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Think Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (the one Bill Shatner directed with that subtle touch of his) vs. the darkly compelling Borg flick Star Trek: First Contact (aka Star Trek VIII).
Let's just say by the number 10, the just-released Star Trek: Nemesis, the odds-and-evens "rule" is getting a little strained.
Nemesis -- which purports to be the last film featuring Picard, Riker, Data and the rest of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew -- has its pleasures. But it can't decide whether to appeal to hardcore Trekkers or to a general audience. In the end, it's not enough of one or the other to please either.
Start with the director-writer tandem. Stuart Baird (U.S. Marshals) was hired because he knows absolutely nothing about Star Trek, and is inclined to jettison backstory in favour of phaser fire. The writer, John Logan (Gladiator) is a Trek geek, who knows he's writing a swansong and lards the script with more emotional sop than the Oprah tribute at the Emmys.
The script he wrote is replete with issues of age and regret. After a "grabber" of an opening featuring a mass-murder at the Romulan council, it jumps to the wedding of Riker and Troi (who have only known each other about 20 years), with Picard serving as best man. Seems everyone's leaving sad Jean-Luc for other vessels and Star Fleet postings.
Enter Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a moody, twentysomething clone of Picard engineered by Romulan scientists who eventually abandoned their experiment (the Romulans have become so moral over the years, they should be stripped of their villain stripes). Somehow, Shinzon and his downtrodden Romulan cousins the Remans, take over the joint and -- in their moment of victory -- begin plotting the destruction of Earth, natch. Whatever happened to, "I'm going to Disneyland?"
Nemesis has more holes in it than a Tholian web (that the Romulans hand their empire over to a peevish human teenager is one of them), but meeting his own clone gives Picard a chance to stare at pictures of his young self and muse, "What if?" This is almost as exciting as it sounds.
As well, the crew of the Enterprise discovers B-4, one of Dr. Soong's old prototypes of Data on a planet of Mad Max aliens. After a dune-buggy gun-battle (don't ask), they bring B-4 aboard and Data gets to stare at him and wonder aloud what it is that separates the primitive android from his conscious self.
Why all the existentialism? Because... well, here's a spoiler... SOMETHING MAJOR HAPPENS to one of the regulars and we need to be prepped for it like tenderized meat.
The exposition played out, Baird gets free reign to blow things up real good in the enjoyable last act. If this is the Next Gen's finale, at least it can be said to have gone out with a bang.
(This film is rated PG)