Star Trek 5 “This Other Eden”

This counts as my first ever viewing of a BionicBob edit. So I admit, I had no idea what to expect going in. I just know that Star Trek V is a film that, for lack of a better word, needs a good fixing. Now that I've seen this one, I can say that this is a much needed improvement over the theatrical release. It may not be suited to my personal taste, but when compared to the original film, it's fantastic!

It's refreshing to see this film without so many of the campy moments this film is known for. The infamous "Row row row your boat" song, the rocket boots escape and Uhura going naked are all gone here. And I also appreciate the restructure done on the Klingon warship subplot. These simple fixes are enough to make a lot of the more philosophical moments about religion easier to understand. I still wish the cat lady fight wasn't around, and I think the whole movie would've been improved if the whole Yellowstone adventure was cut out. But with my criticisms aside, I would still recommend this over the theatrical version in a heartbeat. If all you care about here is a better Star Trek V, this is a worthy fanfix.

However, I must stress what I said in paragraph one: It may not be suited to my personal taste. Why, you ask? Well, here's the deal. This edit takes a TV-style approach rather than a cinematic approach. In a lot of ways, this edit is like a really long episode of the original series. You can even see the points where the commercial breaks are supposed to occur. Reading previous reviews, it's clear to me that this is BionicBob's style of editing. My thoughts on this style are love-it-or-hate-it. If you're a trekkie who loves the idea of seeing these movies converted into TV episodes, then don't make me stop you. However, if you're a hardcore cinephile who wants to re-create the cinematic experience in your own living room and you have a weird love for the smell of 35mm film, like I am, this may not be the edit for you.

Still, I kept an open mind while watching it, and what I got was a satisfying take on what is arguably the worst film to feature the original series crew. And for me that's all that matters. I could complain about the style if I wanted, but that doesn't change the edit as a whole. Bottom line: this is a great edit! It may not be for everyone, but it is a worthy change of pace from the theatrical version, and well worth your time if you're willing to go back to Star Trek's TV show roots.

So, Bionic Bob's "Star Trek: This Other Eden" was fantastic. It fixed nearly all of the problems I had with Star Trek V. All of the bad humor was removed, while still leaving in some fitting whimsical moments. All of the bad special effects were either replaced or trimmed. Some light flashbacks and flashfowards were added to give just a bit more depth at times. Of course, the final act was still too quick and lacking, but it was easier to forgive it. Everything that could've been improved was improved. I wasn't huge on commercial breaks and location cards, but it is what it is. Other than that the editing was fantastic, and every cut was done so skillfully and unnoticeably. I didn't think it would be possible to cut out everything about the Enterprise being in bad shape and nothing working, but he managed to without feeling like anything was missing.
This may not be peak Star Trek, but it's plenty enjoyable. I will definitely revisit this edit in the future.

AV Quality: 7, it's standard DVD quality, not especially good, not bad.
Visual editing: 10, the fixes to the poor special effects really helped, and the cuts were seamless.
Audio Editing: 8, music changes and cuts were perfect, but I found myself constantly adjusting the volume.
Narrative: 10, the narrative is greatly improved, leagues better than the original cut. It's still Star Trek 5, but any left over flaws in the plot were ones that couldn't be fixed, so I don't fault the editor.
Enjoyment: 10, I think this is the most enjoyment anyone could possibly get from Star Trek 5.

Review by Pagz — April 24, 2011 @ 10:13 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by havok1977 — April 24, 2011 @ 1:32 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by FoolsFollowing — January 19, 2012 @ 8:04 pm

Review of Bionic Bob’s Star Trek V “This Other Eden”

First things first I shall declare my colors.

I’m a sci-fi fan but not really a Trekkie, I’ve watched a fair few episodes from TOS, fewer still from Next Gen. I have a lot of respect for the franchise, but I was always more of a Stargate/Babylon 5 kinda guy. Regarding the films, I watched the first five on DVD last year. TMP is my favorite, I love how solemn and serious it is. Wrath of Khan is a bit hammy, but I also love its theatrical side. Search for Spock was ok, Voyage Home was better than I remembered it (it’s the least sci-fi of the original series and rather silly which had generally put me off it in the past), and then we got to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

It was an odd film. Simultaneously brilliant and terrible. The premise is wonderful: the pilgrimage of a modern prophet and his ability to heal pain, how the Enterprise get involved, finding God at the center of the galaxy. Bones’ revelation is heart breaking, and the ‘trio’ have a lot of good scenes together.

On the other hand, you have rocket boots. A fat William Shatner and his toned body double climbing a mountain. The fan dance. Rocket boots. McCoy walking into a wall. And a truly dreadful climax. It was like two films mixed together: a profound futuristic religious pilgrimage dealing with faith and existential fear. And Police Academy set-in-space.

I haven’t watched any of BionicBob’s other edits, but after reading the rave reviews for this film and knowing it to be the perfect target for editing, I jumped straight into STV – the worst in the series which had potential to be the best.

The Good:
Well, Bob has certainly made the best of the film. The ridiculous humor is gone, and the fascinating ideas remain. The opening scene in the desert is wonderful, Kirk’s vacation is short and sweet, the hostage situation and the enterprise’s plan works much better now, all of Sybok’s scenes are beautiful, the film is quick and punchy, and the introduction to God is brilliant.

The bad:
The film is still limited in its source material. Once ‘God-thing’ attacks, it all gets a bit messy. The added shaky-cam didn’t work (the box shook around inside WMP, rather than being fixed while the image itself shook. I don’t know why this happened). The Klingon subplot doesn’t go anywhere. The hints at a profundity are left hanging.

The ill-preferred:
This is just personal choice, but I didn’t like the tv/OS style that bionic bob went for. I understand why he did it, but to me it just cheapens it. Perhaps such a style would work with Star Trek IV for example (which is a very silly film) but the plot as it has been tightened and re-edited is a truly cinematic one. A biblical epic set in the future, a man traveling deserts and planets in search of God, a voyage to the true beyond… this film has more in common with the first film than any of the others in the series, and I feel an equally epic style would be more fitting.

Having said that, Bob’s OS-inspired editing is of a high quality. The cheesy freeze-frames are pretty effective, the opening credits are nice, and the title cards seem fitting. It all just feels very non-cinematic. (But as I said: I’m not a Trekkie and I prefer my sci-fi serious. The fact that this film wasn’t made with those intentions isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I imagine long term Trekkies will really enjoy Bob’s flair!)

So, on the whole it was a good experience. The ending feels a little rushed plot-wise, but that probably can’t be helped. Overall, a massive improvement and some top notch editing

In terms of extras: I liked the ‘about this edit’ section. I would have preferred a bit more information, and the slides move rather slowly so I ended up having to manually skip along the time bar. However the information that was provided was very interesting and is still far more than most fanedits give!

Judging the edit as a film in its own right, I would give it 7.5/10 – the original theatrical version would probably get a 4/10.