Review: 'Trek: Nemesis' its own worst enemy

Jules · December 13, 2002, 16:52

Quote:

Review: 'Trek: Nemesis' its own worst enemy
By Ben Nuckols
Associated Press
Friday, December 13, 2002 Posted: 10:10 AM EST (1510 GMT)

(AP) -- If "Star Trek: Nemesis" is "a generation's final journey," as it's billed, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and crew are going out with a whimper in the dark.

The 10th entry in the "Star Trek" movie franchise, and the third in which Picard has flown solo, is the dullest and drabbest of the lot. Simply plotted and feebly directed, it lacks the vigorous action that elevated Capt. Kirk's adventures into pulp art or the thorny ethical dilemmas that gave the "Next Generation" TV series its resonances.

Screenwriter John Logan's heart is in the right place; he looks back to past "Trek" movies to find the template for his villain. Kirk's most fearsome adversaries -- played by Ricardo Montalban in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and Christopher Plummer in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" -- were able to outstrip his masculine bravado. Following that logic, what better nemesis for the introspective, solipsistic Picard than -- himself?

The bad guy is a young Picard clone, created by the always scheming Romulans in an effort to infiltrate the Federation. But they abandoned the project when the clone was still a boy, ditching him in the mines of enslaved sister planet Remus. The Remans, a nasty, militaristic bunch, raise him to be a leader, and as the movie opens he assassinates much of the Romulan Senate.

Nature vs. nurture
So Shinzon (Tom Hardy), as the clone is called, becomes Praetor of the Romulan Empire, and he makes overtures of peace to the Federation. Naturally, the Enterprise crew is called to negotiate, interrupting their journey to the second of two wedding ceremonies for Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis).

With his sneering mug and a voice that sounds like sherry poured over sandpaper, Shinzon isn't very convincing when he talks about peace, and the Enterprise crew discovers in short order that the opposite is on his mind: He has a vendetta against humanity.

Addressing the nature-vs.-nurture debate, "Star Trek: Nemesis" comes down solidly on nurture's side. Shinzon, who shares Picard's DNA, torments him with the assertion that if Picard had been orphaned and brought up among the oppressed Remans, he would harbor the same resentments.

Similar themes turn up in the relationship between the android Data (Brent Spiner) and a prototype of himself that the crew has discovered.

Shrouded in darkness
Director Stuart Baird ("U.S. Marshals") pays lip service to these dualities; he's more interested in action sequences. But his work is lumbering. And the film's murky look -- the Remans, we're told, prefer darkness -- violates a principle that has informed the best space operas: Keep it sharp and crisp. The audience needs to believe it's seeing a future world brimming with technology, and that's not possible if it looks like nobody's invented the 60-watt bulb.

Baird relies on textureless close-ups and frames his shots as if for television. Worse -- particularly considering Baird apprenticed as an editor -- the cross-cutting limps and sags.

As every Trekker knows, Federation starships lack the firepower of Romulan or Klingon war birds, so a captain must use his wits if he's drawn into battle with one of them. This installment, though, values brawn over brains, with the measured Picard eventually borrowing a tactic from a monster truck rally.

The Enterprise crew retains its breezy rapport, though Worf (Michael Dorn), Geordi (LeVar Burton) and Crusher (Gates McFadden) are given little to do. Spiner, the loosest and most freewheeling of the cast, creates some nice comic moments between Data and his less sophisticated prototype, while Stewart appears lost in a reverie of contemplation.

Perhaps he's thinking about how his other sci-fi franchise, "X-Men," has a future, while "Star Trek" is going nowhere, slowly.

"Star Trek: Nemesis," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13.

So anybody see it yet? Or, wait, when's it out again? I've been preoccupied with final exams.

DinoDoc · December 13, 2002, 16:54

Quote:

Originally posted by Jules
So anybody see it yet? Or, wait, when's it out again? I've been preoccupied with final exams.

I'll be going to see it Saturday. I'll let you know.

H Tower · December 13, 2002, 17:37

hopefully it will be good

but unless you're a trekky, i think you could be in for a dissapointment

Andrew1999 · December 13, 2002, 17:39

Strangely, the L.A. Times reviewer really liked it, although he seems to be the only one.

orange · December 13, 2002, 18:07

i was supposed to see it (be dragged to go see it) tonight, but my friend had to cancel because of icy roads and snow, so I might not see it (be dragged to see it) until after Christmas. Let me know how it is, I actually didn't think it looked all that bad from the previews (though I've never seen an episode of, or movie of, Star Trek in my life)

Stefu · December 13, 2002, 18:13

What, there's been another Trek movie? I've heard nothing of this. Of course, I don't care a bit, either.

Gatekeeper · December 13, 2002, 19:09

Heh. I've snagged a real nasty article off the wires that focuses on how "out of touch" with the masses many reviewers are and explains why. I'll post it at 'Poly sometime tonight after getting back from watching "ST: Nemesis."

Gatekeeper

BustaMike · December 13, 2002, 21:55

I'm going to see it tonight. I'm of the opinion that it has to be good based on one simple reason. With the exception of the first movie, all even star trek movies are good and all odd ones are bad.

2 - Wrath of Khan kicks ass, Kiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkk!!!
3 - Search for Spock - the worst one
4 - Can you tell me where to find the nuclear wessels? this one is great
5 - Let's go find god..... oops god is an evil alien
6 - fighting Klingons is always good
7 - Generations - this movie is one GIANT plot hole, if they can time travel with that stupid nexus why don't they just do it again and again until they get it right?
8 - fighting the Borg is always good, too
9 - I actually haven't seen this one but I've heard it's not so good

which brings us to 10... since it's an even number it's probably good. I'll let you know.

VetLegion · December 13, 2002, 22:09

http://www.thewavemedia.com/pagegen....rticleid=22646

Go Turks!

Beat that!

DRoseDARs · December 13, 2002, 22:13

I'm not reading through all of that review, the pictures are enough.

Though, I have to wonder about copyright and trademark violations...

XarXo · December 13, 2002, 22:29

Oh great, another crap

What happened with The Borg? I liked a lot these cubes destroying these new-hippies spaceships.

"Borgging" appart, what about a movie with a diplomatic background: "A reunion is made by Romulans, Federation and all the other great forces, suddenly the Borg appear but doesn't attack, it says that want sign some kind of peace treaty. This is only for serch an alliance for protect all o something awful that all the things that are imaginable: The Galaxy Center is starting a total collapse process!!!!*"

*This could be realted to the false god movie of the first series.

H Tower · December 14, 2002, 00:23

that would be so out of character with the borg though as to create a huge cry from any trekky worth his salt

monolith94 · December 14, 2002, 01:32

all of the various empires be allied? yeah - that sounds REEEAL interesting…

Skanky Burns · December 14, 2002, 01:38

You could watch all the aliens signing the document in "real time", then follow them back to their seats. Then follow the next alien up to sign...

It has all the hallmarks of a great movie idea!

chequita guevara · December 14, 2002, 01:39

Even if the center of the galaxy collapsed, we out here on the fringes would be fine. The same amount of mass is in the center of the galazy whether it is in seperate stars or one massive black hole. We would still continue our 200+ million year orbit of the galazy without every having to worry . . . although X-ray output from the center might be a problem, but there are enough dust clouds between here and there that we'd probably be fine.

Gatekeeper · December 14, 2002, 01:57

Everyone:

OK, I watched the movie and, briefly, here's what I thought:

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1. The opening scene in the Romulan Star Empire Senate was eerie, to say the least. To see all those senators basically being turned into some sort of "stone" by that bio-genetic weapon and then shattering into pieces.

On a related note, I expected the Senate to be grander in scale and number of senators. I mean, c'mon! This is the Senate of a starfaring empire! There should be more than 20 senators present, IMHO. Yeah, I know it's "only" the Romulans who would be represented in such a body (since the relationship is like Imperial Rome; the real power lies with the Praetor, and only Romulans would be represented in the Senate, and not any of their enslaved and/or subject races).

2. I did enjoy the interplay between Cap. Jean-Luc Picard and Shinzon Remus, although I did think that the former went a little overboard in trying to "convert" the latter to the "light," so to speak. Heck, if I'd been Shinzon and listening to that pap (especially towards the end of the prattling), I'd probably think the Federation was even more fairy-like than before.

The way Shinzon died was somewhat torturous. Nothing quite like Khan, though. His death scene is still tops, IMHO, with Spock a close second (hell, tied for first!).

3. The ship battles were cool, especially when the E-E rammed the Scimitar (56 photon torpedo tubes and 26 phaser banks ... talk about freaking firepower!). Heh. I found it fascinating how quickly the E-E was carved up (even w/the assistance of two Romulan warbirds on her side) by the Scimitar — it took only one blow by the Scimitar to knock the shielded E-E's warp drive offline. Those helpful warbirds got socked pretty bad, too, and at least one was blown apart.

That said, I was hoping for more fleet action, so to speak. But the movie was logical in why there wasn't fleet action (a perfect cloak, it seems). Plus it seems that Shinzon made an alliance with rebellious Romulan military leaders, and once this alliance broke down (hence the two helpful warbirds for the E-E), Shinzon could no longer command the Romulan Star Empire's fleets as praetor.

4. I thought the story was rushed at the end. Too little time was spent on Data's death, and the subsequent rise of B-4 as a potential replacement. We never did get to see Riker's new command, the USS Titan (I hope it's at least a Galaxy-class ship, and maybe even another Sovereign-class ship). The spacedock shots of the E-E being repaired in Earth orbit (above Italy and Sicily, specifically) were neat.

5. I thought the story was a bit rushed at the beginning. Some in-movie dialogue is all we get to explain Shinzon's rise to power among the Romulan-enslaved Remans. We never fully learn just how the enslaved sister planet to Romulus managed to rise to such prominence so quickly (to be fair, it sounded like the Remans made for excellent shock troops [cannon fodder] during the war against the Dominion, and that Shinzon himself was a very good warbird captain, having won a dozen battles against Dominion forces).

6. Great to see the cameo of Guinan at the wedding of Troi and Riker. I didn't see Wesley, though.

7. It appears that Riker is now Mr. Troi. Apparently the female surname is used after marriage on Betazed ... least that was the impression I got from a bit of movie dialogue between Picard and Riker.

That's about all I can think of for now — oh, wait: The movie theater I watched "Nemesis" in was having occasional audio difficulties during parts of the film (and before). You'd go from having booming surround sound (DTS) to having only the front speakers working to having no sound (thankfully, that happened only during one of the previews). I much preferred DTS, thank you, and it stayed there for the most part. But, boy, you could tell when it wasn't in DTS ...

Gatekeeper

Nubclear · December 14, 2002, 02:43

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Originally posted by Gatekeeper
Everyone:

OK, I watched the movie and, briefly, here's what I thought:

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Whatever he said.

So is it worth it?

Gatekeeper · December 14, 2002, 03:15

Tassadar:

Hmm ... yes, it's worth watching. But not on opening night, if you don't feel like it.

Gatekeeper

BustaMike · December 14, 2002, 03:38

My review and SPOILERS
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The movie is a blatant rip off of Star Trek 2. The enemy, the final battle, the weapon, etc... Nevertheless, that's a good one to rip off.

Things I liked -
Brent Spiner is great once again in this movie. The 4 in B4 no doubt stands for 4-year old and it's pretty funny. Why? Why?
The enemy ship is awesome.
The final battle is pretty good.
Shinzon is a pretty good enemy if you can disregard how one sided he is. He has his purpose and nothing can change that. He ends up looking pretty creepy, too.

Things I didn't like -
Disregard for the Star Trek world is running rampant. Does no one remember who Lor was? They could have at least mentioned him. They act like B4 is Data's only brother. Also, I know I saw Data get emotions in Generations. I don't recall them ever writing why they're gone again.
The psychic crap with Diana Troi is really stupid. It seems like it was only added in because the writers couldn't think of any other way to get past the cloaking device.
The movie was very predictable.

All that said, the movie was ok. It's probably a good rental IMO. If you're gonna go see a movie, go see Equilibrium instead.

Gatekeeper - Wesley is at the wedding, he's next to his mom at the table.

Jules · December 14, 2002, 03:58

Was it at least better than Insurrection? That one was really lame IMHO.

Gatekeeper · December 14, 2002, 04:03

BustaMike:

It's sad that I missed Wesley, considering how "adorable" his mother is. Huh. I must have been distracted by something, because I saw Guinan ...

Gatekeeper

***

Jules:

I think it's better than Insurrection, but not by terribly much. Let's put it this way: NEM is no FC.

Gatekeeper

Dis · December 14, 2002, 04:24

doh! I shouldn't have read the spoiler part.

Jules · December 14, 2002, 05:49

Yeah, same here.

DRoseDARs · December 14, 2002, 06:24

Quote:

Originally posted by BustaMike

...

Gatekeeper - Wesley is at the wedding, he's next to his mom at the table.

In a non-speaking role I hope...

Nubclear · December 14, 2002, 07:47

Quote:

Originally posted by BustaMike
My review and SPOILERS
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Whatever else he said.

Well....is it worth it?

Frankychan · December 14, 2002, 08:32

*yawn*

I don't listen to "professional" movie critics for the simple statement..."Who wants to grow-up to be a movie critic?".....movie critics are nothing more than failed jouranlists who couldn't get a better job.

Anyway, I have NOT seen the movie yet but I did read the SPOILER posts (I don't plan on seeing the movie).

From what it sounds, I find it rather refreshing. The whole Startrek:TNG doesn't enlighten the viewers on the Romulans. All we know is that Romulus and Remus are "sister" planets with the Romulans as being cousins as cousins to the Vulcans. I find it rather interesting that the writers took the "Remus" planet and explored THEIR history for the viewers.

I don't like the fact that they clone Picard cause, quite frankly, Jean-Luc is the MAN.

Anyway, just had to get this offa my chest.

Urban Ranger · December 14, 2002, 11:23

Quote:

Originally posted by Gatekeeper
Yeah, I know it's "only" the Romulans who would be represented in such a body (since the relationship is like Imperial Rome; the real power lies with the Praetor, and only Romulans would be represented in the Senate, and not any of their enslaved and/or subject races).

What? A praetor was pretty big in the Roman Empire, but he's not the big cheese.

Dis · December 14, 2002, 14:10

well I read the spoiler parts even though I plan on seeing it next week.

No biggie I wasn't expecting that suprise near the end. Of course I know the good guys win.

In any case it actually still looks good. But perhaps not as good as I hoped. So I won't go in with too high of expectations.

It's got dunebuggies so it has to be good

About wesley, I thought he was annoying. But the writers don't seem to care about explaining his presence. He is supposed to be the traveller. And I though the traveller was a pretty good job

. I wanted it. I wanted to see how that plot line played out. Supposedly they did shoot more footage with him in it. But they had to cut many scenes. I hope they are in the DVD as cut scenes.

XarXo · December 14, 2002, 15:37

Quote:

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
You could watch all the aliens signing the document in "real time", then follow them back to their seats. Then follow the next alien up to sign...

It has all the hallmarks of a great movie idea!

Well the idea was that everyone was allied but at the bottom everybody conspires to each other.

Why always "a great enemy -> tension -> battle with crashes -> end" ? Is quite repetitive like (Dragon Ball movies)

Gatekeeper · December 14, 2002, 15:59

UR:

I'm talking about the Romulan Praetor, which is apparently the "big cheese" in the Romulan Star Empire, although the viewer and reader hardly ever hears of him, at least since TOS. However, the Romulan military, the Tal Shiar and even some of the senators apparently have significant platforms of power in the RSE.

(You'd think the Tal Shiar would still be decimated after that debacle against the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant.)

Gatekeeper