Navigate to Film Reviews by Alpha

Navigate to Film Reviews by date posted

Navigate to Reviews Index

Star Trek Nemesis

The latest in the long series of Star Trek Movies some of which have been desperate, some of which have been fabulous:

1 The Motion Picture: (slow-motion) bald helmsman gets

translated, eventually (1/10)
2 The Wrath of Khan: sequel to tv episode (8/10)
3 The Search for Spock: lengthy, frankly (2/10)
4 The Voyage Home: whales sing for rescue (8/10)
5 The Final Frontier: finding an alien that thinks he's God (3/10)
6 The Undiscovered Country: Kirk & Bones imprisoned (7/10)
7 Generations: Kirk meets Picard in the Nexus (7/10)
8 First Contact: Picard returns to earth to battle the Borg (9/10)
9 Insurrection: Donna Murphy romances Picard (6/10)

and now Nemesis (3/10). Oh deary, deary me.

Having worked hard to avoid the trailers and adverts, which often have an annoying habit of making the plot seem more intricate than it really is, as well as giving away the final score, I walked into the the local UCG and sat down with the excitement that a longish wait engenders.

The opening scenes show all the well-loved characters at the wedding of Riker & Troi: even the seemingly-forgotten Wesley Crusher is there. Oh, but he doesn't have a speaking part. What a shame!

Given the threadbare plot of the film that follows, I was ready for Wes and the Traveller to turn up in the final reel and provide an interesting finale. But instead of there being a final reel, there is simply some credits which roll over dramatic music. H'mm, a film without an ending. The untied loose ends required an additional half-hour to sort out, it seemed to me. I couldn't help but find out that it was supposed to be 'A generation's final journey begins' which is pretty vague. Especially when yet another Enterprise get mashed and one of the Datas nobly expends himself in an attempt to save the captain (trying hard not to spoil it for you, just in case).

The critics in the papers seem to expect a swashbuckling starfighter show, while Trek fans prefer thoughtful science-fiction which explores themes such as the human condition, dystopia, time-travel etc. No wonder we were all disappointed with a lot of philosophical chat.

It would have been a bit obvious to have cast Patrick Stewart as both Picard and his cloned nemesis, but the somewhat unconvincing Dr Evil was stretching credulity a little. He didn't scare me enough - he didn't seem to scare Picard, either. The nasty Cardassian torturer was a much stronger character, and theme.

I left the cinema disappointed. No, hoodwinked by Paramount's effort at attracting the car chase, explosions and special effects for their own sake crowd.

Navigate to Film Reviews by Alpha

Navigate to Film Reviews by date posted

Navigate to Reviews Index