Star Trek - Nemesis (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Star Trek - Nemesis (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: A Sad Farewell
Summary: 2 Stars
Sadly, this last production in the 40 year long original "Star Trek" continuity turned out to be nothing more than a poor man's remake of "Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan", seen through the bland prism of the already bloodless Next Generation cast. An unfortunately low note on which to go out, and the only true financial flop in the film franchise.
So far anyway.
Movie Review: MEDIOCRE!!! (Sorta)
Summary: 3 Stars
Remember how awful "Insurrection" was? Well, "Nemesis" is kind of relief from that! It's nowhere near as inane, talky and bland as THAT cinematic TNG installment was, but you STILL wonder where the rest of the movie is! There are no "hooks" in this movie....! Nothing GRABS you like it should, like the better TNG TV eps like "Best of Both Worlds" or "Contagion" did. (And wouldn't the movies have been a great medium to further delve into THAT unfinished story??)
Picard has a clone within the Romulan empire. Big hairy deal! There's a double of ANOTHER major character in the film, too! One of the things that always p****d me off about the TNG show was the lazy writer's device of making yet another "double character" episode! They almost ALWAYS stank after the first use of this device!
The film opens up on Rolmulus...(btw, the Romulan throne city exteriors look JUST like they did on TV...like obvious miniatures.) And we are witness to what amounts to the reverse of what happened to Julius Caesar, with Romulan senators killed off within the first five minutes. THEN the intrigue starts in earnest!
What might bother you in this movie is: Why is Earth never actually threatened? Or Vulcan? Or the Klingons? This all pretty much stays in the Romulan system, well away from the doorsteps of the classic Romulan enemies. Just think of the tension that being in the Terran, Klingon or Vulcan systems would have engendered vis a vis the Romulans against the full bore complement of Federation or Klingon fleets! And forgive me, but Tom Hardy's portrayal of Picard's clone just wasn't over-the-top villainous enough for my tastes! He was TOO muted and just doesn't seem like that much of a threat! Anybody who plays villains ought to be forced to watch a few movies starring Rutger Hauer or Richard Lynch as the bad guys, since these guys pretty much wrote the book on truly evil acting in movies of the last 30 years.
And yes, we lose good old Data in this one, but don't despair....! There's a ready-made replacement for him in B-4, who, I GUARANTEE you, has probably had a chip implanted in him already that will bring him up to Data's speed eventually in future stories, (probably as TV movies,) of the TNG crew.
While this is MUCH better than "Insurrection" as a movie, it STILL feels too much like a less than truly stellar TV episode, "Insurrection"'s biggest fault.
Least ways, it's STILL better than "Enterprise"! ;-)
Movie Review: Not so bad !
Summary: 5 Stars
Some of these reviews are pitiful and mean spirited.
I have been a Star Trek fan since the early 1970s as a child, but am not a trekkie.
I enjoyed this movie and do not nit pick it apart !
I pray for at least one more Next Generation movie !
Movie Review: I was too hard on this film in the theater.
Summary: 4 Stars
First, let me state I dislike about two thirds of the classic, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise content out there. Still, I'll watch them, because scene to scene they have their moments and there are some very stellar (no pun intended) episodes scattered throughout.
Next, I want to dis this film for some legitimate reasons. To have Wil Weaton in the reception scene sitting next to his mom and then not use him in any other part of the film was ridiculous.
I'm geeking out here, but considering Tasha Yar's daughter is Romulan, you'd think we'd encounter her as one of the Romulan commanders later in the film. Since this is the final "future" Trek film, that would have been fitting to get all the cast members in. How did they miss that one?
The scene with Data and Picard in his Ready Room drinking wine and speaking of human ritual & bonds (I think that's what it was, it's been a while) should not have been cut. It's essential for both showing the audience more of the friendship between those two, the significant of the Chateau Picard wine toasted later in the film, and the poignancy of Data's sacrifice. That cut was not only unnecessary, but detrimental to the film's arc. Forget the "tempo", "momentum", or "rhythm" of the film. We're not talking action scenes, here.
The bat imagery and inspiration was a bit, how do I put this mildly, overt. No, that's too kind. It was beating me over the head with a big, dead, stinky bat, like some junior high student short story's grand creative stroke. Less is more, folks.
Finally, my biggest issue in the film, and one I probably let get in the way of my enjoyment of it, was the whole WMD, terrorism, and pro-Iraq invasion slant I perceived. Now, the virgin terrorist bent on world domination with an awful WMD is something clearly Spiner and friends intended in the script. The Iraq part was probably just my distaste with what was happening in the media at the time being unjustifiably channeled into the viewing. I can't be sure, but I suspect that was unintentional and was just some bad luck in the timing of the film's release. But, hey, maybe my first instincts were right.
Nonetheless, like I said, I was too harsh on the film in the theater. I was fuming, pissed even. For the seeming Iraq slant, for Data's sudden death without the proper preparation and arc, for the soft, overly-groomed (common recent Trek problem), cheesy-looking Romulan Senate cgi scenes. However, in retrospect, and especially considering that one scene I mentioned previously that should not have been cut, I think the film is mostly in the right place. The ship to ship battle sequence at the end is masterful, combining all the techniques originated in the earliest TNG video games and novels, giving realistic division-of-tasks on the bridge, and presenting the events with a "truthiness" (finally, a use for that word!). They were 3D, dynamic, nuanced, and believable within the established rules and technologies of this franchise.
The short-hand and camaraderie between this troop of actors is here in full force. I think they're right up there with the cast of MASH, quite frankly, and I'd put these actors in an echelon above that due to the serious and challenging subject matter they've dealt with over the years, not to mention the films. I really can't think of any other ensemble that's of this caliber, each and every one of them. I'm still not certain the best aura of the series was ever captured in any of the films, but in this one I almost felt they arrived at something more. Some of the kidding was put aside. Not all, but more than most of the episodes and films. There was a mature professionalism exuded by the characters. Individuals well into the prime of their professional and personal lives, dealing with the threats, changes, growth, and loses life entails.
The film's look, I have to point out before wrapping this up, is gorgeous. The Romulan senate has that awful overly-groomed thing going on, like I said. In the rest of the film, however, the textures, lighting, pure white lights to subtle colors, those lens flares, the fascinating hue of Data's skin and eyes...often all of this happening at the same time! A feast for the peepers. This is without a doubt not only the finest-looking Star Trek outing, but a striking visual achievement, by any standard. It is not a five star film in my book, but in my opinion it was worth another look. I know I'll be returning to it some more. With reservations, but worthy nonetheless.
Movie Review: Not So Much An "Out Of This World" Send-Off Of The TNG Cast...
Summary: 3 Stars
What a sad, depressing way to pretty much end an amazing franchise, Star Trek Nemesis, the tenth film in the series, finally ended the Trekkie theory that every even numbered movie was colossal while the odds were medicore at best. The early 2000's weren't a good time for the franchise, with ST:Voyager ending it's run less than a year earlier and leaving ST:Enterprise alone and not doing a good job ratings or storywise. This was the third solo Next Generation film (not counting '94's Generations which was old with new casts), and the appeal was stating to really, really wear thin.
Once again the Next Gen crew are sent on a typical mission (much like the previous film, the "hippie-like" Insurrection) to speak to a missionary representative of a subrace of the Romulans known as the Remans, who look nothing like them with their white disfigured bat-like faces. But when Captain Picard and crew get there, they find out their new leader is actually a twenty-something clone of the Captain known as Shinzon. He says all he wants is peace between the three parties, but of course in true Star Trek fashion his real mission is to destroy the Romulan Empire, the Federation, and his dopperganger Picard himself.
Sure, the special effects are up to typical Star Trek fashion but that's all they reach, which is typical. Not much new is going on here except for an out-of-place, land based, dune-buggy race (in Star Trek?) and many endings/beginning of the ST:TNG storyline. After a twenty year courtship, Riker and Troi are getting married and leaving the Enterprise (with Riker getting his own command), and Data discovers another android like him, though not as intelligent, that he refers to as his brother known as B-4....get it, "before"....all while glossing over the fact that Data's had a brother before in the series known as Lore that this movie completely ignores.
I think that cast and crew knew when making this film that the franchise truly had dried up at this point. There just wasn't much more to do with this crew and it shows all around. While die-hard Trekkies will find this entertaining, this was not the way they should have ended it. Tom Hardy as the younger Picard clone does look & sound alot like Patrick Stewart (minus a much larger upper-lip), but as a main villain he has no spark or appeal like ones in the past and Sci-Fi favorite Ron Perlman as his viceroy doesn't make things any better. And in true desperate writing fashion, one important main cast member dies, though like Spock earlier yet alot easier, could come back just like nothing ever happened.
As for the Paramount 2 Disc Special Edition, like the others it's filled with amazing CGI menus, detailed behind-the-scenes footage, and tons of extras, but after seeing the film realizing that it didn't work as well as Picard and crew are now forever in drydock, you might not want to see them to know more of what went wrong. Though, even if you're a somewhat Star Trek or Sci-Fi fan, you'll should see this to know how it all ends, but don't expect a great warp into the sunset like Shatner's cast did in Part Six. Seeing Nemesis, it will probably explain to you why it's taking seven years to make another film, plus being a reboot going back to the Original Series storyline instead of continuing this one. But you never know in the world of Star Trek, maybe in the future we'll see Picard, Riker, and Data again....yes, even that third guy.
(RedSabbath Rating:7.5/10)