Star Trek V – The Final Frontier (1989)
39%RT Audience Score: 24%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 4 nominations
Filled with dull action sequences and an underdeveloped storyline, this fifth Trek movie is probably the worst of the series
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is like a bad first date that you can’t wait to end. It’s slow, unfunny, and unexciting, like a party where everyone is just standing around awkwardly. The special effects look like they were done on a shoestring budget, and the plot is all over the place. It’s like the filmmakers had no idea what fans wanted to see and just threw everything at the wall to see what stuck. The only redeeming quality is the intimate scenes of male bonding between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, which are delightful. But overall, this movie is a definite skip.
Production Company(ies)
Apple Corps Aimimage Productions, Diamond Docs
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Yosemite National Park, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1989
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 46m
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Language(s):English, Klingon
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 9, 1989 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 12, 2009
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
Keyword(s)
starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, directed by William Shatner, produced by Harve Bennett, written by William Shatner, Harve Bennett, David Loughery, David Loughery, sci-fi, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ryan Murphy, Gene Siskel, Kevin Thomas, Variety Staff, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Caryn James, directed by William Shatner, PG, Paramount Pictures, Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, Scope (2.35:1), Star Trek
Worldwide gross: $52,210,049
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $127,223,985
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 906
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 13,873,935
US/Canada gross: $52,210,049
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $127,223,985
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 600
US/Canada opening weekend: $17,375,648
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $42,340,492
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 285
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $27,800,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $67,742,261
Production budget ranking: 620
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $36,479,208
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $23,002,516
ROI to date (est.): 22%
ROI ranking: 1,286
Leonard Nimoy – Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley – Commander Leonard H. McCoy, M.D.
James Doohan – Captain Montgomery Scott
Walter Koenig – Commander Pavel Andreievich Chekov
Nichelle Nichols – Commander Nyota Uhura
Director(s)
William Shatner
Writer(s)
William Shatner, Harve Bennett, David Loughery, David Loughery
Producer(s)
Harve Bennett
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (38)
While intimate scenes of male bonding among Kirk, Spock and “Bones” McCoy are particularly delightful, the film’s overall themes — God creation, friendships as family — are never tied together or amply explained.
August 17, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Ryan Murphy
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
The film is neither much of a character story nor an action adventure.
August 23, 2017 | Rating: 1.5/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It has high adventure, nifty special effects and much good humor, but it also has a wonderful resonance to it.
September 7, 2016
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
William Shatner’s inauspicious feature directing debut is a double letdown.
May 19, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
[The] special effects, despite the hefty budget, look strictly bargain basement.
May 19, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Captain Kirk and his crew go where too many film makers have too often gone before.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2/5
Caryn James
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Not the strongest franchise entry, the film features impressive location work in areas within driving reach of Yosemite, including tufa formations known as the Trona Pinnacles at the dry Searles Lake stepping in as a planet called Shakari.
August 10, 2021
Robin Holabird
Robin Holabird
It’s slow, unfunny, unexciting, and somewhat unfamiliar, as if created by people who aren’t fans of the show and who have no idea what fans wish to see.
September 8, 2020 | Rating: 1/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Without question the most pedestrian of all the Trek movies, The Final Frontier is a watchable yet frustratingly wrong-footed, forgettable effort.
May 31, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/5
Shaun Munro
Flickering Myth
The real tragedy of Trek V is that there are faint glimmers throughout, poking through the wreckage, of the deeper meaning the filmmakers were striving for.
April 8, 2019 | Rating: C
Zaki Hasan
Zaki’s Corner
The absolute nadir of the series, a movie so bad in so many ways that the second-worst has to squint and use binoculars to see that far down.
May 24, 2013 | Rating: 2/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
Worst in series; some tricky religious content.
December 15, 2010 | Rating: 2/5
Charles Cassady
Common Sense Media…
Plot
When the newly-christened starship Enterprise’s shakedown cruise goes poorly, Captain Kirk and crew put her into Spacedock for repairs. But an urgent mission interrupts their Earth-bound shore leave. A renegade Vulcan named Sybok has taken three ambassadors hostage on Nimbus III, the Planet of Galactic Peace. This event also attracts the attention of a Klingon captain who wants to make a name for himself and sets out to pursue the Enterprise. Sybok’s ragtag army captures the Enterprise and takes her on a journey to the center of the galaxy in search of the Supreme Being.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny comment about the film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier on Fresh Kernels.
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