Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

The Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan homeworld Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a peace treaty. Captain Picard and his crew discover a serious threat to the Federation once Praetor Shinzon plans to attack Earth.

Director:

Stuart Baird

Writers:

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

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Stewart	...	Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	William Riker
Brent Spiner	...	Data / B-4
LeVar Burton	...	Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Worf
Marina Sirtis	...	Deanna Troi
Gates McFadden	...	Beverly Crusher
Tom Hardy	...	Shinzon
Ron Perlman	...	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

Storyline

After a joyous wedding between William Riker and Deanna Troi, Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew stumble upon a positronic signature which results in a prototype version of the android Data. Then the Enterprise is invited to Romulus to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulans by their new leader, Praetor Shinzon. However, Shinzon is revealed to be a clone of Picard who was raised on Remus, a slave planet to the Romulans. Later on, Picard discovers that this peace treaty was nothing more than a set-up on account of the fact that Shinzon needs Picard in order to survive. But little do the Enterprise crew know that Shinzon also plans to do away with the Federation by unleashing a weapon that could destroy a whole planet.

---

Plot Keywords:

starship versus starship | based on cult favorite | fictional war | universe | velocity | 

---

Taglines:

On December 13th, the battle for Earth begins.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Netherlands]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek X

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,513,305, 15 December 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$43,254,409

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$67,312,826

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,Digital Image Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second time that Counselor Troi assumes the helm position of the Enterprise in a Star Trek movie. The first time was in Star Trek: Generations (1994). Both times, the Enterprise had been (or was about to be) heavily damaged.

---

Goofs

When Dr. Crusher is explaining Shinzon's genetic engineering, she speaks of RNA and DNA in the appropriate instances. However, when she mentions that Picard is the only one with compatible DNA, her lips say "RNA".

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Commander: 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! The decision has been made. The military does not ...

---

Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits save the title.

---

Connections

References Three Kings (1999)

---

Soundtracks

Final Flight
(uncredited)
Composed, Conducted and Produced by Jerry Goldsmith

User Reviews

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.