Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

This is the fifth in a series of Trek Tuesday posts counting down to the next Star Trek movie set to be released this May.  Be sure to check out Shannon, the Movie Moxie, for her posts (she started the countdown) and feel free to jump in and play along or leave some comments.

Like my last Trek Tuesday post, this one is also a bit late in coming.  Not for any particularly good reason, though I did just spend an hour reading some more of The Watchmen, getting ready for its release this weekend.

I’m so surprised that I couldn’t remember the main plot of this movie.  I was fairly certain I had seen it at some point in the past, but when I tried to recall it, the only scene that I could conjure into my imagination was Kirk mountain climbing, which is hardly pivotal to the plot.  However, as I began watching, the memories of the plot started flooding back to me.

I have to say, I enjoyed this movie much more than I expected to.  I think it’s one of the Star Trek movies that often gets overlooked.  Part of the familiarity that I felt from watching it may have been from the fact that it was filmed at the same time as Star Trek: The Next Generation.  The plot was more action-oriented and had a more 1980’s vibe to it all. 

The movie does its best to remind us of the sea-faring exploration roots that are at the heart of the Star Trek universe.  We are also reminded that exploration is all about pushing past boundaries to try to find out what is beyond everything that we already know.  It’s stretched beyond physical exploration to the exploration of our minds, psychological boundaries of pain and fear.  Using our minds to create psychological peace and also to create the reality around us.

Cool Science/Tech:

  • Rocket boots

Fun Facts:

  • Cameo by producer Harve Bennet
  • I think that the character of J’onn looked A LOT like the movie portrayal of Voldemort.  But, that’s just my opinion.
  • The atmosphere of Nimbus III reminded me of the feel that Joss Whedon created in Serenity/Firefly.

Ok, so 2 of the 3 fun facts are really just my own opinion/thoughts, but they fit better here than in the discussion of the larger film.

1 comment:

Shannon the Movie Moxie said...

I enjoyed this one much more than I expected as well!

You are so right that it is a lot more about the exploration of the mind - I think that might be one reasons why people didn't connect to it as much.

It's wild to think that it was done at the same time as Star Trek: The Next Generation!