Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Director:

Stuart Baird

Writers (WGA):

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek)
John Logan (story) ...

Release Date:

13 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A Generation's Final Journey... Begins

Plot:

After the Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan planet of Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a truce, the Federation soon find out the Romulans are planning an attack on Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Box Office Flop | No Opening Credits | Death Of Hero | Clone | Sequel

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander / Captain William T. Riker
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data / B-4
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lt. Commander Worf
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi-Riker
Gates McFadden	...	Dr. Beverly Crusher
Tom Hardy	...	Praetor Shinzon
Ron Perlman	...	The Reman Viceroy
Shannon Cochran	...	Senator Tal'aura
Dina Meyer	...	Commander Donatra
Jude Ciccolella	...	Commander Suran
Alan Dale	...	Praetor Hiren
John Berg	...	Senator
Michael Owen	...	Helm Officer Branson

Also Known As:

Star Trek X (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and peril and a scene of sexual content.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:10 (original rating) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | South Korea:12 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Italy:T | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 (video rating) | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

El Mirage Dry Lake, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In order to get the job of directing the film, Stuart Baird did uncredited re-editing work on two other Paramount films, Mission: Impossible II (2000) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001).

Goofs:

Continuity: In Picard's quarters near the end of the film, the way Picard holds his wine glass changes from shot to shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Senator: Senators, consider the opportunities for the Empire. At last, the destinies of the planets Romulus and Remus will be united. Shinzon of Remus is offering us a chance to make ourselves stronger than ever before. It would be madness to reject it. I beg you not to let prejudice or politics interfere with this Alliance. By joining Shinzon's forces with ours, not even the Federation will be able to stand in our way.
Praetor Hiren: That's enough!

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)

Soundtrack:

Blue Skies

Well, at least the music isn't bad

It has always been easy to level criticism at Star Trek films, for either being too slow, to action-packed, too Trekkie, not Trekkie enough, or whatever. The fact of the matter is, is that none of them are classics, except for the people who know and love the characters in them: namely, Trekkies.

It has been said that Stuart Baird was brought on board to try and open up Trek to a wider audience, but that simply insults the viewers Trek already has. Voyager tried, and failed, and Enterprise is rapidly going the same route.

The better Trek films are those that revolve around the character-dynamics, and seeing those people work as a team. In those films, such as Wrath of Khan, The Undiscovered Country, or First Contact, the comradeship of the protagonists is evident.

Not so in Nemesis, which is ironic, especially considering the entire film is purportedly about such relationships. None of the characters have been drastically altered, as many might suggest, but there is very little interaction between them, there's no moment where the viewer would think "only Picard/Data/whoever" would get them out of this situation. It's all a bit [for lack of a better word] bleh. There's no adventure, something that has been missing from Trek since First Contact.

Shinzon is a powerful character, a wonderful character, but sorely underused. It's almost as if he's never really serious about what he's doing, and as such, never seems to pose much of a threat. This is emphasized through the cliched dramatic countdown timer sequence (used excessively in Trek, but here lacks substance, especially since it is entirely and utterly pointless).

Nemesis starts off well, full of hope and joy, and the prospect of Troi and Riker's wedding, and the viewer too, is led into a false sense of hope at the prospect of the film. But Stuart Baird lets us down harshly. He was the wrong director for the job: the script (if you listen to the dialogue, watch the cut scenes, etc) is not an action script, but a character-driven one, with a few action elements.

Baird has turned that on its head, and produced an action film, with very little character involvement.

As a plus point, it must be noted that Goldsmith has outdone himself - the music (although in parts evidently synthesized rather than orchestrated) is a delight. Buy the CD, and forget the film.