Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; science-fiction thriller, USA, 1991; D: Nicholas Meyer, S: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Kurtwood Smith, Iman
23rd century. Due to an accident, an energy reactor on the moon Praxis explodes. The consequence: due to radiation, the ozon layer on Klingon's home planet Qo'noS will disappear in 50 years. In order to save themselves, the Klingons want to make peace with the Federation. 12 weeks before the retirement, Admiral Kirk, Mr. Spock and the Enterprise crew are sent to arrange a welcoming comity for Chancellor Gorkon. But, all of a sudden, someone fires on the Klingon spaceship while two Enterprise members are teleported there and kill him. Kirk and Dr. McCoy are declared as guilty by the Klingon court and sent to a icy detention camp. But Spock manages to save them and discover that Klingons and some Federation members are working together to prevent the peace agreement. Luckily, they are able to stop a further assassination attempt.

Perestroika in space: after the disappointing part 5, Paramount Pictures once again hired the acclaimed director Nicholas Meyer for "Star Trek VI" who crafted a fascinating little essay about the rarely seen socio-political context of the Federation and the Klingon Empire in the Star Trek universe that mirrors the US-Soviet relationship during the Cold War, a one that accidentally actually even predicted the breakup of the Soviet Union. As with all "Star Trek" films before it, this one also became a huge box office hit, yet unlike other films, part 6 is a mysterious detective thriller story, thus acting—thanks to tight writing, Meyer's direction and sharp humor—as one of the best contributions to the uneven series. The diner sequence that has the Enterprise crew and the Klingons eating together, marvelously sums up the explosive nature of their relationship—the Klingon female official even scrawls upon the remark that the Klingons should accept a law about human rights, stating: "The sole term 'human rights' is racist. The Federation is just a Homo sapiens club". The scene where Kirk discovers that he hit an alien in his knees, where his genitals are located, is a surreal riot while the finale where the Enterprise assembles a torpedo in order to track down the invisible Klingon ship that attacks them is still one of the most exciting and brilliant endings in the series. Even though there are some small flaws, this is a worthy, dignified and nostalgic farewell to the original Star Trek crew.

Grade:++