Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (PG)
Cold War-influenced exit of classic space crew.
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Movie details
- Studio: Paramount Home Video
- Directed By: Nicholas Meyer
- Cast: Kim Cattrall, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, David Warner, Walter Koenig
- Running Time: 116 minutes
- Release Date: 12/06/1991
- Video/DVD Release Date: 01/26/1999
- Genre: Science Fiction
- MPAA Rating: PG
- MPAA Explanation: violence and language
Parents need to know
Parents need to know that the narrative centers on an assassination, which, even though it involves ray-guns, spills a lot of (Klingon) blood and shows gore. There are assorted fistfights, a man quick-freezing to death, and spaceships battling. References to heavy drinking, smoking (apparently a marijuana-like drug) and, less obviously, how Captain Kirk manages to have sex with most every attractive alien girl who crosses his path. Unimpeachable military authority (Starfleet) is cast in doubtful light.
Families can talk about the Cold War historical parallels (Gorkon -- Gorbachev, hmmmm...), and phrases such as "the end of history" surfacing in the dialog, that were prominent with the fall of the U.S.S.R. Gen. Chang's fondness for quoting Shakespeare -- it's practically half of everything he says -- could inspire some reading of the Bard. Also, can you spot Mr. Spock's reference to Sherlock Holmes?
Families can talk about the Cold War historical parallels (Gorkon -- Gorbachev, hmmmm...), and phrases such as "the end of history" surfacing in the dialog, that were prominent with the fall of the U.S.S.R. Gen. Chang's fondness for quoting Shakespeare -- it's practically half of everything he says -- could inspire some reading of the Bard. Also, can you spot Mr. Spock's reference to Sherlock Holmes?
Message
Social Behavior:
Starfleet is notably racially and species-integrated, and there is a strong sense of friendship, duty, and loyalty. There is also the theme of militaristic types (in both the Federation and Klingon Empires) being unable to let go of old grudges when the chance comes for reconciliation. Kirk, initially, can't forgive Klingons for killing his son, but he sees the bigger picture.
Consumerism:
Keep in mind that Star Trek is a wealth of products all by itself.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Humans and Klingons go overboard with social drinking of "Romulan ale." Inmates of the Klingon prison smoke an unspecified substance.
Violence
Ray-gun fire that both disintegrates flesh, dismembers, and draws blood (floating in zero-gravity globules). Kirk vs. alien fights. A man freezes to death.
Sex
A joke about locations of alien genitalia. A coy reference to Kirk having made love to an alien (and how often that happens).
Language
Kirk starts to say "Son of a..." but leaves it unfinished. "Go to hell" uttered by Spock, of all people.
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Charles Cassady, Jr.
Made after the death of Gene Roddenberry (to whom it's dedicated), STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY is calculatingly engineered as a farewell adventure to the beloved Star Trek TV cast. The plot is a clear parallel to the off-screen thaw in U.S.-Soviet relations. When the dangerous, militaristic Klingon Empire suffers a potential doomsday disaster after their power-station moon explodes (think Chernobyl), the liberal Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (think Mikhail Gorbachev) accepts a historic Federation peace accord to allow an organized humanitarian cleanup. Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) volunteers the USS Enterprise and a shocked Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) for the diplomatic rendezvous, arguing, logically, that the negotiations will be more legitimate if the Klingon's greatest enemy is on board for it. But Gorkon is assassinated in a sneak attack seemingly originating from the Enterprise. Kirk does the unthinkable -- surrenders -- and faces a Klingon court, while Spock and the crew investigate and try to unravel the high-level conspiracy.
Is it any good?
The veteran cast appears to be having a fine time going through their paces -- they literally all sign their autographs over the end credits -- and Sulu (George Takei) is now a captain with his own starship. Thrilled yet? Then enjoy. It's fast-paced, the space-battle scenes are spectacular, and overall good feeling is such you usually don't mind the mystery plot is a klunky affair, filled with question marks (Shouldn't there be better security at the most important peace conference in Federation history? If Klingons had a shape-shifting alien spy, wouldn't she have been put to better use?).
The U.S.-U.S.S.R. parallel spoke at the time to fears that warriors in America and Russia had lived too long in ceaseless conflict to put down their weapons and face a changed world, and Kirk's ability to surmount his own anti-Klingonism is nicely rendered. Interesting to note that in Roddenberry's original TV show, Starfleet was (like the U.S. armed forces in golden-age Hollywood depictions) an upstanding military that could do no wrong. That sure changed by the time this was made.
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