Review of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) by Matthew L — 16 Apr 2011

The last hurrah for the original crew of the starship Enterprise and out on a high they go, though after the disappointing, though admittedly fun in places fifth Shatner directed entry, up seems to be the only logical direction the series could have gone in.

Trek has always worked best when dealing with big ideas, that are both of the here and now but can also be applied to its futuristic setting. The political angle of this story is the films trump card and coming out at a time when the former Soviet Union was in decline its story is given further relevance.

The cast are all having a ball in what was for most of them their last big screen adventure bare a couple of cameos in the next film. To be fair by this point they were all so settled in the roles that you wouldn't expect anything different from them. David Warner has fun in his second Trek role as the unintentional martyr and Christopher Plummer has great fun chewing up the scenery as a Shakespeare quoting Klingon. Everyone gets their moment to shine and the film is all the better for it.

Does it feel like an extended episode? Yes, but then isn't that largely the case with most of the big screen Treks? To be fair if you weren't a fan by this point then nothing was going to convert you for everyone else sit back and watch a great cast go out on a high.