It's odd going back to a movie you like, when you haven't seen it in a while...as it was with Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country.
It still plays as one of the strongest of the Trek movie series. But what struck me is how 'small scale' it is due to minimal studio expendature. The production team do a fantastic job of stretching their budget to tell the best story at hand, without sacraficing quality (which is what happened with the ambitious, but unsucessful Trek 5). It doesn't help the scope of the movie being filmed in a 2.0:1 ratio (reduced from 2.16:1).
Visually it lacks the iconography and distinctness of previous outtings; only the new Klingon ruling-class costumes and courtroom set stick in the brain. The reduced budget means plenty of redressed sets from The Next Generation and no new Spaceships, just cleaned up old ones. It's a little overlit for 80% of the movie; the cinematography only getting dramatic in the Klingon sequences, and a few others. It also lacks the visual wow factor compared with what TNG was doing on TV the same year with their Borg episodes.
But this is no fault of the film-makers themselves as what is on screen is a gripping, engaging and moving story about the last voyage of the original USS Enterprise and her crew. Credit to Leonard Nimoy for suggesting the Glasnot parallels in the story. And once again Nicholas Meyer saves the fate of big screen Star Trek with a tight, supurbly plotted script, this time built on a murder mystery set-up. His direction deftly balances great character arcs for Kirk and Spock while giving the rest of the regulars some decent participation. The action sequences are tense with the final space battle in particular (with the aid of a bombastic Cliff Eidelman score) are proof that you can provide maximum entertainment, even with a few bucks to spend.
The optimistic subtext about embracing your previous enemies, rather than destroying them, strikes a topical chord with the implimentation of the Obama administration's foreighn policies.
Despite the age of the cast, you can't help but feel for them, and the actors, when it's time for them to be decommissioned. At least they went out on a high... (or did they...tune in next time for the Generations review)
1 comment:
I LOVE this film. What it lacks in budget it makes up for in great story, script, performances and direction. Nick Meyer does it again. After the shoddy Trek 5 he pulls the franchise out of the mire and gives it a classy, relevant shakedown. I adore the whole Enterprise/Bird of Prey/ Excelsior battle at he end. Brilliant film.
Post a Comment