Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Just perfect...

Fresh and Exciting

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

'Star Trek: The Next Generation' may not be quite as influential or as ground-breaking as the original 'Star Trek' series (though it certainly has those elements), but quality-wise it is every bit as good with a few improvements.Of the four films based off 'The Next Generation', the only outstanding one is 'First Contact', which was also one of the best 'Star Trek' films, along with 'The Wrath of Khan', 'The Voyage Home' and 'The Undiscovered Country' (of the previous films) and a great film in general. 'Nemesis' is a long way from a terrible film, none of the 'Star Trek' films are even the often panned 'The Motion Picture' and 'The Final Frontier', but to me it is one of the weaker 'Star Trek' films overall along with 'The Final Frontier' and 'Insurrection', 'The Motion Picture' and 'Generations' are also frustratingly uneven efforts.There are certainly strengths here. Despite the sets being somewhat more basic compared to the other 'Next Generation' films and 'The Next Generation' series, though they don't look cheap just not as detailed or as elaborate, the cinematography is intimate, colourful, brooding and immersive in equal measure and the striking special effects will leave one in awe.Having Jerry Goldsmith on board for composer always promises much, seeing as Goldsmith was a personal favourite film composer of mine and some of the best 'Star Trek' music was penned by him, and the man doesn't disappoint, with a lot of rousing, foreboding and melancholic themes, varied textures and clever use of instrumentation. The action sequences are well choreographed and shot and among the more exciting of the 'Next Generation' films, especially the thrilling final battle.Most of the cast are good. Patrick Stewart has the lion's share of the material, and he is effortlessly commanding and brings much dignified gravitas, integrity, wry stoicism, a sense of fun, heart and a conflicted edge. Brent Spiner enjoys himself with neither his acting or material overdone as with the disastrous emotion-chip subplot in 'Generations', though some of his material doesn't add much at all and felt a little on the self indulgent side. Ron Perlman is suitably menacing, while Tom Hardy throws himself into his role of Shinzon and clearly did a lot to prepare himself for it.On the other, 'Nemesis' is badly let down by the script and story not being up to par. The script is one of the most stilted of all the 'Star Trek' films put together, and not only is it far too talky with some confusing gobbledegook techno-babble but it is rather poorly balanced and not particularly well focused, with some clumsy humour that often jarred.'Nemesis's' story very rarely compels outside of the action. Pacing is often pedestrian, especially in the first half which also had a very corny opening, and the whole film feels very tired and like, like 'Insurrection', a padded out two-parter of the series. There is nothing new or surprising, and there are parts that are pointless, could have gone into more detail or convoluted. The direction is uninspired.While the rest of the supporting do their best, their screen time is limited and uninteresting. In the previous two 'Next Generations' films it was understandable in the case of Jonathan Frakes as he was also director for those films, but here there was no excuse and it's the same for the rest of the cast. There definitely could have been more of the rest of the regular 'Next Generation' crew and the film could have been less villain-centric, Jonathan Frakes apparently thought this and am in complete agreement with him.In conclusion, not awful but 'The Next Generation' at its most flawed. 5/10 Bethany Cox

After the so-so box office totals brought in from Star Trek: Insurrection, as well as an overall downturn in viewership of Star Trek TV shows on the air, the Star Trek franchise heavily promoted "Nemesis" as the film that would keep the franchise alive and kicking. Instead, this horrible film had the exact opposite effect.With "Nemesis", the Star Trek writers/producers tried to emulate the story of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", where Captain Kirk squares off against hated rival Khan. In this story, Captain Jean-Luc Picard discovers he has a clone who is trying to take over the Romulan High Council. This plot fails for two reasons: First, the tension between Picard and his clone is not nearly what it should be, as the clone is so evil that Picard (and thus the audience) can feel no sympathy towards him. Second, the Romulans are just weak villains. They have never been featured in any previous Star Trek movies, and their appearance in this film does not better that reputation.Also, for the third consecutive movie, the fan-favorite Data character is heavily featured. While this is usually a good thing, the plot surrounding Data seems a bit contrived this time. The "drama" of finding "Data's" severed head...already used in the Next Generation series. A Data clone...same deal. Plus, the end scene (which is supposed to be reminiscent of "Khan's" ending) does not carry with it the emotional punch of Spock's death.To conclude, though the graphics and action scenes in this movie are on par with the other Next Generation movie installments, as well as some character development at the wedding of Riker and Troi, the drama is severely lacking, turning to outright boredom in some spots. If you are a hard-core Star Trek fan who will watch this film no matter what I say, enjoy the slim good moments when you can. If you are just looking for a good sci-fi film, avoid this movie and wait for J.J. Abram's re-boot of the Star Trek franchise in 2009.

The last one made with the second generation crew on board of the USS Enterprise. And I must say that it was a good one. I really enjoyed it.Wear as the previous one the characters were laughable and had a lot of love parts this one doesn't. All characters are back in normal condition and the one love scene you will see turns into a nightmare so on that part it's a Star Trek flick. The effects are also much better but it's the story itself that makes it watchable.Nemesis was the end of an era, it took years before a new generation came on board of the Enterprise.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

It's difficult for a particular franchise of films to live on for an extended period of time, let alone a long TV series and 4 feature films. With uninspired direction and a gradually silly film, It seems that after 15 years, this iteration of the Enterprise crew just ran out of gas. Though 'Insurrection' did well at further developing the crew of the Enterprise, 'Nemesis' puts a heavy focus on its villain. This time played by newcomer (at the time) Tom Hardy. Hardy plays Shinzon, a mysterious character hell-bent on completing his Romulan mission with a background linked to Captain Picard himself. Although the dialogue isn't always the best, Hardy shows just how good of an actor he would become, especially up against someone as revered as Patrick Stewart.Director Stuart Baird supposedly had never seen an episode of The Next Generation, and the way he handled the direction and tone of this film definitely showed that lack of knowledge. I think his attempt at creating a story that felt very different from what came before is admirable, but too much liberties taken and you may have some upset fans.This also comes into play when you think about the strange inclusion of a brother to Data, and Shinzon being a clone of Picard. I didn't find either of those two story lines compelling, nor did it really bring anything new to that approach of storytelling. It's only when I watched the actors bring much more out of the dialogue that I realized there could have been something great here.If for anything else, Shinzon is an extremely active villain and Hardy doesn't waste the extra screen time, though I was a bit turned off by a unique communication device he uses early on in the film, seriously it's just uncomfortable (and not Star Trek at all) for the wrong reasons. With diminished screen time for the Enterprise crew, they barely leave the bridge, except for one out of place Mad Max style desert sequence. Nemesis is just one of those Star Trek films I can't seem to figure out. I can tell the franchise fatigue seemed to set in, but there's still plenty of good with the performances of the crew and the newcomer Tom Hardy.+Hardy showed promise+Picard and Data's performances-But their strange subplots were unnecessary-Director/writers uncomfortable plot choices5.4/10