Star Trek: Nemesis (Widescreen)

I was also very dissapointed at how little a on screen time that Beverly Crusher, Riker, and Worf and Troi had. First Contact clearly proved that quality time could be allocated if a good
producer/director were running thinngs.

The film was riddled with inconsistencies. How B4 come about is weak at very best. Wesley's appearance in a Starfleet unform is ridiculous if you knew under the terms he left (he nearly started a war with the cardassians and left with the traveler and basically told Picard to stuff it). Picard did have hair in his youth. There are several more but I have said enough. Add it to your collection to complete your set, but a good rental will cover it.

On the other hand, this latest (last?) Trek installment did leave this reviewer with several questions. Why did Wesley Crusher show up at First Officer William Riker and Counselor Diana Troi's pre-wedding banquet (see TheNextGeneration episode "Journey's End") ? What is Worf doing on board the Enterprise-E (see DeepSpaceNine series ender "What You Leave Behind II") ? And with Data ceasing to exist as a sentient being (he is said to have been killed off though he never in fact lived) and hence unable to assume the role of Second in Command, who then would assume Riker's role - Geordi, Worf, or someone else?

Part of the blame for this movie's dismal box office performance must rest with the studio, both for releasing it up against "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and deleting at least 41 minutes of filmed material. Having said all this, the movie itself comes up somewhat short indeed. The main flaw seems to be that it never sufficiently delves into the cause(s) for Shinzon's anger and enmity towards Picard and the whole human race. After all, was it not the Romulans who treated him so shabbily all these years?

It is far from certain if a feature-length story featuring DSN characters will be made, either with a few crossover characters from TNG or none. However, given the unexpectedly weak showing at the box office for this film and the less-than spectacular track record of its preceding films (only one is said to have reached the US$100M threshold) it is highly unlikely that there will be any more Star Trek theatrical movies; The Wrath of Khan, a film from which this one is unjustly accused of ripping off, nearly became a non-theatrical movie.

There are possible spoilers below, so beware.

The film starts pleasantly enough, with Riker's wedding to Troi after showing trouble in the midst of the Romulan government. Wesley Crusher is finally given his due screen appearance. He is as gorgeous as always. I know that they cut out an entire 45 minute segment featuring him, which I was unhappy to hear.

Next, the Trek crew finds scans indicating posotronic activity on a planet, so they go to investigate, finding parts to an android almost identical to Data. They land on a desert planet and Picard acts completely unlike his character. The reserved French captain is now a high testosterone mini-dimensional fun lovin' bad cop kind of guy roving through the desert in a Jeep/Hummer-esque vehichle. I can't quite grasp how Data could locate this new android if only the brain is posotronic, which has been hammered into our heads since the series began. But forget all the rules made so far. To quote the Fantasticks, this movie "defies logic and achieves ignorance!" In the desert the crew meets nasty creatures that look like copies of Max Shreck's 1922 Nosferatu. Of course the vehichles are equipped with laser cannons and such and much F/X money was spent making loud booms.

After this lame adventure, the new android is put together. It is Data's mentally disabled brother. Blah blah blah. We already did this. It would have been much more interesting to do exploration with the Lor character. Hmm.. imagine doing battle with Lor. At least THAT would be a match for the Trek crew. Anyway, the new android is called B4. How tacky. A very uninteresting subplot altogether.

The "story" continues, if you can call it that. We learn the Romulan senate has a new praetor, Shinzon. Jean Luc gets an awesome cameo from Janeway. Next, the Enterprise-E visits Romulus, and of course war breaks out, blah blah blah.

**end of obvious spoilers you already figured out from the preview**

The villain, Shinzon is underdeveloped. The story is too. It felt like echoes of Wrath of Khan were bubbling here. This is the first Star Trek I've seen that was simply a lame battle scenario. Half of the movie was spent at war. It felt felt the Matrix Revolutions to me. Pointless one dimensional buildup and buildup, huge battles, but absolutely no pleasure or satifaction in any of it.

Star Trek has been great because each episode/movie dealt with a moral dilemma choice, well built characters and intriguing situations. This movie has none of that. It's just a big battle. If you like explosions and loud sound effects, this movie is for you. If not, beware. Characters are altered for no reason whatsoever. There is no real emotional buildup, just constant fighting, so the climax is boring and uninteresting. It feels like this is the end of Trek, which truly saddens me. It feels like Star Trek is trying to reinvent itself. It was fine before, people! That's why there is still a fan base! Even the music felt similar to the hokey music from the first season of TNG - even with those crappy 80s synth sounds. I cannot say enough: avoid this movie.

1/5