Review of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) by Patrick H — 04 Aug 2009

I have to admit some nostalgia for this less-than-rousing 'Trek' adventure, as it's the first one I saw in a theater (at the age of nine). Amid the summer of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' and 'Batman', I was actually really psyched for this, and at the time, it indeed seemed just another cool 'Star Trek' movie. Now, of course, the crappy visual effects, overdone comic elements, franchise incongruities, and half-baked storyline are, well, somewhat more apparent.

Still...there remain some nice moments here and there. Seeing what our heroes get up to on vacation is kind of fun, and first-and-only-time director Shatner at least gives everyone something to do (even if it's silly) and handles the action scenes well. Also, there is a kernel of an interesting idea behind the plot: how exactly does one deal with stray religious fanaticism in the utopian 23rd century? Unfortunately, it plays out in too haphazard and undeveloped a fashion, with a pat, unsatisfying ending to boot. So yeah, at this point in the franchise, it was a misfire. However, compared to some of the recent abominations I've seen in the summertime, this looks like Shakespeare...