Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Movie review by Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 10+

Cold War-influenced exit of classic space crew.

PG 1991 116 minutes
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Parents say

age 9+

Based on 4 reviews

Kids say

age 10+

Based on 3 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 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.

Community Reviews

AllAges
AllAges Adult
August 13, 2020
age 12+

Great story; Should’ve been PG-13.

As violent as Wrath of Khan, with some PG swears. Great story.
starbuck 78
starbuck 78 Adult
August 21, 2011
age 5+

Good movie, don't be so wimpy

This movie reflects the attitudes that were very strong during the close of the cold war. The gore that everyone speaks of is purple and ridiculous to be shocked by. The reference to smoking;so what, he didn't do it regularly and its a scene that takes 5 seconds at most. The space battles, again, so what. I watched Star Wars at 5 yrs old, and it did NOT scar me for life. People need to quit shielding children to the point where the REAL world will eat them alive; you are not doing them any favors. Otherwise there were some amusing parts, some suspenseful, alot of action, and most notably the requirement to think. The end is a little corny,we are talking Star Trek, but all in all , its a good movie.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

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 original cast, spectacular space-battle scenes, and overall good feeling make it easier to ignore the fact that the mystery plot is a klunky affair, filled with question marks. For example, 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? However, the veteran cast of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country appears to be having a fine time going through their paces -- they literally all sign their autographs over the end credits. And fans of Sulu (George Takei) will enjoy how he is now a captain with his own starship.

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the Cold War historical parallels in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . (Gorkon -- Gorbachev, hmmmm...) How is science fiction effective in modeling real life events?

  • Discuss some of the literary references in the movie (Gen. Chang's frequently quotes Shakespeare and Mr. Spock references Sherlock Holmes). Why do you think they talk about old writers when the movie takes place very far in the future?

  • What is the benefit of Starfleet having such a diverse membership? How does diversity help people understand other cultures?

Movie Details

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