Directed By: William Shatner
Directing – 7
Shatner did a decent job directing this film. I think this might have so far been one of the better paced earlier Star Trek films. I think visually it was nice, it did have a sense of being set within the Star Trek universe. There is some strange choices that were made, also a few side characters could have done better acting wise. Overall, I don’t think Shatner did a terrible job.
Cinematography – 8
I think the film at times was visually nice, I do think at times it could have been a little better, but at times it did a nice job.
Score – 9
The score was done well, I don’t too many issues that I can recall.
Story – 6
The story follows Kirk, Spock and the enterprise crew as they cross paths with a mysterious Vulcan named Sybok who is searching for knowledge by God at the center of the universe. I think the story was actually not bad. I think the story structure was okay, it does go from scenes where Kirk, Spock and Bones camping to them deciding to lead a Voyage to another planet. I think some of the dialogue can be a little campy, some choices are also a bit odd. For example, we see a cat lady dancing and the bar tender just smashes her tail on purpose. I also didn’t like the side plot involving a squadron of Klingons, like they were really in the film to cause trouble, but they didn’t need to be within the film like they felt a little unnecessary to the overall story. However, I thought the story involving The Enterprise crew and Sybok was interesting and pretty investing. Actually the scenes involving Kirk, Spock and/or Bones I felt were the most investing. Even in the beginning we kind of just stay with them for a bit and honestly I would have been cool if it was a film about them together trapped on a planet together. I thought the story was fine, it was actually pretty investing at times. The main themes the film explores are Pain and Family and I think they did a decent job with that.
Acting – 8
The acting was fine, a ton of the cast play their characters nicely. I will say there are a few side characters that could have been better.
Post-Production – 7
Post-Production was fine. The Klingon subplot I didn’t need really. Also, some of effects seem very noticeable and dated. I did think post did a fine job.
Entertainment – 8
I think that I actually found the film quite entertaining. I didn’t mind the film. Looking at the critic’s scores I’m actually genuinely surprised this actually felt like a better paced film compared to the others, and it had a decent story. It does have some odd choices, but I think overall it was a solid film.
Final Rating
7.6/10 – Pretty solid film.
