama, action and of course Sci-Fi with plenty of interesting plots,characters and villains. That said, I never thought I would be see a bad film in this series. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier does have many fresh ideas but in the end I thought it reached an all-time low for a Star Trek movie and I hope there is never another one that challenges it.

The Enterprise crew's camping trip in Yosemite National Park gets disrupted when they must go Nimbus 111 to rescue hostages held by the character of Sybox (Laurence Luckinbill) who wants more than just hostages and who has greater intentions as a whole. Sybox wants to lure a starship to Nimbus 111 so to use the ship to travel to the mythical planet, Sha Ka Ree where creation began.

The main problem with this movie is the direction. Star Trek is a series that does not really need humor to succeed and the last film Voyage Home kind of got lucky using a great deal of humor. William Shatner is the director of The Final Frontier and seems to insert comedy at times where none of it really works. The attempts at comedy are laughable but in the wrong places and it doesn't work with the characters. The Spock character played by Leonard Nimoy kind of  works in places by being funny but the humor is also forced humor that doesn't really work. The characters also quite often are not used correctly and I note that the character Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) has a nude scene that seems not necessary. In short, the characters are really all over the place and not portrayed in the right light.

In a way, I don't mind Skbox as a character. He is given an interesting connection to Spock but I don't know what he wants. He is given too much to do and is kind of dry and really is not at all comparable or close to the villains in the series. Shatner at Captain Kirk also is a little confusing as it is not clear what he is doing with Klingon Captain Klaa who at times seems like the the villain but other times it is not clear what he is or why is he even here.

Even though I am not the biggest Trekkie out there, I have always enjoyed the series. The previous movies showed a world filled with a lot of light and images but that was missing in this movie. As with Voyage Home, this is a film with more sets then usual but in this one they are not  really fully developed. Nimbus 111 is depicted with a cheap western setting and cheap set inside of it. The effects in this movie are also nowhere near as good as the last movie in the series. It is a film that really looks dull.

I think Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is kind of a disaster that doesn't really fit in this classic series and doesn't bring anything to the table. For the Star Trek series, I see it as a terrible waste and a disaster that I don't think anybody should waste their time with.

1/5

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

If you would have told me about a film's plot involving humpback whales and space and time travel set in the 1980's, I would have laughed. If you also explained to me that this was a Star Trek movie, I would be quite shocked and  thought that this is something that would  not work. That said, this is what Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is about and in some ways, it is the strongest Star Trek sequel and demonstrates why Star Trek is such a great sc-fi series of movies.

In the year 2286, there is deadly probe which is moving through and has taken over space and on earth it is causing storms, sun blocking and power outages while sending out strange signals. It is eventually determined that the signals are humpback whale calls, and the Enterprise must go to the present 1980's of San Fransisco to get to the whales and stop this probe.

Though it's a strange plot that is original and creative, the idea of the movie being set in the San Franscisco Bay area might be the most original. Being from 23rd century, the cast creates interesting and funny comedic scenes with the crew lost in the 1980's erawhere they learn about pizza, punk rock and all things 80's. For the animal lovers, the whales are portrayed in a sc-fi way with a lot of charm and love. A plot that shows us once again what a great director Leonard Nimoy is and how he can really work with a different type of plot.

This involves basically the same cast that we have known and loved from the prior movies with more fine work from Catherine Hicks as Dr. Gillian Taylor who is the unexpected star here. Hicks really helps move the plot along and also brings charm and chemistry to the role and  also makes this film seems more realistic.

This is also one of those Star Trek films that has many settings. Following an ending on a Vulcan planet, the film then uses three settings which including Earth. The sets are difficult to pull off but the effects, design and structure really work.

As with all Star Trek movies, one important question is  "Where does this film fit into the Star Trek series?" Following in the footsteps of a drama, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home is a refreshing comedy that does not go overboard with it that fits perfectly into the series.

Frankly considering the very different plot, I am not sure why this worked for me or why it became one of my favorite Star Trek movies comparable to the classic Wrath of Khan film but it does. Even though this is set in the 1980's, this is a film that could live on forever with any audience no matter what decade they view it.

4/5

Star Trek III: The Seach for Spock

When it's all said and done, the original Star Trek films were really something special. A quality series with great story lines that went in all different directions. Along with Undiscovered Country and Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock is quite different and another great film in the series.

Following in the foot steps of the last film, The Wrath of Khan, the plot here has Spock (Leonard Nimoy) dead and gone. The whole crew is in disarray with Kirk (William Shatner) hurt the most. Somehow though light comes through with Spock possibly still alive and somehow connected in spirit to Bones (Deforest Kelley) and on the mysterious and dangerous planet of Genesis.


This was probably one of hardest films to put together in this series because of the many levels of plot here. The Genesis planet might not be the most original idea on the block but there is still a lot of creativity here with settings that are new for a Star Trek film and giving the cast a lot to do. The film does bring the classic old cast back including characters of David Marcus ( Merritt Butrick) and Saavick (Robin Curtis). A villain in Christopher Lloyd with the name of Commander Kruge who is hard to figure and very strange but still hard not to like. Lloyd as usual delivers a quirky performance. The plot is great and frankly I don't think this could have come out any better.

With the title, you might think that we don't see Spock but it's one of things where it is "Don't judge a book by it's cover". There is a younger resurrected Spock idea that turns into more then you might think and also some small flashbacks. The ending is something that we know is coming but does fit into Start Trek history quite nicely. In the end, we find the Spock character even though it might not be clearly obvious where he was.

The film can be a little slow and sad and depressing. This is kind of a change of pace for the Star Trek series and for me this makes it seems more special because of it.

This film is directed by Leonard Nimoy who did good job here. I think The Search for Spock is really the perfect film to start the middle of the series with.

4/5

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Even though we didn't really want it to end, the Star Trek film series with the original cast had to end sometime. This series had a classic in Wrath of Khan, a big miss in The Final Frontier and was just ok in The Motion Picture. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country marks the last appearance together of the original Star Trek series cast. With Star Trek being such a successful series with such a following, this movie really should have been something. It should have been something to close this popular series off in a good way which would push any of the negatives in the series aside. I do believe this film is above average and it has it's ups and downs but still something seems missing.

The film starts with the Captain of the Enterprise, Captain Sulu (George Takei) who notices that the Klingon moon Praxis has exploded. An investigation leads to the capture of Kirk (William Shatner) and McCoy (DeForest Kelley). There is a full investigation aboard the Enterprise led by Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and interesting idea at a peace conference with their enemies.

This movie is quite a bit slower than previous Star Trek movies. A lot of the scenes are talking pieces with a lot of dialogue and drawn out scenes that do show some strong writing. The plot is something of a mystery and there are many different sets. It is also kind of a different style of Star Trek movie with snow scenes and tunnel scenes. In many places, this film feels like it is paying homage to the Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back and the Indiana Jones movies with these different sets. Finally, when there is action on the screen, it is top-notch.

As mentioned earlier, this movie has the original cast and they once again do very good work. In addition, there is a new character who is a Vulcan girl name Valeris (Kim Cattrall) who is hard to get a feel for. She is a character who we really don't know much about or even really care much about.

One important question for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is how does it play as a series-ending film? I think the movie feels not very "epic" like it should and left me kind of empty at the end. I think I was expecting a more grand exit and this movie feels like it should have been in the middle of the series. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is a good film but I do believe that the series deserved something a little better for it's departure.

3.5/5