Yes, "What does god need with a Starship?" is a real line that came from this absurd mess of a film. I understand the theme of Star Trek has always been to boldly go where no man has gone before, but 'The Final Frontier' attempts to take the franchise in places it has no business going.
William Shatner took the reins of directing after Leonard Nimoy helmed two enjoyable entries in the series in 'Search for Spock' and 'The Voyage Home'. While it's not entirely Shatner's fault that there were heavy production issues with a writers strike and the CGI becoming far too expensive, his direction doesn't do anything to enhance what was already on the page. Apparently according to the producers, this film nearly killed the entire franchise with poor effects, a rehashed and ridiculous plot, and a largely inconsistent tone.
This time around, the crew of the enterprise were on leave and enjoying life when they are asked to investigate a hostage situation on Nimbus III. Of course, the hostages just happened to be held by Spock's half-brother, Sybok. Framing Spock as the key to getting through to his brother would have been a nice way for him to finally regain his existence and memory as the Enterprise's second in command, but it never really plays out that way.
Sybok manipulates anyone in his path to discover the god in the center of the galaxy and forces the Enterprise crew to take him there. As if the film didn't already struggle to grab my attention, the scenes with 'god' are almost unbearable. The very idea that a Star Trek film would center its plot around a villain taking over the Enterprise with his goons in order to get what he wants has been done so many times before, but throw God in the mix as well? Come on.
Luckily, the bond between Spock, Kirk, and Bones is still present to get you through some rough dialogue, as is Jerry Goldsmith's classic score, but 'The Final Frontier' ends up making you wish they would never make another Trek film again. Fortunately, they do get better, but I can't help but sit here in wonderment thinking about just how much the reach of this film far outweighs its grasp. Yikes.
+Goldsmith's score
+Bond between characters is always there
-Lazy script
-Absurd villain
-God?
4.4/10
William Shatner took the reins of directing after Leonard Nimoy helmed two enjoyable entries in the series in 'Search for Spock' and 'The Voyage Home'. While it's not entirely Shatner's fault that there were heavy production issues with a writers strike and the CGI becoming far too expensive, his direction doesn't do anything to enhance what was already on the page. Apparently according to the producers, this film nearly killed the entire franchise with poor effects, a rehashed and ridiculous plot, and a largely inconsistent tone.
This time around, the crew of the enterprise were on leave and enjoying life when they are asked to investigate a hostage situation on Nimbus III. Of course, the hostages just happened to be held by Spock's half-brother, Sybok. Framing Spock as the key to getting through to his brother would have been a nice way for him to finally regain his existence and memory as the Enterprise's second in command, but it never really plays out that way.
Sybok manipulates anyone in his path to discover the god in the center of the galaxy and forces the Enterprise crew to take him there. As if the film didn't already struggle to grab my attention, the scenes with 'god' are almost unbearable. The very idea that a Star Trek film would center its plot around a villain taking over the Enterprise with his goons in order to get what he wants has been done so many times before, but throw God in the mix as well? Come on.
Luckily, the bond between Spock, Kirk, and Bones is still present to get you through some rough dialogue, as is Jerry Goldsmith's classic score, but 'The Final Frontier' ends up making you wish they would never make another Trek film again. Fortunately, they do get better, but I can't help but sit here in wonderment thinking about just how much the reach of this film far outweighs its grasp. Yikes.
+Goldsmith's score
+Bond between characters is always there
-Lazy script
-Absurd villain
-God?
4.4/10