It seems oddly appropriate on the day of James Doohan's passing to say that "Star Trek: Nemesis" is a bad movie. Just awful. As much as the recently cancelled "Star Trek: Enterprise", "Nemesis" is a symbol of just how far this once great franchise has fallen. It also dispels the notion that even numbered Star Trek movies do not suck.
It is obvious that the producers where attempting to make "Nemesis" the Next Gen's "Wrath of Khan". Not only did they fail miserably but it is almost insulting the extent to which they ripped-off almost every major plot thread from "Wrath of Khan".
This movie is cold, emotionless and lacks the passion and excitement of "Wrath of Khan". Tom Hardy as Shinzon is supposed to be Khan to Picard's Kirk. However, Hardy is no Ricardo Montalban and Patrick Stewart, while a better actor than William Shatner, could not summon the requisite emotion to make this movie work. The rest of the cast is no better. Clearly tired of playing these roles the cast merely mailed in their performances.
The movies special effects and action sequences are merely OK but do not come close to clearing the bar set by George Lucas and ILM. Even if they did they would ultimately fall flat because the rest of the movie is so utterly horrendous.
The movies sole bright spot is the performance of Brent Spiner in a dual role as both Data and his Rainman like "brother" B4. Spiner is so talented he simply never disappoints. As a matter of fact the only scene in "Nemesis" that conveys any real emotion is Data's Irish wake at the end of the film.
Leave it to a movie this bad to leave an excellent scene on the cutting room floor. One of the deleted scenes is an alternate ending where we would have been introduced to the Enterprise's new first office Commander Martin Madden, to have been played by first rate character actor Steven Culp ("Desperate Housewives", "JAG", "The West Wing", "Star Trek: Enterprise"). This light hearted scene which showed Riker leaving the Enterprise for the last time and ended with the Enterprise warping to where "No Man has Gone Before" was shelved. In its place the movie ends with the Enterprise in an orbital dry dock undergoing repairs. An unworthy ending to end what was once a first rate franchise known as Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek is in desperate need of fresh blood and a new perspective. Rick Berman has run this franchise into the ground. He should step aside but sadly I do not see this happening.
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