Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - The Great Experiment Workprint

This is a tricky review to write. FanFixes are my favorite, and what this does for Star Trek V is nearly everything I didn't know I wanted. It's leaner, stronger; somewhere between a TOS episode and a TOS movie, with a dash of TNG. It rings true to Kirk, the vital and passionate James T. of the late '60s, not the relaxed cameo of Generations. BB succeeded in cutting something that came from the mind of Shatner.

Yet another fanedit of the highest quality from BionicBob. I took off one star because if the VFX were all professionally redone as a polished movie, it would be damn near perfect, however no longer a workprint --but who the hell cares?

A really great improvement over a quite bad movie to start with. Most if not all the cheesy moments have been stripped away without affecting the narrative and some plot holes have been carefully addressed with all the means available (from the ST franchine and even from other movies in a very consistent way). Also, the poor VFX have been replaced with a varity of fan-made scenes. Those significantly vary in quality, but they have been quite well integrated (especially for audio).

Video and audio editing are top notch. Just as minor comments, I found the new title cards a little bit too intrusive (too big/mordern/sharp) and the new VFX scenes could have been integrated better with some additional color gradding/noise/soft effect to make them less artificial.

As for audio, I just noticed a minor jump in the soundtrack at 1:32:37, when Spock gets up from the chair.

Greatly recommended and, for now, my favourite version of the movie!

First off, let me state that while I own this movie (I own all the Star Trek films), this particular one left such a bad taste in my mouth, I don't think I've watched it in more than 20 years. Therefore, I went in with VERY low expectations. And I remember this film in its entirety, so in spite of many years of not watching, I know it very well.

First, let me state that BionicBob has done a FABULOUS job in tonal shift, making this a more serious, grounded story all-around. The worst elements have been excised it works far better than what we saw in the official release. Also, an added flashback connects this film to the prior ones, making it feel like a logical progression. Good job!

Many of the shortcomings that remain exist in the film itself. There are several moments where the direction is obvious and unnatural... "We're going to pan from left to right and each of you will in turn say your version of Eden..." or "You're going to walk into shot, then out of shot, then back into shot as McCoy hovers over his dying father...." These are just a couple of the MANY obvious ham-fisted directorial decisions that keep this film from feeling "real" or in any way believable. In spite of this, BionicBob has done the best with what exists.

As to the new effects, most work, although some feel a bit like dated CGI. Overall, these improve the story, but I think someone who is well-skilled with color/lighting effects in an editor could tweak these to make them blend a bit better.

I definitely recommend this to all Star Trek fans, even if you downright despise the theatrical cut of this film.

First i've seen of a star trek edit, was not even aware of this movies production issues till looking into this edit. I enjoyed watching your version. Some of the cgi scenes are good and some are a bit jarring. That rock monster at the end had me cracking up, i guess that was the original intention, but i never knew about that till now. Grew up on the original and will probably keep watching the original, i like the character budling scenes that were cut, they never did bother me. But over all a cool experience.

The restoration of the original rock monsters concept was genius. However, while the new effects are impressive, they stand out against the older footage and could benefit from tweaks for better integration. Adjustments like color correction, grain, and added fuzziness could go a long way in achieving a seamless blend.

The title design doesn't quite match the film's aesthetic. The typeface Horizon isn't used in the original series films, the Next Generation series, or the Next Generation films - we don't see it again till the 2009 reboot. Using Galaxy with Microgramma Pro Bold Extended would fit much better, along with a more minimalistic approach to the main title. But I digress; my designer snobbiness is showing.

Overall, this is a FANTASTIC edit that will become my go-to for Final Frontier rewatches.