Star Trek Generations (1994)

With the help of long presumed dead Captain Kirk, Captain Picard must stop a deranged scientist willing to murder on a planetary scale in order to enter a space matrix.

Director:

David Carson

Writers:

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

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Stewart	...	Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Riker
Brent Spiner	...	Data
LeVar Burton	...	Geordi
Michael Dorn	...	Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Beverly
Marina Sirtis	...	Troi
Malcolm McDowell	...	Soran
James Doohan	...	Scotty
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Alan Ruck	...	Capt. Harriman
Jacqueline Kim	...	Demora
Jenette Goldstein	...	Science Officer
Thomas Kopache	...	Com Officer

Storyline

In the late twenty-third century, the gala maiden voyage of the newly-christened U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B boasts such luminaries as Pavel Chekov, Montgomery Scott, and the legendary Captain James T. Kirk as guests. But her maiden voyage turns into a disaster as the unprepared starship is forced to rescue two transport ships from a mysterious energy ribbon. The Enterprise manages to save a handful of the ships' passengers and barely succeeds out intact, but at the cost of Captain Kirk's life. Seventy-eight years later, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D crew find themselves at odds with renegade scientist Dr. Tolian Soran, who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme, and he has been dead for seventy-eight years.

---

Plot Keywords:

female empath | half human half alien | empath | human alien hybrid | captain | 

---

Taglines:

The torch of adventure is about to be passed.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action and some mild language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon

Release Date:

18 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek VII

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,116,394, 20 November 1994

Gross USA:

$75,671,125

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$118,071,125

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The model of the Enterprise-B is simply the Excelsior with a few new front details. These hull additions were made so that the "damage" caused by the Nexus ribbon would not require cutting into the actual model. This miniature was seen first in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and was used in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).

---

Goofs

One of the journalists refers to Chekov as "Captain", even though he wears the rank insignia of a Commander.

---

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 ...
[...]

---

Alternate Versions

When Worf explains the workings of 'trilithium', all his words were overdubbed. In the filmed scene (and in the novelization), Worf simply says that trilithium is a very powerful explosive. In the actual film as seen in theaters, Worf's overdubbed lines now say that trilithium is a "nuclear inhibitor" which can stop all nuclear reactions within a star.

---

Connections

Referenced in Dark Angel: Borrowed Time (2002)

---

Soundtracks

Kirk's Death
(uncredited)
Composed, Conducted and Produced by Dennis McCarthy

User Reviews

Much Better Film Than I Remembered

When I originally saw this film in 1994 when I was 13 years old, I was distinctly underwhelmed but having re-watched this for the first time in over 20 years, I appreciate this film a lot more. Even though Star Trek will always work better as a TV Series, this is actually a very good film and I'll explain why below.

Originally I wasn't too fussed on the film because I was an avid Trekkie who had loved 'The Undiscovered Country', had been a huge fan of the TNG series and remembered that Scotty said in Relics that "I'll bet Jim Kirk himself hauled the old gal outta mothballs" and thus the film had what I considered a major plot hole as a result of Kirk dying. Now that I'm considerably wiser and no longer a virgin/13 years old, this minor plot inconsistency really doesn't matter to me. ;-)

Whilst the special effects are a bit rushed/cheap in places (re- using 'The Undiscovered Country' and TV Series effects), it stands up fairly well for a 20+ year old film on a limited budget (particularly compared to the new films). Anyway, special effects can sometimes get in the way of a good script or even negatively affect a film...as they did with 'Into Darkness'.

Generations has some stand out moments. I was quite touched by how lonely Picard and Kirk were despite the fact that they had extraordinary lives with excitement and variety that most of us could only dream about. And yet, Picard mourning the death of his family and the family he never had, really touched me...in a way that it didn't 21 years ago. Behind that extremely intelligent and reserved character, was a real, nuanced human being with regrets, dreams and hopes that were never quite realised. When people say this is out of character for Picard, it's obvious that the events in TNG Episode 'The Inner Light' really touched him on a personal level and made him reconsider how important family was. Kirk too, seemed to have heartache in his life and how his decisions/Starfleet ruined any chance of a normal existence. It was sad and compelling to watch and something I never really noticed when I was 13.

In fact, the writing by Braga and Moore is very good in the Nexus part whilst the acting by Patrick Stewart and William Shatner made this even more believable/tangible.

Moreover, there are humorous elements to the film - Data and the tiny life forms speech made my girlfriend laugh out loud several times - in fact, we watched it 4 times! Thus, it's not all sad. :-) And to me, that's the mark of a good film.

Soran, played by Malcolm McDowell, hams it up but is a good character. It was also nice to see Chekov and Scotty one last time. Seeing Kirk, Chekov & Scotty on the bridge and how out of place they were was a nice touch and well-acted.

Obviously the rest of the cast probably weren't utilised as much as they should have been but that's only a small negative.

Try to watch this with an open mind and maybe you'll appreciate Generations a lot more than you did previously. I know I did. :-)