STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY

* * * ½

STARRING: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, Mark Lenard, Grace Lee, Whitney, Brock Peters, Kurtwood Smith, Rosana DeSoto, David Warner, Iman, John Schuck, Michael Dorn

1991, 109 Minutes, Directed by: Nicholas Meyer

Description: This movie finds Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and his fellow Enterprise crew members on a diplomatic mission to negotiate peace with the revered Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner). When the high-ranking Klingon and several officers are ruthlessly murdered, blame is placed on Kirk, whose subsequent investigation uncovers an assassination plot masterminded by the nefarious Klingon General Chang (Christopher Plummer) in an effort to disrupt a historic peace summit. As this political plot unfolds, Star Trek VI takes on a sharp-edged tone, with Kirk and Spock confronting their opposing views of diplomacy, and testing their bonds of loyalty when a Vulcan officer is revealed to be a traitor.  — Amazon.com

Practically the last Star Trek movie to feature the old 1960s crew who shows that they still have a lot of life in them. But alas we won't be hearing "Beam me up, Scotty" again as Captain Kirk shows in a guest appearance in the next movie (Star Trek: Generations) which introduces the television Star Trek: The Next Generation to cinema audiences.

No doubt there's plenty of movies to be made with this much younger cast, but this Star Trek movie is a fond farewell to Spock, Scotty, Captain Kirk and company. The plot, which involves Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy being framed for the murder of a Klingon ambassador and sent to a prison colony, doesn't matter much. The Undiscovered Country realises that its strength lies in our familiarity with the characters by now and exploits this cleverly - particularly in scenes where the crew must unearth traitors in their midst almost like in a Agatha Christie detective story.

One of the better Star Trek movies made although not quite in the same class as Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home or Star Trek: First Contact. Fans might enjoy it more than non-fans . . .

Further sequels were based on the Next Generation TV show. They are: Star Trek - First Contact (1996), Star Trek - Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek - Nemesis (2002).
 

• Read an extended review of Star Trek - The Undiscovered Country.
• Read the script.

Sci-Fi Movie Page Pick: Often overlooked. This last movie to feature the original television show cast has lots of Shakespeare quotes being thrown around and is one of the few sci-fi movies that can be described as Agatha Christie in Outer Space . . .