44 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Rewatch. The sixth Star Trek movie. The last starring all the
members of the Original Series cast. A very good send off for the
original cast. The motivations of the conspirators are well
developed, as well as Kirk's lack of forgiveness regarding David's
death. It is good that Sulu had got command of the Excelsior.
However it is the explosion of Praxis that is important, rather than
the Excelsior's mapping of 'gaseous anomalies' (although that
does come back later). This is sets up the main plot of the Klingons
seeking peace with the Federation.
Not only that, but also the conspiracy to stop the peace process. It
is not revealed until well into the film that there was a
conspiracy. Not until after Gorkon's assassination and the capture of
Kirk and McCoy. That the Klingons would seek peace after such a
disaster is quite plausible. If there are any quibbles with the plot,
it would be with Spock's logic in vouching for Kirk, given the
latter's history with Klingons. (It also gives an 'in' for the
conspirators, in particular, Valeris). However that's important to
the plot.
The
characterization of Gorkon is what one would expect from a Klingon
leader who is seeking to end hostilities that had lasted over a
century. The portrayal of him as hopeful of reaching dente with the
Federation was rather good. He is willing to
face the difficulties that dente with the Federation would pose to
the Empire and the dominant Klingon culture. The use of Shakespeare
(the line from Hamlet) by the Klingons in this is well
conceived. First by Gorkon during the dinner with the Enterprise
officers, and later by General Chang as he admitted defeat by the
Enterprise and Excelsior above Khitomer.
The detective work by Spock
(and the rest of the Enterprise crew) in uncovering the plot
is also rather well done. It is an excellent send off for the
original cast of Star Trek. 9.5/10.
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