Star Trek: Generations (1994)

Director:

David Carson

Writers (WGA):

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek)
Rick Berman (story) ...

Release Date:

18 November 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Boldly Go

Plot:

Capt. Picard, with the help of supposedly dead Capt. Kirk, must stop a madman willing to murder on a planetary scale in order to enter a space matrix.

Plot Keywords:

Returning Character Killed Off | Saga | Megalomaniac | Seventh Part | Spaceship

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lt. / Lt. Commander Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Malcolm McDowell	...	Dr. Tolian Soran
James Doohan	...	Capt. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Walter Koenig	...	Commander Pavel Chekov
William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk, retired
Alan Ruck	...	Capt. John Harriman
Jacqueline Kim	...	Ensign Demora Sulu
Jenette Goldstein	...	Enterprise-B Science Officer
Thomas Kopache	...	Enterprise-B Communications Officer

Also Known As:

Star Trek 7 (USA) (informal alternative title)
Star Trek VII (USA) (working title)
Star Trek VII: Generations (Australia)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Movie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi action and some mild language.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Italy:T | Iceland:L (original rating) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | USA:PG (certificate #33119) | Australia:PG | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Norway:15 | Spain:T | UK:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

This movie features a brief appearance by Demora Sulu, the only child of an original cast member depicted in any of the movies except for Kirk's son David, who appeared in "Star Trek II" and "Star Trek III." Her presence on the bridge even prompts Kirk to comment, "When did Sulu find time for a family?"

Goofs:

Continuity: Worf's sash when he is blown over the console.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[the journalists are all talking at the same time, trying to get their questions in]
Journalist #3: How does it feel to be back on the Enterprise bridge?
Journalist #1: Captain Chekov, what are the most significant changes...
Journalist #3: Captain Kirk, can I ask you a few questions?
Journalist #1: Did you participate in the redesign?
Journalist #3: We'd like to know how you feel about being...
Kirk: I appreciate the...
Harriman: Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. There will be plenty of time for questions later. I'm Captain John Harriman and I'd like to welcome you all aboard.
Kirk: It's our pleasure.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in William Shatner's Star Trek Memories (1995) (V)

Perhaps The Best Of The Star Trek Movies

In my opinion, "Generations" is the best of the Star Trek movie series for a number of reasons. Although "The Undiscovered Country" represented a fitting ending for the original crew, this movie was a good way of blending original Trek with Next Generation Trek. Given almost 80 years difference in the generations, I though the solution for doing this was quite ingenious. 78 years apart, both Kirk (William Shatner) and Picard (Patrick Stewart) find themselves sucked into the "Nexus" - a huge energy "ribbon" in which time has no meaning - where they meet each other and join forces to defeat this instalment's villain - Dr. Soren (Malcolm McDowell, in what I thought was an excellent performance; he's one of the better villains to appear in the Star Trek movies.)

James Doohan (Scotty) and Walter Koenig (Chekhov) both make appearances at the beginning of the movie (which opens in the era of the original cast) and - given the premise in which they appear (kind of an honorary visit to the Enterprise "B" as it prepares to launch for the first time) - their ages really don't matter that much. This was always a bit of a problem for me with the movies starring the original cast. They always seemed to be getting just too old to keep being sent on these emergency missions. Here, their presence on the Enterprise "B" makes sense. I thought that Alan Ruck (playing Captain Harriman of the Enterprise "B") did quite a good job of playing a nervous young captain, a bit overwhelmed at the presence of the heroic and famous Kirk on his bridge. The Next Generation cast, having only recently ended the TV series, slipped into their roles without effort. Brent Spiner I thought was extremely good playing Data, who has recently added an "emotion chip" to his positronic brain, and is having to adjust to his new feelings while trying to do his duty.

The movie revolved, though, around Stewart and Shatner. Interestingly enough, I thought this may have been Shatner's best outing as Kirk in the movies, perhaps because although he was still playing Kirk as the hero, he wasn't burdened with being the only star. Stewart was clearly playing that role (and Kirk was appropriately deferential to Picard - as he was to Harriman for that matter.) Shatner and Stewart seemed to work well together, giving Kirk and Picard a real chemistry.

Flaws? Well, a few minor things. It bugged me that the transporter technician (speaking only on radio) referred to "Commander LaForge and Mr. Data." Why not "Commander Data?" After all, Data outranks LaForge. Why honour LaForge with his rank, but not Data? No respect for android officers? That's a minor point, of course. I also thought that the connection between the two generations might have been even stronger if Leonard Nimoy had somehow been written into the story as Spock. Spock spanned both series, and a reunion of Kirk and Spock 80 years later might have been quite touching. But overall, minor weaknesses aside, this was an excellent movie with a good story and flow and interesting all the way through.

8/10