Thoughts on the TNG Movies.

Over the course of its seven-year run, Star Trek: The Next Generation grew into a highly respected mainstream hit. Picard and Data became iconic figures, much as Kirk and Spock had been, and in many circles TNG was actually viewed as superior to TOS. Which made it inevitable that when TNG finally left the airwaves, its crew would boldly go where their predecessor had gone before: to the bigscreen.

The result, unfortunately, was a lot more uneven than the films featuring the original crew...

POTENTIAL UNFILLED: GENERATIONS

"Two Captains, One Destiny!"

So proclaimed the tag-line for Generations, making one thing very clear: The marketing department had a much better idea what movie audiences wanted to see than the filmmakers did. Watch any contemporary trailer for the movie, and you'll get the strong impression that the film puts Captains Picard and Kirk on roughly equal footing.

But that's not what we got. Instead, we have the big-screen equivalent of a two-part TNG episode, featuring a special guest appearance by William Shatner. Judged on that basis, it's not bad; I've watched it multiple times, and I've enjoyed every viewing. But it's not the movie it could have been, and it's bluntly not the movie it should have been.

My biggest complaint is how the climax handles the two captains: Kirk's death isn't nearly as big a moment as it should be, and Picard is diminished by being unable to deal with Villain of the Week Soran (Malcolm McDowell), despite having regularly handled more formidable adversaries on television. Better if the climax had split them up, with Picard confronting Soran on the planet while Kirk takes the lead in the spacebound action. Kirk could have given his life saving the ship and its crew, while Picard could have proved himself a worthy hero to TOS fans who came only to see Kirk's last hurrah.

I'll emphasize that the movie is enjoyable on its own terms. The regulars feel fully in-character, and the script does a good job juggling the overly-large ensemble. This would continue to be a strength of the TNG films. Sadly, however, the script's failure to reach its full potential would continue to be a weakness plaguing all of the remaining movies, with only one exception...


A HINT OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: FIRST CONTACT

The Next Generation enjoyed one unqualified bigscreen success: Star Trek: First Contact. The Best of Both Worlds had made the Borg an iconic Trek villain, so making a Borg movie was likely a no-brainer for the production team. The choice to incorporate time travel into the plot could have overcomplicated things - but writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore use the concept well, going not into our past but instead exploring the "future history" of the franchise. The Borg conflict is set against the backdrop of humanity's first contact with the Vulcans, with the Borg's goal to stop that from happening. An "A" plot/"B" plot structure is smartly employed, with the two strands complementing each other while allowing most of the ensemble at least one spotlight moment.

Jonathan Frakes had previously distinguished himself as a strong Trek director on television, and he helms this picture with confidence and enormous visual style. This is one movie that never feels like anything less than a major motion picture. The film has plenty of action and suspense, as well as a strong core of emotion thanks to Picard's history with the Borg. Patrick Stewart is particularly good here, and the scene in which he rages against the seeming inevitability of losing his ship to the Borg is startling in its intensity.

Critics and audiences responded. Of the ten original Trek films, this was the highest grossing (though Star Trek: The Motion Picture would actually outgross it if adjusted for inflation), and reviews were extremely positive. Many critics spotlighted the performances of the cast, Stewart in particular, and there was a general sense that the TNG films had the potential to outshine their TOS predecessors. For a shining moment, the franchise appeared to be at its absolute height.

A moment that didn't last, as the series - and the franchise in general - stumbled with the very next film...


"JUST ANOTHER EPISODE": INSURRECTION

Star Trek: Insurrection isn't a bad film; it's just not a particularly good film. It's well-intentioned, attempting to explore questions of morality vs. pragmatism in a story that draws parallels with the historical treatment of Native Americans (a pet topic of writer Michael Piller's, as can be seen in many of his episodes).

For half the film, it just about works. There's enough action to maintain viewer interest, and each set piece provides new revelations about what's happening on the planet. But once the crew knows the full story and Picard confronts stuffy Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe), it crumbles. Dougherty isn't allowed to lay out the pragmatic argument for his actions with a force to match Picard's moral arguments. Instead, every statement he makes is a weak straw man to make Picard's position appear unassailable. The story also wimps out on the premise of its title - TheEnterprise crew are never in direct conflict with Starfleet, but only with the blandly villainous So'na, the latex-covered alien baddies of the week.

The second half descends into a plodding chase, and the film feels more and more like an overextended television episode as it goes. There's even a prolonged sequence in the venerable Star Trek cave set, and a subplot with Data befriending a local moppet. With its one-sided treatment of a potentially interesting moral debate, an action movie format ineffectively superimposed on a story that should have been treated as a drama, and all conflict with Starfleet resolved in a single conversation that occurs offscreen (!), this ends up being the least effective of the TNG films, and my second least-favorite Trek movie overall.


END OF AN ERA: NEMESIS

It was four years before another Trek film hit the bigscreen. I think that was a mistake. Sure, Insurrection had misfired, but it was far from a flop; and any long-running film series is going to have a few unsuccessful entries. The studio and production staff should have simply learned their lessons and gotten to work developing the next one.

Instead, all the reliable old hands were removed from the writing and production, with fresh blood brought in. In contrast to many, I actually think writer John Logan was a good choice to pen Star Trek: Nemesis; while some lapses in character continuity make clear that he needed a bit more direction, his basic story is sound and generally well-structured. Unfortunately, director Stuart Baird was a poor fit for Star Trek. Baird's direction in character and dialogue-driven scenes is particularly flat, and he imposes a nonsensical early action scene: The now-infamous "dune buggy chase," a set piece that doesn't fit with the film and only serves to slow down the story before it has a chance to kick into gear.

For all of its faults, however, I have to admit that I enjoy Nemesis. After the horrible opening, the film finally comes together with the introduction of Tom Hardy's Shinzon. Hardy may not evoke Patrick Stewart but he still gives a good performance, and the scenes between him and Stewart are the best of the movie. I do wish more had been made of the Picard/Shinzon parallels, and I actively fault the direction for not underlining that aspect of the script more effectively. But the actors are good, and Baird's direction does come to life in the action-heavy second half, with the sense of the Enterprise being outmatched and desperate very well-evoked.

With a stronger director and better script supervision, this might have ended the TNG movies on a strong note. I still think it provides a better ending than its reputation suggests, and find it significantly more enjoyable than Insurrection.

It was an utter box office disaster, however, and a significant contributor to Trek's freefall in the early 2000s.


LIKE A TV REUNION MOVIE: FINAL CONCLUSIONS

The TNG films were an uneven batch at best. There's only one outright success in the bunch, and the final two films were both severely flawed and unsuccessful at the box office. If Star Trek: The Next Generation brought the franchise to its highest mainstream visibility in years, then the movies (and the declining performance of the later Trek television series) saw it move from mainstream success back into being a niche product. Instead of a graceful exit, such as the TOS cast received by literally signing off at the end of The Undiscovered Country, the TNG cast more or less limped off the screen in a poorly-received final outing.

The TOS films had greatly expanded on the characterization of the original regulars, making the movies essential to the franchise lore. By contrast, the TNG films just felt like "extra innings" with a crew that had already been thoroughly explored on the small screen. Much like a TV reunion movie, it was fun to spend a little more time with well-loved characters, and the films were never less than watchable... But with one notable exception, the movies felt entirely expendable.

The era of Trek that had begun in 1987 had come to a fairly ignominious end. Once Enterprise limped off television screens in 2004, the franchise would only return in a very different form.

But that is another story...

Review Index

Star Trek: Nemesis.

Enterprise faces a stronger, faster predator...

THE PLOT

The Enterprise is en route to Betazed to celebrate Riker's long-overdue wedding to Deanna Troi. But the ship is diverted by a positronic signal that leads them to B4 (Brent Spiner), a much simpler prototype of Data. Immediately after retrieving B4, Picard receives a message from Starfleet, sending him to Romulus to meet with the new Praetor - the mysterious Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a Reman who distinguished himself in the Dominion War.

Picard is shocked when he meets the new Praetor. Shinzon is actually human - More than that, he's a clone of Picard himself, developed by one Romulan regime to replace Picard to infiltrate Starfleet. When that regime was toppled, the plan was abandoned and the young Shinzon was exiled to a labor camp to die, only to flourish with the aid of his Viceroy (Ron Perlman).

Shinzon claims to want peace between the Romulans and the Federation, and Picard badly wants to believe him. However, Geordi and Data soon find evidence that his ship is fitted with a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet, and that he planted B4 as a trap to gain access to the Enterprise's data banks. Now Picard's ship is all that stands in the way of Earth's destruction - and Picard is faced with the prospect not just of outmaneuvering an enemy, but of outwitting a younger, stronger version of himself!

A toast to absent friends.

CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Meeting Shinzon causes him to reflect on his youth. He talks with Dr. Crusher about the arrogant, impulsive young man he was, and in his conversations with Shinzon he urges the young man to aspire to more than what he is. Though some reviewers find the Picard/Shinzon scenes drag, I actually wish more was made of them. The notion that Shinzon and Picard are mirrors for each other, and that each can see in the other the potential for good or evil had their circumstances been different - That is an idea with real dramatic potential, and the too-few conversations between Patrick Stewart and Tom Hardy are in my opinion the movie's best scenes.

Riker: Has finally taken two major steps that he has resisted for far too long. He has accepted a promotion to captain, and after this mission will assume his own command. He has also finally married Counsellor Troi. A misstep of this film is that it doesn't focus on either. If Riker is leaving the Enterprise for his own command, we should see him demonstrating his command abilities. But when Picard transports over to Shinzon's ship, Riker is well away from the bridge, engaging in a fistfight with the Viceroy. When his new wife is psychically assaulted by Shinzon, Riker is little more than a spectator (We don't even observe him getting particularly upset!). As such, and despite him receiving a fair amount of screen time, this is actually Riker's weakest showing of the TNG movies.

Data: Is really the second lead of the film. When Shinzon kidnaps Picard around the midpoint, Data is the one who stages a rescue, something that's effectively repeated at the end of the film when Data sacrifices himself to destroy Shinzon's weapon. Brent Spiner is good as ever, and the Picard/Data interplay is very enjoyable in their scenes together... Though it should be said that there is nothing new here for Data, which is why I have so little to say about his characterization.

Troi: Shinzon is instantly fascinated with her, distracted enough at his first meeting with the Enterprise crew to muse about wanting to touch her hair. She is probably the first human woman he's ever seen, so his reactions do make sense - Though, as with the Picard/Shinzon dynamic, I wish more had been made of this. Shinzon and the Viceroy effectively mind-rape her in one of the most misjudged plot turns - Which does at least allow her a moment of revenge near the end, when she reverses that mental connection to give the Enterprise a brief tactical advantage. Credit to Marina Sirtis, who conveys Troi's mingled anger and satisfaction at turning the tables on her attackers to good effect.

Admiral Janeway: The "cameo of the week" is Kate Mulgrew's Janeway, now an admiral sending Picard out on assignments... Which yes, means that a man who has saved the Federation multiple times over is now outranked by a woman whose greatest accomplishment was managing to eventually find her way home after getting lost in space. I'm not a Janeway hater as a rule... But the difference in accomplishment between these two officers makes it utterly ridiculous that she should ever be in a position to give Picard orders!

Villain of the Week: Shinzon was created to be a replacement for Picard, and his artificially-accelerated growth has left him in need of a complete transfusion from Picard in order to stay alive. For Shinzon to live, his original must die. He is fiercely loyal to the Remans, who kept him alive after the Romulans exiled him to die. Similarly, he despises the Romulans, turning one ally (Dina Meyer) against him by his scorn of her. He insists to Picard that he's a dark mirror for the captain, but he's the one who seems most disturbed at the glimpse of what he might have been. He's in the superior position in the battle - But when he holographically projects himself to demand surrender, he's the one backing away when Picard urges him to be more than he is.

Shinzon (Tom Hardy), in his element.

THOUGHTS

My reviews of the Star Trek movies have been more or less in line with general fan consensus. I found The Wrath of Khan to be the best of the series, and The Final Frontier to be the worst. I labeled First Contact the best of the TNGmovies. I liked Generations well enough, but thought it could have been much better, and I found Insurrection to be underwhelming. None of these are opinions greatly out of step with the norm.

Nemesis is the exception. While I agree this is a flawed film, one that could have been much better, I not only don't think it's bad - I quite enjoy it!


THE GOOD

"I'll show you my true nature, our nature. And as Earth dies, remember that I will always, forever be Shinzon of Remus, and my voice shall echo through time long after yours has faded to a dim memory!"
-Shinzon's final rejection of Picard

I've already mentioned how much I enjoy the scenes between Picard and Shinzon. The villain tries to rattle Picard by presenting himself as a mirror, and Picard is disturbed at the thought that he might have made Shinzon's choices in the same situation. However, while Picard is never tempted by Shinzon's darkness, Shinzon seems as if he might have been tempted by the genuine trust and friendship Picard offers. He laments that it's "too late" for him to make another choice, and circumstances do have him boxed in: His position as Praetor hinges on Romulan military support for a strike against the Federation, and his illness demands Picard's death. Remove either of these factors, and it doesn't seem impossible that Shinzon might have accepted the hand Picard offers him.

The choice of Stuart Baird as director, on the strength of his helming of the engaging Executive Decision, was largely a misjudgment. Baird's direction of dialogue-driven scenes is static, with nothing injecting energy save for the actors themselves. Still, it should be acknowledged that he's good with the action. Once the movie shifts focus to the space battle and the Enterprise begins taking serious damage, there's a sense of urgency that was entirely lacking in the action moments in Generations or Insurrection.

I also enjoyed some of the atmosphere. The scene in which Shinzon is revealed has the Enterprise crew walking into a darkness as literal as it is metaphorical. When Shinzon appears, he is the sole source of light, until he finally allows the light level to be raised. His ship hovers before the Enterprise like a shark preparing to devour a much smaller fish. Then there is the main battle, with the enemy ship a blur, constantly cloaking and decloaking, faster and stronger than anything else on this field of battle. All of this works, and makes for a much more suspenseful piece than might have been the case.

Data is bemused at finding a prototype of himself.

A FAILURE TO ASPIRE

The B-4 is physically identical to me, although his neural pathways are not as advanced. But even if they were, he would not be me... I aspire, sir, to be better than I am. B-4 does not, nor does Shinzon."
-Data, on what separates him and Picard from their counterparts.

The irony about this quote is how well it describes the film's own shortcomings. Nemesis works as an action movie... But it doesn't aspire to be anything more than an action movie.

Part of that is Stuart Baird's direction. A stronger director would have pushed the ideas of identity and dualism (Picard/Shinzon, Data/B4), mirroring these ideas with the visual realization of scenes and choosing moments to cut between scenes to emphasize this aspect. Baird simply presents the scenes as written - Not a disastrous approach for the scenes that work, but not one that brings out more than (or even as much as) is on the page.

Then there are flat-out directorial misjudgments, most evident in the movie's infamous "dune buggy" chase.

Baird has actually bragged about this scene, taking full credit for transforming the recovery of B4 into an action sequence, so I have no problem assigning him full blame. It apparently never occurred to him that the scene made no sense, an action moment shoehorned into the early part of the movie for no reason other than to have one. But for some convenient Technobabble, the Enterprise crew could have and should have simply beamed B4 up from orbit and been on their way. This would have taken far less screen time and moved us quickly on to the main plot. Expanding this into a set piece slows down the start of the story and makes the movie feel aimless before it gets a chance to truly begin... The exact opposite of what an action set piece is meant to do!

(I'll add that I find the B4 subplot generally unnecessary, a distraction the movie would have been better off without - But again, a stronger director better able to parallel Data/B4 with Picard/Shinzon might have made something of it.)

Still, if Nemesis doesn't strive to be anything more than a Trek action picture, I do find that it works pretty well on that basis. Once the film gets past the idiotic dune buggy scene and into the story proper, most of what's there works. The potential exists for more - But that doesn't make bad what's actually there.

Star Trek's stupidest scene this side of the Uhura fan dance.

OVERALL

I can't pretend Nemesis isn't flawed. At the same time, I'm not going to pretend that I didn't enjoy it. The battle that dominates the movie's second half is genuinely tense, with the Enterprise feeling truly outclassed throughout the combat. Star Trek Into Darkness, whose climax showed how too much action played too over-the-top can become boring, the handling of the conflict here feels right - enough to create a sense of urgency and hopelessness without becoming too much.

I'm not going to claim that this is a misunderstood classic due for re-evaluation; most of the charges levied at this picture have merit, and there are a few (some continuity points, for example) that I haven't touched on simply because I don't particularly care about them.

But for all its faults, it's a film I enjoy and I'm not about to pretend otherwise. Certainly a flawed picture - but very far, in my opinion, from the all-out disaster it's often made out to be.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

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Star Trek: Insurrection.

The Enterprise crew violates orders for the sake of conscience.

THE PLOT

Picard receives a transmission from Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe). The admiral is in an isolated region of space known as "The Briar Patch," home to exactly one inhabited world - Inhabited by a single village of approximately 600 people known as the Ba'ku. They have a primitive, agrarian culture, which Starfleet is observing from a "duck blind," a cloaked observation post. Data has been temporarily reassigned to assist - but Dougherty tells Picard that he has gone berserk, disabling the duck blind and holding the various scientists and officials hostage in the Ba'ku village.

Picard is able to draw Data out and disable him - but analysis shows that he malfunctioned only after sustaining gunfire from the So'na, Dougherty's allies, who are led by the amoral Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham). After repairing Data, the Enterprise crew investigates further - and discovers a cloaked vessel inside which is an exact recreation of the Ba'ku village. Dougherty and Ru'afo planned to mass beam all of the Ba'ku into the cloaked ship and relocate them - a plan thwarted only by Data's interference!

Dougherty does not deny Picard's accusations. The planet has a rejuvenating effect on all of its inhabitants, which can be shared with the entire Federation using a So'na device that will greatly enhance the effect - but which will also leave the planet uninhabitable. He tells Picard that the Federation Council has authorized the Ba'ku's removal, and orders the captain to depart immediately. When Picard refuses, violating orders to try to lead the Ba'ku to safety, Dougherty is shocked, and the villainous Ru'afo is pushed to increasingly harsh and desperate action!

Picard experiences a moment of perfection.

CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Is outraged when he learns of Dougherty's plans, dismissing the admiral's point about 600 lives against the entire Federation by storming, "How many people does it take, admiral, before it becomes wrong? A thousand? Fifty thousand? A million?" He sends Riker to plead the Ba'ku's case with the Federation council, noting that "It's too easy to turn a blind eye to the suffering of a people you don't know," and trusting in his first officer to put enough of a face to the Ba'ku to change the council's mind.

Riker: When the So'na attempt to intercept the Enterprise, Riker uses the clouds of volatile materials pervading the Briar Patch to his advantage, using his ship to detonate the various gasses. A "B" plot shows the planet's effect on Riker, as his amorous feelings for Troi are rekindled. After their relationship re-starts, he worries that those feelings may disappear once they leave the Briar Patch. Worf is the one to reassure him: "Your feelings about her have not changed since the day I met you, Commander. This place just let them out for a little fresh air."

Data: One of Michael Piller's earlier (frankly more interesting) story pitches was modeled after Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, with Picard forced to hunt down a rogue Data. That story was rejected, but the idea of Data going rogue was retained as a hook for this story, with his apparent malfunction bringing Picard and the Enterprise to this planet to uncover its secrets. Outside of that, Data's role is much less here than in other TNG movies, largely relegated to a subplot in which he bonds with a Ba'ku child.

Worf: Brought back to the Enterprise by... Well, we don't really know because the movie doesn't care. As he explains his presence on the ship, foreground conversations completely drown him out, because we all know he's really there to be a popular part of the ensemble. He does get a good supporting role again, working with Picard to disable Data in the first half of the movie, and vigorously defending the Ba'ku villagers from attack in the second half.

Pompous Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe)'s belief in making sacrifices for the greater good is made weaker than Picard's belief that there is a clear line between right and wrong. This is in part because Dougherty is so weak-willed. Every time there is any unpleasantness, he has to be convinced all over again by the silken-voiced Ru'afo. The ever-reliable Zerbe manages to infuse enough dignity to keep Dougherty from feeling like a stick figure, but he's clearly just there to mark time until the true villain takes over...

Villain of the Week: Ru'afo is a one-note villain, motivated by spite and hate. F. Murray Abraham, a fine actor, clearly notices the lack of nuance - because he goes straight for the ham, right down to crying "No!" as he blows up at the end.

Picard vs. Dougherty: An imbalanced debate.

THOUGHT VERSUS ACTION

Star Trek: Insurrection has a premise for a character drama tinged with the kind of ethical debate that Star Trek does so well. We have the regulars effectively discovering the Fountain of Youth, with Picard rejuvenated, Geordi regaining his eyesight, and Worf undergoing a second Klingon puberty. At the same time, Picard is put into conflict with his superiors over what amounts to a debate over the well-being of a single village versus that of an entire civilization.

Unfortunately, this is forced into an action movie mold. The story wants to explore the argument over the welfare of 600 Ba'ku versus the entire Federation... But it also wants to get to the next set piece, so the debate boils down to Picard vs. the untrustworthy Dougherty. Every one of Dougherty's arguments are straw men designed to be shredded under the weight of The Picard Sledgehammer.

There's a moment in which Picard tries to satisfy both the Ba'ku and the So'na. He observes that there is plenty of room on the planet for both the Ba'ku and the So'na, and proposes allowing the So'na to occupy a different region. This is brushed aside by Dougherty, who says that it would take a decade for the So'na to experience any benefit. The script might as well be begging us to forget the planet curing Geordi's blindness in a single day!

A more interesting path was open here. What if Rua'fo had accepted this proposal, revealing that he really did just want to save his people? What if it had been Dougherty who pushed the situation into open conflict? It would have been internally plausible - In the face of Dominion War losses, the admiral just isn't willing to let go of such a strong advantage for the Federation. Then Picard would have been left to lead a genuine insurrection against Starfleet forces, rather than simply battling evil latex-faced baddies.

But that would have been less safe. And - much like Star Trek: Voyager, which was around the midpoint of its run at this time, Insurrection's biggest sin is that it wants to play as safe as it possibly can.

The Ba'ku village comes under attack.

QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, AND COMPLICATIONS: THE FIRST HALF

For all the movie's faults, the first half works remarkably well. Mysteries are raised and their solutions lead to more mysteries, until we get to the revelation of the cloaked ship. That leads to the film's primary conflict. It's fast enough to maintain interest, particularly as it becomes clear that much more is going on than was initially evident. Since the investigation involves spending time in and around the Ba'ku village, there is plenty of opportunity to explore the rejuvenating effects of the planet and to introduce Picard's attraction to the attractive Anij (Donna Murphy) without slowing the pace.

Writer Michael Piller neatly folds the Dominion War into his story. At the start of the film, Picard is on a diplomatic mission to bring a new race into the Federation. He and the others comment on how fast this is happening, with this species having only barely achieved warp flight, and it's acknowledged that their government is trying to make up for the losses to the Borg and Dominion by bringing in allies as quickly as they can get them.

Ru'afo, in F. Murray Abraham's best scene, delivers a stinging assessment of the Federation's current state - One that carries more than a hint of truth:

"Federation support, Federation procedures, Federation rules! Look in the mirror, Admiral. The Federation is old. In the past twenty-four months, they've been challenged by every major power in the Quadrant: the Borg, the Cardassians, the Dominion. They all smell the scent of death on the Federation. That's why you've embraced our offer, because it will give your dear Federation new life..."

Picard has an explosive confrontation with Ru'afo.

GOING FOR THE SET PIECE: THE SECOND HALF

Ironically, it's as the movie becomes purely an Action Film that it starts to feel both small and slow. There are only so many ways to watch Picard, Data, and Worf lead the Ba'ku toward the mountains around So'na attacks before that starts feeling repetitive, and an extended stay in the ever-familiar Star Trek cave set reinforces the small-screen feel that pervades the entire movie. With any pretense of genuine moral dilemma stripped away, all that remains is relatively mild action, with our heroes facing villains who are too one-dimensional to be interesting and too bland to be threatening.

It ends as Riker returns to announce that the Federation Council has rescinded its orders to relocate the Ba'ku. Riker must have made a stirring presentation, with some strong moral arguments about what Starfleet and the Federation are meant to stand for. A pity that happened offscreen. Ah, well - doubtless that would have been much less interesting than watching Patrick Stewart and F. Murray Abraham chase each other around an orbital doomsday weapon.

Geordi watches the sunrise.

OVERALL

Star Trek: Insurrection opened well at the box office, showing that the enthusiasm from First Contact was still there. It fell fast, though, as word of mouth spread that it was basically just a TNG episode stretched out to feature length.

As I've indicated, I think the real problem lies in the mismatch between concept and execution. In many ways, it's a retread of the Star Trek V situation. That film was damaged in part by trying to force a serious concept into a comedy mold, an ill-conceived attempt to replicate the success of the comedic Star Trek IV. Here, a contemplative moral drama is forced into an action movie mold to try to match the success of First Contact.

This film isn't as bad as Star Trek V. Writer Michael Piller works hard to strike a balance between what the film should be and what it's forced to be. For roughly half the movie, he succeeds better than should have been possible. But the second half becomes increasingly simplistic, until what's left is just another mediocre action movie, made all the more disappointing by how much potential was there for something more.


Overall Rating: 4/10.

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Star Trek: First Contact.

The Borg invade Federation space!

THE PLOT

The day Picard has spent the last six years dreading has finally come: The Borg have invaded Federation space, and are on a direct course for Earth!

The newly shaken-down Enterprise E is directed to stay out of the fight, Picard's connection to the Borg regarded as adding "an unstable element to a critical situation." But when it becomes clear that Starfleet's defenses are crumbling, Picard disregards orders and takes charge of the battle. His knowledge of the Borg proves critical, and he succeeds in destroying the Borg cube.

Not before a small Borg sphere escapes, however. The sphere creates a temporal vortex, and the Earth transforms before the Enterprise crew's eyes - Changed from the world they know into a Borg colony. Realizing that the Borg must have conquered Earth in the past, the Enterprise crew pursues them while the vortex remains open.

They emerge in the mid twenty-first century, on the eve of Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell)'s historic first warp flight - the moment that brought humanity into contact with the wider galaxy. They find the Borg firing on Cochrane's home town, clearly attempting to destroy him and undo that vital first contact.

The Enterprise is able to destroy the Borg ship easily enough, and it takes little time for an Away Team to verify that Cochrane is safe. But while the Enterprise's shields are down, a Borg party beams aboard. Now they are steadily assimilating the ship deck by deck, converting ship's systems and crew. As the situation grows ever more dire, Picard is presented with a dilemma: The only way to save history may be to destroy the Enterprise!

Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) and his friend Lily (Alfre
Woodard) see something unexpected in the night sky...

CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: The experience of having been assimilated by the Borg has left him scarred - something seen before in I Borg - which sets his usually even temper on a hair trigger. As the Borg grow stronger and his own forces are weakened, it becomes obvious that this is not a fight he can win through military strength - But Picard's Ahab-like resolve that "the line must be drawn here" temporarily blinds his reasoning. Critical to the effectiveness of this, the first quarter of the movie sees Picard fully his normal self, which makes it all the more dramatic to see him temporarily lose his rationality in the second half.

Riker: Pulls "B" plot duty, staying on the planet to make sure Cochrane completes his flight while Picard goes back to the ship to deal with the Borg. Jonathan Frakes holds the screen in his scenes and plays well opposite screen stalwart James Cromwell. His best scene comes early in the film, however, when he reacts angrily to the suggestion that Picard can't be trusted to go into battle against the Borg. The history between Picard and Riker comes through the actors' performances even if you haven't seen the series, and Riker's outrage on his captain's behalf is tangible.

Data: Just as the script separates Picard and Riker about 30 minutes in, it moves Data into his own side-plot not long after. This allows Brent Spiner a meaty role, with Data tempted by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige)'s offer to make him more genuinely human than he could ever hope to be on his own. It also means that his role doesn't come at the expense of the other regulars. Worf gets some particularly good scenes opposite Picard in the "A" plot, and Geordi gets some decent material with Riker and Cochrane in the "B" plot.

Worf: This movie was released after Michael Dorn joined Deep Space 9, but at least for this one film the explanation for Worf's presence doesn't come across as labored. He is in command of the Defiant, a ship that was introduced as having been specifically created to battle the Borg - Which means that it makes perfect sense for it to be called into action when the Borg finally invade. Worf gets some excellent material, from the amusing action movie one-liner that made its way into every trailer to the brief but intense exchange in which Picard all but accuses him of cowardice for pointing out that the fight has become unwinnable. Picard apologizes just two scenes later - And, quite correct for who Worf is, it takes a moment for the Klingon to accept that apology.

Zefram Cochrane: James Cromwell, fresh off his Oscar nomination for Babe, gets the high-profile guest role of the film. His Cochrane is a perfect example of the adage, "Never meet your heroes." The Enterprise crew expects to come face-to-face with a larger-than-life icon. They instead meet a very flawed man, possibly an alcoholic, who tries to run away from the destiny Riker and Geordi have told him about. "I built this ship so that I could retire to some tropical island filled with naked women!" he protests after Geordi exults about a statue that will be built to him in the future. "That's Zefram Cochrane, that's his vision! This other guy you keep talking about, this historical figure? I never met him. I can't imagine I ever will!"

The Borg: As the one TNG villain that worked its way into the consciousness of the general public, it was inevitable that the Borg would be brought to the bigscreen. They are ready-made for the transition, with their horror movie design, their unstoppable nature, and the personal connection Picard has with them. Director Jonathan Frakes does not shy away from some gruesome moments and some startlingly visceral violence. This was the first Trek movie to earn a "PG-13" rating, and it's not hard to see why. This movie also introduces the concept of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) - something which hasn't gone over well with all fans, but which I think mostly works here. Krige, a very good actress, has a seductive quality which helps to really sell her temptation of Data. She does come across as overly emotional at the film's climax, however, which blunts the inhuman quality that makes the Borg so effective to start with.

Zap the Redshirt! There's a new crew member on the bridge at the start of this movie: Lt. Hawk (Neal McDonough). Hawk actually survives for a lot more of the film than I'd have expected, but he finally does get Borg-ified in the middle of the movie's best set piece. Borg Hawk returns to attack Picard, just in time for Worf to come to the captain's rescue. No one spares him a thought once he's dead - Including the audience, since he was never given any characterization at all during the 60-odd minutes that featured him.

Data is tempted by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige).

THOUGHTS

Star Trek: First Contact was not just a successful entry in the franchise; it was a genuine, mainstream critical and box office hit. This was TNG's shining hour on the bigscreen, with reviewers praising the strength of the cast, the production, and the script, and audiences lining up to enjoy the action.

First Contact is unquestionably Star Trek as action movie - But it's not a mindless action movie. The story is carefully constructed, with Picard and the Borg constantly moving to outmaneuver each other. Around the midpoint, Picard draws a couple drones into the holodeck, turning the safeties off to use old-fashioned bullets to dispatch them. This allows him to pull a chip from one of the corpses, providing vital information about the Borg's plans. Throughout, the Starfleet forces have to be very sparing with firing on drones - They know they can only fire a few shots before the drones adapt to their weapons fire.

Jonathan Frakes' direction is superb throughout, and watching this film it's somewhat surprising that he went back to directing television. The movie is highly visual, with several stunning individual shots: The opening pull-back from Picard, as a prisoner of the Borg, moving from Picard the individual to the vastness of the Borg cube he is within; the first shot of Riker, appearing behind Picard in the reflection of the window; Picard, Worf, and Lt. Deadmeat... ah, Hawk moving out onto theEnterprise's hull, tiny figures dwarfed by the enormity of the ship in space. I complained that Generations felt a little too much like a two-part TNG episode. First Contact, by contrast, always feels like a movie.

"Assimilate this!"

Particularly strong is the set piece in which Picard, Worf, and Hawk deactivate the locks on a deflector relay that the Borg are converting for their own use is particularly effective. For the most part, this is not an action scene. The Borg ignore them, as they do most individuals. But there's the constant threat hanging over them of the Borg noticing their actions and intervening. When the drones finally attack, they come agonizingly slowly, the drones having to cross in zero gravity. The slowness adds to the suspense, as the crew members weigh shooting the drones against trying to complete their task - a decision made even harder by the knowledge that every time they shoot, the Borg grow closer to adapting and rendering their weapons useless. The entire scene is fantastically effective, quite possibly the single best-directed action/suspense scene in the entire franchise.

The film also deserves praise for its use of the ensemble, the script using an "A" plot/"B" plot structure to give everybody something to do. Picard, Riker, and Data take the lead in their scenes. Worf and Geordi get decent supporting roles. Only Troi and Dr. Crusher end up feeling sidelined, and even they get a couple of decent moments around the edges. No one is completely forgotten.

The command crew of the Enterprise-E.

Overall, I find myself in firm agreement with the contemporary reaction to First Contact. This is easily the best TNG film, and I'd rank it among the best of the franchise, with only The Wrath of Khan clearly superior to it. A good Star Trek film, and a good science fiction/action movie full stop, entirely deserving of its enormous success.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

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Star Trek: Generations.

Kirk and Picard team up. Eventually.

THE PLOT

2293:

The legendary Capt. James T. Kirk and his former crewmates, Scotty and Chekov, come aboard the newest USS Enterprise as part of its maiden voyage.. But a simple PR trek turns into something far more serious when the ship receives a distress call. Two El-Aurian ships, filled with refugees from their recently-destroyed homeworld, have been trapped by a ribbon of space/time distortion. The Enterprise has only partial function and a skeleton crew, but it's the only ship in range, as per usual.

The inexperienced Capt. Harriman (Alan Ruck) is in over his head, and turns to Kirk for help. Kirk snaps into action, along with Scotty and Chekov. The two ships are destroyed, but not before Scotty manages to beam half of one ship's complement to safety - almost 50 civilians, including a stunned Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) and an enraged Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), who begs with his rescuers to "Let me go back! Let me go back!" - Until Chekov finally sedates him.

Mission accomplished - but before the Enterprise can withdraw to safety, it too becomes trapped. The only way to save the ship is to modify the shields to disrupt the ribbon. Kirk runs to Deflector Control, managing the task just in the nick of time - but not before a final blast breaches the hull at his exact position. The ship is saved, but Capt. Kirk is lost...


2371:

The Enterprise D, under the command of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, is called to the Amargosa Observatory, a science station studying a neutron star. The crew arrives to the aftermath of a Romulan attack. Only one survivor is found: Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell). The Romulans were seeking trilithium, a substance capable of collapsing a star. Soran insists he has no knowledge of this, and asks only that he be allowed to return to his work.

Data and Geordi beam back to the station to search for any sign of trilithium - but Soran is waiting for them. He ambushes them just as his rescue arrives: A Klingon Bird of Prey, helmed by Picard's old enemies, Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh), of the disgraced House of Duras. The Duras Sisters beam Soran to safety, taking Geordi prisoner and collapsing the Amargosa star as they leave - A demonstration of the trilithium weapon soran has given them.

That's when Guinan informs Picard of her connection to Soran, and of his motivation. When Kirk rescued them, he pulled them from "The Nexus," a place of utter tranquility. Guinan was able to move on with her life, but Soran has spent the last 70 years obsessing over getting back. The trilithium has finally given him what he needs. He can divert the ribbon's path to the planet of his choosing. The only cost is the collapse of another star - this one a sun at the center of a solar system, populated by millions!

"I have to stop it!" Picard realizes. "But I need help..."

The TNG crew - in slightly different uniforms than usual...

CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Patrick Stewart is splendid in his first big-screen Star Trek film, anchoring the movie with a solid presence. This is very much the Picard of the later television series: Contemplative, intelligent, just vulnerable enough for the audience to identify with him but still very much in command. The film pushes him into a fragile emotional state almost immediately, as he receives news that his brother, sister-in-law, and beloved nephew died in a fire. With his nephew's death, and reflecting on his own choice to never have children, he realizes that he is the last Picard. When he dies, his family name will die with him.

Picard shuts himself away in his ready room to mourn. Once Soran's purpose is revealed, however, he snaps back to command. He pushes Data out of his guilt over the role his emotion chip played in Geordi's capture, alternating between a strict tone and a gentle one until the android returns to himself. Trapped on the wrong side of a force field while Soran prepares his missile, Picard tries reasoning with the man - but even as he does so, he stays alert for any hole in the scientist's defenses, and finally finds one.


Capt. Kirk: At the beginning of the movie, when the crisis hits, every nerve in Kirk's body is crying out for him to take charge. He has to force himself not to step in. "Is something wrong with your chair, Captain?" Scotty smirks at him when he keeps standing up and sitting down again. The instant Capt. Harriman turns to him for advice, he is ready to take control, and the crew instinctively responds to the experience and confidence in his voice.

When Picard finds Kirk in the Nexus, he has been completely lulled by his paradise - a representation of his own regrets, of things he wished he had done differently. "I'm going to do it right this time!" he vows, all but ignoring Picard's pleas. Right until he jumps his horse over a creek. He realizes that he felt no fear... Because it wasn't real, which means that nothing he does in the Nexus will make any difference at all. Once he realizes that, he is more than ready to go back for one last fight in the real world.

Capt. James T. Kirk, in his own time.

Riker: While Picard shuts himself away, grieving for his nephew and his family legacy, Riker directs the investigation of the station. He is again thrust into the captain's role when Picard beams down to the planet Soran is using as his base. While Picard attempts first to reason with, then to outmaneuver the crazed scientist, Riker is left to fend off an unexpectedly effective assault by the Duras sisters.

Data: Hewing perhaps a little too closely to the "A" plot/"B" plot structure of the TNG series, we get a subplot centered around Data's decision to insert and activate the emotion chip he obtained from Lore. Data's scenes in the next half-hour of the picture are extremely irritating, as the android makes childlike "Yuck" faces when Guinan gives him a foul-tasting drink, laughs like a hyena at jokes he overheard years ago, and cowers in terror when he experiences fear. Thankfully, this settles down in the second half, and Brent Spiner does some very good acting when he begs Picard to shut him down, angrily announcing: "I no longer want these emotions, sir!" But Data's scenes in the first half are borderline unbearable, and also do much to slow down the pace.

Guinan: Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan was much-missed in TNG's final season on television, so it is very good to see her return in the Enterprise D's first bigscreen outing. The decision to make Soran a member of her species, with a backstory closely linked to hers, means that she knows much of what Picard needs to know in order to defeat him. She largely becomes the voice of exposition, telling both Picard and us about the Nexus and Soran's desperation to return to it. But Goldberg's presence and her continuing strong chemistry with Patrick Stewart, makes her scenes feel more organic than they perhaps should.

Soran: I would have liked more exploration of Soran and less wacky android hijinks, as the potential exists for Soran to be a fine tragic villain. Soran informs Picard that there was a time he would not have harmed anyone. Then the Borg wiped out everything and everyone he held dear. It's unspoken, but we can guess from Picard's and Kirk's experiences that the Nexus gave him a life in which he had home and family back... And that Kirk's intervention ripped that away, making him lose them twice over. Malcolm McDowall, a veteran actor with a career that ranges from the brilliantly mad to the just plain mad, is firmly in scenery-chomping mode, but he still projects an intelligence that makes him a decent foil for Picard. Their two conversations - one on the ship early in the film, one on the planet near the climax - are highlights, and the movie could have used more such moments.

Picard and Data identify Soran's next target.

THOUGHTS

Generations kicked off the TNG films, opening to big box office and extremely mixed reviews. Looking back at it more than 20 years later, I still have much the same opinion I had at the time. This is by no means a bad movie - It's entertaining, with some strong performances, excellent visual effects, and several effective moments. It's not perfect - the pace gets very slack in the middle, and the subplot with Data's emotion chip is largely unwelcome. But judged simply as a movie, it works.

Unfortunately, it's not the movie it should have been. The film's trailers promise a proper "passing of the torch" between one era of Star Trek and another. "Two captains, one destiny." From the advertising, you would think Kirk and Picard were equal leads.

What we get instead is the equivalent of a two-part TNG episode featuring a guest appearance by William Shatner. Which, if you're expecting a team-up between Picard and Kirk anytime before the last half hour, is bound to disappoint.

This problem was entirely fixable, and without even significantly changing the structure. Had the supblot with Data's emotion chip been excised and the pace of the first part of the story generally tightened, the script could easily have gotten Picard into the Nexus not long past the film's midpoint. Kirk would be reintroduced roughly 40 minutes after his exit, which would allow time for the TNG cast to re-establish itself outside his shadow without making the audience restless waiting for his reappearance. Then Picard could have taken Kirk out of the Nexus at an earlier point, on the Enterprise, allowing some opportunity to have Kirk actually interact with the newer cast.

The climax could also have been re-written to be a more fitting end for Kirk. The film offers a double climax: Picard on the planet with Soran, while the Enterprise battles the Klingons. So how about having Kirk on the Enterprise bridge, once again taking charge during a crisis to defeat the Klingons - his nemesis through both his television series and films? Kirk could die in the crash of the Enterprise D, saving the rest of the crew in the process - a more fitting end than having a bridge fall on him! Meanwhile, Picard could deal with Soran on his own - Keeping Picard from feeling like someone who needs Kirk's help to outfight a middle-aged scientist, and leaving Picard to deal with a villain who has been very much defined as a foil for him.

It wouldn't have been substantially different - but it would have allowed both captains their own parts to play in the finale, without diminishing either of them.

Soran prepares to return to the Nexus.

TIME AND THE NEXUS

I should say that, outside of the missed opportunities with Kirk, I actually do mostly like this movie. I even, in contrast to many, enjoy the way the Nexus is portrayed - as a representation of The Road Not Taken.

Picard regrets his choice not to have a family. The Nexus gives him that "road not taken," presenting an idealized family with adoring children. Kirk regrets returning to Starfleet instead of asking the final love of his life to marry him. The Nexus returns him to that point in his history, giving him the chance to marry the woman and enjoy his Road Not Taken. Both men ultimately reject these paths; they aren't real, and as Kirk observes, nothing they do within the Nexus will ever matter at all. Beyond that, it's just not who these men are - There's a reason that road wasn't taken, and the choices they made were very much the right ones for them.

I also enjoy the related theme of "Time" that runs through the film. Soran is obsessed with time, telling Picard that, "Time is the fire in which we burn... It's like a predator, it's stalking you... In the end time is going to hunt you down, and make the kill." Picard feels time running out for his family name. Kirk marvels, not without regret, at how Sulu could have possibly found time for a family, with Scotty replying that if something is important enough you make the time.

Picard finally gets to pick up The Picard Sledgehammer in the end, stitching it all together for us just in case we missed it. Fortunately, Patrick Stewart plays his final homily wonderfully, not coming across too preachy as Picard rejects Soran's identification of time as a predator in favor of a more benign metaphor:

"I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment, because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived."


OVERALL

Generations' greatest weakness is also its greatest strength. This really does feel like a TNG episode on the bigscreen. The characters feel right (yes, even Data, as annoying as his subplot was). Picard is very much the contemplative character we followed on television. And while the focus may be on Picard, Riker, Data, and Kirk, every regular gets at least one moment in the spotlight.

It is not an ideal Star Trek movie, and it is certainly not an ideal TOS/TNG crossover... But it does recapture what made The Next Generation so enjoyable when it was good, and it entertains at the same time. Simply put: It's flawed - but I think the good outweighs the bad.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

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