Wanderlust

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Plot: The command crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701A are called for a briefing. Praxis, a moon near the Klingon homeworld, has exploded, and Qo’noS is facing extinction in 50 years. It is a time for difficult peacemaking, and the chosen emissary is James T. Kirk.

He isn’t such a believer, initially; he’s had more than a few run-ins with Klingons in his career, from “Errand of Mercy” to “A Private LIttle War” to Star Trek III, when his son was murdered by Commander Kruge. Spock believes in him, though, and Kirk’s outstanding crew is usually his guide to his best self.

There’s much skullduggery in store, with assassination plots, mystery, betrayal, courtroom drama, an alien prison break, and Christopher Plummer (“Doh re mi…”). But you’ve seen this before, right?

Thoughts: This has to be the fifth or so time I’ve watched Star Trek VI, and I think it was my favorite. Maybe I’m more invested? Maybe the ugly political infighting in the news right now makes the implausible ugly factional machinations of The Undiscovered Country’s devious conspirators seem on the mark.

I have not been a big fan of this installment, largely because I never bought Kirk’s attitude, especially, at the start of the film. “Let them die.” Surely he’s better than that?

Then again, when I was 18 years old in 1991, it seemed like racial prejudice (the metaphor at the dinner table) was something we’d solved, and could easily walk past. Seven years into the term of America’s first black president, that seems quaint. Also, watching Star Trek canon in sequence brings home that Kirk has plenty of trauma associated with his Klingon encounters. From Tyree to David Marcus, there has been personal cost. “Errand of Mercy,” in particular, hints at planetary-scale atrocities which Kirk would have been exposed to.

So I guess I buy it a little, now.

I love Spock in this movie. He’s older, he seems to have moved past a dogmatic, rigorous practice of logical discipline and found wisdom waiting on the other side, with a faint twinkle in his eye. He has been the most optimistic, decent member of the crew from the beginning. No coincidence, I think, that Leonard Nimoy himself was instrumental in formulating the story behind the screenplay.

The scene that I don’t like is Spock forcibly mind melding with Valeris to pull information out of her mind, without consent. That’s uncomfortably like violence, torture, and rape. I buy Spock’s anger at her, but not the ease at which the scene transitions to this act. Anyway, plotwise, it is too easy (it’s always easy to resort to violence against women), and gives Spock too much power.

My Blu-ray has the theatrical version, not the Director’s Edition, so I didn’t watch the Scooby-Doo ending, which I understand involves Rene Auberjonois.

This is the last full voyage of the original cast, and the last canonical screen appearance of Dr. McCoy and Lt. Uhura (at least, in the prime universe ). Bon voyage and godspeed.

I still think the pacing sags late in the movie, and the whole prison planet sequence underdelivers in spectacle, suspense, and plausibility. But I am content tonight, thinking about how entrenched enemies can, after all, come together despite pitfalls and setbacks, and create a future with a Klingon on the bridge of the Enterprise NCC-1701D.

What did you think?

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek_VI:_The_Undiscovered_Country

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One response to “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)”

  1. Randi Cohen Avatar
    Randi Cohen

    Love sulu as captain (finally!  and he drinks tea!); great intensity of delivery.  “Are you kidding??”, “Well, fly us apart then!”, etc.

    Fun shot of crewmen falling out of their beds from impact of the exploding moon.

    Interestingly, the version I watched from amazon has trivia included, so I learned that the actor playing Admiral Cartwright was appalled at being asked to advocate for kicking the Klingons while they’re down, and Nichelle Nichols refused the line “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”  (if your actors are that offended by their lines, perhaps that’s a clue they should be changed?).  Also later on, there is a scene in which Uhura has to speak Klingon and is embarrassingly bad at it for a communications officer and it’s not even consistent with other times when she’s displayed far more knowledge.  It’s bothersome that even in ST VI she’s not taken all that seriously.

    I do like the reference to the ozone layer, environmental impacts, and extravagant military budgets… sadly, still current today!!!

    There is an old Vulcan proverb, “Only Nixon can go to China”.  What??

    If he’s serious it doesn’t make sense, and he doesn’t seem to be making a joke.  I am having problems with the script so far.  I do like Kirk’s indignation at being “personally vouched for”.  Nobody does indignation like Shatner.

    Kim Cattrall is not very convincing as a Vulcan.  Nor is the script written for a Vulcan.  “I’ve always wanted to try that, sir.”  No self-respecting Vulcan would speak like that.

    I like the line, “I could only succeed you, sir”.  The rest of that scene is written fairly melodramatically, although can’t fault Nimoy’s delivery by any means.  But what is that blue thing they are drinking out of??

    Gorkon is pretty boss-looking.  Nice asymmetric beard.  And shark-boots with duct tape on one side?  And staff with a very awkward-looking handle?

    “You’ve not experienced Shakespeare until you’ve read him in the original Klingon.”  Isn’t that Chekhov’s line (except replace Klingon with Russian)?  The writers need some new material.  I find it bizarre that that Klingon guy keeps quoting Shakespeare.  Although his delivery of “Cry havoc!” is effectively chilling.

    “I doubt that our own behavior will distinguish us in the annals of diplomacy.”  Hahahahahaha.  

    Nice creepy zero-gravity killing scene.

    Does Dr. McCoy really have no other option but 20th Century resuscitation techniques?

    DeForest Kelley’s acting seems underpowered for some reason, except towards the end when I quite like him again.

    I think they need better fake Klingonese… it sounds like “gachhh” repeated over and over.

    I enjoyed the trial and the ice planet… and Iman is a pretty darned good actress!!!!  

    I agree the mind meld scene is pretty disturbing to me… not really like Spock to be so un-anguished about harming someone in what seems like a significant way.  Isn’t forced mind meld illegal under the Geneva convention or something?  And did they need to put it on public display too?  That seems wrong somehow.

    Ending dialogue seems forced at best, although the actors do their best to deliver it well.

    Loved Michael Dorn as defense counsel by the way, despite the implausibility of Klingons actually having a defense counsel.

    Overall, I enjoyed this movie far more than I have when watching it previously.  I think as I age I identify more with the characters as they grow older, is one part of it.  It’s no Star Trek IV… the gag of making fun of yourself in a movie is not so fresh anymore, and the dialogue not nearly as brilliant.  Still, it seems to be about something (cycle of violence perpetuating itself, I guess one could call that the theme).  So that definitely improves it over Star Trek 5.  And, I am reminded of how much I gosh darn like the original actors and characters!!!!  TNG versions seem so flat by comparison.  TOS, I still miss you!

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