- Title: Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country
- Director: Nicholas Meyer
- Date: 1991
- Genre: SF, Mystery
- Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Keonig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Kim Cattrall, Mark Lenard, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, Grace Lee Whitney, Michael Dorn, William Morgan Sheppard, Christian Slater
- Format: Color, Widescreen
- DVD Format: R1, NTSC
"We believe it [the explosion on Praxis] was caused by over-mining and insufficient safety precautions. The moon's decimation means deadly pollution of their ozone. They [Klingons] will have depleted their supply of oxygen in approximately fifty Earth years. Due to their enormous military budget the Klingon economy does not have the resources to combat this catastrophe." - Spock
"Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Volaris, not the end." - Spock
"You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read it in the original Klingon." - Chancellor Gorkin
"You don't trust me, do you? I don't blame you. If there is going to be a Brave New World, our generation is going to have the hardest time living in it." - Chancellor Gorkin
Star Trek VI starts with a bang, but what at first appears to be a supernova, is in fact a man-made (well, Klingon-made) explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis. This explosion causes a huge shockwave, which hits the Excelsior on patrol in the area under the command of Captain Sulu. Once recovered from the shockwave hit, Sulu offers help, but the Klingons order him to stay outside the neutral zone.
There's a top-secret meeting at Star Fleet, where Spock reveals that over-mining and lack of safety precautions on Praxis caused the moon to explode. This has poisoned the Ozone on the Klingon homeworld of Kronos, and the planet will be uninhabitable in 50 years. Spock has worked with the Klingon chancellor, Gorkin, coming to an arrangement to de-militarize Star Fleet. Gorkin and the Federation will work towards an uneasy peace. Kirk, who has already indicated his agreement with the most militant of the Star Fleet Admirals, is charged with escorting Gorkin to Earth for a peace conference.
Kirk continues to tell pretty much anyone who will listen that he distrusts Klingons, and even notes in his private captain's log that he blames the Klingons for his son's death.
Kirk and his crew, including Spock, but minus Sulu (who is on the Excelsior still) precede to the point where they are to meet Gorkin's ship. Once there, they invite Gorkin and his staff to a state dinner on the Enterprise. The dinner is a difficult experience for all involved, but not a complete disaster. Shortly after the dinner, as Kirk is settling in from a bit too much Romulan Ale, he's called to the bridge because of a radiation surge. As Kirk watches helplessly, first one, then a second torpedo hit Gorkin's ship, seemingly from the Enterprise herself.
Two Federation officers, wearing gravity boots, and darken helmets, beam to the Klingon vessel, Kronos One, and kill anyone in their way, before attacking Gorkin. They then escape. The gravity boots were necessary because the torpedo shots had disabled the Klingon ship's artificial gravity.
When the Klingons threaten to fire on Enterprise in retaliation, Kirk surrenders his ship. He then takes McCoy with him to Kronos One. Gorkin is injured but not quite dead. McCoy tries to save him, despite his lack of knowledge of Klingon anatomy, but Gorkin dies anyway.
Kirk and McCoy are arrested by the Klingons for killing the Chancellor. Though Defense Attorney Worf attempts to fight the good fight, they are found guilty almost immediately. Evidence against Kirk includes his private log entry about blaming Klingons for the death of his son. Kirk and McCoy are sent to a Klingon prison planet to mine dilithium.
Meanwhile, Spock attempts to find out who really orchestrated the attack on the Klingons, and killed Gorkin. Piece by piece, he works it out with the help of others on the Enterprise.
I don't want to go into details of how Spock solves the mystery, because that would really spoil the movie. However, he does uncover a conspiracy between a few Star Fleet officers and Klingon hard-liners to get rid of Gorkin who had really wanted peace between the Klingons and the Federation (that is, his plans were not a feint or something designed to lure the Federation into "a false sense of security" before a Klingon attack.).
Spock then rescues Kirk and McCoy from the prison planet, and they go off to try to prevent an assassination attempt at the new peace conference at "Camp something". With some help from Sulu and officers on the Excelsior, the Enterprise crew succeeds in saving the Chancellor's daughter, now the new head of the Klingon Empire and thus saves the peace conference.
In his closing monologue, Kirk notes that his crew will make a final cruise (his last line is, "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning," a quote from Peter Pan) then return to Earth to stand down for retirement and a new crew will continue to explore where no man or no one has gone before. The closing credits include the signatures of the original Enterprise crew (Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, Doohan, Nichols, Keonig, and Takei).
Star Trek VI is essentially a murder mystery with cold war trappings. Klingons quoting Shakespeare and a reference to The Manchurian Candidate are thrown in as well. But though that may seem to sound like it's not that good a movie, I actually enjoyed it. I found Star Trek VI to be fun - really fun. First, no one dies in this film. OK, the Klingon chancellor dies, but really - he's playing the part of a murder victim, in a story where our heroes must solve a crime. But it's not like Wrath of Khan where Spock dies, or where the Enterprise herself is destroyed. As is frequently the case with Star Trek, the trappings of the film are definitely Cold War. The Federation is clear the US/the West and the Klingons are clearly the Russians. Even the guard on the prison planet introduces it as a "gulag" (Russian for "prison") and speaks with a Russian accent. The Klingon chancellor who genuinely seeks peace is Gorkin, very similar to Gorbachev. And the incident that starts the film, the explosion on Praxis, was clearly inspired by the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor disaster in 1986.
What is surprising about the film is the amount of prejudice and hatred we see from characters we know and care about. It isn't just Kirk who "hates Klingons". Throughout the first half of the film, all sorts of nasty remarks are made about the Klingons, from "They don't place the same value on life as us," to "Did you see the way they eat?" It was really quite disturbing.
But what makes the film work is the murder mystery aspect. Again, we know Kirk isn't guilty - but the evidence seems indisputable. So not only must Spock discover who did it - he must discover "how did it", which is always more interesting. And Spock makes for a fine detective, he even quotes Sherlock Holmes, "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remians, however, improbable must be the truth." Yes, that's right, Spock refers to Holmes as an "ancestor". Which suggests that in the Star Trek universe Sherlock Holmes was real, and that quite probably he was the result of a time traveling Vulcan experiment (and yes, I want to see that story!) Anyway, I enjoyed the mystery aspect, and Spock, step by step, figuring out what happened, how it happened, and ultimately - who was really responsible.
I hadn't seen this film probably since I saw it in the theater when it originally was released, and I remembered enjoying it then. The DVD copy I watched, I actually picked up second-hand a year or so ago. I think at the time, especially with Chernobyl, Glasnost, and Perestroika, and Gorbachev fresh in people's minds - the Cold War plot would have had more meaning. Now it seems like set dressing. However, what really caught my attention was that Praxis was destroyed by over-mining and lack of safety precautions, resulting in an environmental disaster that would, eventually, destroy the Klingon homeworld. That the Klingon Empire spent so much on the military and arms it couldn't even do anything about it, also caught my attention. Because both those things seem much more appropriate now - and not in Russia.
Recommendation: See it
Rating: 4 out of 5
Next Film: Shall We Dance (Japan, 1996)
There's a top-secret meeting at Star Fleet, where Spock reveals that over-mining and lack of safety precautions on Praxis caused the moon to explode. This has poisoned the Ozone on the Klingon homeworld of Kronos, and the planet will be uninhabitable in 50 years. Spock has worked with the Klingon chancellor, Gorkin, coming to an arrangement to de-militarize Star Fleet. Gorkin and the Federation will work towards an uneasy peace. Kirk, who has already indicated his agreement with the most militant of the Star Fleet Admirals, is charged with escorting Gorkin to Earth for a peace conference.
Kirk continues to tell pretty much anyone who will listen that he distrusts Klingons, and even notes in his private captain's log that he blames the Klingons for his son's death.
Kirk and his crew, including Spock, but minus Sulu (who is on the Excelsior still) precede to the point where they are to meet Gorkin's ship. Once there, they invite Gorkin and his staff to a state dinner on the Enterprise. The dinner is a difficult experience for all involved, but not a complete disaster. Shortly after the dinner, as Kirk is settling in from a bit too much Romulan Ale, he's called to the bridge because of a radiation surge. As Kirk watches helplessly, first one, then a second torpedo hit Gorkin's ship, seemingly from the Enterprise herself.
Two Federation officers, wearing gravity boots, and darken helmets, beam to the Klingon vessel, Kronos One, and kill anyone in their way, before attacking Gorkin. They then escape. The gravity boots were necessary because the torpedo shots had disabled the Klingon ship's artificial gravity.
When the Klingons threaten to fire on Enterprise in retaliation, Kirk surrenders his ship. He then takes McCoy with him to Kronos One. Gorkin is injured but not quite dead. McCoy tries to save him, despite his lack of knowledge of Klingon anatomy, but Gorkin dies anyway.
Kirk and McCoy are arrested by the Klingons for killing the Chancellor. Though Defense Attorney Worf attempts to fight the good fight, they are found guilty almost immediately. Evidence against Kirk includes his private log entry about blaming Klingons for the death of his son. Kirk and McCoy are sent to a Klingon prison planet to mine dilithium.
Meanwhile, Spock attempts to find out who really orchestrated the attack on the Klingons, and killed Gorkin. Piece by piece, he works it out with the help of others on the Enterprise.
I don't want to go into details of how Spock solves the mystery, because that would really spoil the movie. However, he does uncover a conspiracy between a few Star Fleet officers and Klingon hard-liners to get rid of Gorkin who had really wanted peace between the Klingons and the Federation (that is, his plans were not a feint or something designed to lure the Federation into "a false sense of security" before a Klingon attack.).
Spock then rescues Kirk and McCoy from the prison planet, and they go off to try to prevent an assassination attempt at the new peace conference at "Camp something". With some help from Sulu and officers on the Excelsior, the Enterprise crew succeeds in saving the Chancellor's daughter, now the new head of the Klingon Empire and thus saves the peace conference.
In his closing monologue, Kirk notes that his crew will make a final cruise (his last line is, "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning," a quote from Peter Pan) then return to Earth to stand down for retirement and a new crew will continue to explore where no man or no one has gone before. The closing credits include the signatures of the original Enterprise crew (Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, Doohan, Nichols, Keonig, and Takei).
Star Trek VI is essentially a murder mystery with cold war trappings. Klingons quoting Shakespeare and a reference to The Manchurian Candidate are thrown in as well. But though that may seem to sound like it's not that good a movie, I actually enjoyed it. I found Star Trek VI to be fun - really fun. First, no one dies in this film. OK, the Klingon chancellor dies, but really - he's playing the part of a murder victim, in a story where our heroes must solve a crime. But it's not like Wrath of Khan where Spock dies, or where the Enterprise herself is destroyed. As is frequently the case with Star Trek, the trappings of the film are definitely Cold War. The Federation is clear the US/the West and the Klingons are clearly the Russians. Even the guard on the prison planet introduces it as a "gulag" (Russian for "prison") and speaks with a Russian accent. The Klingon chancellor who genuinely seeks peace is Gorkin, very similar to Gorbachev. And the incident that starts the film, the explosion on Praxis, was clearly inspired by the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor disaster in 1986.
What is surprising about the film is the amount of prejudice and hatred we see from characters we know and care about. It isn't just Kirk who "hates Klingons". Throughout the first half of the film, all sorts of nasty remarks are made about the Klingons, from "They don't place the same value on life as us," to "Did you see the way they eat?" It was really quite disturbing.
But what makes the film work is the murder mystery aspect. Again, we know Kirk isn't guilty - but the evidence seems indisputable. So not only must Spock discover who did it - he must discover "how did it", which is always more interesting. And Spock makes for a fine detective, he even quotes Sherlock Holmes, "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remians, however, improbable must be the truth." Yes, that's right, Spock refers to Holmes as an "ancestor". Which suggests that in the Star Trek universe Sherlock Holmes was real, and that quite probably he was the result of a time traveling Vulcan experiment (and yes, I want to see that story!) Anyway, I enjoyed the mystery aspect, and Spock, step by step, figuring out what happened, how it happened, and ultimately - who was really responsible.
I hadn't seen this film probably since I saw it in the theater when it originally was released, and I remembered enjoying it then. The DVD copy I watched, I actually picked up second-hand a year or so ago. I think at the time, especially with Chernobyl, Glasnost, and Perestroika, and Gorbachev fresh in people's minds - the Cold War plot would have had more meaning. Now it seems like set dressing. However, what really caught my attention was that Praxis was destroyed by over-mining and lack of safety precautions, resulting in an environmental disaster that would, eventually, destroy the Klingon homeworld. That the Klingon Empire spent so much on the military and arms it couldn't even do anything about it, also caught my attention. Because both those things seem much more appropriate now - and not in Russia.
Recommendation: See it
Rating: 4 out of 5
Next Film: Shall We Dance (Japan, 1996)
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