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That's very kind of you Scott, but there's no hard feelings my friend!
Nevertheless...(and buckle up, this is just as long)
I have gone on record as not hating any Star Trek movie and I stand by that. So regardless of my issues with it, there's a lot to love about The Undiscovered Country:
It has a killer opening. Sulu on his own ship opens up a lot of possibilities for tag teaming if the original cast kept going. While I wasn't one of those people who needed a Sulu series, I would have watched it.
Nick Meyer hated the whole idea of Spock's resurrection, but he gracefully accepted it and incorporated a major event of that film (the death of David) as the reason for Kirk's hatred of Klingons. It's believable and fuel for the plot and Shatner's "LET THEM DIE!" is amazing. I know Shatner didn't appreciate the line and regretted meyer cutting back Kirk's immediate remorse at saying it, it does show. And I agree with Meyer's choice. Let Kirk regret it...but only a little. Because that resentment really carries the character through all of what follows. Kirk's story is my favorite part of the film. It shows real growth and an arc, plus it gets him off the ship and into some really nice locales that not only open up Klingon society a little, but opens up the film.
Spock is totally on point in this picture. I love Nimoy in this and the friction between Kirk and Spock is played just right. They've been though too much to have a real falling out, but Kirk is wounded by Spock's actions and even though they share a few nice moments of "we're okay," they're really not. Finally, they have such a great conversation just before the final battle that patches it all up. Nimoy also has two amazingly funny lines that sjhow what incredible timing Nimoy had.
Kirk: Everybody's human.
Spock: I find that remark...insulting.
and
Spock: If I were human, I believe my response would be "go to hell." (pause) "If I were human."
Contrast this with Data's similar "I believe I speak for everyone here when I say...to hell with our orders." Nimoy had it, Spiner didn't.
Another great dark laugh, and totally in character, is Kirk's response to Chang's "we need breathing room."
Kirk: "Earth, Hitler, 1938."
The audience in the theater exploded every time.
Speaking of Chang, Christopher Plummer is a great villain. Regardless of the Shakespeare, a brilliant actor took the part and his reduced ridges and bald head are a great subconscious tie to the original series. While the fan in me wanted Michael Ansara back as Kang rather than Plummer as Chang, he was a nice sly menace. Not a typical Klingon. He and Shatner had some great moments.
Martia is a great character and we think she has Kirk fooled, but Kirk is no fool. She's a tool and he plays her well enough to get where he needs to be. His punch to her was unexpected and a great turnaround.
Spock and Valeris. So much subtext in their scenes. I can't say enough about Nimoy in this film. First, his makeup is perfect. He didn't like Spock's look in the last few films and asked them to make his closer to Freddie Phillips' original series version. It works, he looks great. Then Spock shows real growth in accepting his human half, admitting that logic isn't the be all and end all or wisdom...and he under estimates Valeris. His scene in sickbay is crackling with underplayed fury. When he swats the phaser from her hand, the audience gasped. (Seeing this with fans is a must).
Finally....the climax. Oh my what a great battle. Mostly one-sided, but there's such great energy. Shatner is in his element. Having McCoy and Spock tinker with the torpedo is fun and finally Kirk's "FIRE!!!!" is just SO Shatner in the best possible way. Chang's resignation to death is sweet and when the BoP took that hit, the audience cheered. Sulu's "target that explosion and fire!" followed by Shatner's victorious "fire!" and the pummeling that followed brought the audience to their feet in 1991 (again, seeing this with fans is essential). it still gives me a chill. The BoP explosion is so well done and cathartic, when Generations stole it 3 years later, it was received with a groan. It wasn't just a random model shot they took, it was the action climax to the previous film. Very bad choice.
But the emotional climax was still to come. it came in two parts:
Azetbur: You've restored my father's faith.
Kirk: And you've restored my son's.
Yeah, that got me.
Part two:
The signatures over the swelling music. For long time fans, this was the end. A sequence so well done Avengers: Endgame used it to the same effect.
So, Henry, that is what I love about The Undiscovered Country. I watched the Director's cut the other night and didn't have much fun. However, the theatrical version (which is really only a couple of minutes shorter) plays a LOT better for me.
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My pleasure. I must have just been in a bad mood the first time.
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I love the movie and the score !!!
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Azetbur: You've restored my father's faith.
Kirk: And you've restored my son's.
Yeah, that got me.
And I thought Scott didn't have tear ducts. Maybe I'm mixing up what Spock said.
Well played. 
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Ok, it may be the English major in me, but I always love Shakespeare in Star Trek. Moby Dick, too - any time literature gets in films and TV, I'm all for it.
Here's to more Shakespeare in Star Trek!
Note: I just love ST VI, one of my favorites of the movies. I'm a sucker for political thrillers too, so that made it doubly fun for me.
I don't even mind Meyer's nauticalisms this time - it was so fun to see a kitchen on the Enterprise!
Plus, "Not to be" is one of the best death lines in movies.
Gotta be the Shakespeare!
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I'm kind of surprised at the amount of vitriol against this film. For sure, there are problem, but nowhere near the catastrophe of part V.
That's because everyone knows The Final Frontier is weird and cheesy. The Undiscovered Country is hailed as an amazing sendoff and a great film by the "director who saved the franchise." I feel the reputation is overblown. Star Trek V doesn't have that same rep. V is meant to be fun. VI is meant to be a dark thriller but too many gags tend to take that down for me. Playing it broadly worked in the style of Shatner's film. but that same broadness of acting was an ill fit for TUC.
I "like" Star Trek V more than IV, but I know IV is the better film.
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That said, I don't disagree with the overall feeling that the movie jumped the shark,
“Jumping the shark” isn’t so much a low point, but that moment when everything pivots and changes because of something. The Trek movie’s Jump the Shark point was Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. When that film got rave reviews and broke Star Trek’s box office records, it was determined that the humor is what accounted for the crossover appeal and brought in the general audience. From that point on Paramount insisted on there being an abundance of humor. The films were never as serious or mature as the first few after that.
Star Trek V was conceived as being much darker and serious (I’m not saying it was ever a good story mind you), but they were told to keep adding jokes. The humor generally reflected Shatner’s sense of humor as well as David Loughery’s, a writer who seemed to specialize in unsubtle humor.
Now look at Star Trek VI and you’ll see amazing character humor (Spock’s “go to hell” and Kirk’s darkly funny “Earth, Hitler 1938”) as well as forced humor (the books on the bridge, “I can’t believe I kissed you”). There are a lot of forced gags in Star Trek VI and had they let the film be as dark as its premise, I think it would have been much stronger overall.
But because of the success of The Voyage Home (the only classic cast film specifically conceived as a break from the drama), the Star Trek classic films became comedy adventures, regardless of the actual intent of the films.
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