Entertainment Geekly’s ‘Star Trek’ series looks at Nicholas Meyer’s clever political fantasy.
Last week:William Shatner versus God.This Friday: Kirk meets Picard.
At the beginning ofStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the opening credits play over a starscape.
Opening credits always do that inStar Trek.
But somethings gone wrong this time.Cliff Eidelmans scoreis minor-key, insinuating,infesting.
It puts you on edge.
The final credit flashes onscreen: Directed By Nicholas Meyer.
The stars shine dark.
And then the universe explodes.
What is aStar Trekmovie?
)Star Trekcan be everything, can take you anywhere: Thats how cinema is supposed to work.
Meyer madeThe Wrath of Khan, a clever epic composed out of faces and reaction shots.
Meyer had a low budget, but Melville didnt have special effects when he wroteMoby Dick.
Leave it to Meyer to make the problem of limited resources the inciting incident for his adventure.
We cut to Starfleet headquarters.
There is a top-secret meeting of Starfleets top people: Classified.
The Klingons have opened up a line of diplomacy.
They want to negotiate for peace, or something like it.
Meyer takes Starfleet seriously as a force that is deep-down a military concern.
(Meyer admires the terse toughness of bureaucratic soldier lingo: C-in-C instead of Commander-in-Chief.)
What does it mean, if they arent at war anymore?
Are we talking about the mothballing of Starfleet?
There is immediate, angry debate.
One Admiral voices opposition.
Peace is madness; if the Klingons are weak, we strikenow.
Kirk didnt know that, and is shocked by this whole meeting.
This is a terrifying idea, says Kirk.
The Klingons have never been trustworthy.
Hes entitled to his opinion.
But Captain Kirk, hero of the galaxy, isnt sitting at the table because Starfleet wants his wisdom.
They need his brand recognition.
They are sending Kirk to meet with the Klingon chancellor and escort him through Federation space.
What a statement that will make: The enemy of the Klingons, welcoming them with open arms.
This will be his final mission: A glorified escort mission.
I have personally vouched for you in this matter, Captain, says Spock.
You, Kirk spits.
Havepersonally,he sputters.
VOUCHED?he demands, decades of friendship betrayed in a moment.
None of that matters for Meyer; it might even be a boon for him.
He knows how much mileage you’re free to get out of two well-motivated characters.
Theyreanimals, Kirk yells.
He quotes an old Vulcan proverb: Only Nixon could go to China.
But Spock is also clear, and poignantly human.
He calls Kirk Jim.
He says, plainly: Theyre dying.
Let themdie, says Kirk.
Were used to the idea of darkness now, as a mode of entertainment.
Most of that darkness is aesthetic, shadows and dirt and shaky cameras.
(See how much fun we have debating ifThe Dark Knightis liberal or conservative!
)Undiscovered Countryis clear on its politics.
This is the end of the Cold War, rendered spaceward.
Spock believes the point of war is peace; Kirk thinks war ends when theres only one side left.
Its not that simple, of course.
Nothing in this movie is.
Kirk is angry, but ruminative.
We find him on theEnterprise, in his quarters, pacing in a circle.
Ive never trusted the Klingons, he monologues.
And I never will.
You notice things in this scene.
And thats another thing.
InWrath of Khan, Kirk worried about getting old.
He doesnt voice that now, but only because theres no use worrying; he is justold.
His hair gone gloriously gray, his belt buckled too-tight against his stomach.
There is nothing pitiful about this: Quite the opposite.
Shatner-as-Kirk looks majestic inUndiscovered Country, like any god in ruins.
How on earth can history get past people like me?
Meyers camera shoots with clarity, but as a writer he loves grand statements, references, clear-cut homages.
We find her looking at Spocks painting: Marc ChagallsAdam and Eve Expelled From Paradise.
Soon enough, there are Klingons aboard theEnterprise.
He is a graceful guest: You have my thanks, he tells Kirk.
The next scene is, I think, my favorite scene in any of theseStar Trekmovies.
But: There is a dinner.
The camera keeps moving back across the table, so we see the two sides.
They are dining together, separated.
The shot ends at the far end of the table.
But you might look closely and see Gorkons warm smile.
His costume is more ornate than Kirks, but he seems more comfortable.
We pay attention to this strange Klingon.
He gives a toast: To the undiscovered country.
Its a reference, Spock informs us: Hamlet, Act Three, Scene One.
The conversation that follows flows, patiently and logically.
McCoy and Scotty have a go at make welcoming small talk.
One of the Klingons praises Kirks Draper game: Isnt Romulan ale illegal?
Chang tests Kirk: Would he be willing to give up Starfleet?
Kirk tries to change the topic of conversation; he says something diplomatic.
Come now, Captain, says Chang.
Theres no need to mince words.
In space, all warriors are cold warriors.
The tone of the conversation changes, like ripples turning into waves.
Gorkons daughter has a philosophical dislike for the Federation: Its a homo sapiens club.
(Oh sure, Spock, a half-human and hes theonlyalien sitting on Starfleets side of the table.)
The Klingons believe that Starfleet wants to annihilate them if not their species, then their culture.
Chang quotes Shakespeare: To be or not to be.
He tells Kirk: We need breathing room.
Kirk cant help himself.
Earth, Hitler, 1938.
Chang smiles: He has forced the Captain of theEnterpriseto reveal his petty side.
The Klingons leave, but not before Gorkon gives Kirk a personal message.
You dont trust me, do you?
I dont blame you, he tells Kirk.
Ourgeneration: What a thing to say!
What a moment of unity!
As if to underline just how diminished Kirk is, we cut to his quarters.
It might be the next morning, although who can tell in space.
And then it all goes to hell.
They hit the Klingon ship and cripple it.
Onboard, two men dressed in Engineer attire go on a killing spree.
One Klingons arm gets shot off, and hes too horrified to even make a correct sound.
Gravity returns; the Klingons are furious.
They bring the still-breathing Gorkon onto a table.
By all visible signs, the Klingons good faith has been betrayed.
What follows is a grand and merry gag of justice; one character calls it a show trial.
Chang is the Grand Inquisitor, forming a coherent case against Kirk.
They know he hates Klingons; they have the Captains Log to prove it.
Its a goddamn show trial, says a Starfleet Admiral.
This isnt a movie about the end of the Cold War, no matter all the savvy references therein.
Consider, too, some deeper truth about the Valeris arc.
But she is a traitor.
She has followed the path of logic and logic tells her that only one side can triumph.
And you recall how many of those young men wound up dead some of them by Tonys hand!
Undiscovered Countrydoesnt go that far, or that deep.
The show trial is the movies high point, a hilarious mockery of justice witnessed by the whole galaxy.
Then Kirk and McCoy go to space prison, and the film never quite recovers.
I should be clear: This film isneverbad, and it is a wild romp.
This is the rare politically minded work that actually deserves some comparisons toThe Manchurian Candidate.
There is the sniper assassin, sure, but there is also the familiarManchuriannightmare logic that powers the conspiracy.
They conspired with us to assassinate their own chancellor, explains Valeris.
In the space gulag, Meyer constantly shoots Kirk up against a much taller alien being.
Were both extremists, says Kirk.
Reality is probably somewhere in between us.
Everybodys human, says Kirk.
I find that remark insulting, zings Spock.
But history permeates this conversation, and sadness, and hard-won truth.
But I find that the ambition departsUndiscovered Countryat the midpoint.
You feel so much under the surface in the first half: Kirk vs. Spock, Klingons vs. You yearn to see some sort of reckoning for all these issues.
ButUndiscovered Countrybecomes less impressive as a single film when it becomes more recognizable as franchise production.
Of course Kirk starts getting into fights and jumping through the air: Isnt that just soKirk?
By the films end, Kirk gives a short speech, and the assembled cosmos cheer him.
Its like watchingThe Manchurian CandidatebecomeMr.
Smith Goes to Washington, but I dont imagine those terms apply for most viewers or the filmmakers.
you’ve got the option to feel the ceiling of ambition that a franchise descends upon drama.
Sure, you could ask some provocative questions, but in the end, the answer is Kirk.
Uhura relays the message from HQ: The ship should return to Earth and be decommissioned.
The look on Kirks face is one of the most wonderfully sad images I can think of.
But the look doesnt last.
Uhura stands up to get a better look out the viewscreen, and Meyers camera gracefully advances forward.
It is a lovely send-off, quiet like blockbuster movies are never quiet now, framed just right.
Franchise machinery so often triumphs over the cinematic machinery.
You watchUndiscovered Countryand suspect there was a more complete version of the movie.
If were to believe the trailers,Star Trek Beyondwants to ask some serious questions about Starfleet.
Is it just colonialism?
Those questions get brought up in that great dinner scene and then get forgotten.
For letting theEnterprisesail off into space, and fade into history?
We praise Roddenberry rightfully for his supreme hopefulness his vision of a future where everything went right.
At the end, a great ship moves into a starscape, and fades from our view.
Like before, there is a great light.
But it does not blind us.
It reaches out, in love and friendship, welcoming us home.
In part, thats because the movies also dont always pay much attention to them.
(Seriously, how come Uhura doesnt go on the mission inSearch for Spock?
No girls allowed?)
Theres the scene where the whole crew attempts to help Uhura understand Klingon on a radio.
The movies never entirely treat the rest of the crew as complete characters.
(Even McCoy doesnt have much to do besides provide moral support for Kirk.)
And every actor has their own fascinating story.
(The new movies give Uhura a xenolinguistics specialty.)
AfterUndiscovered Country, some of theTrekcrew retired and some receded; time passed, and some died.
that Sulu is considered a more central part ofTrekiconography than McCoy.
In conclusion, inThe Undiscovered Country, Nichelle Nichols gives a masterful performance with a GIF for all occasions.
THE WHOLE MOVIE IN A NUTSHELL:
