Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier (4½ Stars)

Of all the Star Trek films starring the original cast, this is the one I like the most. It's ironic that it was the least successful film at the box office, and also the film with the lowest rating from the critics. It's possible that I'm biased because the film's topic and its philosophical background appeal to me.

There's a planet in the Neutral Zone, Nimbus 3, which has been designated a planet of peace, where members of the three rival empires can live together side by side. To facilitate this, weapons have been banned on the planet. That's the theory, at least. The descendants of the original settlers have degenerated into savages. Since they aren't allowed to import weapons from other planets they've developed their own primitive weapons which resemble the old guns from the 15th Century. They aren't as efficient as phasers, but they can still kill. Official representatives from the Federation, the Klingons and the Romulans sit in sleazy bars drinking alcohol to pass the time.

A Vulcan renegade called Sybok, who happens to be Spock's never previously mentioned half-brother, kidnaps the representatives to attract a starship. The Enterprise is the ship sent to Nimbus 3. Sybok takes over the ship by using a subtle form of brainwashing. His intention is to fly to the centre of the galaxy to a legendary place called Shakari where it's said that God lives.

I think I'm allowed to use spoilers with a film that's almost 30 years old. When Sybok, Kirk, Spock and McCoy finally meet the supreme being in Shakari they're initially in awe, until they realise he's not omnipotent. He claims to be the God behind countless religions on Earth and other planets, but he's trapped in Shakari and needs a starship to escape. When Kirk refuses to give him the Enterprise he gets angry and attacks Kirk.

This is proof to the four travellers that the being on Shakari is a fake God.

I'm not so convinced.

Read the story of Moses in the Old Testament. Is that an omnipotent God? Is that a God who never loses his temper?

The God of Moses was carried by Israelites in a vessel commonly called the Tabernacle or the Ark of the Covenant. Why did an omnipotent God need to be carried? If you reply that he didn't need to be carried, he just wanted to, my question is how was it possible to carry God?

God became angry when the Israelites prayed to the Golden Calf. He wanted to destroy them and create a new race descended from Moses alone. He changed His mind after Moses pleaded with Him. Can God change his mind? There are numerous theological excuses for this, but that's all they are: excuses.

Maybe this being really was God the Creator, but the question is whether Kirk as a representative of mankind should want Him to return. If God is trapped on a planet in a remote part of the galaxy, why not leave Him there? We can get by without Him. Nietzsche said that God is dead, but maybe He's only trapped. This gives mankind the responsibility of deciding whether or not to free Him. Atheists don't have a choice. Anyone who doesn't believe in God, whether it's through ignorance or a conscious choice, has rejected the responsibility. It's a difficult and monumentally important choice for those who believe in God to decide whether they want to invite Him back to rule over mankind.

There's a small piece of trivia I'd like to share with you about the film. It ends with Kirk, Spock and McCoy on shore leave, sitting around a camp fire in Yosemite National Park. This wasn't just the last scene of the film, it was the last day of shooting. After the wrap the three actors remained around the fire eating and drinking until late into the night, reminiscing about the times they'd spent together making the television series 20 years previously. They were more than actors, they were friends, and they remained friends for the rest of their lives.

DeForest Kelly (Leonard McCoy) passed away on June 11th 1999.

Leonard Nimoy (Spock) passed away on February 27th 2015.

William Shatner (Jim Kirk) is still alive today, aged 87 and in good health. "Star Trek 5" prophecies that he would outlive his friends. In the opening scene he says that he knows he will die alone.

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