Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Directed by Nicholas Meyer

Film Review

After the unmitigated disaster that was Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Paramount had every reason to bury the franchise or else link up with Star Trek: The Next Generation, the increasingly popular television successor to Gene Roddenberry's original cult series.  Instead, mindful of the show's impending 25th anniversary, they decided to give the original crew of the Enterprise one last fling, and with one of the best storylines so far Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was to be a more than adequate send-off.  By this stage, the binary curse of the series had become well-recognised, the odd-numbered films being far less watchable and successful than the even-numbered films.  By this logic, film number VI had to be a winner, and sure enough it was.

The decision to appoint Nicholas Meyer to direct the film was a good starting point.  Meyer had already directed one of the better films in the franchise, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and appeared to have a good understanding of what made a decent Star Trek movie, good visuals, well-paced action scenes and plenty of intelligent character interaction.  Having overseen the script development on the most impressive Star Trek film so far - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Leonard Nimoy was invited to repeat this role on Star Trek VI.  Nimoy was interested in drawing parallels with contemporary political developments in our world, namely the end of the Cold War and the prospect of a new world order.  This provided an effective way of linking up with ST:TNG, in which the Federation had ended their feud with the Klingon Empire.  The film's title, taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet, was originally intended to be used for the second Star Trek film, but it is equally effective as a metaphor for what mankind perhaps fears the most, the future.

Far darker in tone than the previous Star Trek films, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country really does convey the impression that we have reached the end of an era.  The crew of the Enterprise are about to receive their pension books and the Klingons have no choice but to give up their life of space villainy.  The wind of change is definitely in the air, and the question is whether Kirk and his buddies will live to see the future they so evidently fear.  This is Kirk's darkest hour - not only must he thwart a fiendish plot to plunge the galaxy into a fullscale war, he must also overcome his own deep-seated prejudices, and it is obvious which is going to be the greater challenge.

With a vastly improved screenplay, the Star Trek regulars are all at their best and it is with some sadness that we see them sign off.  Leonard Nimoy proves himself to be a far more dependable captain of the Enterprise than William Shatner, and you can't help wishing Spock had committed mutiny several films back (if only to spare us the agony of Star Trek V).  Despite the darker mood, there are plenty of lighter moments, humour of a far more sophisticated calibre than on the previous films. "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon", remarks a Klingon warrior, although, for some reason, the main Klingon villain prefers to recite his Shakespeare in the original English when he goes into battle against the Enterprise.  The film ends with a quote not from the Bard of Avon, but from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, begging the question whether Kirk and his chums are still out there, exploring brave new worlds, with their usual gusto and ever-dwindling supplies of hair dye.

After the exceedingly lukewarm reception of its predecessor, the critical and commercial success of Star Trek VI came as something of a surprise.  It took just under 100 million dollars at the box office worldwide and was the first film in the franchise to receive the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.  After Gene Roddenberry's death, just before the film's premiere, a last minute dedication was added, a fitting tribute to the man who had created Star Trek and, in doing so, played a pivotal role in the development of science fiction on the small and big screen.  The success of the sixth Star Trek film and the growing popularity of ST:TNG (which was about to spawn several spin-offs) ensured the concept still had a long, long way to run.  As they say on Vulcan, live long and prosper.

Film Synopsis

With their home world threatened by environmental catastrophe, the Klingons have no option but to make peace with their long-term enemies, the United Federation of Planets.  Aware that his days as a Starfleet officer are numbered, Captain Kirk reluctantly agrees to escort the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon to Earth, even though he still harbours a grudge over his son's murder by the Klingons.  En route, the Klingon ship is struck by torpedoes, which appear to have emanated from the Enterprise.  Minutes later, the Klingon ship is boarded by two space-suited figures, who proceed to massacre most of the crew and the ambassador.  Kirk and Dr McCoy beam aboard the stricken vessel, but their attempt to save Gorkon's life fails.  The two men are taken to the Klingons' home planet to await trial.  Found guilty of murder, Kirk and McCoy are condemned to live out the rest of their lives toiling in the mines of the frozen asteroid of Rura Penthe.  Kirk realises that someone is attempting to provoke a war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.  But who...?