Seeing Star Trek V, summer of 89..

[srombomb]

I was ten years old, and my parents at the time were going through just a dreadful divorce. I equated my mother to that of that chick from catspaw- aka a major pain in the ass for my dad.

That being said, I remember the hot summer day my father took me to see Trek V. I remember having a major headache that day, and just felt down about the divorce impending with my rents. So when we got to the theater my eyes instantly lit up seeing all the Star Trek V gear the theater was selling in Middletown, NY. They had movie posters, T-shirts, hats, toys. I've never seen anything like it for a Star Trek movie.

Anyway when the lights dimmed my problems went away for the next hour and change. I remember walking out of the theater, and both my dad and I thought it was "pretty good". It was one of those movies that grew on us more years down the line. The best line of the film that could be used on anyone really was " I couldn't help but notice your pain!". So for as much bashing as this movie gets, it had its moments.

I think had it been released in the fall it would have grossed about 30 million more. There is no way batman, lethal weapon 2, Indiana Jones, Karate Kid, Ghostbusters 2 didn't not hurt Trek at the box office. That summer was just insane in terms of competition.

does anyone else remember seeing it when it came out in 89?

 

[ToddKent]

I think had it been released in the fall it would have grossed about 30 million more. There is no way batman, lethal weapon 2, Indiana Jones, Karate Kid, Ghostbusters 2 didn't not hurt Trek at the box office. That summer was just insane in terms of competition.

does anyone else remember seeing it when it came out in 89?

I remember that summer. As you mentioned: Batman, Ghostbusters 2, the Last Crusade and Star Trek V all came out that summer and it was probably the most summer movies I had gone to see in one year as a child.

 

[Grant]

Yes if the new trek 2009 movie had come out this fall instead of this summer with Wolverine, Davinci sequel, Terminator 4, Transformers 2 Museum 2----it would have been a hit.

 

[Penhall99]

I was ten years old, and my parents at the time were going through just a dreadful divorce. I equated my mother to that of that chick from catspaw- aka a major pain in the ass for my dad.

That being said, I remember the hot summer day my father took me to see Trek V. I remember having a major headache that day, and just felt down about the divorce impending with my rents. So when we got to the theater my eyes instantly lit up seeing all the Star Trek V gear the theater was selling in Middletown, NY. They had movie posters, T-shirts, hats, toys. I've never seen anything like it for a Star Trek movie.

Anyway when the lights dimmed my problems went away for the next hour and change. I remember walking out of the theater, and both my dad and I thought it was "pretty good". It was one of those movies that grew on us more years down the line. The best line of the film that could be used on anyone really was " I couldn't help but notice your pain!". So for as much bashing as this movie gets, it had its moments.

I think had it been released in the fall it would have grossed about 30 million more. There is no way batman, lethal weapon 2, Indiana Jones, Karate Kid, Ghostbusters 2 didn't not hurt Trek at the box office. That summer was just insane in terms of competition.

does anyone else remember seeing it when it came out in 89?

I would have loved to have seen in in theaters, but being only 8 years old at the time, no adults took me! I did end up seeing Batman and Ghostbusters 2, though.

But yeah, I think if TFF had been released at a different time, it would have done better. But even with the enormous competition and mixed reviews, 52 million bucks is still pretty damned good.

I remember seeing it when it first came to video, though. I watched it with my parents and I loved it.

I remember reading Starlog Magazine and stuff around that time, and having no idea why so many people didnt like it as much as I did.

 

[Amaris]

Yes if the new trek 2009 movie had come out this fall instead of this summer with Wolverine, Davinci sequel, Terminator 4, Transformers 2 Museum 2----it would have been a hit.

"Would have"? It is a hit, and it keeps making excellent bank as each week passes, and is holding up far better in multiple viewings than any other movie this summer.


J.

 

[Kirk1980]

J, he was insulting Star Trek V, implying it wasn't just the combination of summer blockbusters that did it in but rather that it sucked. At least that's what I'm getting from that.

Except both Ghostbusters, Indy and Batman were all HIGHLY anticipated and LONG waited for movies part of the most successful movie franchises of all time.

Are we really going to compare Night at the Museum 2 and the second DaVinci Code movie to an Indy film, a Batman film and a Ghostbusters film?

 

[Trek Survivor]

Never saw it in the cinema (for my birthday that summer I saw Ghostbusters 2 instead and loved it!), but really enjoyed Trek V when I saw it on video a while later. It's still one of my favourite Trek films. Kirk, Spock and McCoy have never seemed so 'real'. I truly brought into their friendship.

 

[Brandonv]

I was only 5 years old at the time, but I can still remember seeing it. It was the first Trek movie I saw in theaters.

 

[Saxman1]

I saw ST V first-run in the theatre (I was 29) and loved it. Still do. Great character moments in the film. DUCKS!

 

[Brady]

.

 

[Brady]

I watched V just the other night and I found Cybog (sp?) to be a rather interesting villain. I understand a lot of criticism of this movie stems from its being an uber-spiritual journey along with the impracticality of reaching or crossing the galactic barrier, but I enjoyed it. I guess it's just a fact that I like them all and would no matter how terrible they are. The build-up to the battle with the young klingon captain that never materialized was a disappointment but, eh, Kirk vs. klingons? I guess it had been done.

 

[Good]

I was a junior in high school and it was my first Trek movie as a real fan. In the years between IV and V I had gone from casual fan to full-blown, Starfleet-member, starship drawing, novel-reading, model-building trekkie.

Needless to say, there was a high degree of anticipation.

I saw it with two trekkie friends. We were giddy as the lights went down, but it didn't take long for things to go downhill.

I think we first knew something was wrong when Spock did a mid-air 180 with the jet boots. It got worse, and when the infamous turboshaft scene came up, we were ready to leave. We were furious with Shatner. Half of the Pocket novels would have made a better movie. WE could have made a better movie.

It's sad because I really want to like TFF. The interaction between the "big three" is perfection. But too much of the movie is carelessly designed, weakly written, and poorly filmed. The secondary characters are treated as window dressing at best and are horribly out of character at worst.

I think the only thing that saved my trekkiness is that it was around this time that TNG really started to get good.

 

[DangerBoy]

I was one of 3 people in the theater, plus my mom. She promptly fell asleep during the first hour.

I enjoyed it though.

 

[QuasarVM]

I was ten years old, and my parents at the time were going through just a dreadful divorce. I equated my mother to that of that chick from catspaw- aka a major pain in the ass for my dad.

That being said, I remember the hot summer day my father took me to see Trek V. I remember having a major headache that day, and just felt down about the divorce impending with my rents. So when we got to the theater my eyes instantly lit up seeing all the Star Trek V gear the theater was selling in Middletown, NY. They had movie posters, T-shirts, hats, toys. I've never seen anything like it for a Star Trek movie.

Anyway when the lights dimmed my problems went away for the next hour and change. I remember walking out of the theater, and both my dad and I thought it was "pretty good". It was one of those movies that grew on us more years down the line. The best line of the film that could be used on anyone really was " I couldn't help but notice your pain!". So for as much bashing as this movie gets, it had its moments.

I think had it been released in the fall it would have grossed about 30 million more. There is no way batman, lethal weapon 2, Indiana Jones, Karate Kid, Ghostbusters 2 didn't not hurt Trek at the box office. That summer was just insane in terms of competition.

does anyone else remember seeing it when it came out in 89?

Yes, it was on a Saturday afternoon. My best friend had seen it on opening day and HATED it. For some reason -- I don't remember why now -- we broke with tradition and didn't see the film together on opening night (I probably had to work and I worked a night shift at the time). Anyway, our tastes with regard to Trek were pretty much identical, so I went into it not expecting much. While I didn't HATE it, I did not like it and was shocked at how bad the FX were -- and how empty the theater was. I was shocked at how different in quality it was compared to Star Trek IV.

I also did not like the blatant attempts at humor...humor that fell flat.

That summer I saw Ghostbusters 2, The Last Crusade and Batman.

IMO, Batman was the best summer film of '89.

 

[General_Phoenix]

I saw Trek V in the Theater in 1989, I was 13 years old. I don't remember my initial impressions of the movie, but my parents who were (and still are) Trekkies didn't like it very much. I watch the DVD every so often and don't mind it so much, it has its faults, but I dig it.

One reason why I probably don't remember my initial reactions to Star Trek V is because once I saw Batman in 1989 that was it. I had already been a long time comic book reader up to that point, so that movie defines the 1989 summer for me the most.

I do recall building a NCC-1701-A model that year though, not a very good one, but I remember it hanging from my ceiling for years after.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

I was home from my first year at Rutgers. I drove to the movie theatre at the Cumberland Mall and was there for the first matine showing.

I hated it. Utterly hated it.

 

[BriGuy]

I was ten years old, and my parents at the time were going through just a dreadful divorce. I equated my mother to that of that chick from catspaw- aka a major pain in the ass for my dad.

That being said, I remember the hot summer day my father took me to see Trek V. I remember having a major headache that day, and just felt down about the divorce impending with my rents. So when we got to the theater my eyes instantly lit up seeing all the Star Trek V gear the theater was selling in Middletown, NY. They had movie posters, T-shirts, hats, toys. I've never seen anything like it for a Star Trek movie.

Anyway when the lights dimmed my problems went away for the next hour and change. I remember walking out of the theater, and both my dad and I thought it was "pretty good". It was one of those movies that grew on us more years down the line. The best line of the film that could be used on anyone really was " I couldn't help but notice your pain!". So for as much bashing as this movie gets, it had its moments.

I think had it been released in the fall it would have grossed about 30 million more. There is no way batman, lethal weapon 2, Indiana Jones, Karate Kid, Ghostbusters 2 didn't not hurt Trek at the box office. That summer was just insane in terms of competition.

does anyone else remember seeing it when it came out in 89?

Yup. I remember. I was 17 or 18.

It was a tremendous disappointment, especially when compared to the movie it followed.

After TVH having been such a mainstream success, there was no excuse for the budget cutting and cheap moves that cursed this movie.

I've often wondered if after the unplanned II-III-IV trilogy, they simply didn't know what to do or where to go with the story.

I don't want to blame Shatner. But this movie just felt off. Trek nearly imploded and could have vanished for good with this movie.

I find more to like about it now, and I do own it on DVD, but at the time, man, what a let-down.

I was also disappointed by Ghostbusters 2, being a big Ghostbusters fan. But again, I find more to like about the movie now than I did then.

 

[trevanian]

Yeah, I saw it in the theater, and it was my favorite theatrical experience of any trek movie ... or at the very least a tie with the second time I saw TWOK. I saw TFF four or five times in the theater, and even though it was hard to look past some fx, I loved the character stuff and the score and the cinematography. Feels like an episode of TOS.

20 years later, still like and rewatch often. I like TWOK and TMP and TFF, sorta like TUC, dislike the Nimoy films (haven't gotten through TVH in over a decade, though I've tried a few times.)

 

[Penhall99]

Trek nearly imploded and could have vanished for good with this movie.

I guess I just don't understand this mindset. Star Trek's 1-4 were huge financial successes. The first movie was not as well received, but it made money. And 2-4 did great critically and financially. And then they do one movie that doesn't make as much money as the first four, and has mixed reviews, and BOOM...it's over! Trek is done!

 

[Broccoli]

Trek nearly imploded and could have vanished for good with this movie.

I guess I just don't understand this mindset. Star Trek's 1-4 were huge financial successes. The first movie was not as well received, but it made money. And 2-4 did great critically and financially. And then they do one movie that doesn't make as much money as the first four, and has mixed reviews, and BOOM...it's over! Trek is done!

Not to mention that TNG was on the air and prepping it's 3rd season at the time.