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215 reviews in total

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29 out of 37 people found the following review useful:
To those of us who have/had a vested interest in this particular franchise..., 26 December 2004

Author: James J. Kim-2 from Home is where the heart is...

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Considering the excellent cinematography, and the clean, crisp direction for what was objectively shown on screen, "Star Trek: Generations" was a "good film" (Meaning, if you had no vested interest in the Enterprise-D, didn't give a care one way or another in regards to 7-years worth of character developments for Picard and Data, and had no clue in regards to the iconic status of James T. Kirk...yeah, I would say it was "good.") But, for those of us who went in with expectations for the film, there were so many disappointments. The useless plot involving Picard's grief over Renee and Robert, along with Data's asinine humor, and James T. Kirk's all-too-brief screen appearance and demise makes this film appear "bad" to those of us who have/had a vested interest in this particular franchise.

I actually own the DVD, and after all these years, after being able to forgive most of the movie's shortcomings, mistakes, and letdowns, I still find it unforgivable that the entire film unfolds at a slow, leisurely pace, only to briskly speed through all of Kirk's scenes inside the Nexus and Veridian III, and then promptly have Picard forget to mention to the crew that he ever met Kirk in the first place...

Outside of the uneventful meeting between the 2 captains, and Kirk's poorly-conceived demise, I find it an enjoyable film to watch (In particular, the wonderful performance of Malcolm McDowell as the delusionally brilliant Dr. Tolian Soran). I just wish the marketing behind the film didn't emphasize too much on the 2 captains angle, because quite frankly, William Shatner's involvement at the end of the film was just a glorified cameo. It disappointed a lot of the fans, and I haven't met one viewer of the film who didn't feel short-changed by the dearth of it all...

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49 out of 78 people found the following review useful:
Loved It!!! Great Transition From Old to New Generation, 18 August 2002

Author: LebowskiT1000 from Escondido, California, USA

Despite some other people's reviews on this site, I thought this was an EXCELLENT Star Trek film. In fact, this is probably one of my favorites of the films. I thought everything about this film was above average, the story, the special effects, the acting, the directing...EVERYTHING!

I thought the story was absolutely brilliant and quite inventive. I really loved seeing the two captains fighting and working together. Also, I love the idea of this place, "The Nexus", a place where time has no meaning, you can relive all of your favorite memories and your dreams become a reality. I thought the story was excellent.

The special effects in this film were definitely above par! There are several scenes that just made my jaw hit the floor because they looked so good and were done so well. I've noticed a few people have complained that they used the exact same footage of the Klingon bird-of-prey exploding that was used in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", but I say "if they're going to use some archive footage to save some money and put that money into the other special effects that they need for the movie, more power to them" ! Besides, the scene is such a tiny scene in the movie and it wasn't the climax of the film anyway, so where's the problem?

The acting and directing are top notch in this film. I thought all of the actors did a fantastic job. William Shatner pulls off a great performance in his final Star Trek film, as well as James Doohan and Walter Koenig. The Next Generation cast does a great job as well, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden and Whoopi Goldberg all pulled off great performances! Malcolm McDowell did a fantastic job as the antagonist in this film! I also really enjoyed seeing Alan Ruck and Jenette Goldstein in the film, although they both had very small roles.

All in all, I thought this was a great addition to the Star Trek series and a great transition from the original Star Trek crew to the new Star Trek crew. Also, I love this film because you need to know very little about the original Star Trek films to enjoy this film. The only thing you need to know is that James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is the star of the original films and that Scotty (James Doohan) and Chekov (Walter Koenig) co-starred. Also...it may be useful to know that Commander Sulu was another one of the original crew members (but not terribly important). Anyhow, I would definitely recommend this film to any sci-fi fan and to anyone that likes the Star Trek films. I hope you enjoy the film. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

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28 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
Bye Kirk,hello Picard!, 30 March 2002

Author: kenandraf from Honolulu, Hawaii

Above average Sci-fi action drama movie that has a modest production in comparison to the average high qualily fare STAR TREK film.This 7th Star Trek movie played more like a special TV episode which although still good,kind of let down a lot of high expectations due to a great potential storyline and incredible trailers.The movie was rushed and the screenplay/script really took the steam out of the storyline.Also,the special effects were very trimmed down.Still,if one is a big Star Trek fan,you will never forget the emotional scenes of Captain Kirk(what a guy!) and the great acting of Shatner (not to be outdone by Stewart!) here.Yes,this one could have been so much better but I would take a Star Trek movie over the majority of Scifi movies out there!For Star Trek fans only......

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21 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
An engaging adventure with exciting action and an interesting story., 25 January 2003
Author: Li-1

*** out of ****

Star Trek: Generations stands out, in my mind, as the most underrated of all the Trek installments. Fans of the original series may not like the transition from old to new, but I personally prefer the crew of The Next Generation, and having been familiar with these characters through the show's seven season run on TV, seeing them on the big-screen was a welcome sight. Personal preference aside, Generations does a fine job of delivering an engrossing tale packed with exciting action and understated humor.

The plot involves an energy ribbon called the Nexus, a place where time has no meaning, where you can live out your greatest joys without fear or worry.

A near deranged scientist, named Soran (Malcolm Mcdowell), has amassed a horrific plan to enter the Nexus, one which could cause monumentous destruction and kill hundreds of millions. It becomes a race as the crew of the Enterprise-D struggles to find Soran before disaster strikes.

Generations has a fair share of problems, but for the most part, it's a very entertaining adventure boosted by excellent special effects and good performances. The film's highlight is the spectacular crash of the Enterprise, one of the most harrowing, exhilarating action sequences of any of the Star Trek films. Then, of course, there's the meeting between the two captains, Picard and Kirk, a memorable union that symbolically passes the torch and ends on a poignant note, which is enough to ignore the plot holes in the climax. Definitely recommended, Generations is a good stand-alone film and makes for an enjoyable warm-up to the superb First Contact.

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17 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
Hands down- The WORST Trek film, 2 March 2009

Author: JoeB131 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This was truly the worst of the Trek films, brought down by its own hubris. Let's look at its sins.

* Killing the Greatest hero in SF for no good reason. * Destroying the Enterprise-D for no good reason. * Killing Picard's loved ones for no good reason. * Turning Picard into a crying sissy-boy. * Turning Kirk into a jerk. * Turning Data into a babbling idiot.

In some ways, time has undermined this film. In 1994, one could see TNG and TOS as almost equals. Since then, the Next Generation crew has diminished in stature, while the Original Series crew has risen. (Why else would they recast it in ST-XI?)

But the reality is that this just isn't a very good film and never will be. It's dramatic flourishes are diminished by how badly they are handled. Come on, not only killing Kirk, the greatest hero that Science Fiction has ever produced, but then killing him with SCAFFOLDING? It like having John Wayne break his neck tripping over the spittoon in the saloon!

The films other fault is that it is too derivative of TNG. You'd have to have seen those episodes to know who these characters are.

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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
A childhood favorite of mine., 31 July 2003
Author: Sarah Perry from St. Paul, MN

I always loved this movie. From the very first time I saw it, at the age of 10, I absolutely adored it. It took a big risk, admittedly, in bringing the Original Series and TNG together, but I believe it did it extremely well and with a lot of ingenuity.

The first part of the movie seems to pick up where "The Undiscovered Country" left off; and it does so on a somewhat sour note. Retirement does not sit at all well with Captain Kirk, and he hates the idea of being a "legend" and having the namesake of his beloved ship run by a bunch of inexperienced kids and a skeleton crew (the running "tuesday" gag is hilarious). I think Walter Koenig and James Doohan were marvellous in the first part of this movie, and the scene where they arrive on deck 15 and find themselves staring into the void of space is chilling.

After this, it picks up with the Next Generation Crew, and boy, does the camera love the Enterprise D. It's emotional to see the crew going through the changes this movie throws at them, and by the time Geordi's kidnapped and Data's emotions are uncontrollable, my heart was in my throat.

It's also a pleasure to see Whoopi Goldberg reprise her role as Guinan, and as far as humor goes, Data's newfound sense of humor had me on the floor.

I LOVED Picard and Kirk's interactions and the segment in Kirk's cabin is an absolute hoot. (Picard: "This is not your bedroom.") Soran is a great villain, truly ruthless and threatening. Out of all the Next Gen films, this is probably my favorite. It has an atmosphere about it that's very appealing to me, and the only other TNG film that had the same feeling was Nemesis, which I still maintain was a DAMN good movie.

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10 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Calculated treachery, 25 October 2003

Author: Fiendish_Dramaturgy from .: Fiendish Writings in the Dark :.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Generations. For me, this is a sad movie. The movie itself was excellently done, and just as good as all the others, but the content just ... saddens me.

With Sulu's daughter at the helm of the Enterprise-B, the crew of "living legends" accompanies a skeleton crew of trainees on a press blow out of a short jaunt, which turns into a distress call/rescue mission which morphs into something very serious.

Meet the Nexus; a ribbon of the time/space continuum which has the ability to create and destroy anything in its path; to take it/them to different "whens" and "wheres."

This is the unfortunate end of Kirk's reign as Captain of the Enterprise. He disappears into the Nexus and into an eternity of peace on his old Iowa farm. Or so it seems.

I wanted him to die in battle. Be assassinated in his sleep. Anything noble. But instead, he was given a peaceful eternity. OK, fine. I have no choice but to deal with it.

While I respect Piccard as Captain of the Enterprise, he will never be James Tiberius Kirk. But this is the end of the old series and the beginning of the new; hence the name "Generations." If you are a fan of these movies, a collector of anything Star Trek, this is a definite needful addition to the set. This is the movie which ties the two series together.

Meet Captain Piccard and crew. I'll assume you're already familiar with them and I won't bore you with the details. Over the years, I have developed (if somewhat begrudgingly) an appreciation for this new crew and cast of players...and, while I still mourn the loss of the legends I loved, I look upon them as new neighbors, of sorts; with a certain measured withdrawn fondness.

With the addition of an "Emotion Chip," DATA is now an emotion-ridden, diseased AI personage, but in light of his not being able to grasp the concept of humor, he is willing to stake it all in his attempt to be more human.

Also, this is the movie that first realized the potential we all knew was in the Enterprise, to separate into a "saucer section" and the remaining half of the ship. You could always look at the Enterprise and just knew that, "Hey, there's kinda like a flying saucer on the top front half!" But this movie actually did it. It marks a milestone in the series and in this line of movies.

I also must say that the way they brought Kirk and Piccard together was sloppy and puerile. They both deserved better treatment and so did we, as fans. They did the best they could, I suppose, but in ignoring Nimoy's suggestions to counter the plot misconfigurations and obvious premise problems, I can honestly understand why Nimoy backed out of the director's chair and left it to someone else. Had they listened to him, this would have been a much better enterprise...pun intended.

I love the movie, and enjoy it...now. But when I first saw it, it infuriated me with the off-handed disposal of Kirk and his illustrious career.

Kirk is dead. Long live Captain James Tiberius Kirk!

It rates an 8.9/10 from...

the Fiend :.

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Welcome To Wasted Opporunity City, 21 April 2010

Author: Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) from New York, USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Been home nursing an emergency tooth extraction over the past week and nothing was able to assuage the misery like wallowing in "Star Trek". I watched a bunch of the cartoon shows & made myself come to grips with THE FINAL FRONTIER (re: Shatner's movie), which managed to be fun when regarded as a study in applied narcissism. But boy how I dislike GENERATIONS, and won't be watching it, though I decided to try and deal with my feelings about it once and for all.

I think its a cop-out, a cheap sloughing off of responsibility that should have been handled with graceful dignity. This is not the way that I will remember Star Trek. I say that because for me the essence of Star Trek is James Tiberius Kirk, watching him grow & learn. I switched on the spoiler warning disgronifier in case you are not aware that Captain Kirk dies in this movie, and for absolutely no reason at all. It was as if to say his learning curve was arbitrarily being concluded in a re-write, even changing the way he died from the original script (two versions were filmed) for reasons that have never been explained to my satisfaction.

I had learned to like TNG and her crew by the time the film premiered, though I think that Tourette's Guy is probably right when he addressed what Brent Spiner is up to these days. Google it if you don't know what I mean, I always despised Data. He was a decent plot device and they did come up with at least one great episode where they got him a sweet girlfriend with nice legs, but enough with the emotion chip already, OK? It's clear that his model was incompatible for the input, they had long milked the gimmick dry, and it turned him into a jerk.

I did like watching the saucer section crash, which in a theater looked about as believable as Godzilla destroying Yokohama, enhancing the enjoyment. The producers knew we would get off on seeing it and were so kind as to show the mayhem twice, providing the film with it's two most interesting sequences, thoughtfully shot from different angles for variety. But the rest of the treatment left me cold. I didn't give a damn about the Nexus, which sounded pretty swell compared to graduate school. I went with my fiancée at the time, smuggling in a flask of blackberry brandy so we could drink a toast to Kirk when he finally bought the farm. Turns out the bottle was 3/4's empty by then due to the draining experience of watching the film. Which looked muddy and rushed, filled with subplots that went nowhere, cameos by assorted Next Generation personalities which distracted from the focus, and a forced sentiment that was at odds with my own feelings about the show.

Which was great, don't get me wrong! Heck the TNG episode "Tapestry" is one of Star Trek's finest hours, whichever series that turned up in rocked. It was just that the series run had come to an end with a superb show-stopper of its own. There was no unfinished business left to attend to, no need to "pass the baton" as producer Rick Berman put it, by having the Original Series crew and Next Generation crew appear in a film at all. The classic crew made a rousing, emotional exit in the very satisfying THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. Kirk had said himself in the soliloquy that it was the final adventure for that crew, but by forcing the issue Shatner became the proverbial drunk who wouldn't leave after the party was obviously over.

Which in many ways turns out to be the case as Shatner used his studio muscle to not just get himself written into the picture but threatening to direct at one point. The whole subplot involving Kirk is a distraction from the rest of the story and feels superimposed, though yes, the horse riding scenes with Picard are nice. But if they had to happen at the expense of the dignity of Kirk's character then they were as unwelcome as his demise. Shatner also bullied himself into the film specifically to have his character killed off heroically, then posited himself to come back in the 2009 prequel film, as if. I now realize he deserved to be left out of that one, having cast his fate already. It was about time someone made Bill keep his place in the line after such an unnecessary curtain call.

Kirk deserved a better movie to go out in, or rather his own movie if it was that damn important. And I say it wasn't: Why kill off anyone in the Star Trek universe at all if there are an infinite number of ways to bring them back? Emotional death scenes suck, and it made the film perfunctory or formulaic in my eyes, trying to fix what wasn't broke in the first place. On its own the Next Generation crew's story was pretty good, and from what I've read a lot of what they would have been doing ended up being chopped out to make room for Kirk's scenes back when A-list talent movies at least didn't run three friggen hours. This crew was short changed, eventually coming back to make at least one good feature in FIRST CONTACT, though by then my heart just wasn't in it anymore in part due to GENERATIONS.

So I don't know. I thought maybe I had confused my feelings for the woman I had gone to see this with the film itself, which I have seen since on home video and didn't like any more. Actually less, wishing I'd had more of that blackberry brandy or at least a six pack of Romulan ale. Here is a Star Trek movie that will drive a classic series fan to drink, and that isn't ever a pretty thing.

4/10

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Solid, but disappointing, 6 November 2005

Author: boyinflares from New Zealand

The one problem we have with the Next Generation films (all four of them) is that someone high up in the film-making process seems to forget that the Next Generation began as a television series about equals, as opposed to the Original Series having 3 stars and a lot of supporting characters. I understand that Picard and Data are seen as the most popular characters in the Next Generation that appeal to the general public, but the story lines that get played out for the two of them in the movies (family and finding humanity) have already been done in the series.

Those two themes - Picard's family and Data's quest for humanity - are central parts of this film, and take up a lot of the time, but the other characters do get their moments, and being the gracious professionals that they are, Frakes, Sirtis, McFadden, Burton and Dorn all give fabulous performances. Whoopi Goldberg appears unbilled as Guinan, and Patti Yasutaki also appears as Nurse Ogawa.

"Generations" also features three members of the Original Trekers, Captain Kirk, Scotty and Chekov, the latter two in small roles, while Kirk has a much larger role, yet his scenes, alongside Picard, are the slowest and most boring part of the film, even if they are confronting the enemy together.

One of the enemies in "Generations" is a mad man, well played by Malcolm McDowell, the others are the two Klingon sisters who appeared towards the end of the Next Generation series, and make welcome appearances once more. Also watch for Jacqueline Kim as the daughter of Sulu from the Original Series.

This is a decent film, but like all Next Generation films, can be quite repetitive and leaves some of the cast (particularly the lovely McFadden) with little to do.

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11 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
First and only reunion of the mythic Kirk and Picard in an exciting motion picture, 14 November 2006

Author: ma-cortes

The picture is a crossover between the classic Star Trek with New Generations , they are incarnated by the usual sagas , as Captain James T. Kirk (Shatner) , Scotty (recently deceased James Doohan) , Chekov (Walter Koenig) and even a Sulu's daughter(Kim), they are reunited with the new crew from USS-17o1 , as captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) , Data (Brent Spiner), Worf (Michael Dorn) , Laforge (LeVar Burton) , Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Dr Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) , plus an uncredited Woopi Goldberg in a brief apparition . The film focuses captain Picard who must confront a villain megalomaniac scientific (Malcom McDowell) who has an only objective to get a bizarre , weird entity : ¨Nexus¨ which heads a relentless rout , besides he is taking on nasty Klingons (Brian Thompson) . He travels time and manages to hook up with Captain Kirk , both of whom team up and battle against the nefarious enemy . As always , the comic relief results to be the commander android Data , this time , he attains an emotional chip experimenting human feeling .

Idealism , humor , humanity , several agreeable characters and trademark effects abound and will please the enthusiasts and the neophytes . The writing is concentrated upon characters as well as the action and magnificent special effects by ILM (courtesy George Lucas) and a spectacular production design . Atmospheric and sensational music by Dennis McCarthy , habitual of TV episodes . Colorful cinematography by the classic cameraman John A. Alonzo . The motion picture was well directed by David Carson . The movie was made in the typical professional manner of the franchise and in the nostalgic mode of its predecessors . Yarn will appeal to hardcore trekkers as well as the initiated.

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