Fans Vindicate Star Trek V with New Effects

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, or as comedian Jeff Ross called it, Star Trek V: The Death of a Franchise, was ladened with problems, not the least of which would be the amateurish, less-than-B-movie optical effects. Even Star Trek fans like myself tend to disown the entry in the series. However, as loving as we are when it comes to our favorite series, some fans take it upon themselves to correct some of these idiosyncrosise rather than just sweep them under the rug.So what exactly was wrong with Star Trek V? Well, for starters, William Shatner directed it. Secondly, the film failed to live up to its ambitious plot. While it was fun for audiences to see the crew of the Enterprise back together and the story was similar in spirit to the original television series, the film was ultimately difficult to watch. The visual effects were inferior to those of the original television series of the 60's.

Despite its flaws, fans enjoyed the interaction of the characters, the sense of family, and even enjoyed a fairly compelling villain with Laurence Luckinbill's portrayal of Sybok. However, the strong points of the film didn't prevent it from suffering a bad run at the box office, resulting in the lowest gross of any film in the franchise. For this reason, some fans took it upon themselves to create their own visual effects for the movie, and re-edit it to their own liking.

Unfortunately, the problem of the low production value just won't go away. Movie critic Roger Ebert said in his review, "visuals managed to inspire awe ever so briefly before dissolving into an anticlimactic special effects show with a touch of The Wizard of Oz thrown in for good measure."

Many fans consider Star Trek to be like pizza; even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. That being said, some movie goers found things to enjoy with the film. Star Trek fan Mark McAuely writes, "I've a real soft spot for this film." Check out the enhanced version of the movie with new CG effects added in place of the original footage.

Give Star Trek V another viewing via the links above. While it may not necessarily salvage the film, it does bring you one step closer to the glory days of the franchise.