I always favored the campfire scene. The entire exchange about trying to get Spock to sing, and McCoy's quip about Spock "God, I liked him before he DIED!"
Given how little Spock ever talks about his family to anyone, I’m not surprised if there’s more secret family members he’s not even mentioning. I mean nobody even knew his father was THE Ambassador Sarek until he was right in front of Spock, Spock keeps his family ties very close to his chest you’d have to pry it out of him
I don't see how you could consider Star Trek discovery, Picard, and possibly strange new worlds Cannon. The problem I have is it is a service that you actually physically have to pay for and is not an over-the-air Television Network show. One thing I do enjoy watching is h&i TV they show the original series all the way up through Enterprise Sunday through Friday night 8 until 1 in the morning. Yes you have to watch a few commercials but I absolutely despise paying for any subscription services.
I really like the line "Please, Captain...not in front of the Klingons." Shatner's got such a great sense of humor; they might've done better if they'd attempted a flat out comedy.
Haha, I had no idea about the original version. That is just so very Shatner to make Kirk the only one capable of saving the day. Aside from that the idea of a cult trying to find God in a sci-fi setting is fascinating and has a lot of potential to be executed really well. I don't know why, but themes of religion in this genre can be absolutely fascinating if handled correctly.
I think it was Red Letter Media who noticed that in ST:TNG the idea of religion was actively discouraged by the crew of the Enterprise in at least one episode. Probably Mr Roddenberry's last shake of the fist at the franchise that slipped away from him.
its just a bit jarring going from this, and seemingly a little respect between captains at the end of the film.... to "Let them die!" in the film afterward.
The McCoy "Pain sharing" scene really always touches me… it's absolutely heartbreaking and it is such a turn of the films overall more joyful mood. In fact the film is quite a rollercoaster and it makes you wonder how it would have become if the troubled production circumstances would have been more in favor of this film. This kind of personal character exploration is what i love the most about this film. Even though sadly we don't find out more about Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov. But just like the show it follows the same structure by focussing mainly on the 3 main roles Kirk, Spock & Bones. Just as Gene Roddenberry originally intended with the show.
Agree absolutely - De Kelley was brilliant in this - it was very moving for me as well and one that I remember most in this movie - this - and the campfire scene (sort of Star Trek meets Blazing Saddles😄😄😄😄🤭)
weirdly enough this is one of my mom favorite. It has to do with the pain sharing part of the villian cause she was a social work dealing with drugs and alcohol. So this film nuance hit her bottom right.
@@harmonetheanimationaddict4419 Didn't Sybok break a MAJOR Vulcan taboo by reaching inside their minds, digging out painful moments, etc. ? There was discussion of Spock reaching into Valeris' mind in ST VI, AND the *ethics* therein, even though circumstances were *_way_* different.
I pretty much agree with Shatner's own take on this movie: There's a shadow of a good movie in there, it just never quite materialized. I don't think it would have happened just by not having the strikes, and getting ILM onboard, but those certainly didn't help. Some of the scenes in this movie are actually pretty great though, even if the whole movie isn't.
There are a few things I like about Final Frontier, the score is outstanding, the crew/cast interacts well together and the first half of the movie is acceptable. The turning point of the film for me is Uhura's "dance" after that point the movie takes a turn for camp, the poor special effects seem to show up more and things never really recover bar one or two redeemable moments.
I find this movie really entertaining (probably from the mix of legitimately good things and campiness). Some highlights for me were: the camping scenes, Spock's rocket boots, the drunk Klingon ambassador, Sybok (the character and performance), the jailbreak scene, rocket boots up the turboshaft, the "release your pain" scene, and "what does God need with a starship?".
@@Michael_ORourke It's probably the only truly lighthearted Star Trek film. The stakes are the lowest of any Trek film, and we're just along for the ride with old friends.
The film wasn't that bad however the best part of the whole movie is the camping trip between Kirk/Spock and McCoy it showed how great a bond they had with each other.
Just remember the camping scene with Kirk , Spock and McCoy. They were just being them selves. Hell, even Uhura had to bring them back in a shuttle craft because Kirk had " forgot" his communicator. " I was wondering where that went". " bourbon , and beans, ....an explosive combination."
@@huskyfaninmass1042 That was cut. In the novelization it’s revealed that McCoy got an engineer to edit entries in the ship database related to camping. He planted the word marshmelon and row, row, row your boat as his way of messing with Spock. That’s why you see he and Kirk side eyeing each other. They were trying to see if Spock would pick up that they were messing with him.
One of the best things I can say about this film is that in tone and presentation, it's the movie that most feels like a bigger scale episode of the original series.
I absolutely agree, lol:) I always wondered why Sybok and Spock never asked themselves that, I mean they are Vulcan so logically that should of been the first thing they considered, lol.
@@WCRMovies " God " should've been portrayed by Gary Lockwood AKA Gary Mitchell, Kirk's best friend who was turned into a silver - eyed superhuman in the series.
Never saw this outing and no real desire to. Good analysis, as always. Also, the Simpsons parody is spot on. "Again with the Klingons!" is my favorite line.
Jerry Goldsmith's return to score the Trek films really was amazing as he wrote an absolutely beautiful score for the film that oozes adventure, passion, excitement and sheer beauty. The Mountain Climbing theme is still to this day one of the most beautiful pieces ever written for any Star Trek and is, together with Jay Chattaway's "The Inner Light" and Dennis McCarthy's Star Trek Generations suite, my absolute favorite piece of Star Trek music. :)
I can't be too hard on TFF, for it is (like the others) also part of my childhood. And many of its negatives (hole ridden script, mediocre SFX, disappointing climax, forced humor) can be attributed to its difficult production. And there is definately a lot to enjoy here. First of all, it feels more like TOS than the other five TOS-Movies: Antagonists taking over the _Enterprise_ and our Heroes facing off against a creature pretending to be a God were tropes explored several times during the Series. More importantly, this movie has great Scenes for the 'Big Three'. Their dynamic and friendship is very well explored here and given a lot of room. The Camping Scene is very enjoyable for me for that reason. Its a bit like the Party-Scene from "Age of Ultron" in a way: Just our Heroes having a good time not worrying about Saving-the-Universe-Stuff. Also, the Film has a charismatic and likeable Antagonist (more like Antihero) in the Form of Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill gives a really solid performance IMO), good camerawork and a fantastic Score by Jerry Goldsmith. And the one time where all of these positive Aspects come together, the Scene in the Observation-lounge where Sybok confronts McCoy and Spock with their pain is legitimately one of the best Scenes of the entire Franchise. Everything is on point there. I mean that. Overall, this is the only TOS-Film I don't *love.* But I still _like_ it. It deserves credit for at least *trying* to give us that Vulcan Salute. In stark contrast, I feel like more most Trek I watched since 2017 was just giving me the finger...
This one does indeed always feels more like a TOS story than the other original movies. The primitive visual effects actually help in that respect! For me, this one still holds some entertainment value, even if it means laughing at the picture. There are a couple of genuinely great moments with the main characters though. Overall, the worst of the original movies, but not my least favorite Trek movie.
The span of time between the campfires is Captain Kirk’s dream. It’s the only thing that explains Spock’s half-brother, the impossible number of decks in the ship, and any number of other bizarre happenings in the film. Herman Zimmerman’s new bridge was by far, my favorite, in all of Trek! I also loved Todd Bryant’s depiction of Captain Klaa. That voice! It’s a shame, that Shatner’s reach so vastly exceeded his grasp, but I still love this movie, especially the camaraderie between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. 🖖😀
I will agree, the friendship between Kirk, McCoy and Spock is one of the best aspect of this movie. All other problems aside, that alone made the movie memorable for me
@@RowanJColeman The Star Trek 6 story should be interesting, with the subtext of Gene Roddenberry's declining health and the planning of DS9 at the time. Trek was in dark and edgy times back then.
@@ZuluRomeo and a lot of controversial decisions on the part of Nick Meyer, like lines that bothered much of the cast members, some of which they flat out refused to read. Wanting Nichelle Nichols as Uhura to be the one to say "Guess who's coming to dinner" was particularly troublesome.
Continuing to do a great job with these retrospectives - the work is always appreciated! Really would like to see what Meyer could have done to steer the ship a little back on course!
Another well put together retrospective on one my guilty pleasures of the series. I admit out of all the OST's I listen to Star Trek V the most. I miss you Jerry. RIP
For me the most interesting concept from the movie was the idea of the city of Paradise. You have the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans coming together to build a city were they could live together in peace. Yet as we see in the movie it failed. I always wondered how did it fail? Was doom from the star, dose a city in post scarcity universe need more then good will and intrest to survive? If anything from this movie should be revisited it should be that city.
I always wonder about the inconsistency of this alleged post-scarcity universe in Star Trek. "Mudd's Women" isn't that far in the past here. As I do not have encyclopedic knowledge of Stardates I couldn't say exactly how long ago it was, but Childress and his crew weren't post-scarcity. Even so, you're totally right: Paradise City's failure is very interesting!
@@RowanJColeman If I remember correctly, the "Vanguard"-Novel-Series touched upon Nimbus 5 a bit. Also there is the ST5-Novelisation by J.M.Dillard that went into a bit more detail regarding the setting (and the backstory of J'onn)
Nimbus III is a fairly major social hub in Star Trek Online. It's still a backwater, and the Orions are using it as a location to smuggle weapons of mass destruction.
Rowan included a picture of Billy Graham in the televangelists; but in my opinion, Rev Graham had a very high degree of integrity vs. many of the others. I don't recall him getting rich off of parishners.
I am loving this series of videos. Seeing this pop up as available today on UA-cam was a delight, and that is rare for me. I hope that this conveys the degree to which I am enjoying these videos. I cannot wait for the TNG, DS9, VOY, videos, and the ones for the TNG films.
As per usual, quality content mate. Can't wait for your Undiscovered Country review. ...nothing pickles me gherkin more than hearing Klingons abuse Shakespeare! "Cry havok, & let slip the dogs war!" Mark Anthony may have spake! Never once did he entertain Ghak! Bet he'd entertain Cleopatra after some Romulan Ale though!!!
These are great! I just discovered your channel last night and have watched over 9 hours of content. Keep it up and I can't wait for your next retrospective video.
A detail I love about these videos is how you end on a cliffhanger about where the franchise is going next, combined with that AWESOME musical cue kicking in that you use. It works so well and gives me goosebumps! It's got that vibe of an underdog about to make an amazing comeback from seeming defeat... Great work. :D
Regarding the visual effects, I particularly liked the approach to the great barrier as seen in the background through the windows during the scenes in the forward observation room when Sybok has caught up with the trio. That appeared to happen in real time as the conversations progressed. Nice little touch.
I'm not a fan of this film, but to be fair, the actual direction wasn't a problem. The biggest problem of the film is the story and the script. Shatner actually directed twice as much television than Nimoy, before directing this feature.
Mr Coleman. Excellent balanced approach on this one. The analysis of visual effects including underlying technology choices and their resulting impact on production value was especially compelling. Your retrospectives provide thorough insights into movie industry mechanics, thematic evolution, and overall project development via the ST franchise. Thanks
This is my wife's favourite Trek movie. It certainly has probably the best interaction between the three leads and this is also the only one where all three are together for the entire film.
I think people are too harsh on Final Frontier. For one, I like Cybok and Spocks paradigm. One embraces his emotions and feels so much yet doesnt have any true friends unlike Spock who although represses his emotions has friends he has faith in and will not abandon. Second it has my favorite Kirk quote. "I need my pain. My pain makes me who I am." Just great insight there to the human condition.
When I was a kid back when this movie came out I believe I was going from 4th to 5th grade and I absolutely love this movie! It was the first ever Star Trek movie that made mom had dropped me off to see by myself. I used to have the collector Kraft marshmallow dispenser. At that same time I wanted to get into rock climbing I always thought it was very cool to see Captain Kirk climbing El Capitan. I wonder how many professional rock climbers saw this and inspired them to go rock climbing. At the same time this movie came out I was also big into the other movies such as Indiana Jones Ghostbusters 2 and ultimately Batman. But this one especially with the Fantastic Jerry Goldsmith score will always have a special place in my heart. Wouldn't it be awesome to see The Shat return from the Nexus! I can't wait to see the movie with him in Christopher Lloyd. Keep up the great work Rowan!
Apart from criticism keeping the standard high, I'm just grateful that there is a Star Trek. Life without that particular concept would have been pretty dull. Thanks guys.
I saw this in Japan, and had to wait 6-months after it was released in America. So I had already heard the negative press on the film and went to the theater with lowered expectations. I remember liking the idea of having ground troops to storm the facility to rescue the "hostages", but the crappy special effects killed a lot of the fun of that. And I did notice that the Great Barrier was a concept from TOS, so it disappointed me that this wasn't mentioned in the film. On the whole, it is OK. I still have the VHS copy I later bought in Japan, just for the Japanese cover.
I've never completely understood the hate for this. I think it continues many of the themes of Wrath of Khan. The idea that wishing it so cannot change the march of time and experience, or erase the sins of the past. Two of my favourite lines too. "I need my pain!" And "What does God...want...with a starship?" I personally found Cybok a great character. He is a misguided visionary who makes the ultimate sacrifice when he realises the ruin his hubris had wrought. The film is also very funny. Lastly, it's genius to me that this horrific pseudo-god is defeated by Cybok forcing it to share it's pain , and we get these inhuman howls. So cool. It does look cheap and a bit hokey in parts, and the we're all friends now ending is a bit silly, but still -all in all my second favourite after Wrath of Khan.
I'm having a blast watching these retrospective videos then going and watching the movies... not sure what I'm going to do when i have to go back into the office.....
I remember the fake "Letters to the Editor" from the old National Lampoon. One of my favorites was from "William Shatner," commenting on this film, asking the reader if they knew how hard it was to overact and over-direct at the same time?
Somehow i remember this exact film most "fondly" when i think of the old star trek movies... i dont know why, maybe i saw it first at a specific moment? I really dont know but i just rewatched it recently, its not as bad as many seem to make it out to be (i only heard recently that its apparently a bad movie) ... but i might be bias'd because im no "hardcore" Trekky and im not invested in the franchise in any way, i just enjoy sci fi and.. i enjoyed the movie. Altho i noticed the lower VFX quality and i never knew why.... now i know :D
It's definitely the worst of the 6 it wasn't that bad in most respects. It had an okay premise and good moments between the cast specifically the camping scenes.
There were bad aspects to it. Spock having a "secret" brother and just by coincidence being sent to confront him. The "only ship in the quadrant" thing again. Generally, though, it is only less good by comparison with STII, STIV & STVI. On its own merits, it's a decent film. Not bad for a rookie director
Again you've touched on one of my rants, even Bill Shatner can't see the past the "Star Trek" cliché. As the original cast was aging, all I wanted was a simple story to see the old gang back together again one last time. My idea was a Retirement Party for Admiral Kirk at the famous Risa resort planet. Kick-back, relax and have some fun with the cast as we share the good, the bad and the funny moments. One last chance to say goodbye with a smile, a song and cake with waay too many lit candles on it, LOL! 😊
I am going through all of your Star Trek episodes and telling everyone how true they are to my belief I wish more people would open up their mind and their eyes wake up wake up
Unfortunately, trying to live up to the best (TWOK) and the most profitable (St4) is a pretty tall order. I’m a huge William Shatner admirer, but most will agree he has a huge ego. Nothing wrong with a ego (it’s almost impossible to enjoy the success he has had without a huge ego!) but in this case I think it definitely hurt his goals for the movie. Not to mention all the budget and writer problem that were out of his control.
Personally I really like this film. I don't look on it in the same way as the other Star Trek films, but to me this is a 'buddy' movie. It explores the later stage relationship between the Kirk-Spock-McCoy friendship dynamic. Kirk's prophetic 'I've always known I'll die alone' and just the overall feeling of moving from crewmates to friendships akin to family was touching and done well. There are some rough edges to it played for comedy value sure, but it hold a warm place for me. I see the God planet story as a secondary plot that gives them a reason to carry the buddy story along, and deepen the exploration of most of the TOS characters.
14:31 So it’s not really sci-fi, but it would be neat to see you tackle a James Bond retrospective some day. There’s a lot of great material to talk about with those movies and the production involved. Granted, it would be a huge undertaking. But if you ever decide it’s worth doing, I’d certainly be down to watch!
David Loughery (the scriptwriter) suggested the fan dance as a joke, thinking no one would take it seriously. Luckinbill and Goldsmith are the best choices Shatner made, but having both alien planets be desert worlds was one of his worst. Paramount also insisted on retaining the level of humor from 'The Voyage Home'. I don't believe this film's idea could ever have worked (it had been done several times in TOS), but Shatner had a catalogue of bad luck as well.
I went to see this with my brother, who wasn't a Trek fan by any stretch, and i remember him saying when we got home that an episode of TNG would have been better. This was in TNG's second season, too!
What I remember most about this film was Hermann Zimmerman`s redesign of the Enterprise`s bridge & Bob Peak`s beautiful poster . Didn`t hate it as I realize the original vision was compromised by production problems but I`m in no hurry to re-watch it either.
Rowan you did such a good job and managed to say more positives than I expected. A good watch. Looking forward to the next one. I bet there is alot to say about 6
Little surprised Billy Graham was lumped in with Jim and Tammy Faye.... Billy was a public (tent) evangelist who was televised later at stadium revivals. J&T were straight to TV on a stage. I suggest BG be edited out, and put the many televangelists edited in.
A really solid analysis. I think there's blame to go around for how the film turned out but at the same time, I think the general concept was solid, if poorly executed.
Personally, this is one of my favorite Star Trek films. My only real complaint was the inconsistent characterization of Sybok. But ultimately, the film's thesis accurately exposes some of cultural attributes of my home town---with a perspective which resonates with my own.
I disagree. Apart from McCoy and Spock leaving Kirk, the original version sounds really cool and interesting. I'd love to see what it would have looked like.
Nice to get a perspective other than 'shatner messed it up'. Final Frontier sits in the middle of the pack for me ahead of TMP and Voyage Home (trekking around san francisco looking for a whale in the 80s didnt itch my trek scratch).
This was never shown at my towns main cinema, instead they sent it to an old theatre on the edge of town as a double feature with "Licence to Kill". It was no great surprise when I later learnt that neither movie was considered a success.
You mention the movie's home video sales. I feel if it wasn't for being part of a popular series of movies, and this one would complete the set (of movies), this one wouldn't have sold as well as it did, had it been just another stand alone movie. You are accurate with your assessment.
I don´t care, this is still my all time favorite Star Trek movie and the only one in Cinema that actually feels like a Star Trek story. Love the inclusion of the original bridge noises and all these little details. Finally the bridge also feels like a Star Trek Enterprise place, the characters actually feel like the real original Trek characters from the 60s and the whole God ideia is great. Too bad about the "poor" ending when it comes to production values but in my view this is still the best Trek movie. I think Shatner was the only director that really got the original feel totally right. And that "Why that God needs a starship" is one of those phrases that to this days still pops in my mind all the time. I love this movie. Great bluray edition too. I also love Star Trek the Movie and the ones I really don´t care much about are The Wrath of Khan and the Search for Spock. The Voyage Home was great too. Other than that after V , I didn´t like any of the subsequent movies and dont even remember much about them. But V is one of those that I keep revisiting and I think Shatner actually has a distinct directorial style that made the movie stand apart.
I have to say this one felt the closest to a TOS episode to me. The bond between the trio, the voyage into the unknown and match up against a god feels very much like who mourns for adonais
Agreed, I thought this one was great. It returned to some philosophical debates the original series was known for and created character depth with Sybok exploring their pain. So many fundamentals in new Trek series are lost, younger fans just don't know.
The moments between McCoy, Kirk and Spock, camping, escaping, visions into their past. I love about this film. This film gets too much hate, where ST:Darkness gets away with not enough.
These are great, Rowan - thanks. In the current lockdown, rediscovering my Trek! I'd still watch TFF over any of the Abrams' nonsense, Insurrection, Generations or Nemesis. The FX are dirt cheap, with most of the ships looking like Airfix models from the 70s and the Klingons are an annoyance. But still, some interesting themes and the focus on the main trio and their relationships, is what makes this special.
I think the scene where Scotty is leading them through the bowels of the ship and then knocks his head at the end is one of the best scenes in the series. The way Scotty is explaining things and then the totally unexpected injury. It just works so well.
It came out on my older brother’s 14th birthday. I was only 9 years old but I had a few dollars on me so I paid for our movie tickets and bought us some popcorn several days after it came out (he was obsessed with getting his drivers permit right away so Star Trek had to wait). I had called our older cousin who was 16 at the time to see if he wanted to drive us to the movie and go to it with us and he said no, he didn’t see the point of going to the movies to see Star Trek when it was on tv every week. He was better off staying home instead of going to the movie with us.
Star Trek 5 Watch Party video here: ua-cam.com/video/yqVEswqQU1U/v-deo.html
star trek 5 aka the murphy's law of star trek films
Ooooooooo
My favorite question came from this film. "What does God need with a starship?"
It’s kind of the only memorable thing about the film.
@@Kujakuseki01 Exactly!! 👍
Best ST quote ever
I always favored the campfire scene. The entire exchange about trying to get Spock to sing, and McCoy's quip about Spock "God, I liked him before he DIED!"
my favorite question is what happened to Sagittarius A at the center of our galaxy??
Me: Spock do you have any other siblings that we don't know about? Spock: that's up to the writers of Discovery lol
Given how little Spock ever talks about his family to anyone, I’m not surprised if there’s more secret family members he’s not even mentioning. I mean nobody even knew his father was THE Ambassador Sarek until he was right in front of Spock, Spock keeps his family ties very close to his chest you’d have to pry it out of him
Spock: If I told you, I'd have to kill you...
@@kc0itf lol
@@CaptainPikeachu plus Spock was estranged from his father for a long time. Spock even says to Picard you knew my father better then his own son
I don't see how you could consider Star Trek discovery, Picard, and possibly strange new worlds Cannon. The problem I have is it is a service that you actually physically have to pay for and is not an over-the-air Television Network show. One thing I do enjoy watching is h&i TV they show the original series all the way up through Enterprise Sunday through Friday night 8 until 1 in the morning. Yes you have to watch a few commercials but I absolutely despise paying for any subscription services.
The best part of this movie is the campfire scene you can really feel the years that these actors have been together in that scene
I’ve often wondered if the camera crew had trouble shooting the campfire scene... if they could see DeForrest for the trees....
LOL Good job the scene didn't feature Edward Woodward!
Out the airlock with you! 🤣
DeForrest for DeTrees
This comment is the best thing to ever come out of that movie.
@@fakecubed Too bad they couldn't get ED WOOD to direct it, hehehehe.....
I really like the line "Please, Captain...not in front of the Klingons."
Shatner's got such a great sense of humor; they might've done better if they'd attempted a flat out comedy.
Shatner absolutely does not have a great sense of humour.
@@UnitSe7en how can you claim that? have you seen him when he does SNL bits? the guy love making fun of his himself
@@Marveryn That's not proof of having a great sense of humour - Unless you're suggesting that he's a really good joke.
Boo boo.😊
Haha, I had no idea about the original version. That is just so very Shatner to make Kirk the only one capable of saving the day. Aside from that the idea of a cult trying to find God in a sci-fi setting is fascinating and has a lot of potential to be executed really well. I don't know why, but themes of religion in this genre can be absolutely fascinating if handled correctly.
Yeah. I don’t buy monotheism just dying out once we have space colonies. It would just be reworked.
To be fair, if you think about it, this is really just a retread of several TOS episodes with godlike beings.
People forget what RJC pointed out in Ep2, it was Shatner that came up with the solution and ending of STTMP.
I think it was Red Letter Media who noticed that in ST:TNG the idea of religion was actively discouraged by the crew of the Enterprise in at least one episode.
Probably Mr Roddenberry's last shake of the fist at the franchise that slipped away from him.
@@qwellen7521 Oh please..of course monotheism will die out once humanity encounters single,omnipotent beings...wait a minute
I love the young Klingon captain in ST5. He really sells having a hardon for going out to battle the legend known as Kirk.
its just a bit jarring going from this, and seemingly a little respect between captains at the end of the film.... to "Let them die!" in the film afterward.
I liked his jacked up first officer gassing him up to take a shot at Kirk.
What horrible use of the word "hardon"! LOL
The McCoy "Pain sharing" scene really always touches me… it's absolutely heartbreaking and it is such a turn of the films overall more joyful mood. In fact the film is quite a rollercoaster and it makes you wonder how it would have become if the troubled production circumstances would have been more in favor of this film. This kind of personal character exploration is what i love the most about this film. Even though sadly we don't find out more about Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov. But just like the show it follows the same structure by focussing mainly on the 3 main roles Kirk, Spock & Bones. Just as Gene Roddenberry originally intended with the show.
Agree absolutely - De Kelley was brilliant in this - it was very moving for me as well and one that I remember most in this movie - this - and the campfire scene (sort of Star Trek meets Blazing Saddles😄😄😄😄🤭)
weirdly enough this is one of my mom favorite. It has to do with the pain sharing part of the villian cause she was a social work dealing with drugs and alcohol. So this film nuance hit her bottom right.
@@Marveryn The scene where Sybok rides onscreen looked like Lawrence of Arabia.
It’s Star Trek’s own When She Loved Me scene. An emotional moment no one sees coming.
@@harmonetheanimationaddict4419 Didn't Sybok break a MAJOR Vulcan taboo by reaching inside their minds, digging out painful moments, etc. ? There was discussion of Spock reaching into Valeris' mind in ST VI, AND the *ethics* therein, even though circumstances were *_way_* different.
I pretty much agree with Shatner's own take on this movie: There's a shadow of a good movie in there, it just never quite materialized. I don't think it would have happened just by not having the strikes, and getting ILM onboard, but those certainly didn't help. Some of the scenes in this movie are actually pretty great though, even if the whole movie isn't.
Thank you, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.
Agree, it was a movie that was less than the sum of its parts
@@raymondmeyers8983It wasn't a total dumpster - fire, but it was on a par with Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
There are a few things I like about Final Frontier, the score is outstanding, the crew/cast interacts well together and the first half of the movie is acceptable. The turning point of the film for me is Uhura's "dance" after that point the movie takes a turn for camp, the poor special effects seem to show up more and things never really recover bar one or two redeemable moments.
This is a fair assessment.
I find this movie really entertaining (probably from the mix of legitimately good things and campiness).
Some highlights for me were: the camping scenes, Spock's rocket boots, the drunk Klingon ambassador, Sybok (the character and performance), the jailbreak scene, rocket boots up the turboshaft, the "release your pain" scene, and "what does God need with a starship?".
@@Michael_ORourke It's probably the only truly lighthearted Star Trek film. The stakes are the lowest of any Trek film, and we're just along for the ride with old friends.
Uhura and Scotty's relationship was so out of left field, and hardcore cringe for me.
@@Rhamsody It should’ve been handled better or not at all. It’s not so much cringe as confusing.
The film wasn't that bad however the best part of the whole movie is the camping trip between Kirk/Spock and McCoy it showed how great a bond they had with each other.
Why did they call marshmallows "marsh melons"?
Just remember the camping scene with Kirk , Spock and McCoy. They were just being them selves. Hell, even Uhura had to bring them back in a shuttle craft because Kirk had " forgot" his communicator. " I was wondering where that went". " bourbon , and beans, ....an explosive combination."
@@huskyfaninmass1042 That was cut. In the novelization it’s revealed that McCoy got an engineer to edit entries in the ship database related to camping. He planted the word marshmelon and row, row, row your boat as his way of messing with Spock. That’s why you see he and Kirk side eyeing each other. They were trying to see if Spock would pick up that they were messing with him.
@@huskyfaninmass1042 In the novelization it was explained that doctor mccoy was pranking Spock and had the library computer altered.
One of the best things I can say about this film is that in tone and presentation, it's the movie that most feels like a bigger scale episode of the original series.
“Our guy in a silly rubber suit looked like ... a guy in a silly rubber suit.”
Priceless 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Despite the mess this movie is, Kirk's line "What does God need with a starship?" has got to be one of the best lines in all of Star Trek.
I absolutely agree, lol:) I always wondered why Sybok and Spock never asked themselves that, I mean they are Vulcan so logically that should of been the first thing they considered, lol.
In all of SciFi
👆”excuse me”
The films is overall a mess, but there're some fantastic lines in it!
@@WCRMovies " God " should've been portrayed by Gary Lockwood AKA Gary Mitchell, Kirk's best friend who was turned into a silver - eyed superhuman in the series.
I unabashedly, unashamedly, and unapologetically LOVE this film! 🥰❤️
I love that a recurring theme in these retrospectives is that when a story sounds bad, they consult Nicholas Meyers
Never saw this outing and no real desire to. Good analysis, as always. Also, the Simpsons parody is spot on. "Again with the Klingons!" is my favorite line.
Row row row your boat.
I always thought the guy who played Sybock did a great job. Very good actor
Jerry Goldsmith's return to score the Trek films really was amazing as he wrote an absolutely beautiful score for the film that oozes adventure, passion, excitement and sheer beauty. The Mountain Climbing theme is still to this day one of the most beautiful pieces ever written for any Star Trek and is, together with Jay Chattaway's "The Inner Light" and Dennis McCarthy's Star Trek Generations suite, my absolute favorite piece of Star Trek music. :)
The Generations score doesn’t get enough love! Agreed!
I can't be too hard on TFF, for it is (like the others) also part of my childhood. And many of its negatives (hole ridden script, mediocre SFX, disappointing climax, forced humor) can be attributed to its difficult production.
And there is definately a lot to enjoy here. First of all, it feels more like TOS than the other five TOS-Movies: Antagonists taking over the _Enterprise_ and our Heroes facing off against a creature pretending to be a God were tropes explored several times during the Series. More importantly, this movie has great Scenes for the 'Big Three'. Their dynamic and friendship is very well explored here and given a lot of room. The Camping Scene is very enjoyable for me for that reason. Its a bit like the Party-Scene from "Age of Ultron" in a way: Just our Heroes having a good time not worrying about Saving-the-Universe-Stuff.
Also, the Film has a charismatic and likeable Antagonist (more like Antihero) in the Form of Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill gives a really solid performance IMO), good camerawork and a fantastic Score by Jerry Goldsmith. And the one time where all of these positive Aspects come together, the Scene in the Observation-lounge where Sybok confronts McCoy and Spock with their pain is legitimately one of the best Scenes of the entire Franchise. Everything is on point there. I mean that.
Overall, this is the only TOS-Film I don't *love.* But I still _like_ it. It deserves credit for at least *trying* to give us that Vulcan Salute. In stark contrast, I feel like more most Trek I watched since 2017 was just giving me the finger...
Agree with what you said. I actually enjoy it the same as 4 and it's better than 1.
You watched Trek since 2017? Poor guy.
This one does indeed always feels more like a TOS story than the other original movies. The primitive visual effects actually help in that respect! For me, this one still holds some entertainment value, even if it means laughing at the picture. There are a couple of genuinely great moments with the main characters though. Overall, the worst of the original movies, but not my least favorite Trek movie.
Has its issues, but watching this crew, and this cast play them, was always a visit with old friends.
Exactly. I love these characters and spending any time with them is a good time.
more like a visit to the old folks home.
@@purefoldnz3070 Ah there’s always one wanker at every party.
@@aldunlop4622 wouldn't be much wanking going on at that age.
The span of time between the campfires is Captain Kirk’s dream. It’s the only thing that explains Spock’s half-brother, the impossible number of decks in the ship, and any number of other bizarre happenings in the film.
Herman Zimmerman’s new bridge was by far, my favorite, in all of Trek! I also loved Todd Bryant’s depiction of Captain Klaa. That voice! It’s a shame, that Shatner’s reach so vastly exceeded his grasp, but I still love this movie, especially the camaraderie between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. 🖖😀
I will agree, the friendship between Kirk, McCoy and Spock is one of the best aspect of this movie. All other problems aside, that alone made the movie memorable for me
"What does God need with a star-ship?" is the best thing about it.
This is such a good series! Are you planning on going beyond ST6 and into TNG/DS9/etc era?
Yes, I'll be going right up to Star Trek Beyond. I've already started work on the TNG Retrospective, which will likely be about two hours long 😅
@@RowanJColeman The Star Trek 6 story should be interesting, with the subtext of Gene Roddenberry's declining health and the planning of DS9 at the time. Trek was in dark and edgy times back then.
@@ZuluRomeo and a lot of controversial decisions on the part of Nick Meyer, like lines that bothered much of the cast members, some of which they flat out refused to read. Wanting Nichelle Nichols as Uhura to be the one to say "Guess who's coming to dinner" was particularly troublesome.
I would love a director's version of this
Continuing to do a great job with these retrospectives - the work is always appreciated! Really would like to see what Meyer could have done to steer the ship a little back on course!
Another well put together retrospective on one my guilty pleasures of the series. I admit out of all the OST's I listen to Star Trek V the most.
I miss you Jerry.
RIP
"Uhura, I thought you were dead..."
coffee out nose. Well played.
For me the most interesting concept from the movie was the idea of the city of Paradise. You have the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans coming together to build a city were they could live together in peace. Yet as we see in the movie it failed. I always wondered how did it fail? Was doom from the star, dose a city in post scarcity universe need more then good will and intrest to survive? If anything from this movie should be revisited it should be that city.
Yeah that setting was actually a pretty cool concept. I wonder if there's a novel somewhere exploring that.
I always wonder about the inconsistency of this alleged post-scarcity universe in Star Trek. "Mudd's Women" isn't that far in the past here. As I do not have encyclopedic knowledge of Stardates I couldn't say exactly how long ago it was, but Childress and his crew weren't post-scarcity. Even so, you're totally right: Paradise City's failure is very interesting!
@@RowanJColeman If I remember correctly, the "Vanguard"-Novel-Series touched upon Nimbus 5 a bit. Also there is the ST5-Novelisation by J.M.Dillard that went into a bit more detail regarding the setting (and the backstory of J'onn)
Nimbus III is a fairly major social hub in Star Trek Online. It's still a backwater, and the Orions are using it as a location to smuggle weapons of mass destruction.
Rowan included a picture of Billy Graham in the televangelists; but in my opinion, Rev Graham had a very high degree of integrity vs. many of the others. I don't recall him getting rich off of parishners.
I am loving this series of videos. Seeing this pop up as available today on UA-cam was a delight, and that is rare for me. I hope that this conveys the degree to which I am enjoying these videos. I cannot wait for the TNG, DS9, VOY, videos, and the ones for the TNG films.
Despite the movie's problems, it has one of my favorite lines of the series: "What does god need with a starship?"
As per usual, quality content mate.
Can't wait for your Undiscovered Country review.
...nothing pickles me gherkin more than hearing Klingons abuse Shakespeare! "Cry havok, & let slip the dogs war!" Mark Anthony may have spake! Never once did he entertain Ghak! Bet he'd entertain Cleopatra after some Romulan Ale though!!!
Love these, can't wait for part 7. Undiscovered Country is my personal favourite.
Solidly done, I enjoy most everything you've been doing, this series has been awesome though. Well done.
“Uhura I thought you were dead” got me not gonna lie
These are great! I just discovered your channel last night and have watched over 9 hours of content. Keep it up and I can't wait for your next retrospective video.
A detail I love about these videos is how you end on a cliffhanger about where the franchise is going next, combined with that AWESOME musical cue kicking in that you use. It works so well and gives me goosebumps! It's got that vibe of an underdog about to make an amazing comeback from seeming defeat... Great work. :D
Regarding the visual effects, I particularly liked the approach to the great barrier as seen in the background through the windows during the scenes in the forward observation room when Sybok has caught up with the trio. That appeared to happen in real time as the conversations progressed. Nice little touch.
William Shatner going from directing a few TJ Hooker episodes to a full length movie, what could go wrong...
Nothing he had control over
Not his fault.
He had good ideas, but his hands were tied from day one.
I'm not a fan of this film, but to be fair, the actual direction wasn't a problem. The biggest problem of the film is the story and the script. Shatner actually directed twice as much television than Nimoy, before directing this feature.
@@joblo7But Shatner also wrote the script.
Mr Coleman. Excellent balanced approach on this one. The analysis of visual effects including underlying technology choices and their resulting impact on production value was especially compelling. Your retrospectives provide thorough insights into movie industry mechanics, thematic evolution, and overall project development via the ST franchise. Thanks
This is my wife's favourite Trek movie. It certainly has probably the best interaction between the three leads and this is also the only one where all three are together for the entire film.
I think people are too harsh on Final Frontier. For one, I like Cybok and Spocks paradigm. One embraces his emotions and feels so much yet doesnt have any true friends unlike Spock who although represses his emotions has friends he has faith in and will not abandon. Second it has my favorite Kirk quote. "I need my pain. My pain makes me who I am." Just great insight there to the human condition.
When I was a kid back when this movie came out I believe I was going from 4th to 5th grade and I absolutely love this movie! It was the first ever Star Trek movie that made mom had dropped me off to see by myself. I used to have the collector Kraft marshmallow dispenser. At that same time I wanted to get into rock climbing I always thought it was very cool to see Captain Kirk climbing El Capitan. I wonder how many professional rock climbers saw this and inspired them to go rock climbing. At the same time this movie came out I was also big into the other movies such as Indiana Jones Ghostbusters 2 and ultimately Batman. But this one especially with the Fantastic Jerry Goldsmith score will always have a special place in my heart. Wouldn't it be awesome to see The Shat return from the Nexus! I can't wait to see the movie with him in Christopher Lloyd. Keep up the great work Rowan!
Oh wow, that concept shuttle is really cool! Too bad it never made it onto the screen
Another enjoyable review! 🖖
Apart from criticism keeping the standard high, I'm just grateful that there is a Star Trek. Life without that particular concept would have been pretty dull.
Thanks guys.
I saw this in Japan, and had to wait 6-months after it was released in America. So I had already heard the negative press on the film and went to the theater with lowered expectations. I remember liking the idea of having ground troops to storm the facility to rescue the "hostages", but the crappy special effects killed a lot of the fun of that. And I did notice that the Great Barrier was a concept from TOS, so it disappointed me that this wasn't mentioned in the film.
On the whole, it is OK. I still have the VHS copy I later bought in Japan, just for the Japanese cover.
This movie was not good, but the Kirk-Spock-McCoy relationship really shined through.
I've never completely understood the hate for this. I think it continues many of the themes of Wrath of Khan. The idea that wishing it so cannot change the march of time and experience, or erase the sins of the past. Two of my favourite lines too. "I need my pain!" And "What does God...want...with a starship?" I personally found Cybok a great character. He is a misguided visionary who makes the ultimate sacrifice when he realises the ruin his hubris had wrought. The film is also very funny. Lastly, it's genius to me that this horrific pseudo-god is defeated by Cybok forcing it to share it's pain , and we get these inhuman howls. So cool. It does look cheap and a bit hokey in parts, and the we're all friends now ending is a bit silly, but still -all in all my second favourite after Wrath of Khan.
I'm having a blast watching these retrospective videos then going and watching the movies... not sure what I'm going to do when i have to go back into the office.....
I’ve watched all of these in the series now. You’ve done a fantastic job and I’ve had a blast watching them.
I love the editing in these videos and how concise they are. Keep up the great work bud.
I always thought that the "god" was one of the many omnipotent beings in the galaxy imprisoned on a planet inside a barrier that would prevent rescue.
That "uhura i thought you were dead" hasnt aged so well. Certainly went from laughing to suddenly just feeling a bit ill and sad
Always a pleasure to hear RJC take on things.
I remember the fake "Letters to the Editor" from the old National Lampoon. One of my favorites was from "William Shatner," commenting on this film, asking the reader if they knew how hard it was to overact and over-direct at the same time?
Somehow i remember this exact film most "fondly" when i think of the old star trek movies... i dont know why, maybe i saw it first at a specific moment? I really dont know but i just rewatched it recently, its not as bad as many seem to make it out to be (i only heard recently that its apparently a bad movie) ... but i might be bias'd because im no "hardcore" Trekky and im not invested in the franchise in any way, i just enjoy sci fi and.. i enjoyed the movie. Altho i noticed the lower VFX quality and i never knew why.... now i know :D
It's definitely the worst of the 6 it wasn't that bad in most respects. It had an okay premise and good moments between the cast specifically the camping scenes.
There were bad aspects to it. Spock having a "secret" brother and just by coincidence being sent to confront him.
The "only ship in the quadrant" thing again.
Generally, though, it is only less good by comparison with STII, STIV & STVI. On its own merits, it's a decent film. Not bad for a rookie director
@@Neil070 I like to think of STV as an above average B movie. Very watchable and makes for a nice diversion on a rainy day.
Again you've touched on one of my rants, even Bill Shatner can't see the past the "Star Trek" cliché. As the original cast was aging, all I wanted was a simple story to see the old gang back together again one last time. My idea was a Retirement Party for Admiral Kirk at the famous Risa resort planet. Kick-back, relax and have some fun with the cast as we share the good, the bad and the funny moments. One last chance to say goodbye with a smile, a song and cake with waay too many lit candles on it, LOL! 😊
I am going through all of your Star Trek episodes and telling everyone how true they are to my belief I wish more people would open up their mind and their eyes wake up wake up
THE MUSIC FROM JERRY GOLDSMITH WAS THE BEST PART OF THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Imagine Insurrection and Nemesis without the Goldsmith soundtracks
@@k1productions87 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent! Really well done! Thank you!
Great film with lots of nods to TOS: cold open, character moments and philosophical storyline.
C'mon part six. Gonna stop my whole day for that one! 😂🤞🏾
I always had a lot of sympathy for this film. It was never going to be great, but it could have been better than it ended up.
Unfortunately, trying to live up to the best (TWOK) and the most profitable (St4) is a pretty tall order.
I’m a huge William Shatner admirer, but most will agree he has a huge ego. Nothing wrong with a ego (it’s almost impossible to enjoy the success he has had without a huge ego!) but in this case I think it definitely hurt his goals for the movie. Not to mention all the budget and writer problem that were out of his control.
This is a really great series, well done.
David Warner is one of those guys you only have to see one performance to love in my opinion.
In the end, a movie is there to entertain. And I was entertained
Personally I really like this film. I don't look on it in the same way as the other Star Trek films, but to me this is a 'buddy' movie. It explores the later stage relationship between the Kirk-Spock-McCoy friendship dynamic. Kirk's prophetic 'I've always known I'll die alone' and just the overall feeling of moving from crewmates to friendships akin to family was touching and done well. There are some rough edges to it played for comedy value sure, but it hold a warm place for me. I see the God planet story as a secondary plot that gives them a reason to carry the buddy story along, and deepen the exploration of most of the TOS characters.
14:31 So it’s not really sci-fi, but it would be neat to see you tackle a James Bond retrospective some day. There’s a lot of great material to talk about with those movies and the production involved. Granted, it would be a huge undertaking. But if you ever decide it’s worth doing, I’d certainly be down to watch!
David Loughery (the scriptwriter) suggested the fan dance as a joke, thinking no one would take it seriously. Luckinbill and Goldsmith are the best choices Shatner made, but having both alien planets be desert worlds was one of his worst. Paramount also insisted on retaining the level of humor from 'The Voyage Home'. I don't believe this film's idea could ever have worked (it had been done several times in TOS), but Shatner had a catalogue of bad luck as well.
I went to see this with my brother, who wasn't a Trek fan by any stretch, and i remember him saying when we got home that an episode of TNG would have been better. This was in TNG's second season, too!
What I remember most about this film was Hermann Zimmerman`s redesign of the Enterprise`s bridge & Bob Peak`s beautiful poster . Didn`t hate it as I realize the original vision was compromised by production problems but I`m in no hurry to re-watch it either.
I loved the movie when it came out. They were finally going on a new mission since "The Wrath of Khan".
I loved the campfire scene in this movie.
Luckinbill was absolutely superb in this. As good as any other performance put in for Star Trek.
Rowan you did such a good job and managed to say more positives than I expected. A good watch. Looking forward to the next one. I bet there is alot to say about 6
Oh indeed there is :)
These retrospectives are great videos.
Little surprised Billy Graham was lumped in with Jim and Tammy Faye.... Billy was a public (tent) evangelist who was televised later at stadium revivals. J&T were straight to TV on a stage. I suggest BG be edited out, and put the many televangelists edited in.
A really solid analysis. I think there's blame to go around for how the film turned out but at the same time, I think the general concept was solid, if poorly executed.
First trek movie i saw at the cinema, I love it
Personally, this is one of my favorite Star Trek films. My only real complaint was the inconsistent characterization of Sybok. But ultimately, the film's thesis accurately exposes some of cultural attributes of my home town---with a perspective which resonates with my own.
The version we got is better than Shatner's original version.
I'll take #Blasphemy for $1000, Alex!
I disagree. Apart from McCoy and Spock leaving Kirk, the original version sounds really cool and interesting. I'd love to see what it would have looked like.
#restoretheshatneruniverse
The summer of 89, best year for movies
Ahh my guilty pleasure trek film
Nice to get a perspective other than 'shatner messed it up'. Final Frontier sits in the middle of the pack for me ahead of TMP and Voyage Home (trekking around san francisco looking for a whale in the 80s didnt itch my trek scratch).
I thought the reason Sean Connery didn't do Star Trek V was because he was busy with Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones was a much bigger paycheck I guess
This was never shown at my towns main cinema, instead they sent it to an old theatre on the edge of town as a double feature with "Licence to Kill". It was no great surprise when I later learnt that neither movie was considered a success.
You mention the movie's home video sales. I feel if it wasn't for being part of a popular series of movies, and this one would complete the set (of movies), this one wouldn't have sold as well as it did, had it been just another stand alone movie.
You are accurate with your assessment.
I don´t care, this is still my all time favorite Star Trek movie and the only one in Cinema that actually feels like a Star Trek story. Love the inclusion of the original bridge noises and all these little details. Finally the bridge also feels like a Star Trek Enterprise place, the characters actually feel like the real original Trek characters from the 60s and the whole God ideia is great. Too bad about the "poor" ending when it comes to production values but in my view this is still the best Trek movie. I think Shatner was the only director that really got the original feel totally right. And that "Why that God needs a starship" is one of those phrases that to this days still pops in my mind all the time. I love this movie. Great bluray edition too.
I also love Star Trek the Movie and the ones I really don´t care much about are The Wrath of Khan and the Search for Spock. The Voyage Home was great too. Other than that after V , I didn´t like any of the subsequent movies and dont even remember much about them. But V is one of those that I keep revisiting and I think Shatner actually has a distinct directorial style that made the movie stand apart.
I have to say this one felt the closest to a TOS episode to me. The bond between the trio, the voyage into the unknown and match up against a god feels very much like who mourns for adonais
@@smallishfilms8362 My toughts, exactly. :)
Yeah it felt cheaply made and filmed. Just like the TOS episodes.
Agreed, I thought this one was great. It returned to some philosophical debates the original series was known for and created character depth with Sybok exploring their pain. So many fundamentals in new Trek series are lost, younger fans just don't know.
Totally agree with you. It’s my favourite Star Trek film
The moments between McCoy, Kirk and Spock, camping, escaping, visions into their past. I love about this film. This film gets too much hate, where ST:Darkness gets away with not enough.
These are great, Rowan - thanks. In the current lockdown, rediscovering my Trek! I'd still watch TFF over any of the Abrams' nonsense, Insurrection, Generations or Nemesis. The FX are dirt cheap, with most of the ships looking like Airfix models from the 70s and the Klingons are an annoyance. But still, some interesting themes and the focus on the main trio and their relationships, is what makes this special.
I think the scene where Scotty is leading them through the bowels of the ship and then knocks his head at the end is one of the best scenes in the series. The way Scotty is explaining things and then the totally unexpected injury. It just works so well.
That scene was in the trailer which I got to see at the movie theater. The audience roared!
I like the start of the movie with the row row row your boat. It might be corny, but it shows another side of the crew down at the campfire.
"...gently down the street."
I really love hearing about Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
This was my favorite of the films which many people disagree...I loved the search for God which turns out to be an alien...
It always boils down to the story and writing. If they are good to excellent, then you are more than half way to a great movie.
It is only logical.
It came out on my older brother’s 14th birthday. I was only 9 years old but I had a few dollars on me so I paid for our movie tickets and bought us some popcorn several days after it came out (he was obsessed with getting his drivers permit right away so Star Trek had to wait). I had called our older cousin who was 16 at the time to see if he wanted to drive us to the movie and go to it with us and he said no, he didn’t see the point of going to the movies to see Star Trek when it was on tv every week. He was better off staying home instead of going to the movie with us.
My younger brother's 8th birthday was 11 days after the movie came out (I was 10).