With the recent announcement that
the first human child had been cloned successfully, it would seem
that "Star Trek: Nemesis" has arrived at the perfect
season and time. After all, along with "Star
Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones", this
is the second mainstream science fiction franchise to embrace
cloning this year. And, director Stuart Baird succeeds with
what I consider to be the most engaging "Star Trek" film
to date, with the New Generation crew.
This
has been billed as the final voyage for the Enterprise, and it
would seem that is correct, since virtually every cast member has
waved another film, especially Patrick Stewart, who it seems is
more concentrated with his role as Professor Xavier at the time.
And, I will go ahead and say that (SPOILER, well, kind of) one of
the primary cast members dies. Alas, I will not reveal which
one. You will have to go and see for yourself.
When
the Romulan Senate is destroyed, a new leader takes control of the
planet Romulus, a human clone named Shinzon. He invites the
Enterprise to the long avoided planet with the promise of peace
negotiations between the Federation and the Romulans. It is
soon discovered, however, that peace is the last thing he has in
mind. It is revealed that Shinzon is the clone of Captain
Picard, who was created with the hopes of taking control over the
Enterprise and eventually the Federation. Shinzon's body is
decaying and he needs Picard's blood to stay alive. Also,
Shinzon controls a powerful weapon that emits radiation and could
wipe out the entire planet Earth in a matter of minutes. The
film deals with Piccard and crew's attempts to stop Shinzon and
his massive army of Reman warriors.
Here
are some other sidenotes: the film opens at the wedding of
Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi (Marina
Sirtis); the crew discover an almost perfect clone of Data (Brent
Spiner); the Viceroy of the Remans is Ron Perlman; and, this film
features some of the best special effects of recent memory,
especially the scene where the Enterprise and the Reman warship
play somewhat of a game of chicken. I also enjoyed the way
in which director Baird injected some enjoyable moments of humor,
mostly at the expense of Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn (Commander
Worf).
This
film tackles cloning by showing how two people alike in the
physical form can be completely different in every other way
imaginable. We hear Shinzon constantly remind Picard that,
had he lived in his shoes, he might have turned out the exact same
way. Alas, at the end of the film, we realize that to be an
impossibility.
The
ending of this film is quite suspenseful and leaves nothing to be
desired other than another "Star Trek" picture, which
they will sadly not be making any time soon. Though this is
not as visually stunning as "Star Trek: First Contact",
or as heartwarming as "Star Trek: Insurrection", this might
well be the most thoroughly entertaining New Generation picture
yet. The special effects are marvelous, the acting is
perfect, as always (though the dialogue has never been Pulitzer
material), and the action and adventure is non-stop. This is
a fantastic addition to the "Star Trek" franchise and a
fitting ending to such a miraculous saga. I encourage each
and every one of you to go see this film and pay homage to one of
the last great movie and television franchises to come around in
decades. Gene Roddenberry would be extremely proud of this
motion picture. I know I certainly am.
