The Star Trek franchise has existed since 1966. It started with a humble television series that proved extremely popular over the decades. The original show’s syndication success led to the first feature film based on it, which was released in 1979.
Since then, the franchise has been rebooted and later expanded on television with multiple spin-offs. However, for years, the William Shatner-directed Star Trek V remained arguably the worst film entry, which nearly ended the expansive franchise decades ago.
After almost 26 years, Shatner’s film can finally have some reprieve as the Michelle Yeoh-led Section 31 movie has broken its record because of its poor reviews. Many fans will agree that it has now taken over the fifth installment as the worst Star Trek movie, and here’s why.
Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek: Section 31 broke a nearly 26-year-old franchise record
William Shatner is best known for playing the role of Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise. The actor later also directed the fifth installment in the original motion picture series based on the 1966 TV series.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was released in 1989 and emerged as a critical and commercial disaster. The film received generally mixed to negative reviews and grossed roughly $70 million, becoming one of the lowest-grossing entries in the franchise (via The Numbers).
For almost a quarter of a century, the film remained the lowest-rated entry on Rotten Tomatoes, with a current tomato meter score of 23%. However, its poor score was finally beaten by Star Trek: Section 31, released earlier this year, which holds a measly score of 20% on the website.
The film starring Michelle Yeoh in the lead role was the first Star Trek movie to be released since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. However, even the Academy Award-winning actress’s performance could not save the film as it was panned by critics and fans alike, dethroning Star Trek V as the franchise’s worst entry.
William Shatner knew Star Trek V was doomed from the very start
Despite his popularity as Captain Kirk, Shatner is also widely remembered for directing one of the worst movies in the franchise. During an interview, Shatner opened up about directing Star Trek V, which sees the crew of the USS Enterprise searching for God.
Shatner revealed that franchise creator Gene Roddenberry suggested having the crew search for God instead of Satan, as Shatner had originally envisioned. As a result, Shatner had to compromise on the plot point, a decision he later regretted dearly.
I had a choice. I could accept the compromise or refuse to direct the movie. I made a mistake; I accepted the compromise, which doomed the picture from the beginning.
Shatner made the above statement (via ComicBook.com), admitting that the compromise was the reason the film was doomed from the start.
Furthermore, Shatner has also cited budgetary constraints as one of the reasons for the film’s failure. The movie has one of the worst-looking climaxes in the franchise, and Shatner admitted to running out of money before filming the climax (via Entertainment Weekly). Hence, it is safe to say Star Trek V could not be saved.
The Star Trek movies and shows are streaming on Paramount+.
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