Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Parent Guide

Recently promoted Captain Sulu (George Takei) is returning from a mission monitoring gaseous anomalies when his ship detects a massive explosion in the Neutral Zone between Klingon and Federation space: The Klingon energy-production moon of Praxis has experienced a critical malfunction, resulting in the complete destruction of the moon and the imminent collapse of the Klingon Empire. Seeing an opportunity for peace between the two warring powers, Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) of the Klingon Empire extends an offer to meet and negotiate the new peace before the Empire crumbles on itself and chaos ensues. Despite his opposition to peace with the Klingons, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is assigned to escort Gorkon to the peace talks - until the Chancellor’s ship is fired upon and Gorkon killed, seemingly by the Enterprise and some of her crew. Kirk and McCoy are arrested for the crime, and it is up to Spock to save them, discover the source of the torpedoes and assassins, and do so in time to salvage the peace accords.

This is far and away the strongest film in the Star Trek franchise with the original cast. Some of the Next Generation films come close, but nothing quite equals the absolutely fantastic fun of The Undiscovered Country. For a history nerd like me, hearing a Klingon prosecutor go full Adlai Stevenson and scream “Don’t wait for the translation, answer me now!” is more than enough to get my enthusiastic thumbs up. But that’s part of the genius of this movie: it isn’t just a Star Trek flick. It’s also one of the most engaging Cold War thrillers I’ve ever watched. I know that sounds like a lot, but for me, it stacks up favorably against films like The Hunt for Red October and Thirteen Days. The parallels between Gorkon and Gorbachev, Praxis and Chernobyl, and the end of the Cold War serve to make the film engaging on multiple levels. As General Chang (Christopher Plummer) says: “In space, all warriors are cold warriors.”

Another little bonus with this film, specifically for fans of the franchise, is spotting the re-used sets. Due to budget constraints following the abject failure of The Final Frontier, The Undiscovered Country had to use a lot of the sets which were already up for the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. The briefing room from the show becomes the dining room in the film, Counsellor Troi’s quarters become a kitchen, and my personal favorite - the bar Ten-Forward becomes the office of the President of the Federation - still with the swinging doors from its time as a lounge.

But my favorite part of the movie is always Christopher Plummer’s performance as General Chang, a deranged, Shakespeare-spouting Klingon with a diabolical plan. I’m actually surprised he even got paid to be in the film, since he seemed to be having entirely too much fun to be working. Ordering torpedoes fired while quoting “Julius Caesar”, spinning gleefully in his chair, and evilly stroking his goatee are brilliant touches that make him the most memorable villain in Star Trek.

This is a slightly less suitable film for younger kids than the others, owing to a moderately increased level of violence (with some blood) and the more politically complex plot. That being said, I watched this one growing up, and part of the fun is re-watching it every few years to see what I catch that I missed as a kid. My current favorite is Spock’s line: “An old Vulcan proverb: Only Nixon could go to China”. Trust me, you gotta watch this flick. Even if you’re not a Star Trek fan, even if you’ve never liked sci-fi, give it a shot. It’s hard to beat as a Cold War thriller, and impossible to beat for a Star Trek movie.