JB And The Chop Do: Star Trek VI – The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Well well well…. lookee here! JB has given me the reins once again to handle this post as this is…… my FAVORITE of the bunch!! I’m not a guy who cares if it’s the sixth movie of a franchise, or a reboot or a remake or any of that shit – I just want to like a movie if it’s GOOD. And I totally loved this one. This had it all, Klingons quoting Shakespeare,  a young Kim Catrall, Scotty busting through a sealed door, you name it! I loved it. This also has a quote that I say all the time “I’d pay good money for him to shut up” but – that’s usually when I’m talking about Brian. Anyway – let’s see what JB has to say about this one! SURELY she liked it as much as I did, right? RIGHT?????

SYNOPSIS: After an explosion on their moon, the Klingons have an estimated 50 years before their ozone layer is completely depleted, and they all die. They have only one choice – to make peace with the Federation, which will mean an end to 70 years of conflict. Captain James T. Kirk and crew are called upon to help in the negotiations because of their “experience” with the Klingon race. Peace talks don’t quite go to plan, and eventually Kirk and McCoy are tried and convicted of assassination, and sent to Rura Penthe, a snowy hard-labor prison camp. Will they manage to escape? And will there ever be peace with the Klingons? – via IMDB

Can you believe it? HALFWAY through our Star Trek journey! WOOHOO! It has been most fun so far!

Well, this is the last one in way of the originals, which is sad. I much preferred these to the Next Generation lot, but oh well. I was a little sad that the last one just didn’t kick it for me on all the levels I would have hoped. Don’t misunderstand me, it isn’t a bad one, I just thought it had a lot of lull and places that got boring, which is a pity. Yes, shoot me now Chop, I’m sorry. 😦 Let me just get it out of the way and off my chest so that we can move past this and be friends again!

There were things that worked for it. Spock entertained me when he point blank refused to return home with the Enterprise, and as a Vulcan bent the truth a little to ensure that they had no other option but to stay nearby Kirk and Bones on trial. I laughed at how not everyone was so clued up on what he was doing, and the confusion, and his subtle but not really way of spelling it out for people. Scotty’s honesty about repair time on the Enterprise and his sudden burst of an inordinately long amount of time to repair nothing had me in stitches. Everyone was eventually spinning half truths to keep them out there, which was very good. The humour was very good here. Even Sulu got involved, and he wasn’t even on the Enterprise!

So obviously the dialogue and the humour was a winner for me here. The quotes from authors and all was also nice, brings things in a nice tie around for me, the past and  the future.

However, there was also the question of sketchy CGI. I am sure when this came out it was the bees knees and all that, I just found it to be highly distracting and ridiculous looking (here’s looking at all that floating blood). Also, the whole court thing had me squirming… it had moments of bright intelligence, and the majority was just crazy. Sounded like our useless South African courts. Pffffff. Also, the investigation on the Enterprise that Spock was conducting to exonerate his friends was a little stretched and silly at times, unfortunately.

I freaking loved Chekov’s Cinderella moment. It was pretty embarrassing, to be sure, considering how he delivered his accusation with such gusto.

“Perhaps you have heard Russian epic of Cinderella? If shoe fits, wear it!” – Pavel Chekov

I suppose watching this is best if you see if for the characters, and don’t focus too much on all the other things going on. It just feels a little rushed (I mean it took forever to reach the Klingon assassination, and when that happened it started off good and then got a bit arb).I am sorry, I enjoyed this, I just didn’t love it as much as my Chop did

Well, this is it for The Original Crew CRY CRY CRY CRY!! And I do have to say they went out with quality. I mean – I know I went on about how much Wrath of Khan means to me but – for real – this is my favorite of the whole series. This has a lot of action and heart and some dark humor and Spock slaps someone. I totally LOVED this movie.

Also – I want to say: JB, I know we have some more of these to do but I wanted to thank you for doing this with me. I had a LOT  of fun this summer watching these things for this project – I really, really have. THANK YOU!

So – in the spirit of creativity, let’s do this up right and sing a song about it, to the tune of Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft!! Here’s the tune if you’re not familiar:

See Mr. Sulu rolling out as Captain
See a Klingon moon destroyyyyyyyed
See the Federation taking action
See our faithful crew deplooyyyyyyyed

Star Trek 6! You make me feel fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Even if I’m trapped in a Klingon miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Star Trek 6! You make me feel fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
No Uhura’s buns to see this tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime

See Kim Catrall lookin sexy
That’s one Vulcan I’d so Pon Faaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr
See Christian Slater do a cameo
What went wrong with that movie staaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr

Star Trek 6! You make me feel fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Even if I’m trapped in a Klingon miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Star Trek 6! You make me feel fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
No Uhura’s buns to see this tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime

Poor Klingon baaaaaaaaaaaaaastards
The Chancellor’s dead
Kirk is to blaaaaaaaaaaame
They’ll have his head

Spock is a smart one
They’ll rescue Kirk good
They just need to find out
Who murdered that dude

Who saves the daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
It’s Kirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk to be sure
Even fat Scottyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Busts throuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh a locked door

Star Trek 6! You make me feel fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Even if I’m trapped in a Klingon miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Star Trek 6! You make me feel fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
No Uhura’s buns to see this tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime