Star Trek Retrospective: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

While closed plot lines are satisfying for viewers, it does leave creators in a tough spot. With everything from the previous film resolved you have to create a brand new conflict for very familiar characters, oh and by the way, the cast ain't getting any younger. For the final three voyages of the original Enterprise crew, the creators went in three distinctly different directions with varying results. Star Trek Beyond continues today!

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

In one of the strangest movies in the series, the Enterprise crew faces a unique threat when an alien life form arrives at Earth threatening to evaporate the oceans and eliminates the planet's atmosphere. Unfortunately the earth's one hope remains with humpback whales which are sadly extinct in the Enterprise's timeline. Now in order to save the planet, the Kirk and company make a desperate move to go back in time and acquire some whales to save the planet.

As silly as this plot is, it's amazing how well this movie works. Directed by Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, the film primarily functions as a fish out of water comedy with the crew each attempting to carry out their individual missions without raising suspicion. More so than many of the other films, this movie truly feels like a team effort with each crew member getting a moment to shine. 

There's also plenty of great gags such as Chekov's troubling accent, considering the active Cold War at the time this movie was filmed, Spock's wardrobe to hide his ears and strange behavior, along with a host of other misunderstandings and oddities.

It's an odd direction to take the series, but behind a clever script and a game cast this movie is breezy, amusing, and entertaining.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

In one of the darker turns for the series, the Enterprise crew is faced with a new enemy, Sybok, Spock's long lost brother, who is holding a number of humans and aliens hostage. However, Sybok's true zealotous purpose could be far more dangerous than a simple military confrontation.

This is a movie that could've been great if not for the mid-way reveal, which I'm going to kinda spoil for fair warning. Basically instead of some sort of galactic takeover or a direct challenge to Starfleek authority, Sybok is obsessed with finding an entity he believes to be God. Of course it turns out to be a fraud and former enemies have to work together to defeat it, but it feels like a lazy retreat of themes the series already stumbled with in the first film.

There are some decent action scenes and a couple of nice reflections on the nature of humanity but considering the setup I was hoping for more moral dilemmas or a more satisfying conclusion.

Like the original film this one is only necessary for completionists. 

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The final film for the original crew comes at an usual time for Starfleek: peace talks. After years of fighting an environmental disaster has forced talks between the Klingons and the Federation. However, when a political assassination takes place and Kirk is framed from the crime it's up the Enterprise crew to find the real threat and take it out before a chance at lasting peace is destroyed.

I'm a bit torn about this movie because while it's a decent genre for an older cast, a conspiracy thriller, there's a number of great character moments, and the film functions as a proper send off, the plot itself felt a little bit too easy to figure out. I won't spoil the surprise for those unfamiliar but the basic rule of thumb here is if you've got a traitor you can't use the main cast because you'll enrage fans which makes all new faces suspect.

Still there's plenty to like. The gravity less assassination attempt is admirable. Kirk and Bones in jail is fairly amusing, and I know George Taikei loves seeing Sulu in the captain's chair. It certainly feels slight compared to the likes of Kahn but this is still a solid movie for fans and the cast.