Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 4K UHD [Blu-ray] [Region A & B & C]

Love Star Trek great movie

Excellent 4K picture on this edition. A great textural feel and a fine grain too. Best viewed with nostalgic glasses on to help smooth over the weaker plot.

Star Trek Movies, the originals at least, have come to represent some of the more classic entries in movie sci-fi from the 80s and 90s, and have a respectful following amongst non Star Trek fans and a reputation for more down to earth, human stories than say that of Star Wars and other more fantasy driven outings of the genre. There is a commonly held belief however, that the odd numbered Trek movies are weak, with TFF being the weakest. I cannot agree, with either of these assumptions. Whereas The Motion Picture and The Voyage Home are 'alien threat to earth' and Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country essentially revenge films, and The Search For Spock essentially a vehicle (albeit a very good vehicle) to bring back Spock, Star Trek 5 at least stands alone in it's concept, which does something far more original and risky than any of the other movies. Sure, there are some bizarre misfires in the narrative (the less said about Uhura's fan dance and the cat lady the better) but at least this movie tries to do something different with the franchise. The themes of a misguided antagonist rather than a pantomime enemy, of exploring new locations in the galaxy and finding (potentially) God are not only new and refreshing, they are far more 'Star Trek' than any of the other 5 movies in the original series. So too is the relationship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy, which is handled here with far more integrity than in previous (or future) films. It is really this friendship that is the heart of Star Trek 5, and whilst the ending is rushed and cheap looking, the Klingon presence is never really that menacing and the special effects are not always so special, the trinity of Kirk, Spock and Bones remains at the heart of the film, driving the plot and resolving the film's themes in ways that are at times genuinely funny and heart-warming. William Shatner, as director, is often unjustly targeted by some critics for the failures of the film, both in it's look and occasionally flimsy plotting. However, anyone who knows anything about the production history will realise that it was probably more to do with the writers' strikes and Paramount's famously tight purse strings than anything Shatner did that resulted in a film that failed to capture the imagination and box office returns that previous outings had. That said, Shatner's direction is assured and confident, as you might expect from a man who knows the subject material and characters inside and out. His location filming is often actually rather beautiful, and offers far more epic a scope than most of the other outings (with the exception of the Motion Picture perhaps). Lighting and cinematography are also similarly effective and despite criticisms of various plot points, its actually also rather refreshing to find out new things about the key characters. The revelation of Spock's half-brother and Bone's euthanising his father are genuinely unexpected turns, offering the audience new information on characters that had remained unchanged for some 20+years. Laurence Luckinbill's Sybok is also a revelation, and an honest performance of a sympathetic antagonist makes a wonderful contrast to the overtly theatrical ham of Montalban's Khan or Plummer's General Chang. Star Trek The Final Frontier's basic plot of a renegade Vulcan, driven by passion and blind faith, receiving messages from an intelligence at the centre of the galaxy, who turns out to be an evil alien on a prison planet hell bent on stealing a starship to escape is actually really very good and again, far more 'Star Trek' than it has a right to be. However, a rushed production (again Paramount's fault) to quickly cash in on The Voyage Home's massive success, without the money or time required to resolve the film's conclusion - let alone visual effects (which to this day remain incomplete), result in a flawed film which is however brimming with heart and integrity. It is a pity that with so many wonderful looing fan edits out there, that Paramount have not seen fit to commission a Director's cut, which would at least allow Mr Shatner the opportunity to present us with a film far more aligned to his original vision. It is time for fans and non-fans alike to re-appraise Star trek 5, as it has a lot more to offer than you might remember, including heart-warming performances from the crew, a fun and more energised Kirk than we are used to seeing, some genuinely funny and iconic lines and a fabulous score by the original Trek movie composer Jerry Goldsmith. Star Trek 5 is not the dud that many claim, but an important, different and far better entry in the series than many give it credit for.

Not the most loved trek film, but needed for the collection. Only loses a mark for a lack of dolby atmos, but still has a 7.1soindtrack.The dolby vision picture is a revelation. I'd recommend this for the picture and the sound. Some hate the film, some fined it a guilty pleasure. I'm in the latter. Get it.

The picture here is outstanding, no major DNR use, vivid colours, natural (and pleasant to look at, rather then the painted in line makeup botch job of the old DNR Blu ray) skin tones.The sound is brilliant at just above reference volume and perfect for a AV receiver extension to 9.1 and beyondBut!I won’t review the film, apart from the un-clear fact that it’s fun (with a deserved reputation). Any Star Trek fan would have a grand time during any scene with Shatner, Kelley and Nimoy - the camp fire scenes alone, are worth a purchase.

The 4K ULTRA HD Blu Ray disc version of this film has greatly improved sound and picture quality over the standard Blu Ray disc version when played through a 4K ULTRA HD Blu Ray player and a 4K ULTRA HD TV with HDR (High Dynamic Range).

Not the pick of the old star trek cast,but watchable

Not that the film looked dated but the upscale has given the effects a nice crisp fresh look and really improved the experience. A great story and really happy they finally released this.