THE STORY: Peace negotiations between the Federation and Klingon Empire are interrupted by the assassination of a Klingon high official; Captain Kirk is blamed and thus he & McCoy get sentenced to an alien mining penal colony.
Like many of the original TV episodes which incorporated the important issues of the day into a futuristic space story, "Star Trek VI" (1991) is a morality play about the wall coming down in outer space, with the Klingons standing in for the Soviets. Nice moral about how radical change can be really scary -- there are some who are able to embrace it and others who have serious difficulty with it. In this case there are adverse reactions on both sides by those who believe they have too much invested in the present state of hostility.
HIGHLIGHTS: Watch out for the ravishing Kim Cattrall playing Vulcan Lieutenant Valeris. She adequately proves that sex appeal is not necessarily about nudity and flirtation, as Valeris is fully clothed and maintains a demeanor of sophistication the entire film. The formal dinner with the Klingons is also a highlight; it's reminiscent of Khan's powerful dinner scene from "Space Seed." When the dinner party ends and the Klingons beam away, each Enterprise crewmember shares a fitting exclamation of relief, including Scotty's "Thank God!" and McCoy's "I'm going to go find a pot of BLACK coffee." After everyone says their piece Spock merely looks around and characteristically raises an eyebrow. Kirk meanwhile returns to his cabin to "sleep it off" and voices his final log entry for the day: "Note to Galley: Romulan ale no longer to be served at diplomatic functions" (lol).
BEST HISTORICAL QUOTE: As General Chang prosecutes Kirk at the trial he screams out "DON'T WAIT FOR THE TRANSLATION -- ANSWER ME NOW!!" The writers ingeniously slipped this famous line in; it's a quote from U.N. Representative Adlai Stevenson during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 wherein he drilled Soviet Ambassador Zorin.
BEST HOMAGE: It was twelve years before that Shatner uttered his ridiculously criticized "Oh my God" line in "The Motion Picture." Well, guess how he reacts when he meets an intimidating 7-foot pig-skinned alien in the mines? You guessed it.
I could go on with the highlights; this is just a taste of the many great scenes/bits.
FINAL ANALYSIS: This is the last film in which the entire original cast appear together, and it's a more-than-solid outing verging on greatness; a good chronicling of the events leading up to the Klingon-Federation alliance portrayed in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Although the film lacks the profundities of "The Motion Picture," "The Final Frontier" and "Generations," it's a more than satisfying romp -- very involving and fun, highlighted by a nice whodunit scenario. What more could a Trek fan ask for? Needless to say, a fine way to end The Original Series.
CRY HAVOK AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!!
