Evidently created to act as a prologue/segue into the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Undiscovered Country brings resolution to the age old conflict between the Klingons and the people of Earth. The Klingons are still a bit peeved about Captain Kirk being responsible for the deaths of several Klingons, but after their planetary moon explodes, destroying their chief energy production facility, their leader decides it is time to set peace accords in place.
The Enterprise is called to act as the Klingon ambassador’s bodyguard ship as it heads to the peace summit. After an awkward dinner party between the Klingons and Enterprise folks, the Klingon ambassador is assassinated and his ship attacked by the Enterprise. Or so it seems. Kirk and McCoy board the Klingon vessel in an attempt to help the wounded and they are taken as political prisoners. They face a show trial on the Klingon home world and are sentenced to life imprisonment on a frozen labor camp planet.
Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew work to figure out how it appeared the Enterprise attacked the Klingons when all their weapons are accounted for, and who is the mole among them responsible for assassinating the ambassador.
In the end, everything works out in an all-too-clean manner. From the get-go, I was able to figure out who the mole is. The reasoning behind the attack and its orchestration is interesting, but it’s also a little too convenient to be appreciated. Star Trek VI suffers from a bit too much excess. Excess in over-dramatizing much of film’s contents, and excess in overacting by good guys and bad guys alike hurt this film, which had limited potential to begin with. On the whole it feels like an overdrawn, overblown excuse for one last hurrah before finally (and begrudgingly) passing the Star Trek torch off to the cast of The Next Generation.
It’s like a parent that just doesn’t know when to let go and definitely puts to rest the notion that even numbered Trek films are superior. If you must watch, you’ll see oddball appearances by both Kim Cattrall and Christian Slater. But in reality, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is best left undiscovered.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
No comments:
Post a Comment