Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

 

This is one fine Star Trek-film. Well, it was written in the stars, seeing as this was written and directed by Nicolas Meyer, the same man who gave us all the absolutely brilliant 'The Wrath of Khan', rightfully hailed as thé best Trek-endeavour in the series. But this is a close second, no doubt about it. 

Why? Well, it is thought provoking, has a bit of a mystery element to it and as the final journey of the original crew, this is a great sendoff. 

That's no hyperbole. This film is really, really good.

Events kick off when the Klingon moon of Praxis explodes after uncontrolled mining. This will cause the extinction of the Klingon race in roughly 50 years if they continue on their current course. Despite reservations on both sides (obvious, after so many years of war and hostility), the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon reaches out to the Federation to broker peace. For this, the Enterprise and Kirk are chosen to accompany Gorkon to Earth, as Kirk is probably the best known adversary of the Klingons and therefore worthy and also symbolic for this first step. Needless to say, neither side is overjoyed at this prospect, as many still feel war is the only option. But they go ahead with it anyway.

Things only get worse when Gorkon is assassinated and it seems as though someone on board the Enterprise is responsible. Both Kirk and McCoy are held accountable and are sentenced by the Klingons to a life sentence on the prison planet of Rura Penthe, a remote and hostile world from where no one has escaped as yet. 

Meanwhile, Spock and the others are frantically trying to find evidence to prove that Kirk and McCoy had nothing to do with the death of Gorkon. But it is not easy, as the conspirators are extremely clever in hiding their tracks. 

On Rura Penthe, Kirk and McCoy come across Martia, someone who claims she can lead them out of the colony, but they still need a starship to escape the planet itself. But is she truly who she claims?

And in between all that, there is general Chang, a soldier of the old school, who still harbours resentment against the Federation, mostly because as a long-standing Klingon officer, he has only ever known war...

The plot to this one is surprisingly layered. Yes, as was the case with 'Wrath of Khan', I know. Here, you get healthy doses of Shakespeare inserted (often even quoted). Not only that, but it also plays out as a detective mystery at the same time. What you also get, is a political thriller with intrigues, as you have no idea who to trust. 

Well, besides our classic crew, of course. But still.

And in the midst of all this, this film inventively uses prejudice as the anchor, and how old ideas don't change that fast, especially with people that have been used to certain assumptions for way too long. They even play this up, as Kirk is blatantly opposed and bigoted against Klingons, which humanizes him and makes for a more compelling story arch. You know he's going to come around in the end, but the crew of the Enterprise is shown to not be all that different from the Klingons. 

Yes, the script really is clever. 

But above all, this film has the flair and style befitting a glorious end to an era, and the final shot of the film, where the Enterprise and our beloved characters fly off into space, almost into the light of a nearby star, is both beautiful and emotional.

Seriously: there could be tears. 

'The Undiscovered Country' isn't always mentioned as being one of the standout entries in the franchise, as this honour often goes to 2 and 4, but do not overlook this one. It is far better than a lot of people remember and on repeated viewings, the intricacies of the plot become clear. Even for non-Star Trek fans, this one is a great science fiction adventure romp.