Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Parent Guide

When the U.S.S. Enterprise is called off to negotiate a hostage rescue, without completing her refit, the last thing the crew expects is a hijacking. Unfortunately, they find that Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) orchestrated the kidnapping. His rationale for the deed? To lure the Enterprise away from space dock so he could steal it and fly it past the impenetrable Great Barrier to the centre of the galaxy- a place he believes he can find God himself. Kirk (William Shatner), McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and Spock will have to resist the temptations Sybok offers in order to stop him and save the ship.

To be honest, this is my least favorite Star Trek movie. The writing is inconsistent, in terms of established canon and specific characters, and the plot is far more complex than the simplistic approach allows. Perhaps the worst offender is the unconvincing romance between Scottie and Uhura, which is awkwardly written and appears in no other Star Trek media.

A lot of production choices also seem driven by what director, screenwriter, and star William Shatner felt like doing, rather than what would benefit the story. The wrestling match with the scantily-clad cat/girl/alien bar dancer is the obvious example, but the addition of neon strip lighting throughout the Enterprise doesn’t help. Have you ever wanted to see what the Enterprise would like like as a bowling alley in a strip mall? Look no further, for here is your answer. It looks awful.

The film is less suitable for children as well as being mostly unpleasant for adults. It’s more violent and has more profanity than most other films in the series, especially coming on the heels of The Voyage Home, which had almost no violence. The plot is also a bit much for younger audiences, managing to be both philosophically and theologically underwhelming, and poorly paced to boot. On top of these problems, the film will likely offend evangelical Christian viewers who will not be amused by its portrayal of God (or a deity-like being).

There really isn’t a compelling reason to watch this one. I happen to have seen it three times, and frankly, I’d just as soon drop that number to zero. The first two times were part of Star Trek marathons with friends, and I don’t think anyone else really wanted to see it either. It’s not worth the two hours of boredom to say you’ve watched them all. Just skip it and move on to my favorite in the franchise, The Undiscovered Country.