Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

For the (allegedly) final installment of the Star Trek saga, J. Tiberius Kirk and crew present us with one of the dullest films of the sextet thus far. This time around, long-standing Federation enemies the Klingons find themselves faced with the likelihood of sudden extinction when one of their moons explodes, collapsing their home world's ozone layer. In a desperate bid for survival, they initiate peace talks, with Kirk acting as their host. When the Klingon Chancellor is assassinated before the proceedings can begin, however, all fingers seem to point to the crew of the Enterprise. And so it goes… Nicholas Meyer, who directed the immensely pleasing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, throws caution to the wind, filling this voyage with distracting and unnecessary plot turns that he apparently has mistaken for legitimate suspense. It's not all his fault, though. The whole look of the film is several notches below par, from stem to stern, and even a one-shot cameo by Christian Slater (!) is less amusing than it is annoying. The faithful crew of the Enterprise, from the ever-enlarging Scotty to Communications Officer Uhura, have been relegated to sluggish one-liners and trite homilies regarding just how neat it is to be out gallivanting around the cosmos, again. Thank god this is the last of it. If I see Chief Engineer Scott beam that addled grin one more time, I don't know what I'll do. After all, with almost three decades in the service of king and country, they've got to be tired. God knows I am.