Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country
After the unmitigated disaster that was Star Trek 5, with its slew of Razzie Awards, itâs half baked religious metaphors and allegories and worst of all, its goofy, stupid sense of humor showing the beloved original crew of The Starship Enterprise acting like idiot children and being completely out of character, it was obvious even to director William Shatner that there was NO WAY that the franchise could possibly end on that note and moreso, that the next and final movie would have to make up for a hell of a lot of lost ground. Even just the announcement of this installment prompted a Saturday Night Live joke stating that the filmâs title would be âStar Trek 6: The Apologyâ. Nothing could be left to chance. Producer Harve Bennett, who had successfully steered the ship since Wrath Of Khan, had stepped down, claiming to be burned out, so Leonard Nimoy himself had stepped in to be the new Executive Producer. Nimoy immediately brought in Nicholas Meyer (who himself had hit a grand slam out of the park directing Wrath Of Khan) to once again direct and have a hand in writing the story as well. Seeing that it had been established on the already running for several years at that time Next Generation that the once feared Klingon race had now made their peace with The Federation and that the showâs crew even included a Klingon officer (Worf), Nimoy looked at the recent Glasnost movement and the ending of The Cold War between The United States and The Soviet Union and correctly ascertained that a quality movie could be made detailing the Klingon dĂ©tente and the involvement of Kirk and his crew in making it happen. To this end, this Trek film took a few chances in going in different directions and (unlike Part 5) succeeded quite well. These new ideas materialize right from the getgo, as we see George Takeiâs Hideki Sulu now promoted to being a Captain of his own starship (The Excelsior) and on patrol when his crew witnesses an explosion in space, which turns out to be a Klingon moon used as a power plant facility completely coming apart (shades of Chernobyl?) which leads to the revelation that The Klingons are in danger of dying out as a species and thus are forced to make their peace in order to survive, leading to another fresh angle in the showing of diplomatic relations and political wrangling when it comes to Starfleet and The United Federation Of Planets as Nimoyâs Spock has not only apparently been the first one to reach out and open up talks for a possible truce, he has also volunteered Shatnerâs Kirk to be the escort for the Klingon Chancellor as a showing of good will, much to Kirkâs chagrin, as Kirk has always had a long known history of animosity and hatred for their kind (predicated by the death of his son at their hands) and even encourages Spock to just âlet them die.â It also stands to reason that Kirk is VERY well known also within the Klingon ranks, as seen upon him meeting the Klingon Chief Of Staff (Christopher Plummer), a Shakesphere spouting war monger who obviously considers meeting Kirk as being âone warrior facing anotherâ. As for The Klingon Chancellor (David Warner returning to play a different role than the bland, colorless one he essayed in Star Trek 5 and making a much better impression here with limited screen time), he is quickly targeted for assassination with Kirk framed up as the patsy and in order to preserve the peace he immediately surrenders while Spock takes command of the ship and begins an investigation while applying Vulcan logic Sherlock Holmes style, assisted by the new female Vulcan Lieutenant on board (Kim Cattrell in a role that was originally intended to be the return of Kirstie Alleyâs Saavik) and turns the ship inside out looking for evidence as Kirk (along with McCoy) are given a mock trial by the Klingons (with Michael Dorn seemingly playing Worfâs grandfather acting as counsel for them) and then sentenced to a gulag type prison planet where Kirk goes all gladiator on a few inmates and is befriended by an exotically beautiful shape shifter alien (Iman) whom naturally he romances as well in classic Kirk fashion. It all leads up to an escape for Kirk and Bones and the realization that the conspiracy to destroy the peace involves several high ranking members on both The Federation and Klingon sides, with the hapless Federation President (Kirkwood Smith in a ridiculously docile looking makeup job) caught in the middle and being the next on the list to get taken out. And as if all of this intrigue isnât enough, we also get a classic space battle between Kirkâs Enterprise and Plummerâs renegade Klingon Bird Of Prey, which possesses the newly obtained ability to fire its weapons while still cloaked and invisible, with Plummerâs General Chang gloating while taking cheap shots until Sulu and The Excelsior show up and for the only time in the series we see Captains Kirk and Sulu on the same level showing solidarity together as they battle it out with The Klingons for what would seem to be the very last time ever as well. Obviously itâs these little touches as described above that distinguish and enrich this entry above most of the others, and even more amazingly is the fact that the bumbling and embarrassing character interactions as seen in Trek 5 are toned down to being much more realistic here, as Meyer had instituted in Trek 2 the realization that at the end of the day, Starfleet is still a MILITARY unit and should be portrayed onscreen as being such, something that Roddenberry could never quite stand as he seemed to see it all as them being like government sanctioned explorers (or something), but it didnât really matter anymore as Roddenberry died within days after the end of filming and the movie wound up being dedicated to him. And whatâs most interesting of all is in the way that Kirk and his crew seem to exhibit an almost prejudiced, even bigoted point of view towards The Klingons (and thus showing that they too are human and flawed) that correctly compels Warnerâs Chancellor to note that the first ones to be living in a new age are the ones who have the hardest time dealing with it. And just like Wrath Of Khan, this sense of deep thought and philosophy incorporated into the storyline itself is what elevates this entry above that of a hell or high water quest to resurrect a dear friend, a jaunt into the past to save the whales, or a woefully ridiculous search to find a god who really wasnât. And even as Parts 3 and 4 were actually still good movies and Part 2 remains the gold standard for the franchise (and for much of mainstream science fiction), this entry distinguishes itself in many ways from knowing that going in this would be the very last time that Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, Doohan, Takei, Koenig, and Nichols would ever be together in a movie, and as a result both the story and filmmaking on hand was one of the best anyone would ever see in Star Trek, thus guaranteeing that this legendary bunch would truly go out with a bang and a half as only Spockâs constant referencing and theorizing in the style of Sherlock Holmes really affects the pace or consistency of what was going on here. Nonetheless, Cattrell as the new Vulcan female character brings some legitimate sex appeal (and sexual tension between her and Spock) to the table, and Plummerâs Klingon villain (while not going full warrior beast into the role like Christopher Lloydâs Kruge in Part 3) is a delightful adversary for Kirk, looking at combat warfare like a crafty, well thought out game of chess rather than as just an animalistic display of savagery, though some may feel like the character is written to rely a little too much on Shakesphere quotes to display his well read literacy rather than on saying anything too original, but Plummer overcomes it anyway with the absolute relish and gusto that he brings to the part. In the end, possibly the perfect (and most emotional) way to send Kirk and the old guard crew out on a high note, never to be truly replaced by Picard or any of the other ensemble casts of actors that have come along sinceâŠ
9/10