I see a lot of movies every year. A
ton. But this year I’ve decided I don’t see enough movies, so one of my
New Year Resolutions was to simply see more. And to write about them.
See, that’s the other half of the equation: I see a ton of movies, but
I write about comparatively few of them. There are a lot of reasons,
but they mainly boil down to the fact that I feel the need to do long
form reviews, and sometimes – like in the midst of Sundance – I just
don’t have the time.
And
so was born this new blog! I aim to make an entry for every single
movie I see in 2010. Some entries may be very short, some may be
lengthy. Entries may take a couple of days to be posted. Let’s see how
long this lasts.
One
last thing: one of my main objectives this year is to rewatch more
movies. I know this sounds like a strange goal, but there are films I
haven’t seen since high school, which means it’s been almost a lifetime
since I saw them. Recently I rewatched Black Christmas for
the first time since the 1980s, and I might as well have been seeing
the movie for the first time. I’m interested in getting a look at some
movies I loved or hated twenty or even ten years ago and seeing how I
feel about them now.
Let’s begin…
#6 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
1991
d. Nicholas Meyer
There are some really dodgy CGI effects in this film. It makes you realize that there’s something about CGI that makes it age so much worse than any other FX; bad old mattes or rear projections or claymation look charming when outdated. CGI looks soulless and phony and shitty when outdated (I may do an Advocate on this if I get my act together). It’s bad enough that there’s a bunch of way fake Klingon blood floating around in the assassination scene (and taking away the coolness of it, if you ask me), there’s at least one video game quality shot of a CGI Enterprise that stinks up the joint in the final battle.
I’ve rewatched the Star Trek films with my girlfriend, which has let me see them through a new set of eyes, as she’s never watched any of them. She dug Khan and Search for Spock and The Voyage Home well enough. I haven’t subjected her to The Motion Picture, and we made it 40 minutes into The Final Frontier before we quit. Watching Undiscovered Country with her made me see how slow the opening of the film is – it takes a half hour to get to the assassination scene, which is where the plot really starts. And there’s lots of cheesiness on display; she noted that the final scene, when the Enterprise crew saves the peace negotiations, was like something out of a Naked Gun movie. She’s not wrong.
But there’s a lot good going on. I wonder if Final Frontier didn’t make us overvalue Undiscovered Country, but if so only by a little bit. It’s a movie that’s pretty unabashedly for fans, and of all the films feels most like it could have been an episode of the original TV show. Condense that opening half hour into the cold open (most of that info would have been explained via VO by Kirk in his Captain’s Log) and move right into the dinner, followed by the unexplained shots fired. Skip all the prison stuff, but keep the investigation and the last minute save at Kittimer and you have a bona fide season two episode of Star Trek.
What’s nice in Undiscovered Country is the humor, and I kind of dig that it’s Kirk and Bones stuck in a Klingon prison, not Kirk and Spock. That part of the triumvirate never got enough screen time in the films. The biggest problem with the movie, and the mistake that nearly hobbles it, is the fact that there’s a character named Valeris. The traitorous Vulcan broad was supposed to be Saavik, and having it be a character introduced in Khan and having such a major connection with Spock from Search for Spock would have lent the finale weight, and would have made us actually think about the fact that there are opposing viewpoints on how to proceed with the Klingons. Instead it’s a Random Character and we’re left without any emotional attachment when we realize she’s bad. And if it had been Saavik that mind meld/rape would have been really, really heavy. Instead it’s just kind of weird.
It’s still a very good Star Trek film, just a very good Star Trek film with a major missed opportunity.
14 comments
I watched this for the first time a few days ago and the Klingon blood was laughable and distracting. They must have loved it at the time. I hope you do get a Advocate out of that subject I'll be looking forward to it
This is the best Trek film after Khan, with the new Trek hot on its heels.
That Assassination scene is 30mins in? I always though the movie started with it. Yep, agreed on the GF's Naked Gun take. Remember that ludicrous tackle well.
This is a good example of a movie being better when within the context of current events. In the kindasorta obvious Klingons = Soviets vein, the movie came out right around the time when America was dealing with a Russia that was suddenly our friend. So much our friend that we sent the Police Academy crew there to film a movie… wait… maybe they weren't our friend…
And yes, at the time, the effects rocked. These were 1st generation computer effects (before we'd seen Snoop Dogg morph) so the Klingon blood actually added to it, at least for me. The only part I really can't stand on retrospect is the Valeris eyeroll at the end of the boots scene. You know what I'm talking about.
The Klingon blood was made to look extra fake (and like Pepto) so the film wouldn't get an R rating. Then again if it had been more "real" that might have put it in an even stranger place in the uncanny valley.
Yes yes, kim catterall has a huge amount to answer for – I honestly prefer this film to khan – I love the way it has a slow build and the execution comes from such a left-field – It also has this delicious claustrophobia of a murderer on the enterprise. The scene on the bridge where valeris is caught and spock starts to walk towards her to mind meld is a joy, the camera just shakes slightly it gives the whole thing an unnerving quality like one is about to faint – love that scene. jail break, some really really decent actors, (david warner – still unique as an actor for playing 3 different species in the star trek canon, yet not the only actor to have played 3 different characters) and the godlike christopher plummer chewing the fucking scenery, Kirk smoking a blunt and a very decent hand over to the TNG – which was then shat on by Generations. I didn't know that it was supposed to be Saavik, that would make sense but as 2 actresses had already had a go at her, having a third would be a bit of a piss take.
Bitching about CGI is pathetic, this was cutting fucking edge 15 years ago – remember in 15 years from now some spotty little know it all bastard is going to be guffawing over how everyone was impressed with Avatar and the cgi that will inevitably look like shit in a few years.
Brent Spiner has, I think, played 5 different characters.
Devin is so pig-ignorant that literally every element of worth present in this film escapes him, and he hews in on the most hackneyed shit in the movie. All the cool Cold War allegory (Praxis, Kirk as George Smiley who can't trust the Klingons, the space gulag) goes without a fucking mention, but he can't wait to get to the Agatha Christie bits. Lead a horse to water…
Hey Dev, I totally agree about the "Valeris should have been Saavik" point… had the filmmakers gone that route, this would have been a fantastic companion piece to the unofficial "Trek trilogy" (i.e. II, III & IV).
Do you know why they chose not to go with Saavik?
Final Frontier is hated way more than it should be. Almost to the same degree that The Voyage Home is loved way more than it should be.
i think the final scene is technically more scooby doo than naked gun. but what i really love about ST6 is how it really defines the klingons. in ways TOS and TNG never did. and this is probably the single most referenced ST movie in subsequent star treks.
also, who can forget the christian slater cameo!
Devin, are you actually bitching about CGI effects from a movie that was made back in '91? The movie is almost twenty years old man. I remember seeing S.T. #6 in the theater – I was 14 – and I gotta say, I was impressed. But then again, what do I know, I'm not Devin. Where are my sabots? I need to go cloggin'!
That save at the end was classic. After he tackles him he looks down and says.."Kirk, Enterprise…" But even when i saw this movie when it first came out it was funny and people laughed. That was kinda the point, to be cheesy.
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