Review of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) by Xgary X — 02 Mar 2014

Captain Kirk and Bones are arrested for the assassination of the Klingon Chancellor during a diplomatic mission and so Spock and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise set about proving their innocence and preventing the outbreak of war.

Very much preparing the ground for the crew of The Next Generation, the sixth instalment of the Trek franchise is a far more po-faced affair than the high camp previous offerings. The knockabout charm and self-deprecating humour that was the hallmark of the series is glaring in its absence, leaving us with a rather workmanlike and sterile cold war style sci fi thriller.

The plot is simplistic and cliched, the effects are variable at best and the amusing banter between the crew mates is replaced by tedious soul searching. There's even little in the way of action, the only notable sequence only arriving after an hour and a half of drearily directed, pompous waffle littered with literary references pilfered from Shakespeare and Conan Doyle.

The Undiscovered Country makes the critical error of taking Trek seriously and as a result it is, in my opinion at least, the dullest and most forgettable entry in the franchise.