Nerds That Geek Movie Review - 'Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

'What is it you seek?'
'What you seek.  What all men have sought since time began. The ultimate knowledge.'
- J'onn and Sybok

We all have something that we believe in. A cause, an ideal and often times religion. Regardless of which one you are a part of, there are constant themes, a deity, creation and the edict to be good to one another. Even those who do not believe in a higher power or religion have positive ideals that they hold to and these foundational thoughts and beliefs play a major role in our lives.  

Yet as is always the case, there are those who take their beliefs to the extreme. They will warp and distort the message of peace to fill whatever need suits them best. It is a theme that has caused great debate and even war among our species and oddly enough, found its way into science fiction by way of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. 

The planet of galactic peace, Nimbus III is in turmoil. An unknown terrorist force has seized the only world that has representatives from the three major powers in the galaxy. With such a dire event in front of the Federation, the newly re-commissioned U.S.S. Enterprise is dispatched to rescue the hostages but the man responsible for this act has bigger plans in mind. He intends to seize the Enterprise and take her to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, where he believes the creator of all life is waiting.

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This is a tough film to write about. So, before we get into the meat and potatoes of The Final Frontier let's take a moment to talk about something we rarely discuss at Nerds That Geek, the soundtrack. Jerry Goldsmith, may he rest in peace, is the man behind the music in this particular film, and while he has scored many a Trek adventure, this is one of his finest. It is haunting, majestic, and thought provoking. In fact, there are several times where the score simply draws you into the emotions of the cast and quite frankly, it is the highlight of the film. But for me to have to say that, means one thing, there are a lot of problems with Star Trek V.  

In reality, there are too many issues to discuss in one sitting. Plot holes abound, decisions that don't make sense, the list goes on and on. To give us all perspective, it makes no sense that the Federation would agree to a world where people do whatever they want, with crime and poverty running rampant without having a larger presence there. Not to mention, it strikes me as strange that out of the entire Federation fleet, they would send a barely functional Enterprise into such a tense situation. In fact, the Admiral early on even states that no one has the experience that Kirk has in situations like this. I found that shocking. All those captains in Starfleet and none of them were capable of handling this, only Jim Kirk? What will happen in situations similar to this after he decides to retire? You see where I'm going with this.  

The Final Frontier isn't a terrible film, just heavily flawed and its biggest error is trying to mix religion and science fiction. Let's be honest, the two are oil and water when dealt with directly. There requires subtext to make the two work together in this genre but the idea of God and His existence are front and center in this film, and quite frankly, it doesn't work. This element makes Sybok useless in a sense for his demise in the climax of the film is hollow at best and nullifies the whole point of his ability to help others see their pain. If anything, this movie gets props for trying to address something so prolific, but the message falls short making it nothing more than a forgettable journey, and that's unfortunate. 

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