After the death of the Klingon High Chancellor (David Warner), the team aboard the Enterprise finds themselves in a bind as their own Kirk (William Shatner) and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) are accused and found guilty of his assassination. After being transported to a gulag, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the rest of the team must find a way to free them and clear their names. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is a tale of friendship and loyalty that will have Kirk, Spock, and the rest questioning reality.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the first Star Trek film to be released after the passing of Gene Roddenberry (the creator of Star Trek). This has to present the filmmakers with a new set of goals beyond doing the film and the series justice. With this unfortunate event, the cast and crew have the tall task of extending Roddenberry’s legacy, doing him justice, and allowing the world to look at this property and believe that it has the same value as the ones that came before it. I know very little about Star Trek, and what little I do know comes from Big Bang Theory. With a less-than-extensive knowledge of the film and television series, I have to look at the film as a singular entity, something in which nothing came before nor after–and when viewing the film in this fashion, I feel that it holds up to whatever standards Hollywood and Star Trek fandom may have had going in. It’s a sound film that delivers on a series of levels, ones that reach viewers personally and emotionally, but also play a role in the metaverse of Hollywood.
Funny pop culture references (i.e. The Little Mermaid and other Disney properties) that, again, work to bridge the gap between Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and those that are unfamiliar with the lore. Before even getting into the nitty gritty of the film, I think it’s imperative that these pop culture references are addressed. Again, I have very little knowledge when it comes to Star Trek lore, and by including those aforementioned references (along with many others) I was able to appreciate the film. I’ve always thought of these properties as other worldly (which to some degree they are), but they play with a world in which all viewers are familiar, opening the doors to a greater potential and accessibility.
Much like those previously mentioned references, the sets play a similar role in appealing to viewers and creating something familiar. Many of the sets are oddly familiar and simple–allowing access to all viewers (even ones that haven’t ever before seen a Star Trek related entity). The best example of this is as Spock makes a series of announcements toward the beginning of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the boardroom in which everyone sits and watches is almost identical to one that we would see in the real world. This allows viewers to suspend some disbelief (of course while watching a Vulcan make a speech), and it helps to continue to bridge potential gaps between viewers and the content on screen.
Is Star Trek just a more Shakespearean Star Wars, and if so, is that a good thing, a bad thing, or just a thing? This is something that I pondered throughout the course of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. As a massive fan of the Star Wars properties, I always imagined that I could like either Star Trek or Star Wars, but not both (as one–at least in my mind–had to be derivative of the other). To a degree I suppose this is the case–both space-based series that often blend reality and fiction, but there’s something unique about Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country compared to the other space-based properties. It really does feel far more Shakespearean. Dialogue, rather than action seems to be the catalyst for this film–and with the level of intelligence present in this film, it works. I never questioned the validity of the dialogue or the characters as a result–and the film effectively works in so many ways. Again, that level of intelligence helps to make the film as powerful and accessible as it is–never ostracizing viewers or failing to entertain along the way.
The biggest issue with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is that there never really seemed to be anything of substance on the line. I was never worried for the characters, believing that, every step of the way, they would make it out alive. The lack of intensity in this regard is troublesome, rarely pulling me to the edge of my seat or forcing me to think that something daunting was actually on the horizon. This steals from the narrative, steals from the intensity that could have existed throughout Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country–and while it certainly doesn’t ruin the film, it’s disappointing nonetheless.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is my first experience with the Star Trek franchise, and sure, it’s a bit odd to start with the sixth installment in a series–but here I am nonetheless. While I certainly had some expectations and preconceived notions regarding Star Trek as a whole, I honestly wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. From the intelligence displayed throughout to the ability of this team to early and often bridge any gap between viewer and film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country truly entertained me from beginning to end. After this I’ll be sure to check out other Star Trek projects as well.
Directed by Nicholas Meyer.
Written by Gene Roddenberry, Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Nicholas Meyer, & Denny Martin Flinn.
Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Michelle Nichols, George Takei, Kim Catrall, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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