Star Trek Nemesis - movie review with spoilers (December 15, 2002)

The fourth installment of the Star Trek Next Generation series of films is the best yet, combining good direction, a fresh perspective in the writing, and fine acting all around.

The crew of the Enterprise is back together again to celebrate a happy occasion, but the situation soon turns mysterious and foreboding as they are ordered to the Romulan home world on a diplomatic mission.  Recent changes on Romulus could spell a change in the relations between the Romulans and the Federation.  Picard and his crew meet Shinzon, who represents the Remans, members of the Romulan Empire who are now in power and about whom very little is known.  As the events unfold, it turns out that Shinzon is more familiar to Picard than he realized, and Data makes a familial discovery as well.  As has been the case many times before, the Enterprise and her crew are all that stand between a devastating weapon and the destruction of Earth.

I absolutely loved this film.  From the very beginning of the film, with the initial tentative notes of music and the new title treatment, in many ways, this is a very different Star Trek than we're used to.  It's very much a quiet film in parts, with very little to no underscore music, focusing only on the sounds of the actors and the ambience.  The film is also very dark, both in terms of lighting and tone.  It's been a long time since a film has left me literally at the edge of my seat, and this film managed to do that.  I was very tired going into the movie, but as the film progressed, I was completely enveloped in the story and events unfolding on-screen.  It was like catching up with old friends, and then being dragged along as they're thrown into a situation they cannot control and don't understand but must survive.  The tension inherent in many of the scenes was absolutely incredible, and true to Star Trek history, the battle sequences were amazing.  I was surprised to learn that the main effects house was Digital Domain and not ILM, as in years past.  I have not been particularly fond of Digital Domain's work, so I was a bit surprised at how good all the effects were.

The film is written by Star Trek "outsider" John Logan, who also wrote the screenplays for "Gladiator" and the recent incarnation of "The Time Machine".  Logan has not previously been connected to Star Trek but is a big fan, and I think the fact of his being an outsider added a lot to the mix, but because he was firmly entrenched in Trek lore, he also knew the characters very well.  Much of the film rests on the relationships among the characters and staying true to what Star Trek does best.  The film is based on a story by John Logan, producer Rick Berman and actor Brent Spiner, who portrays "Data".

The film is directed by Stuart Baird, who previously directed "U.S. Marshals" and was an editor prior to becoming a director.

The music is, as expected, wonderfully done by Jerry Goldsmith.  From the very first strains of the film, I knew that I wanted the soundtrack to the film, confirmed as the film went on.

The acting on this film was absolutely stellar, no pun intended.  Both Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner are as good as one would expect, able to speak volumes with a single glance.  Not expected from me, though, was how good Tom Hardy was, playing the part of Shinzon.  Not knowing who he is, I didn't expect to see someone who could more than hold his own in his scenes with Stewart.  It was nice to see cameos from Whoopi Goldberg, Wil Wheaton and Majel Barrett Roddenberry as the ship's computer.

I'm glad I missed any spoiler information floating around about Data's death, as I completely didn't see that coming.  When the realization hit that Data intended to destroy the ship and himself in the process, I'll admit that I was in tears.  What a great way to go, though.

As I mentioned, the action sequences were absolutely breathtaking, making you feel every hit that the Enterprise takes.  And the sequence when the Enterprise plows into the Scimitar was just WOW!

As an avid Star Trek fan, this film was entirely engrossing and satisfying for me, but I'm not sure how it would play with a non-Star Trek fan.  So much of what works relies on the fact that the audience is familiar with the characters and their histories and connection to each other.

An interesting tidbit I noticed:  when Geordi brings up the list of Starfleet ships that are waiting at the rendezvous point, the last ship listed is the U.S.S. Archer, presumably named after Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise in the current television show.  And I thought it was cool that they managed to work something in from each Star Trek incarnation, from the Kirk maneuver that Riker instructs, to the Dominion conflict that occurred during Deep Space Nine, to then-Captain and now-Admiral Janeway from Voyager to Archer's name from Enterprise.

This is a movie that I am considering seeing again while it's in theatres, and I'll definitely get on DVD.  A resounding recommend from me.

For the non-spoiler review of Star Trek Nemesis, go here.

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