MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991)

Well, we are finally here. The last of the films for the crew of TOS. It isn't the last of the appearances of all of the members of the original cast (that will come much, much later), but this is the final word on the very first original series of Star Trek. From 1966 all the way now to 1991 (at the time of release), it was the 25th anniversary of the franchise and Paramount was determined for it to go out with a bang for the original cast's final ride.

Particularly after their last ride, in which Kirk, Spock, and Bones went on a camping trip to Yosemite and nothing of note happened beyond a sterling rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".

God, I love in-built continuity erasers so much.

All jokes aside, this review isn't going to be as jokey as my usual fare. The Undiscovered Country is a film that is utterly soaked in a serious tone. There are laughs to be had, to be sure, but things are heavy indeed with the crew of the Enterprise. No more was this evident than in the choice of director, Nicholas Meyer, who had helmed Wrath of Khan almost a decade earlier. So, we know that Paramount was not joking around when they wanted us to not only forget the previous film, but also wanted to deliver a powerhouse for the end of the TOS era.

So, let's take a look at where things are in the film. Sulu (George Takei) is now captain of the U.S.S. Excelsior (which has gotten a new bridge design since we last saw it in The Voyage Home) and is witness to the destruction of the Klingon moon of Praxis, a major energy center for the Klingon Empire. With the environment of their homeworld decimated, the Klingons can no longer afford to fight against the United Federation of Planets and instead their Chancellor, Gorkon (David Warner) attempts to negotiate for peace. It is a big, momentous occasion. The Federation and the Klingons have been, at best, cold warriors and at worst bloodthirsty enemies for so long. What Captain would be a good choice... no, the perfect choice... to help usher in this new era of peace?

... it's Kirk.

"For the last time, Mr. Shatner, I will not pull your finger."

Not only is it James T. "I Hate Klingons because they murdered by son" Kirk (William Shatner), but it was Spock (Leonard Nimoy) who recommended him for the position. Spock's reasoning? "There is an old Vulcan proverb: Only Nixon to go to China." This also will double as the final mission for Kirk and his crew, escorting Chancellor Gorkon from Klingon space all the way to Earth for a meeting with the United Federation of Planets.

Also onboard is Valeris (Kim Cattrall), the first Vulcan to graduate at the top of her class from Starfleet Academy (I guess Saavik was an underachiever?). She is Spock's protégé, with him planning to have her be his replacement on the Enterprise. She's very Saavik-like, particularly in the early scenes and there's a reason for that - she was originally intended to be. However, Gene Roddenberry objected to Saavik being used for reasons we'll get into later and Cattrall herself was uneasy about being now the third person to play the role. After talking with Meyer, however, they worked out a new name for her and all was well. Valeris is, shock of shocks, one of the traitors within the Federation working to sabotage the peace talks.

Cattrall, at one point, also had an impromptu photoshoot on the bridge set wearing nothing but her Vulcan ears. Apparently, Nimoy in particular (being an executive producer on this one) took exception to that. Hard.

It is a beautifully tense scene when the Enterprise meets with Gorkon's ship Kronos One and we are introduced to Gorkon and his staff, in particular his daughter Azetbur (Rosanna DeSoto) and the one-eyed General Chang (Christopher Plummer). Spoiler alert, but he's one of the main villains and damn if he doesn't do magnificently. Granted, half of his lines are taken from Shakespeare (which you haven't really experienced until you've read it in the original Klingon), but the performance he gives is exquisite and is one of the things about this movie I look forward to every time I watch it.

"Dishonor upon the House of Verizon!"

Despite a dinner between the two groups that ends very tensely and racially charged, all seems well... until the Enterprise suddenly fires two photon torpedoes and takes out the gravity on Gorkon's ship. Two assassins wearing Starfleet space suits beam over to the Klingon vessel and assassinate the Chancellor. Kirk and Doctor McCoy (DeForest Kelley) beam over to assist and, despite Bones' best efforts, Gorkon dies with a plea to Kirk to "not let it end like this". Chang arrests Kirk and Bones under the articles of interstellar law and they are taken to the Klingon homeworld to be put on trial with a sentence of (in light of the peace talks) life imprisonment on Rura Penthe... basically Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back, but kinda worse.

Now, the plot is two-fold. As Kirk and Bones make an unlikely ally to try and escape (Iman), the Enterprise crew must solve the mystery before them. With the peace talks relocated in light of Gorkon's assassination, it is a race against time as they must unravel the clues to figure out who the true culprits behind the assassination are... and how far they plan to go to achieve their ends.

Like any good mystery, the clues are actually all their right before the eyes of the viewers and all fit together like the pieces of a puzzle.

The Undiscovered Country is a great movie. You get some of the best performances from the Enterprise crew. You have a compelling and interesting story not only about a conflict that has been going almost since the series began in 1966, but also a tribute to basically everything that the show has been both in spite of and because of it. Ever since "Errand of Mercy", in which the Organians predicted that the Federation and the Klingons would become friends, we have been leading toward this moment. This moment that will, to paraphrase another Starfleet captain "reveal what kind of a people we are". Will the Federation, deeply divided and conflicted over the issue of the Klingons, be able to do the right thing?

No better is this demonstrated than within the character of Kirk himself. While William Shatner believed that the script made Kirk too bigoted against the Klingons, I have to disagree. Sure, it was only a lone Klingon working under a rogue warlord who did it, but a Klingon did murder his son. His son who, in spite of everything, Kirk did actually care for and is likely one of the many regrets that he holds from a long life. Also, having fought against them for as long as he has as an officer of Starfleet and likely having seen atrocities their armies have committed across the galaxy, it's not entirely unbelievable that he wouldn't like or trust the Klingons. It's almost to the point of maniacal glee when Kirk tells Spock that they should "let them die!" when Spock attempts to appeal to Kirk's humanity.

Michael Dorn cameos as Worf...'s grandfather Worf.
Apparently Klingons are not imaginative with naming conventions.

By the end, Kirk has a better understanding of the situation and of his own prejudices. He is able to let go of the past and of his fear of the future, a fear that seems to be gripping a lot of people on both sides of the Federation-Klingon divide.

As I mentioned before, Plummer's Chang is a magnificent villain. While not on par necessarily with Ricardo Montalban's Khan (who is, again, the gold standard for Trek villains), Plummer's absolute powerhouse of a personality radiates in every single scene that he's in. Chang is an old warrior who is determined to keep change from happening at any cost, hell bent on the notion of that final battle against the Klingons and the Federation. As it was meant to be, warrior to warrior. Unfortunately, his deception, arrogance, and a Klingon bird of prey that can fire while cloaked (don't worry, it's only a prototype) are ultimately unable to give him anything other than a glorious death... that will later be reused in Star Trek Generations, but we'll get to that when we get to that.

At the end, the peace talks seem to go off without a hitch and all is well. No charges are brought up against the Enterprise crew due to them once more saving civilization as they know it, and all is well. The Enterprise is ordered back to Spacedock... to be decommissioned. There is a somber moment of silence as the crew ponders this, what it means for them, and if their adventures are truly, finally over. Leonard Nimoy, fantastic as ever, has Spock deliver one of my favorite lines ever, which I will link here. For clarification, though (in case YouTube takes that video down in the future):

"If I were human, I believe my response would be... "Go to Hell." ...if I were human."

The chords of the Star Trek theme play as Chekov asks Kirk for a course heading. Kirk's response?

"Second star to the right, and straight on until morning."

As the crew is all smiles, flying off into the sunset, Kirk's final Captain's Log plays us out. He speaks of this being the end of the road for his crew, and that soon the Enterprise and her history will be in the care of another crew, and they will undertake the duty to seek out new life and new civilizations. Going to all the undiscovered countries that no man... no one has gone before...

No joke, this is just a beautiful shot.

While The Search for Spock is my favorite ending to a Star Trek film, The Undiscovered Country is a very close second. Where Search for Spock was the promise of a new beginning and of our heroes triumphing against impossible odds and even death itself to save the day, The Undiscovered Country is a fond farewell and a wave goodbye as Kirk and his crew take one last, defiant joyride, ending their careers after having brought an end to a conflict that had been hovering over them for decades. Even now, cynical and jaded as I have become and knowing what I know about the interactions of the crew behind the scenes (mostly how they all hate William Shatner to varying degrees), it never fails to make me smile seeing it.

The Undiscovered Country is a big deal, in case I haven't made that clear. They knew this was going to be the final run for TOS and they nailed it in terms of giving them a tour de force finale in my opinion. The performances from everyone are top notch, Meyer's directing is sublime with so many perfect scenes and memorable shots. The film is endlessly quotable. There is just so much I could talk about, but it honestly just doesn't do it justice. Watch it for yourself. Sublime. Sublime is the only word I can think of to describe it, and even that falls utterly short.

Sadly, that's a good way to describe the films to come. As I said when we began, this is the last time that the Enterprise would be under the command of James T. Kirk and him being aided by his gallant and unflappable crew. When we return to Star Trek, it will be time to hop into the next generation... and I hate to tell you this, but the TOS films were the good ones.

Oh, yeah.

Next Generation has one good movie. One.

And it's not Generations, regardless of what you've tried to delude yourself into thinking.

I am going to be taking a break for a few weeks before getting back to that, however. I have some undiscovered countries of my own to explore. See you... out there!

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was brought to us by Paramount Pictures.