Nicholas Meyer’s 1991 film “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” is the final outing for the original “Star Trek” cast while also featuring a Cold War allegory just as the Soviet Union collapsed. The story begins with the destruction of Praxis, an energy-production moon in Klingon space and a metaphor for Chernobyl. The USS Excelsior under Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) observes the destruction and reports to Starfleet. Some time later, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-A are summoned to a meeting where they are dispatched to meet the Klingon chancellor, Gorkon (David Warner), in order to escort him to a peace conference. Despite Kirk’s misgivings, he accepts the mission.
After a tense dinner between the two crews, the Enterprise appears to fire on Kronos One. Kirk and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) beam aboard to render aid, but the Chancellor dies. General Chang (Christopher Plummer) and the Chancellor’s daughter, Azetbur (Rosanna DeSoto), arrest the two and take them to Klingon space to stand trial. Spock leads the investigation aboard the Enterprise, with Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), and Pavel Checkov (Walter Koenig) helping as well as new Vulcan helms officer Valeris (Kim Cattrall). The story alternates between political intrigue on Earth with the Federation President (Kurtwood Smith) being urged to invade Klingon space while Klingon authorities do the same with Azetbur. The trial of Kirk and McCoy recalls Adlai Stevenson interrogating the Soviet Union ambassador at the UN regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kirk and McCoy are sentenced to life imprisonment in a Klingon gulag, where they encounter the shapeshifter Martia (Iman) and glean more insight about the scheme that involves both the Klingon Empire and members of Starfleet. Spock and the Enterprise crew similarly begin to learn of the larger conspiracy. All of this builds to an action-packed finale with General Chang’s cloaked Klingon Bird-of-Prey, the Enterprise, and the Excelsior, punctuated by Shakespeare quotes.
A fitting end to the original crew film series, returning to the allegorical storytelling of the Original Series that often addressed the Cold War. The Shakespeare references work particularly well, from the title through the final battle, even inspiring the publication of “The Klingon Hamlet” by Nick Nicholas and Andrew Strader. Linking to earlier films, Brock Peters previously appeared as Fleet Admiral Cartwright in “Star Trek IV” (and later appeared as Joseph Sisko in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”). Two other DS9 alum appear: René Auberjonois appears as Colonel West (he later played Odo on “Deep Space Nine”) and Michael Dorn portrays Colonel Worf (he later portrayed the character’s grandson, also named Worf, on both “The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine”). Warner previously appeared in “Star Trek V” as St. John Talbot and portrayed Gul Madred on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Finally, the “Star Trek: Voyager” episode “Flashback” takes place during the opening moments of the film and shows Tuvok (Tim Russ) serving about the Excelsior under Captain Sulu.
This 4K and Blu-ray 2-disc set is a great way to add to one’s “Star Trek” home media collection or upgrade an existing copy. It features both the theatrical cut and the director’s cut, though it leaves out the scene revealing a would-be assassin as a human disguised as a Klingon. Still, this is a must-own for any fan!
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