I had dismal hopes for # 6 after the embarrassing 'Final Frontier' until it was announced that Nimoy was executive producing and Meyer was writing and directing. Whew! The impossible happened and the Enterprise crew got their dignity back. After that "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" campfire scene from # 5, I was half expecting Kirk, Spock and McCoy to start chasing each other round the fire while yelling "Duck, Duck, Goose!".
Instead, we return to the high quality continuing storyline that was last seen in 'The Voyage Home' (an excellent addition in the recently released Special Edition series). Even with some minor flaws, everything about this movie works. The acting, direction, cinematography...the story, the mystery and some surprising twists are all handled with thought provoking intelligence (and some obvious homages to a few movies past; a dash of the Bard thrown in for good measure).
All the original characters are served well once again (after that one film hiatus) and are given the added dimension that they're allowed to grow; and go out in style. This has the greatest ensemble acting and probably qualifies as THE Trek movie with THE all star cast. So many secondary characters carry over from # 4 and some new key characters are introduced. It's a tribute to Meyer's discretion that everyone's screen time is so well balanced.
And Spock FINALLY returns as the wise and noble Spock we knew (and loved) from 'The Wrath of Khan' (he even has a great line in reference to his noble sacrifice).
'Undiscovered Country' is right up there with #2, #4 and # 8. 'Search for Spock' is a weaker but very necessary chapter that tells a complete story. You could...almost...ignore the rest. Star Trek VI sends the original crew out in a satisfying, fresh and grand style.
8 out of 10
NOTE: the more you know about classic movies, the better you'll appreciate director Meyer's love and homage of the classics, including: 'Judgement at Nuremberg', 'Bridge on the River Kwai' and doesn't Chancellor Gorkon's assassins look like Gort(?) from 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'?
Instead, we return to the high quality continuing storyline that was last seen in 'The Voyage Home' (an excellent addition in the recently released Special Edition series). Even with some minor flaws, everything about this movie works. The acting, direction, cinematography...the story, the mystery and some surprising twists are all handled with thought provoking intelligence (and some obvious homages to a few movies past; a dash of the Bard thrown in for good measure).
All the original characters are served well once again (after that one film hiatus) and are given the added dimension that they're allowed to grow; and go out in style. This has the greatest ensemble acting and probably qualifies as THE Trek movie with THE all star cast. So many secondary characters carry over from # 4 and some new key characters are introduced. It's a tribute to Meyer's discretion that everyone's screen time is so well balanced.
And Spock FINALLY returns as the wise and noble Spock we knew (and loved) from 'The Wrath of Khan' (he even has a great line in reference to his noble sacrifice).
'Undiscovered Country' is right up there with #2, #4 and # 8. 'Search for Spock' is a weaker but very necessary chapter that tells a complete story. You could...almost...ignore the rest. Star Trek VI sends the original crew out in a satisfying, fresh and grand style.
8 out of 10
NOTE: the more you know about classic movies, the better you'll appreciate director Meyer's love and homage of the classics, including: 'Judgement at Nuremberg', 'Bridge on the River Kwai' and doesn't Chancellor Gorkon's assassins look like Gort(?) from 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'?