Plot: What’s it about?
A new Enterprise ship has been created, but it is not the masterful craft it should be, instead it has flaws in almost all aspects. But with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and most of the other intrepid crew members on leave, Scotty (James Doohan) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) are left to clean up the mess. That involves overseeing countless repairs and alterations, in hopes of making the new Enterprise a worthwhile vessel. At the same time, a rebel Vulcan known as Sybok has begun an assault on Nimbus III, which serves as a base of operations for all of the powerful entities. He has turned his back on his native Vulcan ways, discarding logic in favor of emotion, which has allowed him to gain the support of numerous followers. It is these men who Sybok leads into this siege on Nimbus III, which quickly attracts the attention of everyone and forces a recall of the off duty Enterprise crew members. After an initial clash, Sybok’s forces take several important leaders hostage, in order to have leverage to gain their demands. Of course, this results in the arrival of Kirk and his buddies, who have been dispatched to bring the situation to a peaceful resolve. But Sybok has plans of his own and when he hijacks the Enterprise, will Kirk and the others be able to regain control?
This is the fifth installment in the Star Trek cinematic legend, but this is no mere sequel, as it stands as a landmark event in sci/fi. Yes folks, William “Bill” Shatner not only graces the screen with his masterful thespian skills, but he also showcases his talents behind the cameras. In other words, Kirk himself sat in the director’s chair for The Final Frontier, which means that without a doubt, the film was destined to be a smash success. If you thought the previous Star Trek movies were lame, wait until you sit down with this one. Shatner must have fallen asleep at the wheel here, as The Final Frontier has more plot holes than a Michael Bay picture. And if that isn’t enough, all kinds of little quirks in the Trek realm are found, such as characters behaving in strange, unexplained ways, which throws the entire experience off balance. So we have massive holes in the plot, unexplained character changes, and then to top it all off, we have to endure some songs from the crew, which is hilarious, but not in the good sense. But hey, I expect a Star Trek movie to be bad, so I wasn’t surprised in the least by this film’s poor form. I watch these flicks to laugh and see Shatner in action, so I wasn’t too let down here. If you want a gripping sci/fi adventure however, Star Trek V shouldn’t be on your rental list. Of course, the world is loaded with Trekkies, so no matter how bad the movie is, the fans will relent and make it their own.
In this special film, we get to see that not only is William Shatner a poor actor, but he isn’t much better as a director. I should mention, Shatner is a gifted writer and can spin some great tales, but you wouldn’t know it from The Final Frontier. Yes, he served as cowriter on this lame duck, but we all know he can do better than this. Then again, it just wouldn’t seem right if paper thin characters like Spock and Kirk had complex, well written material to work within. I know you Star Trek fanatics disagree, but come on, if these simple characters had to function within a deep, intricate world, we all know their heads would simply explode in mere seconds. But back to the man who made Trek what it is, the immortal William Shatner. His skills as a director don’t shine much here, as he is unable to close up the endless plot holes or provide adequate movement for the storyline, but hey, its Shatner and this is his show, right? I happen to love to see Shatner in action, even if just to laugh, so The Final Frontier is a double pleasure. You can also see Shatner in such films as Groom Lake, Miss Congeniality, Loaded Weapon 1, Free Enterprise, and American Psycho 2. The cast also includes Leonard Nimoy (Them!, The Brain Eaters), James Doohan (The Satan Bug, Test Pilot), and DeForest Kelley (Night of the Lepus, Johnny Reno).
Video: How does it look?
Star Trek V is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The previous DVD release was hideous, a plain letterbox presentation that had a worn, unrefined presence. But this time around, Paramount has churned out a brand new treatment, one which cures all the ailments of the prior edition and then some. The anamorphic enhancement takes care of a lot of woes, such as jagged edges, shimmering, and other such troubles, which plagued the earlier release, but don’t surface much here. So we have a more filmlike texture, which is furthered by how sharp and crisp the image is in this edition. I knew Paramount would give us an anamorphic version for this new release, but I didn’t think they would do much beyond that. As it turns out, all of the problems have been taken care of and we have a superb visual effort. A few small flaws do creep in, but without a doubt, this is the best this film has looked on home video.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is the same Dolby Digital 5.1 option from the previous release, so if you’ve heard that soundtrack, you know what to expect. The return is not an unwelcome one, as the audio is solid and offers some nice moments, even if it lacks the kind of subtle touches and all out power we sometimes expect. I do have to admit that the surround use is often cheese laden, as gimmicky sound effects and atmosphere elements immerse us. I think that suits the whole Star Trek environment however, as the characters and storyline are also cheese laden. The bass kicks, but not that deep, though like I said, the surrounds do get some chance to show off. The music also sounds quite good, while dialogue is clean and easy to understand at all times. This release also includes a 2.0 surround option, a French language track, and English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As with the previous Star Trek films, this one gets a two disc Special Collector’s Edition, chock full of supplements. The first disc holds only two extras, with an audio commentary with William Shatner and his daughter Liz is up first, which proves to be a decent, but mostly wasted exercise. The two often simply repeat what is on screen and never delve into the film’s tainted reputation, instead just recanting harmless production stories. But hey, at least Kirk himself was involved, right? A text commentary from Michael and Denise Okuda is the other extra, but this one doesn’t turn as well as the ones on previous Trek films. I suppose they wanted to remain upbeat, which means negative material was left out and as a result, this is a bland, recycled assortment of general Trek information.
The second disc holds the rest of the extras, such as a collection of brief featurettes under the section The Star Trek Universe. A tribute to Herman Zimmerman is found here, as well as a look at That Klingon Couple: Spice Williams & Todd Bryant and A Green Future?, which allows some environmentalists some screen time to mouth off. The jewel of this section however, is an interview with William Shatner, which has to be seen to be believed. This is the most pompous, outlandish piece I have ever seen, a must see for all those who love or hate the man. Even more featurettes can be found in the Production section, but as with The Star Trek Universe ones, there isn’t much in terms of substance. A selection of makeup tests, pre-visualization models, a special pitch from Harve Bennett, a reel of special effects footage, and a hilarious press conference. The only real strong part of this section is The Journey, a half hour behind the scenes piece that actually touches upon some of the issues that troubled the production. This might not be the no-holds-barred tell-all we wanted, but it deals with more of the flaws than expected. This release also includes some production stills, storyboards, seven television spots, and two of the film’s theatrical trailers. Not the most packed two disc release, but a nice selection of extras.
