Star Trek: Nemesis Reviews

Finally… I’m almost there… Indeed, I spent a good chunk of this year watching everything single Star Trek movie. Anyway, since this movie was a flop and some of my dearest Listal friends told me not to watch it, I wasn’t expecting much from it, but honestly, I don’t think it was so bad at all. One thing that really bothered me with those Star Trek flicks is that they all looked terribly cheesy, even the movies made in the 90’s (the only exception was ‘Star Trek: First Contact’). This movie was no different, I’m afraid. It started with an awesome view of Romulus but that was it and we were back into cheesy SF… Still, even though the story was as usual rather convoluted and under-written, there were many things I enjoyed. I mean, the confrontation between Jean-Luc Picard and his evil clone was pretty neat and it featured a solid performance by a very young Tom Hardy (yeah, the same guy that made his breakthrough 10 years later with ‘Inception’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’). I also liked the scene where Picard decides to get a full frontal collision with another spaceship , even though the outcome was honestly rather pointless. To conclude, even though it is far from being one of the best Star Trek vehicles, I found it was not one of the worst either and it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I remember someone once said that a friend is "another I". Well, not this time. In fact, Picard seems to need to deal with some sort of Evil Picard this time around. (Or whatever his name is.) There might have been a certain amount of potential in that concept, since Jean-Luc Picard can be a very interesting character, and Patrick Stewart is a very good actor, in a very Shakespearean sort of way. Also, with the Evil Picard, he, from what I was able to gather, (the technobabble is disrupting our communication devices, commander) has got some sort of dying-tyrant thing going on, where he's lusting after worldly power in a crazy-young-man kind of way, and yet his cells and stuff are decaying and getting weak and stuff.

But I'll tell you, I bet this movie had a very big budget, but that does not make it a good movie. It's kinda sorta supposed to be some kind of trippy psychological story, but it has no character, no heart, no deepness. In fact, I remember, "thru a glass darkly", to join in on the Shakespeare-worship, a random TNG episode that dealt with Picard-dealing-with-his-past/youth in a much more satisfying way than this movie. Pity I don't remember it's name...I remember it had Q in it. Q is a much better character than this Evil Picard...

I remember Ronald D. Moore once said that if you're picking apart the technical details, it's because you've lost the story, because you don't care about the characters. Well, when Jean-Luc--Protagonist-- was having his Big Talk with Evil Picard--Nemesis--, I couldn't help but find the question--I wonder how big a Quadrant is?--to be much more interesting than their big-boy posing. (God, sci-fi could use a little more RDM sometimes, I mean, sure--drama can be overdrawn too, but it is, at least, grown-up, if done right.) And, for all the Now I'm Going To Explain The Plot, Sir, I still couldn't figure out what was going on--"So...are they Romulans, or are they clones?" "Well...*he's* a clone....I don't know."

I also didn't get the thing with Data & Evil Data (or whatever his name was), & I found Data & Picard's Let's Explain Why We're Better & Gooder-er Than The Clones conversation very flat and stupid.

And I didn't understand what the point of having the Romulans was. The Klingons: rawr! we are warriors! we kill you! (Back in the day: In Soviet Russia, Klingon Empire crushes YOU!!!) Borg: be afraid. we kill you. (We represent a soulless, heartless, mechanized version of yourself, stripped of all emotion and feeling. Be a machine. Resistence is futile.) But what, exactly, was the point of the Romulans? When was the last time we heard from the Romulans? I mean, I vaguely remember a--well-written--spy-story from DS9 that had the Romulans, basically, they were a third party, aside from the Federation & the Cardassians (the Cardassians--now that's an interesting group of people! And what was that guy's name? Garrick, right? Ah, now he was cool!!) who had to be connived into joining our side...but this isn't DS9. So what are they here for now? What do they represent, all by themselves? Apparently, they represent (get ready for it): sitting in a room, doing nothing, being afraid and/or hopeful, and occasionally getting on the speaker-phone to say a lot of...balderdash!

And what does the Evil Picard *actually* have to do with *Picard*? What evil subconscious is he tapping into? What was Picard like when he was at school to make that part of him The Nemesis?

And what's the deal with Data & Evil Data?

"No...I must de-activate you."

"For...how long?"

"Indefinitely."

"How long is--"

*he de-activates him*

{I'm thinking: c'mon, what stupid kind of computer computer can't look up the word "indefinitely" in its data-bank (Data's Bank? hahaha)...Jesus, that was *such* a stupid conversation!}

"(Indefinitely is) for a very long time."

Altho Data is, in his better moments, an interesting case study of data vs. information, and often a good-sounding board for some of Picard's monologues, too, but he's still, nine times of ten, or nineteen of twenty, a case study of emotion, or just a random deck officer, rather than a real character. And sometimes, I just can't see the character in these...speakers. Sometimes I don't know what emotion I'm supposed to get, not just from Data, but Deanna, or Riker...or Picard.

But I'll tell you what I do know--I don't think they need to make any more of these (TNG) movies. Some of the characters were good, sometimes, some of the episodes were good, some of the movies--Generations (altho that needed Kirk, like a man needs air) and First Contact, but now...

Maybe now we're at the bottom of the barrel. For Jean-Luc, at least.

....

Update: Wow, this movie was made ten years ago; Picard has been out cold for a long time now.

Hmmm.... 'out cold', now *there* was the wrong phrase to reach for.

Garrick, Edward. Edward, Garrick. *chuckles* (Denis Leary and Hayden Christensen, right?)

"Before we reach for hate, we 'Remember the Titans'."

But, you know.

I'm sorry; I really like that line.

But then again, I used to like alot of things.

I used to like that line, like, a hour freakin' hour ago. *laughs*

"It is too much, to be reminded in the evening, of all the foolish things that were said in the morning."

'Tis true, Charles, 'tis true.

It is too much.

(6/10)