Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) User Reviews

once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more

[TheNorthernMonkee · 8/10 · 24 August 2004]

SPOILERS

Thus it came to pass, twenty five years after the original series began, and twelve years after the first movie, the original crew of the USS Enterprise decided to retire. Before going however, they created history and they battled the all too human fear of change, all in a film which is not only brilliant to watch, but is a superb send off to this wonderful crew.

Since "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979), the klingons, the most famous enemy of all, were always shown to be rather a pathetic lot. With their only appearance in the first film being five minutes, they didn't get off to the best of starts. In the third encounter, "The Search for Spock" (1984), they were given slightly more menace but were still relatively inept. Finally in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) the main Klingons were an old alcoholic mess who needed to be shouted at by Spock to do anything, and a pathetic ship Captain who seemed almost childlike and eventually had to apologise to Kirk. Therefore, for a long time, the Klingon Empire always seemed to be hard done by and put upon. In the first ten minutes of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", this process appears to be repeating itself again. With the Klingon moon of Cronos being half destroyed, Captain Sulu's USS Excelsior encounters the shock-wave when they discover this awful accident. Skipping forward and on Earth the Federation's leaders are informed that the Klingon Empire is now facing doom. As a result, Captain Kirk's Enterprise is sent to meet with Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner in yet another different role) and to begin discussions of Peace. It isn't long however before things go wrong and Captain Kirk is forced to battle the wonderfully evil General Chang (Christopher Plummer).

The beauty of this sixth film is that it puts considerable thought into all the real aspects required to make a decent "Star Trek" movie. With the crew beginning to feel their age, they perform brilliantly in their final adventure. At the same time, the supporting cast (including Plummer, Warner, Kim Cattrell and Brock Peters) is well thought out and constructed. Out of this supporting cast comes the absolutely superb General Chang, played by Christopher Plummer. When considering all of this series of films, arguably the three finest attempts are "The Wrath Of Khan", "The Undiscovered Country" and "First Contact". With the three charismatic, appealing bad guys in the form of Khan, Chang and the Borg Queen, these films appeal because they have an evenly matched battle. Whether it's Captain Kirk or Captain Picard, both Shatner and Stewart perform better in their roles when they are given an enemy to sink their teeth into. None is more true of General Chang in this film. Chang represents an almost Klingon alternative of Kirk. Both are Warriors with strong knowledge of Earth's past (Chang quoting Shakespeare perhaps once too often), and for the majority of the time, they both are terrified of change. The key to Kirk's success in this film is not the eventual destruction of Chang, but that Kirk is willing to set aside his prejudices and accept the Klingon offer of peace. The bartering between the two is superb and the film is considerably better for it.

"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" is probably more what people would classify as a typical adventure. Whilst the forth film was funny, it never felt like it belonged in the series, and it was then followed by the awful fifth film which was just in general bad. Therefore it feels like this final voyage of the original crew has saved face really. This film feels like it has learnt to respect the genre. Constructing a brilliant plot, Nimoy, Konner and Rosenthal, have given the characters wide enough space for them to develop, whilst simultaneously sticking to what makes "Star Trek" so great. There are battles, there's drama, there's emotion and there is mystery. With these however, the crew are able to banter between themselves, with Dr McCoy (the late, great DeForest Kelley) getting some of the best lines once again.

Ultimately, there is only one flaw with "Star Trek VI" and that is that it reminds us that this is the end. Whilst Patrick Stewart and the crew of the Enterprise NCC 1701-D would pick up the reigns from this moment on, the series would never be as good as it was with Captain Kirk in command. "Star Trek VI" tells us that never again will we see this crew together on board the Enterprise. This film is a brilliant film and a suitable way of saying farewell to this group of people, but this is in itself, rather upsetting.

An Excellent Swan Song for the Original Series

[Wuchakk · 8/10 · 7 January 2012]

THE STORY: Peace negotiations between the Federation and Klingon Empire are interrupted by the assassination of a Klingon high official; Captain Kirk is blamed and thus he & McCoy get sentenced to an alien mining penal colony.

Like many of the original TV episodes which incorporated the important issues of the day into a futuristic space story, "Star Trek VI" (1991) is a morality play about the wall coming down in outer space, with the Klingons standing in for the Soviets. Nice moral about how radical change can be really scary -- there are some who are able to embrace it and others who have serious difficulty with it. In this case there are adverse reactions on both sides by those who believe they have too much invested in the present state of hostility.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch out for the ravishing Kim Cattrall playing Vulcan Lieutenant Valeris. She adequately proves that sex appeal is not necessarily about nudity and flirtation, as Valeris is fully clothed and maintains a demeanor of sophistication the entire film. The formal dinner with the Klingons is also a highlight; it's reminiscent of Khan's powerful dinner scene from "Space Seed." When the dinner party ends and the Klingons beam away, each Enterprise crewmember shares a fitting exclamation of relief, including Scotty's "Thank God!" and McCoy's "I'm going to go find a pot of BLACK coffee." After everyone says their piece Spock merely looks around and characteristically raises an eyebrow. Kirk meanwhile returns to his cabin to "sleep it off" and voices his final log entry for the day: "Note to Galley: Romulan ale no longer to be served at diplomatic functions" (lol).

BEST HISTORICAL QUOTE: As General Chang prosecutes Kirk at the trial he screams out "DON'T WAIT FOR THE TRANSLATION -- ANSWER ME NOW!!" The writers ingeniously slipped this famous line in; it's a quote from U.N. Representative Adlai Stevenson during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 wherein he drilled Soviet Ambassador Zorin.

BEST HOMAGE: It was twelve years before that Shatner uttered his ridiculously criticized "Oh my God" line in "The Motion Picture." Well, guess how he reacts when he meets an intimidating 7-foot pig-skinned alien in the mines? You guessed it.

I could go on with the highlights; this is just a taste of the many great scenes/bits.

FINAL ANALYSIS: This is the last film in which the entire original cast appear together, and it's a more-than-solid outing verging on greatness; a good chronicling of the events leading up to the Klingon-Federation alliance portrayed in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Although the film lacks the profundities of "The Motion Picture," "The Final Frontier" and "Generations," it's a more than satisfying romp -- very involving and fun, highlighted by a nice whodunit scenario. What more could a Trek fan ask for? Needless to say, a fine way to end The Original Series.

CRY HAVOK AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!!

Thrilling installment in which Enterprise crew takes on a dark conspiracy against Federation

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 26 February 2012]

This entertaining outing deals with an accident on the Klingon moon that turns their planet inhabitable , it forces the Klingon Empire into a truce with the Federation . Reluctant Kirk (William Shatner) , despite his mistrust of the Klingons after they killed his son in Genesis, is assigned to escort a Klingon cruiser carrying the Klingon Chancellor to Earth for the meeting point . Enterprise crew is missioned to negotiate a peace treaty with Klingon leader (David Warner) but are double-crossed by renegade cohorts . During the journey to the ship , the Klingon cruiser is torpedoed , and Kirk and McCoy fall prey a trap , being taken prisoners after the Chancellor is killed by two Starfleet crewmen assassins . Spock immediately begins an investigation, while Kirk and McCoy( DeForest Kelley) are judged and sentenced to life on Rura Penthe - a far deep-frozen asteroid , there they meet a weird transformer being (Iman). Meanwhile, Spock has discovered that a Klingon Bird of Prey - one that can fire when cloaked , and under the command of Klingon General Chang (Christopher Plummer) - is the aircraft responsible for firing on the Chancellor, and the two killers came from the Enterprise . The crews of the Enterprise and the Excelsior piloted by Sulu (George Takei) must stop a plot to prevent a peace treaty between the Klingon Empire and the Federation . Meanwhile , Spock (Leonard Nimoy, also executive producer), Scotty (James Doohan), Uhura (Michelle Nichols) , Chekov (Walter Koenig) attempt to free Kirk and McCoy ; they also discover a conspiracy.

This epic story is concentrated on characters as well as thrill-packed action and special effects although there're numerous of that too . The movie has tension, brief touches of humor , emotion, suspense and sensational spacial scenarios like is customary development of the franchise . Spectacular, exciting , fast-paced , thrilling this is the description of this new outing of Star Trek , film that re-innovates the saga through a perfect pulse narrative that does not give a second of rest to the spectator who is trapped for two hours approx. in a genuine visual spectacle . Idealism ,humor , humanity , several agreeable characters and trademark effects abound and will please the enthusiasts such as the neophyte .

The top-notch acting convinces with the usual deliciously flamboyant interpretations from Shatner , Nimoy , Koenig , Takei , Nichols and especially Christopher Plummer in a super-villain role , while other secondary players as Kim Cattrall, Mark Lenard , Brock Peters, John Schuck , Micheal Dorn , Kurtwood Smith also make a nice work . The stirring final amazing the spectator , in which the thrilling and spectacular scenes create a perfect union that terminates with an ending that leaves you stuck in the armchair facing the formidable spectacle as a privileged witness . Fans of the series may find much to love , and others will be pleased . Exceptional soundtrack by Cliff Eidelman , he composes an impressive musical accompaniment to the film . Furthermore , a colorful and evocative cinematography by Hiro Narita . The motion picture is stunningly directed by Nicolas Meyer (Star Trek II : Wrath of Khan , Time after the time , The deceivers , The day after) who also concocted the story . Suitable for family viewing , it's an enjoyable adventure which young and old men will enjoy . Fans of the series will find this entry very amusing and fun . It is entertaining to watch and Trekkies are sure to love it , resulting to be one of the best and last installments with the original characters .

Let Slip The Dogs Of War!

[tieman64 · 16 February 2010]

The fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War unleashed a spate of Hollywood films in which Russians defected to the United States ("The Hunt For Red October"), Russians and Americans teamed up to fight crime ("Red Heat"), shaky peace-talks began between Soviet and US politicians ("The Undiscovered Country"), dissident Americans sold defence secrets to the Soviets ("Falcon and the Snowman") and likable America warriors kicked steroid injected Russian ass ("Rocky 4").

Directed by Nicholas Meyer, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" is one of the more interesting of such films. Meyer, a director and novelist who imbues his films with a quiet intelligence, is of course the man responsible for "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan", a film which virtually re-invented "Star Trek". Meyer took Melville's "Moby Dick", several allusions to "Hornblower", Naval classics and submarine flicks, and turned Star Trek into a full blown maritime adventure movie in space. The pretentious technobabble and the soulless FX of Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion picture" (it's actually pretty good), and the utopian flailings of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, gave way to crowd pleasing action, humour, screwball banter, likable heroes and retro design changes. Elsewhere uniforms were given a more maritime feel, battles were staged like nautical encounters, crewmen blew whistles, torpedoes were loaded like cannons, captains talked about rudders and villains wore pirate eye-patches.

These changes, of course, annoyed both Roddenberry and the die hard fanboys. How dare Trek – a series about ideas and social issues - degenerate into a mainstream action movie!? How dare you turn a futuristic fleet of star ships into a jazzed up version of The British Navy, each vessel literally piloted by a crew of Red Coats!? It's a valid point, until you realise that Meyer was the first artist associated with Trek to have recognised, not only that Star Trek was always "Hornblower in space", but that it was always a fascist and xenophobic franchise. Meyer didn't turn The Federation of Planets into "The British Empire with warp drive", he merely amplified, and questioned, what was always there.

And so "The Undiscovered Country" begins by introducing Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) as an unashamed racist. Having lost his son to a "dirty" Klingon warrior, Kirk hates the Klingons, believing them to be vile, vulgar, violent and always untrustworthy. Of course his crew shares his sentiments. Why wouldn't they? Throughout the TV series, the Klingons were cast as token Russian, Black and Japanese villains. They were savage barbarians wearing Asian clothes and mostly played by black actors.

But when Kirk's ship is chosen to host the peace talks between the Federation (US) and Klingon (Soviet) Empires, Meyer undermines our preconceptions by portraying the Klingons as a well spoken and sophisticated group, adept at quoting Shakespeare and well versed in Earth literature. Far from a band of vile pirates, they come across as classy noblemen. Kirk and his merry men, meanwhile, look like a horde of drunken sailors.

Later, Meyer deftly toys with his audience's preconceptions, teasing us with the possibility that the Klingon's are responsible for a cunning attack on their own ambassador. But what actually unfolds is an elaborate plot, started by human, Vulcan, Romulan and Klingon militarist factions (in other words, we're all guilty), to destabilise any hope of peace between the empires. Old animosities and fears of change are essentially exploited in order to maintain the intergalactic status quo. The status quo being the constant cultural, scientific and military superiority of the United Federation of Planets.

Beyond its simple parable, "Country" resumes Meyer's fondness for turning his films into altars to classic literature. Dickens, Melville, Doyle, Shakespeare...these are his influences. Watch how he has Spock turn into Sherlock Holmes, frantically racing to solve "the case of the missing gravity boots". Watch how he pulls the film's title out of Hamlet, has bad guys quoting Shakespeare and has characters standing proudly before bookshelves adorned with "A Tale of Two Cities". References to Peter Pan, the Merchant of Venice, The Tempest and the racially themed "Guess Who's Coming To Diner", give the film a classiness which the franchise typically lacks.

Other impressive things abound: despite severe budget limitations, Meyer's space battles are deliciously spatial, his action has a cerebral kick, his dialogue is exceptionally well written (often screwball, always memorable, packed with one-liners), he makes sure all his cast members are given shining moments and cleverly counters Shatner's theatricality with appropriately theatrical villains. Elsewhere the film features an explosive shock-wave which set in stone the look of all future space shock-waves (the "Star Wars" shock-wave was only added in 1997).

Still, the film has two flaws. Firstly, the film's lead characters are all ultimately heroes, each with their obligatory "save the day" sequences. You sense that Meyer wants them to be tarnished, to be deeply wounded in some way, but that these characters have simply become too iconic, too mythic, to be meddled with. And so all the film's evils are given to token characters, Kirk's evils transplanted to a Federation admiral, Spock's evils to a Vulcan officer, the Klingon's evils to a rouge captain and so forth. Secondly, like most science fiction films, the film fails in its depiction of alien planets (a boring ice planet) and alien creatures (shape shifters and costumed dogs). But this is mainstream sci-fi. When you're dealing with swashbuckling space opera, dog puppets and ice planets will suffice.

8.5/10 – Worth multiple viewings.

Not exactly Shakespeare but still top quality

[David_Frames · 7/10 · 21 June 2005]

The final Trek for the original crew of the Enterprise restores the talent behind the camera including Star Trek II's Nicholas Meyer as director and thus intelligence and high production values are back on screen after the stagnant Star Trek V. The Undiscovered Country is a generous cut of the franchise's sweet meat though it doesn't hold the same place in my affections as Trek's II, III and IV. The story is the series at it's best - a deft allegory of the fall of Soviet Communism with the old cast having to question their old assumptions about those 'Klingon bastards' who are now suing for peace with their Federation foes. The ensuing political double crosses, assassinations and space battles are far meatier and more interesting than anything in the previous film and this is all counterbalanced by something approaching poignancy given that the movie represents a final fling for our quasi-geriatric heroes. The direction and visual effects are top notch with Meyer getting the best out of the classic cast including a surprisingly descent turn from Shatner who rediscovers a bit of the old magic as a Kirk trying to reconcile his hatred of the enemy and his personal resentment against the practicalities of the peace initiative. Its really his movie, though Spock and McCoy have some good moments and Christopher Plummer's General Chang provides prime cut villainy with just a glint in his eye (literally just the one eye) and a stroke of his Klingon moustache. His propensity to quote Shakespeare is a bit of a hoary old cliché for your would-be enemy but it works nicely as a hallmark of a man who has invested in the culture of his adversaries in an attempt to best them intellectually. As a military man with an less than honourable agenda he's a far more convincing villain than any megalomaniac hell bent on world domination, partially because writers Meyer, Nimoy and Flinn understand that the real world grounding of the story invests it with a edge and a credibility that might otherwise be wanting. There are a few false notes - The Enterprise rescue of Kirk and McCoy has always felt a bit too clean and easy for my liking and the purple Klingon blood is just inaccurate for continuity purposes but I'll put my hands up to pedantry on that one. The major faux pas though is the final 'sign off' from the crew in which their signatures are 'written' across the screen. Its not the idea that's wrong its the fact we're looking at the actor's signatures and not those of the characters. It feels like a bit of mis-step because it betrays a misunderstanding of the fact that it's the characters that made the series fly not an interest in William Shatner, Deforrest Kelly and so on. From the moment I first saw it it never felt right to me but still, there you go. Gene Rodenberry just got to see this before he died and a good job too because I think he'd have been satisfied that his original crew had gone out on a something of a high note. He'd also never see the 4 movies that followed with the Next Generation cast and for that alone he may have got out at just the right time.

A fitting end for the crew of the NCC-1701-A.

[colonel_green · 9/10 · 14 September 2004]

The journey that began on the small screen in 1967 comes to its end on the big screen in 1991, after three TV seasons, six films, and the creation of a cultural phenomenon unrivaled in the history of television. The crew of the original series had met with mixed results on the big screen, producing the excellent The Wrath of Khan, but also the inexcusably bad The Final Frontier; the other four ranged from passable to good. After the financial failure of Star Trek V, Paramount brought back Star Trek II director Nicholas Meyer, and commissioned from him the final voyage of the original cast. As Star Trek so often does, the events depicted mirror the glasnost of the late 1980s, as the collapse of the Soviet Union eased global tensions and heralded the beginning of a new era. In the Trek universe, the possibility of rapproachment between the Federation and the Klingon Empire raises the hackles of hardliners on both sides, and Kirk and co. must prevent the weak peace from being destroyed. The original cast is in fine form, all of them giving their all to make the (potentially) final appearances of their characters memorable. Despite William Shatner's reputation as a ham actor, he delivers a great performance here; his final log entry is one of Trek's finest moments. As the villain of the piece, we get General Chang (Christopher Plummer), a Klingon out to insure "no peace in our time". Plummer is superb, chewing scenery and spewing Shakespeare with a wonderfully loathsome presence. I would rank Chang below Khan and the Borg Queen, but far above all the other Trek villains. There are some tacky anachronisms typical of Meyer's style, and the usual amount of discontinuities and canon issues; but that's inevitable, and I can accept it if it leads to a good story. Trek VI is a good story. 9/10.

True to the milieu, but ...

[chrissch · 6/10 · 22 April 2001]

Star Trek VI is as faithful to the world of the original Star Trek as anything done since then. And its visual effects are good. For that, I rated it a 6.

But the story is recycled and stale. Federation vs. Klingons vs. Romulans... you only get so many possible combinations before you *have* to recycle. And the two-dimensional characters that played so well in the late 60s -- Kirk's swagger and defiance of regulations, McCoy's crusty wisecracking past the graveyard, Sulu's cheerful and unquestioning loyalty, and the Klingons' I-double-dare-you truculence -- don't play in a world that's learned that characters have three dimensions. Only Spock ("Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the ending") and one of the Klingons ("Kirk ... don't let it end like this") seem to have evolved at all.

In its original incarnation, Star Trek's drama fit the times. It was the Cold War era, and American culture -- especially its political culture -- saw good and evil as white and black. In that context, Star Trek not only fit, it was progressive. And Star Trek VI is a great chapter in that world which, for many, lives on. But the real world has evolved while the future world of Kirk and the crew has stayed, paradoxically, in the past. To a world that's learned to see shades of gray, and even pieces of the rainbow, Star Trek VI is just a comic book brought to life.

One of the best in the series!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 7 October 2002]

In the theatre years ago when I saw this film I thought gosh this is really different for a Star Trek film. It had so much suspense and conspiracy, and so much mystery that this was one of the best films in the collection. The acting is great, the action and the effect are superb, and the music is very good! I recommend this to all Star Trek and sci-fi film fans!

Cold War In Space

[zkonedog · 6/10 · 12 March 2017]

Up to this point in the Star Trek movie series, each film harkened back to a specific aspect of the Star Trek: Original Series television show. "Wrath of Khan" was an action/adventure story, "Search For Spock" pulled at the heartstrings, "Voyage Home" was a comedic romp, and "Final Frontier" was a philosophical endeavor (albeit a failure). In "The Undiscovered Country", however, the Star Trek writers/producers focused on an area that had also been a solid part of the original TV series: politics.

Without delving too deeply into plot details, this film uses the Federation/Klingon relationship to almost exactly parallel the U.S/U.S.S.R relationship. This symbiosis is successful in two ways: First, the similarities are not cheesy (like in Rocky IV, which went way over the top in depicting the U.S./Russia relationship). Second, the reason that the similarities do not stray into silliness is the acting of William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Throughout the earlier movies, Kirk's relationship with the Klingons went from mistrust to out and out hatred, as they were involved in the death of his son. Thus, in this film Kirk must also comes to terms with his prejudice, or risk being labelled a "dinosaur" and considered past his prime.

If you were disenfranchised by the sub-par Star Trek V, this movie represents a step forward again. It dwells too much on already-covered themes to truly be great but it is watchable and enjoyable.

Classic Space Opera

[itamarscomix · 9/10 · 24 May 2005]

The final Star Trek film to feature the original cast is an enormous improvement after the awful fifth film, and might just be the best in the series. Much of it is probably thanks to the return of director Nicholas Meyer, who is responsible also for the classic Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (while film III through V were directed by cast members). Meyer's very professional directing shows in every scene on ST-VI, and the old cast - William Shatner (Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelly (McCoy), James Doohan (Scotty) and the rest - give here what is without doubt their finest performance. Mind - Shatner and Nimoy are by now 60 years old, while Kelly and Doohan are well into their 70s. But there isn't a trace of the pathetic silliness that characterized the fifth movie; Meyer knows what to do with these aging actors that wouldn't make them look like idiots. What we see in Star Trek VI is a much more mature approach, and the crew members have to face, more than an outside enemy, their own aging, and their fear of change. That fear is a key element here, and it's an issue that is well handled and is always relevant.

While the old cast members are doing splendidly here, the movie introduces some fantastic new characters. First and foremost, the experienced Shakespearean actor Christopher Plummer makes a fascinating villain in the conservative and suspicious Klingon General Chang, endlessly throwing out Shakespeare quotes on every turn. ('You haven't truly enjoyed Shakespeare until you've read it in the original Klingon') Also, Kim Cattrall, who achieved much success lately in the acclaimed 'Sex And The City'), plays the Vulcan Lt. Valeris and gives a great performance. Finally, David Warner gives a brief but memorable performance as the visionary Chancellor Gorkon. The real stars here, though, are Shatner and Kelly, whose attempt to save the Chancellor's life, as well as their trial for assassination before a Klingon court (CAMEO: Michael Dorn, who plays Worf in the Next Generation, plays Kirk and McCoy's attorney here - Colonel Worf. An ancestor, probably) make for some of the best scenes ever seen on Star Trek. The directing and camera work are splendid, and the script has just the right amount of self humor, which was dreadfully lacking from the fifth movie (e.g.: Spock: 'If I were human I believe my response would be "go to hell." ...If I were human.' All in all, a remarkable sign off for the original crew of the Enterprise and one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.

Forced Cold War analogy doesn't quite work.

[jckruize · 6/10 · 18 August 2003]

This 6th installment in the franchise (the last with the full original TV cast) risks harming co-writer/director Nicholas Meyer's reputation as auteur of STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. His script for this one, written with partner Denny Martin Flinn and based on an idea by Leonard Nimoy, is more than a little obvious and simplistic. In a way it seems almost a throwback to the original, relatively unsophisticated TV series; all the more surprising in contrast to the literacy and mature sensibilities of KHAN's scenario, originally written by Jack B. Sowards and supposedly vastly polished and improved by Meyer's doctoring.

What worked especially well in KHAN -- the larger than life villainy of Ricardo Montalban's title character, eloquently expressed in quotations from Melville, among others -- is here rather hammily echoed by Christopher Plummer as the Klingon General Chang. Unfortunately, his character's ferocity seems designed simply to fulfill the story's requirement of a baddie who can engage in a 'duel of wits' with Kirk, as in STII. But there's no backstory and no dramatic connection between the two warriors, and to be honest, Plummer's overwrought Shakespearean readings become old pretty fast.

The parallel between the collapse of the Soviet Union in our time, and that of the Klingon Empire in the 23rd century, could have been quite effective if dramatized with more subtlety and believability. But again and again the proceedings here are undermined by obviousness and by-the-numbers plotting. We get Kirk as an unrepentant Klingon-hater who must eventually see the error of his ways. We get the insufferably smug Enterprise officers (?) showing disgust at their Klingon guests' table manners. We get a clichéd prison camp of horrors. And we get the unintentional comedy of actors who memorize their script and never listen to their fellow actors, or the director, to come to a consensus on how to pronounce "Gorkon."

There are a few fine scenes, particularly a harrowing demonstration of the power of the Vulcan mindmeld as performed by Nimoy and Kim Cattrall, and a funny exchange between DeForest Kelley and Shatner which alludes to Kirk's conspicuous womanizing. But there are also some of the dumbest things you'll ever see in a Star Trek story. How about a starship crewman who doesn't wear shoes? Why? Because he has big clawed feet and can't find a single cobbler in the entire galaxy who can make a pair of boots for him! How about a shapeshifting creature who can not only transform her/its body into an exact replica of another person's, but manages to perfectly duplicate the clothes as well?! How about the spectacle of the Enterprise officers, having foiled an assassination attempt in the nick of time, being treated to a round of applause by a bunch of Federation diplomats? Yep, these are all just as stupid as they sound.

So which is it? Is Meyer a wizard or a hack? And is it "Gork'n" or "Gor-khan"?

One of the best 'Star Trek' Films

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 17 March 2019]

After an ecological disaster the future of the Klingons is in doubt; there only chance of survival is forging a peace with the Federation. A reluctant Captain Kirk is ordered to take the Enterprise to a rendezvous point and escort the Klingon chancellor to the peace conference. They meet and have a dinner together then, shortly after the Klingons return to their ship, it appears as though the Enterprise is firing on them even though nobody on the bridge is giving any such orders. In the immediate aftermath two men in Star Fleet uniforms beam aboard the Klingon vessel and shoot many people including the Chancellor before leaving again. Wishing to prove their innocence Kirk and Dr McCoy beam over to help but are arrested and ultimately jailed on a frozen penal colony. If they are to survive they must escape from their prison and their colleagues aboard the enterprise must find out who is the true villain behind the attempted sabotage of the peace conference.

Too my mind this is one of the best 'Star Trek' films. The story is top notch; providing good reasons for the events we see. This leads to plenty of action scenes; a sense of peril, especially for Kirk and McCoy; and, something we don't usually get in 'Star Trek' films... a mystery. This mystery means that much of the fil can be looked on as a sci-fi police procedural/spy thriller as the crew sift the evidence, hunt down clues and close in on the real culprits. While the identity of the most important of these culprits wasn't too surprising their motivation wasn't quite as villainous as one might expect. As well as action and mystery there were moments of humour; notably a Klingon warrior who constantly quotes 'the Klingon playwright' Shakespeare! The cast does a fine job; as one would expect all the regulars impress in their established roles; also notable are Kim Cattrall, as Lt. Valeris; David Warner, as Chancellor Gorkon; Christopher Plummer as Chang and Iman as the shapeshifting prisoner Martia. While only in a small part it was fun seeing Michael Dorn, who will later play Worf, as the Klingon lawyer representing Kirk and McCoy at their trial. Overall I'd say this is a must see for all Star Trek fans.

A Fine End, Though By Far Not My Favorite

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 27 April 2006]

Let's get this out of the way: having Klingons bleed purple blood that looks like melted crayons is a really silly idea. Having the blood float in space is really cool and one of the best effects of the film, but purple? This takes away from the seriousness of the situation and I don't know who okayed such a stupid thing. But I digress...

We see the Original Cast on their last voyage, where they try to secure a peace treaty between the Klingons and Federation. Unfortunately, someone assassinates the Klingon Chancellor and Kirk/Bones are framed.

The film is great for a closing to the series, but also as a launching pad for the Next Generation universe. We see Worf's grandfather, and we see the Klingons moving into their TNG phase. We see Kirk and Bones working together to fight the wrongs assigned to them. We see Spock take full command of the Enterprise (something he was meant to do). Oh, and best of all, we see Christian Slater.

I already complained about the blood. And that's really the only thing I didn't like. I can complain they put David Warner (the Lexus guy) in this film as a Klingon after he appeared in part 5 as a human, but you probably didn't even notice until I pointed it out, did you? So yeah, it's fine. If you watched the other five, you are pretty much obligated to complete your run.

The most overrated of the *Trek* movies

[counterrevolutionary · 4/10 · 14 February 2008]

Ironically, Nicholas Meyer also directed the best of the *Trek* movies, and the only one which I think works as a real movie (as opposed to a device for vacuuming dollars out of Trekkies' wallets), *The Wrath of Khan*. I guess he just got lucky with that one. Nevertheless, bringing him back to rescue the series from the clutches of the Shatnermonster was clearly a good decision. Everyone seems to have been so relieved that they are willing to ignore this movie's many and massive flaws.

The core problem here is that the smug self-righteousness which was always the most obnoxious thing about *Star Trek* serves as the very basis of the film, and is handled in an even more ham-handed manner than it usually is. (Funny how no one ever behaves like a racist jerk until a Point needs to be made, and then suddenly Starfleet's full of 'em!)

But that is exacerbated by a constant stream of little idiocies and absurdities:

Chekov asks if he should raise shields when the *Enterprise* meets the ship they were expecting to meet. So, complete idiots can become officers on the Federation flagship, then?

The idea of Klingons and humans dining together is treated as a shocking and unprecedented thing, even though the end of the previous movie, they were shown partying together (though it is understandable why everyone wanted to forget that the execrable *ST5* existed).

Spock just happens to have a sticky-backed homing device which he can place on Kirk's shirt when he needs one, even though there is no reason at the time for him to be carrying one around.

This marvel of 23rd-century miniaturization is an inch long and half an inch wide and remains clearly visible on the shoulder of Kirk's uniform throughout the entire process of his arrest and trial, but the Klingons never notice it.

Neither the *Enterprise*'s crew, nor even the computer, can easily tell from the trajectory of a torpedo whether it came from *Enterprise*'s launchers or a point under her keel? And the "neutron surge" which "could only have come from another ship" didn't alert anyone to the presence of another ship until after Kirk and McCoy had been sentenced? I think I see how Chekov kept getting promoted.

Apparently, gravity boots are not standard equipment on Starfleet vessels with artificial gravity, since only the killers will have them. Gee, you'd think having a few pairs around would be kind of useful, just in case.

Valeris demonstrates the *Enterprise*'s alarm system by actually firing a phaser at a pot of food in the galley, instead of just explaining it.

The guy she's explaining it to is Chekov. That's right, the brand-new helm officer is explaining ship operations to an officer who has served on this ship and its predecessor for a quarter-century. Worse, she says, "As you know" before explaining it. So what was that idiotic demonstration in aid of, exactly? Why not just say, "The alarms would have gone off"?

The pot disappears, while the food inside it remains, even though no *Star Trek* phaser has ever worked that way before or since. Apparently Meyer thought this would be cool.

Uhura comes to investigate the alarm at the head of the security team. That's right, the communications officer! And no, she doesn't bother calling on the comm system to find out what happened, she actually runs down to check it out in person, because...uh, because they needed an excuse to get Nichelle Nichols into the scene, I guess. Then Scotty runs in for the same reason. Apparently only the main guys care about stuff like that and don't have jobs to do.

Even though the comm officer is standing right there, Spock orders the helm officer to send a false message to Starfleet. Why? Because the helm officer is a Vulcan, and it allows them to remind us that Vulcans don't lie unless it's *absolutely* necessary to the plot.

It took *that long* for someone to notice the bright purple blood on the transporter pad? Can the transporters be accessed by just anyone? And aren't there records? Haven't any number of episode plots turned on transporter records?

So Kirk *knew* about the homing device, and didn't even bother moving it to a less conspicuous location? Lucky Klingons are as dumb as humans.

I'm not even going to go into the manifest imbecility of the "Klingon dictionary" scene, except to say, "Books? Printed books?!"

Why would Spock ask McCoy to help him reprogram a torpedo? Dammit, he's a doctor, not an engineer!

Why can a bunch of people just beam into a secret summit conference with phasers drawn, a short time after the Klingon Chancellor was assassinated? You'd think Starfleet and Klingon security would be pretty keen on stopping things like that.

Apparently phasers have a rarely-used "defenestration" setting.

(I won't mention "Colonel [!] West," since Meyer apparently retained enough sense to cut him from the original release.)

Stupid movie.

Pride & Prejudice

[DarthBill · 15 April 2004]

The last hurrah for the entire original crew sans Sulu, who now has command of the Excelsior featured in #2 and #3 (disregarding Kirk's goodbye in "Star Trek: Generations"), has Kirk and the gang playing diplomatic missionary of peace hosts to Klingon David Warner. Kirk does not like this because he honestly and openly admits he doesn't like Klingons and probably never will. After the dinner reception, however, the Klingon ship is attacked and Klingon David Warner killed. Kirk and McCoy try to help Warner in his hour of death but after Warner expires they are arrested and sentenced to life on a frozen wasteland of a planet. While they fight to stay alive, Spock and company try to figure out what's going on and the whole thing leads to a conspiracy on both sides of the Klingon/Federation dispute.

After the box office woes of #5, the old crew gets a touching farewell in this politically charged science fictional drama that bears more than a few resemblances to the end of the Cold War. Superb special effects, a fun performance by Christopher Plummer as a sadistic Klingon and a fun cameo by Michael Dorn as Kirk & McCoy's Klingon lawyer. Dark and eerie in spots, uplifting in its finale.

Chernobyl and Perestroika, but no Berlin Wall?

[The_Other_Snowman · 6/10 · 19 August 2010]

This is the second Trek movie by Nicholas Meyer, fan-favorite writer and director of "The Wrath of Khan". It has the same strengths: a plot based firmly in pulp history, some good action scenes, and a fairly serious tone. It also shares the same weaknesses: dull direction and photography, rampant militarism, and clichéd dialogue.

Kudos to the writers and producers and whoever for adding the political allegory. The Klingon Empire is collapsing due to a disaster of some sort, and it presents the Federation with a perfect opportunity, either to finally defeat their old enemies, or to turn over a new leaf and make friends. If you've seen The Next Generation, you'll know the outcome.

The problem is that this is all rather tawdry. It turns out that the 23rd century is a lot like the present day, with politicians and military types and conferences everywhere you look. Remember the days when the Enterprise explored space and encountered exciting new alien life forms? None of that here. This is a much more old-fashioned adventure, with Kirk and Bones framed for assassinating the Klingon leader and shipped off to a prison planet while Spock and the gang try to solve the mystery of exactly what the heck happened.

The middle third of the film moves slowly. The prison is full of aliens but otherwise a bit drab. The villain is not revealed as such until late, and doesn't get developed at all. The mystery is never as convincing as it should be because it always seems like Spock already has all the answers -- a technique Nicholas Meyer learned from old Sherlock Holmes films, though not from the genuine Holmes stories. Those stories are quoted along with an awful lot of Shakespeare; the Klingon in charge of the prison lifts his intro speech direct from "Bridge on the River Kwai". The climax is pretty sharp, with a decent space battle. (Actually, the battle consists almost entirely of the Enterprise getting repeatedly shot at by a Klingon ship while Christopher Plummer spits out random Shakespearean one-liners; it's a wonder the scene works at all).

So it's not a bad film, it just feels a little small. Galactic politics don't carry enough weight to make a really good movie, and there's not enough fun or adventure in the rest of the story. As usual, the unwieldy plot tends to crowd the characters out of the film, even though this, the last movie with the original crew, is where we really want to see each of our heroes get a good send-off.

Hard To Say Goodbye.....

[domino1003 · 10/10 · 23 July 2005]

"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" is the final film with the entire original cast. This is also the best of the series because we see the Enterprise crew, past their prime, save the universe one more time.

As the film opens, we are witness to an ecological disaster. As the starship Excelsior, now under the command of Capt. Sulu (George Takei)is on a survey, they witness the aftermath of the explosion of the Klingon moon called Praxis. Even though Sulu is ready to offer assistance, The Klingons want no help from them.

Later, the Enterprise crew is called into a top secret meeting and is apprised of the situation,which is dire (Think Chernoble). Because of the devastation (Which will destroy their ozone within 50 years), the Klingons offer to extend an olive branch with the Federation. In other words, The Klingons and The Federation want a peace treaty.

Considering that the Klingon Empire and the Federation have been at each others throats for ages, this doesn't sit well with the parties involved, especially Captain Kirk (William Shatner), who wants nothing to do with the process considering that it was the Klingons who had killed his son (See "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock"). In fact, when Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who has been working with the Klingons for the treaty, tells them that they are dying, Kirk viciously says "Let them die!" Ouch. However, he has to follow orders.

Soon the crew of the Enterprise meets with Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner), his officer General Chang (Christopher Plummer) and his daughter Azetbur (Rosanna DeSoto). During a dinner in which pretty much everyone is intoxicated with Romulan Ale, there is some negativity among both sides, clearly indicating that the road to peace is going to be a bumpy one.

And it is.

Later, the Klingon ship is fired upon, seemingly by The Enterprise, and the Chancellor is assassinated, despite the attempts of Kirk and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) to save him. Both Kirk and McCoy are arrested and put on trial. Found guilty, both are sentenced to the ice planet known as Rura Penthe. How bad is it? Judging from Uhura's (Nichelle Nichols) and Scotty's(James Doohan)reaction, it would have been better for Kirk and McCoy to have been executed on the spot.

Spock knows that a conspiracy is present. And so, while he is trying to find out the facts, Kirk and McCoy try to stay alive on the penal planet.

With time running out before the peace conference starts, the crew of the Enterprise must not also save Kirk and McCoy, but to race to the site of the conference to stop another assassination from taking place, which will destroy any chance of peace. This proves even more difficult when they discover that there is a Klingon Bird of Prey that can fire when cloaked. And that those involved in the conspiracy work on both sides of the coin.

What is interesting about the film is that it mirrors the general feelings between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. Once considered enemies, each side works together for peace, even if both sides are skeptical. We also see the flaws of the crew of the Enterprise: everyone is prejudiced. Chekov (Walter Koenig), during dinner, mentions "unalienable human rights," and is chastised by Azetbur for his "racist" comments. Even Mr. Spock is prejudiced: he's so blinded by the accomplishments of his Vulcan protégé Valeris (Kim Catrall), that he doesn't see how much of a threat she is (He admits this to Kirk later on) until it is almost too late.

It is nice to see the crew back in action one last time, and you can't help but get a bit misty eyed (Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek died before it's release, and this film is dedicated to him). A nice way to end the series, but it's hard to say goodbye.

This one kind of got lost among the many Trek films

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 15 July 2006]

This Star Trek film is one of the more difficult ones to remember in my mind after I saw it. I thought it was okay, but that was really about it. Then I saw it again a few years later and I realized it was actually a good film but just feel it gets lost in the mind of many fans because it is the last in the series to star all the original cast and has a different tempo.

This film more than most focuses on "the big three"--Spock, McCoy and Shatner. The film begins with an appeal from the Klingons for help--it seems their planet is doomed and for the first time they want an alliance with the Federation. Kirk's solution is simple--they are Klingons so let them die!! But, despite this view, the meeting where they sign the accord is going to happen anyway. At the historic meeting, there is an assassination and Kirk and McCoy are convicted for the murder. Well you KNOW that they didn't do it, but the real culprets must be found. This mystery-suspense aspect of the film makes it pretty interesting and at least different.

Not a great film but a worthy addition to the series.

All the World's a Stage...

[Xstal · 8/10 · 2 March 2022]

Boldly going where no man (or woman) has gone before, climb aboard the Enterprise and let it fly and soar, as old friends gather, reunite, off to battle and to fight, strange new worlds, civilisations to explore.

They've got themselves into a pickle, a metaphorical hammer and sickle, Klingon labour camp, shackled and clamped, sentenced by a biased judicial.

Sabre rattling Klingon renegades attempt to destabilise the peace after a devastating moon fall.

Hasn't aged well

[JoeB131 · 7/10 · 5 January 2009]

The Undiscovered Country is one of those films that probably resonated more when it came out, than when we see it today.

The thing was that at the time, we were ending the Cold War with the emergence of Glastnost and Perestroka, and thought that the Russians were now going to be our friends, so why shouldn't the Klingons now be our friends? (They even had a Chancellor Gorkin, sounding much like Gorbachev, and a Chernobyl-like energy accident.

With the euphoria gone (The Russians are still a pain in the backside, friends or not), some of the films more dubious elements don't work as well, such as Kirk saying "Let them Die" about the Klingons. (Shatner himself has said he was uncomfortable with this scene.) Nichelle Nichols, to her credit, refused to say the line, "You wouldn't want one to marry your sister." In short, they had to turn the cast into bigots to make their understanding at the end more sincere. The problem was that we never got the impression from the series or previous movies that our beloved crew were a bunch of bigots. They had a problem with the Klingon Government, to be certain, but not with Klingons as a race, and could even reach accords with them when needed.

Despite that, a lot of the characterizations and cast interactions are solid, the battle scene at the end is still exciting. It was a high note for most of these actors to do their last appearances as these characters.

Nick Meyers, like a lot of creative people, went with what worked for him in the past. A Melville quoting Khan, why not a Shakespeare quoting Klingon General? Well, okay, it strains credulity a little bit.

Outstanding send-off

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 20 July 2017]

Having been one of the shows that was part of my childhood and growing up, the original 'Star Trek' still holds up as great and ground-breaking, even if not perfect.

The last of the six 'Star Trek' films based off the original series, 'The Undiscovered Country' is also one of the best of the six. Along with 'The Wrath of Khan' (the best) and 'The Voyage Home'. It is also a huge improvement over 'The Final Frontier', which wasn't that awful to me but by far the most problematic of the six (more so than 'The Motion Picture') and deserves its reputation as the worst 'Star Trek' film based off the original series, whether it is the worst overall counting the 'Next Generation' films is debatable.

Not a perfect film by all means. It is a little too talky in places with parts needing a little more clarity, while the ending felt rushed and overblown even if visually epic and exciting as well.

However, 'The Undiscovered Country' is one of the best-looking 'Star Trek' films, with a noticeably grander budget than the previous film, the sets are elaborate, the whole film is beautifully shot and the special effects are some of the most epic and most audacious of all six films put together. The film is beautifully, hauntingly and rousingly scored, a clever score with a wide range of emotions.

Returning a more than welcome return, Nicholas Meyer delivers what is by far the best-directed 'Star Trek' film since 'The Wrath of Khan', there is a sense of loyalty to the original series while bringing his own style without being too ambitious.

Aside from having moments of being too talky and not quite as clear as it could have been, the script is a perfect balance of provoking thought, genuinely funny and beautifully timed humour, humanistic messaging and affectionate lampooning. The story has a dark political tone, while also a heart-warming affectionate air and great entertainment value. Clever Shakespearean touches too.

The character development, interaction and conflicts were always where 'Star Trek' particularly excelled. All the main characters are interesting and more complex than usual, even Kirk, while the supporting cast are in character and much better used.

Leonard Nimoy demonstrates perfectly why Spock is one of 'Star Trek's' most interesting and iconic characters, while William Shatner wisely reigns in more than usual and gives easily his best performance of the six films and actually much better than the original series as well. DeForest Kelley and James Doohan are also spot on, Kim Catrall is not bad at all and Christopher Plummer is a superb villain (both menacing and fun, ties with Khan as my favourite cinematic 'Star Trek' villain).

In summary, outstanding, the original 'Star Trek' couldn't have had a better send off. 9/10 Bethany Cox

It's Dead, Jim!

[gazzo-2 · 7/10 · 23 September 1999]

Well, this Was actually one of the better ones in the run, wasn't it? Right up there with Khan, the one where they save the Whales, and where the Borg get whacked by the Bald Guy....all of'em pretty good, fun to watch, etc.

I think they sent off the old guys in a proper, fitting way, with Bones and the rest kayoing the Klingons. It's too bad such putrid films as the first one(Dull, DUll DULL!!!) and #5(or, Captain Quirk gets to Direct) are still floating round out there to sully a generally good series' luster.

But, looking round and seeing some comments in here about how crappy Star Wars is, missing Trek...guys, get a grip. Star Wars leaves this series in its wake big time, and there ain't any getting round that fact. Even Jar Jar.

The best of the bunch with the original cast. A great send-off!

[elgatony · 10/10 · 4 May 2004]

You don't have to be Einstein to figure out the Klingon Empire represented the Soviet Union in the original series and films so it's fitting Kirk's old foes should re-appear and give the crew it's final adventure at a time when similar questions raised in the film faced the old Soviet Empire.

This is the best of the film series for several reasons. The timeliness of the film's release with real-world events. (Funny how Col. West had a contingency plan for terrorism along the Federation's border. Made me wish we had one prior to 9-11) The issue of how people can be frightened of drastic change (what a very Clinton-esque message) mirroring Kirk and crew's emotional baggage helps propel the plot forward and makes it believable.

A great tense score and tight editing (sorry, no overlong speeches and theorizing) combined with terrific performances from Christopher Plummer and the best yet from the original ensemble kept me glued to my seat the whole time. Additional characters are actually relevant, unlike Saavik, the Marcuses, et al., and although I should have seen it coming I was surprised how far-reaching the conspiracy to kill Gorkon actually was, even including a Vulcan! Fun cameos from Michael Dorn, Christian Slater and Iman lighten the mood. Her presence finally makes McCoy quip to Kirk "What is it with you, anyway?" which is something that should have been said years ago. Must be the girdle. The Klingon attack scene at the end is great unrelenting action and was better than Khan's attack on the Enterprise in Part II (see my comments on that film to get an idea).

"The Undiscovered Country" is essentially a mystery in space with political overtones and it's great fun watching Spock and Valeris unravel the mystery piece by piece. Valeris (Kim Cattrall)is given more to do than Saavik ever was. The only nit-picking comments I have is just why couldn't the assassins just throw the boots out the window? If an explosion in space wasn't monitored until the shockwave hit the Excelsior, how would the Enterprise find the boots? Would the NCC-1701 just shift gears into reverse?

A lot has been made about the clock errors. To me, it's not terribly important since it's just background and your attention should not be there anyway. It was a bad idea to include such a prop though.

The only wasted role belongs to Scotty but he had his moment of greatness in "The Voyage Home" during the transparent aluminum scenes. He also delivers the corniest line of the film during dinner with the Klingons: "Maybe we are looking at something of that future here!" Well, duh!

Everything that made Star Trek great is in this film: action, great one-liners from McCoy and Chekhov, the peace message, the Klingons, Spock's logic skills, literary quotes and celebrity cameos makes "The Undiscovered Country" a worthy send-off to perhaps the most celebrated ensemble cast in entertainment history. Even if you're not a Trek-fan, you would enjoy this picture and is well worth the rental/purchase.

Quite simply one of my favourites...

[MuggySphere · 7/10 · 10 August 2003]

I have all ten Star Trek movies and Star Trek 6 and Insurrection are amongst my favourites of all ten films closely followed by Star Trek First Contact.

This entry didn't feel like an extended TV episode but did in fact feel like a movie. It had a good story, reasonably solid performances by all the leads, and was quite serious with a good balance of humourous moments and serious ones.

I'm quite comfortable to give it a 8/10

Murder She Wrote in Space

[junk-monkey · 3/10 · 30 August 2006]

First up I'm not a Trekkie, Trekker, Trekite, or whatever the fans of this show call themselves, so my comments are not the usual eulogistic gushings you find posted about the Star Trek movies. In fact if you are a Trek fan I'd skip reading this because you aren't going to like what I have to say.

The main problem I had with this film, apart from the totally ludicrous Scooby-Doo type unmasking of the would be assassin, and Spock's plodding Jessica Fletcher impression, is the filmmaker's assumption that the audience is totally stupid.

For example, towards the end of the film, faced with having to find an invisible spaceship (a "cloaked Warbird" no less) the crew of the Enterprise come up with the wizard wheeze of attaching some of "that atmospheric equipment we're carrying to catalogue gaseous anomalies" to a torpedo that will seek out the Klingon ship's exhaust. They hurriedly attach the gear to a torpedo and blow the baddies space ship to bits. Hurrah! This is great - except this is the first mention of the Enterprise carrying "all that atmospheric equipment". There was scene at the start of the movie on board a totally different ship, commanded by Sulu, which had just finished surveying "Fifty-four planets - and their gaseous atmospheric anomalies" in which we are told the "sensing and analytic equipment worked well" but there's no mention of the Enterprise lugging this kind stuff around until the script demands it. This is just lazy. It assumes the audience cannot remember what happened 80 minutes ago. It's insulting. Why didn't they look for the suspicious "Neutron emissions" that Spock noticed just before the attack? If the Warship was venting "Plasma" (which is very hot) why didn't they bung a night sight on their 'sensors' and look in the infra-red spectrum?

Other moments of stupidity include:

The galley having a gun rack just so a crew member can vapourise a chicken and prove a point about the alarm system. Why the hell would the ship's kitchen need a gun rack? Maybe there is a setting lower than 'stun' for melting the sugar on a Creme Brulet. Who Knows?

The assassin's magnetic boots being left in a locker so they could be found later. Why didn't the bad guys just bung them out of an airlock or, even better, 'transport' them off the ship into the convenient undetectable , invisible space ship hanging about outside. But no, this is a Star Trek movie. Only the heroes are allowed to be smart (and that is only by comparison) so everyone else has to be REALLY stupid. Having found the boots, the locker's owner is brought forward and challenged to put them on to see if they fit. The camera pans down the suspect's legs to reveal he has huge webbed feet. Bare, huge webbed feet. No socks, no shoes, just ugly rubber feet. I guess this was supposed to be funny but it just made me think 'Starfleet only provides uniforms for Humans? Oh come on! Grow up, people!'

And what's all this guff about the Klingons only having 50 years? If Earth's moon exploded with the force that the Klingon home-world's moon did it - it was a big enough bang to rock a Federation ship light years away - it would have done more than cause "deadly pollution of their ozone" it would have wiped life of the face of the Earth, Mars and any other colonised planets in the Solar System.

For years, we are told, an uneasy peace has been kept along the border between Klingon and Federation space. A Federation ship is warned by the Klingon High Command to "Obey treaty stipulations and remain outside the Neutral Zone!" Later, when the Enterprise zooms to Kirk's rescue, it scoots into Klingon space at top speed with big coloured zoom lines trailing behind it and a loud stereophonic Swoooooosh! on the soundtrack. The Klingon's response? A bored and sleepy guard hails them and asks them who they are. He hails them in voice only mind you - the first time ever in the history of the Trekyverse that I can remember that people haven't communicated via wall to wall TV - because if they had communicated via the usual wall to wall TV, the bored and sleepy Klingon guard would have seen he was talking to humans and pushed the panic button - how convenient for our heroes was that! On board the Enterprise Uhura and company frantically page through old Klingon glossaries, manuals and dictionaries they just happen to have lying around and bluff their way past the Evil Empire's borders by mumbling "We art delivering food... things and...supplies to Rura Penthe... over...". Okay, says the guard, on you go. And that's it! No passwords, no words of the day, no sign of any basic military security measures at all. Nothing. So much for the mighty warlike and evil Klingon empire. It's pathetic.

At least once during every movie I watch, I seem to end up thinking "Why did they just do that?" only to have to remind myself "It's only a movie". Watching this turkey I asked myself the question far more often than I usually do. Too often. There come a point when "It's only a movie" mutates into "Because it's crap". This is crap. Another dumb Star Trek movie only partially redeemed by an excellent score.