Review Detail
9.0 16 10
(Updated: September 15, 2012)
Enjoyment
9.0
Review by DwightFry78 — April 18, 2011 @ 5:13 am
Ah, Star Trek V. The one nobody seems to like. However, for all that’s wrong with this movie, it has a more than intriguing premise and a lot of interesting ideas within that have made me have a soft spot for it, warts and all. And so does BionicBob, who in this newer entry of his TOS-ized Trek film series removes a lot of contrivance and stupidity, and about all of the really offensive material of the theatrical cut, to deliver an excellent edit that’s one of his best and makes up for the slight disappointment that was his version of IV, which I still liked a lot, just not as much as the previous three. Interestingly, I tend to like the odd-numbered entries in the Bionic Trek saga better than the even-numbered ones, unlike what most Trekkers seem to feel about the official cuts.
Gone is the Uhura/Scotty romance, gone is the dance of Uhura’s body double, gone is the belching Klingon, gone is Scotty hitting his head, gone are the worst FX shots, and gone are all the inconsistences that could be removed without the aid of deleted scenes. I expected that Sybok would no longer be Spock’s brother in this version, but he still is. Not the worst of problems with STV, anyway. The overall result? Pretty solid Trek that streamlines the best The Final Frontier had to offer.
This time around the excellent Jerry Goldsmith music is kept, and for good reason as it’s by far one of the best Trek scores. We also get a different TV-style intro than the one in the previous edits, which is somewhat controversial apparently, but I personally love it. A celebration of the Enterprise that’s a comeback to the classic TOS intro, plus the amazing Goldsmith theme. What’s not to like?
On the downside, Bob left in some silly and overly comedic bits, with lines like “I ought to knock you on your ass” and moments like Spock nerve-pinching a horse, while I would have preferred the feel to go further towards the serious, as I think the material in question demands that (but hell, I’m the guy whose favorite ST film is the deadly serious TMP and would like a similar treatment being applied to this one, so most people will no doubt disagree). Also, Bob added a tiny flash-forward near the beginning and reprised it near the end. I understand why he has done it and have nothing but respect for his decision, but I think both sequences (particularly the first) worked better without it. It’s a bit too obvious, and a bit of overkill. On the other hand, I loved the “Kirk’s pain” sequence. One of the best TOS montages by Bob.
Technical stuff… let me joyfully shout it: IT’S 16:9 ANAMORPHIC! :D And no interlacing either! Finally! This is how all of Bob’s edits deserve to look like. Other people have pointed out technical problems, but I haven’t noticed much other than some slight blocking in one shot, and maybe the music being a bit too loud during the characters’ walk through the Sha-Ka-Ree desert. The audio level problems in IV bothered me much more. Yet keep in mind I have watched the edit on a computer, so in a proper Home Cinema system there may be more noticeable flaws.
Overall? I’ll just say: someone send the Shat a copy of this edit! Let him see how good his maligned movie can actually be. I think he… would… love… it. 9/10
Looking forward to VI.
Ah, Star Trek V. The one nobody seems to like. However, for all that’s wrong with this movie, it has a more than intriguing premise and a lot of interesting ideas within that have made me have a soft spot for it, warts and all. And so does BionicBob, who in this newer entry of his TOS-ized Trek film series removes a lot of contrivance and stupidity, and about all of the really offensive material of the theatrical cut, to deliver an excellent edit that’s one of his best and makes up for the slight disappointment that was his version of IV, which I still liked a lot, just not as much as the previous three. Interestingly, I tend to like the odd-numbered entries in the Bionic Trek saga better than the even-numbered ones, unlike what most Trekkers seem to feel about the official cuts.
Gone is the Uhura/Scotty romance, gone is the dance of Uhura’s body double, gone is the belching Klingon, gone is Scotty hitting his head, gone are the worst FX shots, and gone are all the inconsistences that could be removed without the aid of deleted scenes. I expected that Sybok would no longer be Spock’s brother in this version, but he still is. Not the worst of problems with STV, anyway. The overall result? Pretty solid Trek that streamlines the best The Final Frontier had to offer.
This time around the excellent Jerry Goldsmith music is kept, and for good reason as it’s by far one of the best Trek scores. We also get a different TV-style intro than the one in the previous edits, which is somewhat controversial apparently, but I personally love it. A celebration of the Enterprise that’s a comeback to the classic TOS intro, plus the amazing Goldsmith theme. What’s not to like?
On the downside, Bob left in some silly and overly comedic bits, with lines like “I ought to knock you on your ass” and moments like Spock nerve-pinching a horse, while I would have preferred the feel to go further towards the serious, as I think the material in question demands that (but hell, I’m the guy whose favorite ST film is the deadly serious TMP and would like a similar treatment being applied to this one, so most people will no doubt disagree). Also, Bob added a tiny flash-forward near the beginning and reprised it near the end. I understand why he has done it and have nothing but respect for his decision, but I think both sequences (particularly the first) worked better without it. It’s a bit too obvious, and a bit of overkill. On the other hand, I loved the “Kirk’s pain” sequence. One of the best TOS montages by Bob.
Technical stuff… let me joyfully shout it: IT’S 16:9 ANAMORPHIC! :D And no interlacing either! Finally! This is how all of Bob’s edits deserve to look like. Other people have pointed out technical problems, but I haven’t noticed much other than some slight blocking in one shot, and maybe the music being a bit too loud during the characters’ walk through the Sha-Ka-Ree desert. The audio level problems in IV bothered me much more. Yet keep in mind I have watched the edit on a computer, so in a proper Home Cinema system there may be more noticeable flaws.
Overall? I’ll just say: someone send the Shat a copy of this edit! Let him see how good his maligned movie can actually be. I think he… would… love… it. 9/10
Looking forward to VI.
D