Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Film and Plot Synopsis

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier begins with Captain Kirk on vacation. However, it’s cut short after a renegade Vulcan hijacks the Enterprise to find a mythical planet. Kirk and his crew sets out to stop this madman in an adventure that takes them to the center of the universe and, perhaps, before the face of God. With the crew under Vulcan control, the captain must rely on an unlikely alliance to save the galaxy. Meanwhile, a Klingon captain wants to make a name for himself, and sets out to pursue the Enterprise and Kirk himself.

‘Star Trek V: The Final Frontier’ Movie Summary

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier begins immediately after the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The crew of the Enterprise are on Earth enjoying shore leave while Captain Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (James Doohan) makes repairs on the ship that was not ready for its shakedown cruise. Commanders Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) have found themselves lost in the woods. Commander Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) has decided to spend her time trying to seduce the workaholic Scotty on board the Enterprise. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard McCoy (Deforest Kelley) have spent their time camping and rock climbing in Yosemite National Park. However, the crew is called back to active duty when an incident arises on Nimbus III, the planet of galactic peace. And although the Enterprise is not fully ready for a mission, Kirk and his crew are ordered to respond.

On Nimbus III, a mysterious Vulcan by the name of Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) has taken representatives from the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans hostage and requested that each faction send a ship to Nimbus III to negotiate. The Federation sends the Enterprise. Klingon Captain Klaa (Todd Bryant) takes it upon himself to respond to the call so that he can pursue personal honor and glory by taking on Kirk.

Once at Nimbus III, the Enterprise mounts a rescue operations that is hampered by the fact that the Enterprise’s transporters are not working. Kirk and Spock’s plan is successful, and Kirk is able to reach the three hostages. But everything goes south when it is revealed that the hostages have joined Sybok in his plan. Things are made even worse when it is discovered that Sybok is Spock’s half-brother, which divides Spock’s loyalties. With Kirk and his crew as hostages, Sybok is able to get himself and his loyal followers aboard the Enterprise. Once there, Sybok uses his ability to reveal and heal the innermost pain of a person to brainwash them into supporting his cause. With most of the crew joining Sybok, Kirk, McCoy, Spock, and Scotty must find a way to retake the ship.

Sybok reveals that he wishes to use the Enterprise to take everyone to the mythical planet Sha Ka Ree, the place long rumored to be where all life began. According to Sybok, Sha Ka Ree is in the center of the galaxy beyond the Galactic Barrier, a wall of energy that no ship has ever returned from. Scotty breaks Kirk, McCoy, and Spock out of the brig, and the trio set out to send a distress call to Starfleet. They get their message out, but it is intercepted by Klaa who follows them to the Galactic Barrier.

The Enterprise successfully breaches the barrier and discovers a lone planet. Sybok, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy take a shuttlecraft to the surface so that they can explore the planet. Once there, they find a makeshift temple, and Sybok calls out for his creator. Suddenly, an entity appears in the form of a large human face, implying that he is God. He is pleased that they have successfully made the journey, but seems too fixated on the ship that brought them. When Kirk and Spock inquire to the God as to why God needs a starship, the entity attacks them. Realizing that the entity is not God, Kirk has the Enterprise launch photon torpedoes at the entity in an attempt to destroy it. Before the torpedoes detonate, Sybok tries to distract the entity by healing its pain.

The torpedoes kill Sybok, but not the entity. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy retreat to their shuttle, but when it fails to work, Kirk has Spock and McCoy beamed aboard by the Enterprise’s now working transporter. Unfortunately, Klaa arrives and attacks the Enterprise just at the instant, preventing Scotty from beaming Kirk on board. Spock seeks the assistance from the Klingon diplomat in his plan to save Kirk, by using Klaa’s Bird of Prey warship.

On the planet, Kirk tries to outrun the entity which is attempting to retaliate against the captain. When Kirk finds himself cornered on a hillside, the Bird of Prey appears and destroys the entity before beaming Kirk aboard. Once on board, Kirk discovers that Klaa is no longer in command of his ship, and that Spock was the one who saved him.
The film ends with the combined Starfleet and Klingon crews celebrating together while Spock laments the loss of his half-brother. Shortly thereafter, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy resume their camping trip at Yosemite as Spock finally learns to sing “Row, Row Your Boat”.

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Additional Film Information

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