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Picard needs to pack it in |
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Audiences are being asked to boldly go where no man has gone before (for the tenth time!), as the Starship Enterprise heads out on its last ever journey... |
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Picard needs to pack it in |
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Audiences are being asked to boldly go where no man has gone before (for the tenth time!), as the Starship Enterprise heads out on its last ever journey... |
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What's the Plot? It's a strange time for Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). His first officer William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), has married the Enterprise's counsellor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and after their honeymoon, both will leave for another ship, the USS Titan. While bound for Deanna's home world, the Enterprise detects an unusual reading from a nearby planet. A search there uncovers the dismantled pieces of an android - which looks like it could be a prototype of the Enterprise's own Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). This mystery is postponed as Picard is ordered to discuss a peace treaty with the longtime enemies of the Federation: the Romulans. Picard soon discovers that the Romulans new leader is, in fact, a human replica of himself called Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who was once used by the Romulans to defeated the Federation. Picard must decide quickly if Shinzon truly wants peace or not and exactly why he has in his possession a weapon that could destroy not only everyone aboard the Enterprise, but the entire population of Earth.
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The Review The unspoken rule is that all Star Trek movies that are even-numbered are the best so anticipation for the tenth installment was high. Unfortunately, Nemesis fails to live up to this, adding weight to the argument that The Next Generation crew should hand over the Voyager crew or just pack it in. Director Stuart Baird showed promise in the thriller genre with Executive Decision but somehow has successfully removed all tension, suspense and, dare I say it, wonder, that the Star Trek movies and TV shows have been known deliver from time to time. Admittedly the fault does lie elsewhere, but the dark, gloomy sets and the sedated editing only highlight that the story and its dialogue is painful and incredibly heavy. This particular Enterprise crew are to "by the numbers" so much so that even the "big starship" fight lacks punch since you know that this crew doesn't get distracted - unlike Kirk, who could ruin everything by snogging a female alien at the wrong time!
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Therefore, all tension is made redundant since there's never any doubt that these overly serious Trekers will succeed. Add to this a indulgence with complicated names of planets, people and space substances and an assumption that all viewers of Nemesis are hardened Star Trek fans and the pit-falls start to become more and more obvious. You have to wonder when a futuristic sci-fi movie has a Duke of Hazzard style car chase and jump sequences as its highlight, what exactly were they on at the time?
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Copyright © Steve Murphy 2003
