William Shatner’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is great comfort food. Regularly referred to as one of, if not the worst Star Trek movies, director William Shatner’s Star Trek V was a noble effort that suffered from numerous issues. Shatner set out to follow the back-to-back successes of Leonard Nimoy’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and the blockbuster Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home by taking over the director’s chair to tell the cosmic tale of the USS Enterprise meeting God. But what Star Trek V actually delivered was a flawed but endearing character study of three eternal friends and the Vulcan heretic who tested that friendship which I find eminently rewatchable and endlessly enjoyable.

The problems of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier have been well-documented over the last 35 years. William Shatner’s vision of Captain James T. Kirk and his loyal Starship Enterprise crew meeting God was never a premise that could satisfy, especially after the compromise to make “God” (George Murdock) an alien posing as the Almighty. Star Trek V’s low budget meant many of Shatner’s grand concepts couldn’t be realized, and the unavailability of Industrial Light and Magic resulted in substandard visual effects. William Shatner also admitted his inexperience as a feature film director hindered Star Trek V. No, Star Trek V is not the grand adventure it was conceived as, but what Shatner did pull off is a charming romp that pleasingly focuses on the three most beloved characters of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Kirk, Spock & McCoy’s Chemistry Carries Star Trek V

Star Trek V is the last Star Trek movie to center on the Big Three

At its core, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is about the unbreakable friendship between Captain James T. Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Deforest Kelley). Star Trek V is the last time the big three were the focus of a Star Trek movie. McCoy was the odd man out when Kirk and Spock spent most of the adventure in 1986 San Francisco together in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Kirk and Bones were imprisoned by Klingons, with Spock aboard the USS Enterprise working to rescue his friends. But in Star Trek V, William Shatner knowingly examines the bond between the Enterprise trio, with the onus on what Spock and Bones mean to Kirk, as well as what they all mean to each other.

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy’s camping trip where they sing “Row Row Row Your Boat” is corny on the surface, but it’s really about how Kirk recognizes how empty his life is without Spock and Bones, and vice versa. When Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) hijacks the Starship Enterprise, Kirk is deeply threatened by the realization that Spock has an actual brother-by-blood (although Sybok is only his half-brother). The idea that Spock could have his loyalty diverge affects Kirk until his Vulcan best friend affirms to Sybok that he firmly stands with his Captain. When Sybok takes the Enterprise to Sha Ka Ree, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy meet “God” together, and they save each other when the self-styled Almighty alien attacks them. Star Trek V tells you all you need to know about Spock, McCoy, and Kirk’s friendship. Their banter and camaraderie never fails to be reassuring and comforting.

Sybok Is Star Trek’s Most Underrated Movie Villain

Laurence Luckinbill gives one of the great Star Trek villain performances

Laurence Luckinbill’s Sybok is the most underrated Star Trek movie villain, but the truth is that Sybok is not truly a villain. Sybok, a Vulcan criminal because he eschews logic for emotion, is, at heart, a true believer. Sybok’s fatal mistake was allowing “God” to prey upon his desperate need to be the ‘chosen one’, to be special. Sybok can use his Vulcan telepathy to heal others’ pain, but he comes face-to-face with his own pain when he realizes the “God” he spent his whole life seeking is a malevolent pretender. Yes, Sybok steals the USS Enterprise and commits crimes, but his last act is noble: to protect Spock, Kirk, and McCoy from the wrath of “God”. When faced with the folly of his life’s crusade, Sybok did what he could to save Spock and his brother’s friends.

With Sybok, William Shatner’s Star Trek V admirably didn’t try to recreate Khan (Ricardo Montalban), which is a mistake many other Star Trek movies made. Sybok isn’t driven by vengeance, but misguided hubris, and beneath the self-styled holy man is a Vulcan who does care for others. Laurence Luckinbill projects a dangerous edge as Sybok, but he also has warmth and compassion in his exterior that mirrors what Spock feels inside but cannot show as a Vulcan. At this point, to continually point out the missteps and flaws of Star Trek V is to rob yourself of the joys of WIlliam Shatner’s movie. Star Trek V is a heartfelt treatise about friendship, love, and yes, the all-important question, “What does God need with a starship?” Star Trek V: The Final Frontier reminds us that life, and Star Trek itself, is but a dream.