Review of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) by Byron B — 30 Aug 2010

My favorite of the Star Trek films with the original cast. My ratings and reviews are not fixed in stone, but at this time I see this one as being slightly better than number IV and definitely better than number II. Nicholas Meyer is back at the helm. Leonard Nimoy contributed to the story and was executive producer. The rest of the crew that came together on this film made for a great combination.

The Klingons had represented the Russians since the original series in the 60's and the relationship between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire was a metaphor for the cold war. In this story we have parallels to what was happening to the Russian government in the mid to late 1980's. There is an informative special feature on the Special Collector's Edition DVD called The Perils of Peacemaking that spells out how elements of "The Undiscovered Country" plot mirror history.

It is good to see George Takei as Sulu as the captain of his own ship. David Warner plays a Klingon chancellor this time who dreams of "The Undiscovered Country," or a peace time between the Federation and the Klingons. Kim Cattrall as the Vulcan Valeris takes Sulu's seat on the Enterprise bridge and plays her part admirably. Christopher Plummer as the Shakespeare spouting, only occasionally Klingon speaking General Chang is a unique creation and Plummer chews the scenes ravenously. The main Enterprise crew is looking to their retirement again when peace talks are suggested between the Federation and the Klingons. Kirk and the Enterprise are assigned as escort and a small rift forms between Kirk and Spock. After the assassination of the Klingon chancellor, Spock must lead the crew in an effort to solve a little mystery about who did it, while Kirk and McCoy are brought before a Klingon court (defended by Michael Dorn as Worf's own grandfather). With the crew digging for clues and delaying replying to the Federation with a bit of assistance from Sulu, Kirk and McCoy must survive in a penal colony. They make a break for it with a very cool character who turns out to be a shape shifter and just like in a couple of the original show's episodes Kirk comes face to face with himself. The crew suspects that a Klingon bird of prey now has the ability to fire its weapons while cloaked. Can they stop this secret weapon and put the clues together in time to stop another assassination attempt? The action, suspense, drama, bit of humor, and special effects are all at the height of what a Star Trek film is meant to be.