Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Blu-ray) (1991)

Los Angeles Times
"...Meyer and Flynn get a fullness back into their characters....STAR TREK VI works so well on its own terms that it looks less like a close than another possible opening..." 12/06/1991 p.F1

Total Film
"It all works: this is a tight, thrilling send-off." 04/01/2004 p.130-1

The Washington Post 8 of 10
"What are we doing here?" asks William Shatner, a k a Captain James T. Kirk, as the aging starship commander leads his veteran cronies into a meeting at Starfleet Headquarters...It's a good question. "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" marks a quarter-century of Trek culture. This includes endless reruns of the original TV series, worldwide Trekker conventions, cartoon versions, gadgets, accessories, a spinoff series ("Star Trek: The Next Generation") and, let's not forget, the five "Star Trek" movies before this one...As now-white-haired engineer Scotty might put it, the crew's getting a wee bit long in the tooth...Not to mention waxy in the skin and rickety in the bones. The fake-hairpiece count also seems to be rising. But none of this matters. The seven hoary principals, Spock et al., could be dead, stuffed and mounted. "Star Trek VI" barrels along on industrial special effects and a 25-year momentum of good-willed, witty, human-interest sci-fi episodes...Director/coscripter Nicholas Meyer, who helmed the popular second "Star Trek" movie ("The Wrath of Khan"), moves this vehicle efficiently. He employs some tremendous visuals. At one point, the gravity stabilizer goes off in the Klingon spaceship. Invaders come aboard and start firing laser-type weaponry. The Klingons' spilled blood floats in the air in eerily beautiful purplish globules; it's space-age Sam Peckinpah...A final word for "Star Trek" founder Gene Roddenberry, a cheerful, abundantly inspiring personality who beamed out of this life earlier this year: By getting people where they live -- i.e. television and the movie screen -- his contribution to the pop culture is practically statesmanlike. This movie, so many years after the whole thing began, still bears the entertainment and humanistic values he imposed on every silly little storyline. - Desson Howe
 
ReelViews 7 of 10
A decade-or-so ago, when the Star Trek movie series began, a great deal of excitement surrounded the release of each movie. For The Motion Picture, it was "What are they like now?" For Trek II, the question of Spock's survival hung in the air, and with the next sequel, everyone wondered how the Vulcan would be brought back...Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home resolved all the loose ends left dangling by its predecessor. But with the 1989 installment (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), much of the anticipation had slipped away. This was just another adventure (and not an especially good one, at that). Now, a similar atmosphere surrounds this latest voyage of the Enterprise, despite Paramount's statements that this is the last outing. The adventures of Kirk and Company have become routine. The spark is gone. The energy is fading. It's time for a change...Few of the Trek actors, except perhaps Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley, are recognized as accomplished performers. Everyone does their usual, capable job filling the comfortable shoes of a character they've "lived in" for years. William Shatner, in a rare display of restraint, manages a surprisingly low-key and often effective performance...If The Undiscovered Country waxes nostalgic at times, it's understandable. The ending is oversentimental, but this is a final farewell to a group of people who have been with us, through first run episodes, reruns, and motion pictures, for a quarter century. What's a little unforgivable is that the filmmakers didn't give these characters a more triumphant exit. Star Trek VI is an improvement over its immediate predecessor, but it lacks the energy and thrills supplied by some of the lower-numbered sequels. The original crew of the Enterprise is apparently fated to fade away rather than going out in a proverbial "blaze of glory." - James Berardinelli