My excuse for a very late review of this film is that I had the fine pleasure of viewing it at the AMC Theaters in Pleasure Island at Disney World in Florida. We were there for our yearly meet-n-greet with other members of the usenet newsgroup rec.arts.disney.parks and there were about seventeen of us who met up for one of the first showings of the film.
Star Trek: Nemesis essentially tells the same basic tale that Star Trek fans saw in the second film, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Instead of Khan, we have Shinzon. Shinzon is supposed to represent the mirror of Jean Luc Picard - what Picard might have been like raised under different circumstances. The basis for all of this is that during one of Picard's ventures into the Romulan empire, his DNA was collected and used to create a clone.
This does raise an interesting moral question in this age when we are talking so much about cloning - how much of what we are is genetic and how much is environment? This question seems to plague Picard throughout the film as he attempts to reconcile all of this information that has been given to him in such a brief time.
In one of the lighte moments, the film opens with the post-nuptial celebration of the wedding of Commander Riker and Counselor Troi. The Enterprise is then on its way to Counselor Troi's home planet of Betazed for a traditionally nude ceremony when it is distracted by a positronic reading from a planet on the Federation edge of The Neutral Zone - an area of space that serves as a buffer between the Federation and the Romulan empire. After making a startling discovery on this planet, the Enterprise is then sent to treat with the Romulans at Shinzon's request, not realizing until too late the duplicity behind this request.
While I did greatly enjoy the film, there were several problems. Putting aside that it feels so much like a re-make of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, I had general problems in other areas as well. The director, Stuart Baird, is way too into doing close-ups and I spent more time deciding just who needed to be exfoliated rather than paying attention to the lines. Scenes I was looking forward to between Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard and other Romulans we've known throughout the years of The Next Generation ended up on the cutting room floor (hopefully to be resurrected on the DVD at least). I also felt that the movie's pace was very erratic. At times it felt as if I were being rushed through scenes, while others seemed to drag along.
I don't know how I'd feel if I had an evil clone, but I thought Picard's guilt over having turned out better than his clone was a bit overdone. Didn't he go through this already with the differences between himself and his brother? Again, it just feels like a story we've been through before. The Klingon Worf is back on the Enterprise with no explanation for how or why he is now stationed there again.
On the plus side, the performances are all great. The regular cast of The Next Generation all seem to be having a good time with the film. Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis seem natural together as a married couple about to embark on their own adventures and command. I felt that he was more relaxed here - possibly because he does not have the added pressure of directing as he did with the last two films.
Brent Spiner is once again excellent as the android Data, although I do believe the gossip that I have heard that he was beginning to believe he could no longer play an android that doesn't age. He also portrays another, pivotal role in the film (no, not Lore) and does it with amazing style. Michael Dorn provides most of the comic relief with Worf, although Patrick Stewart gets one of the funniest lines of the film when he hands over command to Riker at one point.
We are also introduced to a new race of beings - the Remans. They live on a planet in total darkness at the mercy of the Romulans doing most of their grunt work. It is here that Shinzon gains his power and manages to violently push his way into power in the Romulan government. Tom Hardy's performance as Shinzon is really good, although I had a hard time buying into the concept of him as a younger version of Picard. Ron Perlman - of Beauty and the Beast fame - portrays Shinzon's viceroy as effective as possible. He is buried under more makeup than in his previous series and just about anyone with a strong voice would have been as effective.
The special effects are spectacular for the most part. I'd have to say that the effect of the Enterprise E ramming an enemy ship (and not exploding) is one of the greatest effects I've ever seen. There were few moments that really seemed to be very noticeable CGI like in Attack of the Clones.
In the ranking of movies involving the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast, I would rank this second behind Star Trek: First Contact. It's not a dazzling film, but it did leave the seventeen of us talking about it for quite a few days afterwards in a very positive light. I think the script is very non-fan-friendly while at the same time having great appeal for fans of the series.
To see where this movie ranks in my assessment of the Star Trek films, go to: Star Trek's Top 10
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