Superbly acted by Tom Hardy (Shinzon) and Patrick Stewart (Picard), this movie should be compared more with Blade Runner rather than with the others in the Star Trek series.
Although this is obviously a sci-fi film with a lot of special effects and action sequences, it's the message behind the plot that make it stand out as something special. And in this review I'm going to skip over many of the details to discuss this sub-theme, or perhaps supra-theme would be a better description.
During the course of the movie, Picard is presented as a man who is confident in the correctness, even the righteousness, of his own beliefs. He is the man searching to spread the message of peace and good, attempting to improve both the universe and himself at the same time. However, circumstances suddenly force him to confront a younger clone of himself (Shinzon), a man whose experiences in life have made him a self-interested and villainous alter ego.
Throughout the film, Picard tries to avoid the idea that anything about this evil twin protagonist could ever have been part of him. He's also asks this of his crew members and they confirm that his character is totally unlike Shinzon's. However, in the dramatic death scene at the conclusion of the movie, as Picard faces his clone in a death embrace, he finally realizes that he and Shinzon are one character, and that he himself has all the evil potential that is displayed in his twin brother.
As he stands stunned by this conclusion, Data who acts as a Christ figure, sacrifices his own unsullied life so that Picard can be saved, both physically and spiritually. In the final scene, the allegory is made complete by the physical return of Data (Christ) in the character of B4.
I hope that this adds to your enjoyment of the movie, and I'd be interested to read anyone else's comments.
Dave
Although this is obviously a sci-fi film with a lot of special effects and action sequences, it's the message behind the plot that make it stand out as something special. And in this review I'm going to skip over many of the details to discuss this sub-theme, or perhaps supra-theme would be a better description.
During the course of the movie, Picard is presented as a man who is confident in the correctness, even the righteousness, of his own beliefs. He is the man searching to spread the message of peace and good, attempting to improve both the universe and himself at the same time. However, circumstances suddenly force him to confront a younger clone of himself (Shinzon), a man whose experiences in life have made him a self-interested and villainous alter ego.
Throughout the film, Picard tries to avoid the idea that anything about this evil twin protagonist could ever have been part of him. He's also asks this of his crew members and they confirm that his character is totally unlike Shinzon's. However, in the dramatic death scene at the conclusion of the movie, as Picard faces his clone in a death embrace, he finally realizes that he and Shinzon are one character, and that he himself has all the evil potential that is displayed in his twin brother.
As he stands stunned by this conclusion, Data who acts as a Christ figure, sacrifices his own unsullied life so that Picard can be saved, both physically and spiritually. In the final scene, the allegory is made complete by the physical return of Data (Christ) in the character of B4.
I hope that this adds to your enjoyment of the movie, and I'd be interested to read anyone else's comments.
Dave