Star Trek V: Mostly Awful Movie, Excellent Soundtrack

[Vger23]

Agreed. It always makes me roll my eyes when yet another unoriginal post pops up "STAR TRAK V IZ TEH SUX!!! Haha!!SHATNER IZ BAD DERICTOR!!"

Ok...whatever dude. Go watch Voyager or something.

You are right, they are almost as original as the "TOS is the ROXXORS and everything else is TEH FAIL" posts. Almost.

I've noticed a considerable tendency on your part to take pot shots at TOS on almost every available opportunity. In fact, if an opportunity doesn't exist, you generally find a way to work one in. Acting, story structure, characters and (most recently) production design all come immediately to mind as areas you will enthusiastically rip.

So, I find your defensive and unwarranted reply to my post, which was actually on topic (and trying to have a little fun) unlike yours, to be rather ironic. If you get an inferiority complex of some sort because you are insecure about the silly, unresolvable "TOS vs modern Trek" conflict, and you express that by being sensitive and needing to constantly rip on TOS, please let that be your issue, but please don't try to make it mine. I typically try to ignore your unnecessary comments when you make them. Perhaps if I say something that sets you off, you could afford me a similar courtesy.

Much obliged.

 

[Vger23]

I actually think "The Mountain, "The Barrier," and "A Busy Man" are three of my favorite pieces from any Trek movie...right up there with "Sneak Attack" from TWOK and the Klingon themes from Goldmith and Horner.

 

[Leto_II]

It certainly has several of the finest Big Three moments in the entire franchise, TV show or otherwise. Spock's, "I finally know who I am now after all these years"-scene absolutely nails that character's journey through 79 episodes and (then-) five feature films more strongly than possibly anything before or since.

Whatever other flaws the film might possess, the screenwriters definitely knew how to meaningfully service Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

 

[eyeresist]

Last night I was about 1/4 awake, and trying to figure out how to improve TFF. I think I was trying to work out how to use part of the wormhole sequence from TMP to explain the journey to Shakaree....

Anyway, I have the soundtrack around somewhere, but it's never made much of an impact upon me.

 

[FormerLurker]

"The Mountain", which is the opening credit theme, is, for me, the first installment of a Jerry Goldsmith paradigm. The creation of a piece of music that may, or may not have anything thematically to do with the rest of the score or film, that comes to define the best parts of the film, at least for me. There is such a theme near the end of "Small Soldiers" that falls in this category, as do the opening credit themes Jerry Goldsmith did for the TNG franchise. Epic, sweeping music that can almost carry the listener away, to a place where all things seem possible. I just wish these pieces were longer.

 

[Kruezerman]

It was fairly criticized, it was a mess. But for me it's a guilty pleasure. Though, if they cancelled this and just saved the money and put it all in for TUC, I'd be a happy camper!

 

[Isolinear]

Star Trek V is the most TOS-like of all the TOS movies. I love it for that. After Sybok captures the ship the movie falls apart though.

 

[Franklin]

Thematically, the movie touched on some interesting things, but it was all over place in quality and storytelling. Sloppy. Really could've stood some tightening up.

Goldsmith's soundtrack is solid, though. My only disappointment was it borrowed the TMP theme as its own opening theme. That seemed to add to the feeling that the movie was done on the cheap.

 

[FormerLurker]

Does it borrow the TMP theme directly, though? As with the subsequent TNG films, there comes along a theme meant specifically for TFF, called "The Mountain". This theme is used over Kirk's ascent of El Capitan, yes, but what else is going on in that sequence? The opening credits. Therefore, "The Mountain" is the credit theme. Goldsmith's overarching "Star Trek" theme was an accompaniment to it.

 

[Leto_II]

Also, at that point in time, with TNG already having finished its high-profile first season, and with Goldsmith signed as composer for the then-upcoming fifth movie, it was probably a total no-brainer for Paramount to have a bit of his TMP fanfare tying things together at the very beginning of the film.

 

[Karzak]

It's not a direct "borrow," no. It's a noticeably different arrangement of the TMP theme. "The Mountain" is clearly the name on the album for it, and the second part showing Kirk climbing - wait for it- the mountain, but who knows if that was even what Jerry called it? When he wrote the score, it was probably something along the lines of M1T1 or some such and only got merged/tracked/combined and named later when the soundtrack was released.

 

[eyeresist]

Thematically, the movie touched on some interesting things, but it was all over place in quality and storytelling. Sloppy. Really could've stood some tightening up.

Goldsmith's soundtrack is solid, though. My only disappointment was it borrowed the TMP theme as its own opening theme. That seemed to add to the feeling that the movie was done on the cheap.

I watched TFF again the other night.
When the theme kicks in over the titles, it is a bit cheesy, but it's also upbeat and engaging, and makes one think "Alright, it's Star Trek!"

The real problem with the actual movie is the constant jokeyness. Virtually every scene is filled with ironic remarks and double-takes (mostly Shatner, but Nimoy is also an offender). Look at Spock meeting Sybok on Nimbus III - it should be a dramatic moment, but is undercut by cutting to Shatner et al., all with comedy "WTF" expressions. Cutting out as many jokes as possible, except for the camping scenes, would be a great improvement.

 

[Amaris]

I love ST:V. It is wonderfully camp, a bonbon box of great character moments and ridiculous surprises. It's wonderful for the Big Three relationship. It is adorable and hilarious. It is nearly my favorite.

Yes, this exactly.

 

[mos6507]

His scores got very samey, and he only really stood out with the major themes and cues. You could drop the scores from U.S. Marshals and Air Force One into Star Trek: Insurrection and I doubt there would be much difference.

More specifically, he got sucked into using a lot of new-agey synth pads tones in the late 80s and never completely escaped them before he died. Sometimes it suits the picture and sometimes it just comes across like TNG style wallpaper.

 

[eyeresist]

Goldsmith was always interested in incorporating new sounds - see Planet of the Apes and the V'Ger noise he used in TMP. He was using synths at least from his 1981 score for Outland. I admit he did seem to put these sounds rather high in the mix.

 

[FormerLurker]

Goldsmith may have been attempting to "change it up" as his career progressed. His earliest scores, up through the mid '80s or so, relied heavily on the brass section, much the way that John Williams was wont to do during the same period. While other composers, James Horner being the most prominent from Star Trek during that period, relied more on strings, Goldsmith may have wanted to rely less on the brass but not go the same direction as others, thus experimenting with new sounds, and different instruments, like the Blaster Beam for V'Ger.

 

[johnjm22]

I like Star Trek V. I don't love it, but I enjoy it. I prefer it over any TNG or Abramsverse film.

It was in the era before Trek was being forced into an action movie.

I like Kirk's "I need my pain" speech. And who can forget the classic campfire scene. I just love watching Nimoy, Shatner and Kelley on screen together. Every moment of it I saver.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I rewatched STV a couple of days ago to see if my opinion would change, as it had been years since I'd sat all the way through it. No. I had to force myself to finish it. It starts off bad and goes steadily downhill from there. This film is awful.

It does have a few positives, just nothing that can come close to carrying the whole film. For example, some of the costumes and shipboard sets were great, and I agree that Goldsmith's "The Mountain" is really nice. Damn shame.

 

[The Toddler]

Speaking of costumes, does anyone know why Captain Kirk's turtleneck has a gap in the front when wearing his away mission outfit? Did Shatner think it was too constricting and make an exception for himself because he was the director?

 

[FormerLurker]

More likely because the director was catering to his first lead's proclivities. Or his Adam's apple, one or the other.