Star Trek Generations

Rating:
Summary: Lame & Pointless
Review: Basically a re-make of The Final Frontier (#5;1989) but with the NG crew rather than the original series crew. Should any reader of this review come across this movie again, notice the likenesses: The Nexus versus the Great Barrier, and Soran the Madman versus Sybok the Madman. As for "uniting" the two ENTERPRISE crews, it of course failed because Spock and some others declined to take part. Moreover, the first crew gave its farewell in The Undiscovered Country and the Enterprise-D crew would fare just fine on its own in First Contact (with the sleeker if smaller Enterprise-E). Also, McCoy, Spock, and Scott (who for some reason did not sit out that token cameo role) already made appearances in one television series episode (Encounter at Farpoint I, Unification II, Relics). Therefore, why bother?

Rating:
Summary: A sad goodbye to the best!!
Review: This review is really a companion review to the box set of Original Crew movies.This is the crowning compliment to that set and I wouldn't be surprised down the road to see this movie bundled with the others...it's a natural.
This new release of Generations,like the original crew set,comes in two discs,loaded with extras and in its' glorious widescreen format.
Generations,in case you didn't know by now,is a transitional movie.That is the Trek "torch" gets passed from the original crew onto the "Next Generation" from the TV series of the same name.
As I'm NOT a big Next Gen fan my perspective comes from being a fan of the original series and its' crew and this movie didn't disappoint.The movie while a very good Trek movie in plot structure and acting shines best when (and my bias may be showing just a little here) the original crew is on the screen.The opening of the movie is as exciting as any movie gets with Kirks' death/disappearance.When next we meet Kirk he and Picard have joined forces to defeat a common foe and to me William Shatner totally steals the show away from Patrick Stewart in their scenes together.And I STILL have trouble "keeping it together" when Capt.Kirk dies.
But it is not only just Kirks' death that bothers me but what it signifies;the end of a long and wondrous journey with the original crew characters from TV to the movies and in reality going from a cancelled TV show and its'struggle and success on finally getting to movies..... and seven at that! A very poignant moment indeed.
So,if you're an original series fan like me and want the perfect companion piece to all of the original crew movies then this two disc special re-release is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Captains, Klingons and an Emotional Android
Review: "Generations" is the seventh Star Trek film, and hit the movie screens in 1994. It was the first in the series of movies to feature the crew of the Next Generation (led by Captain Picard) and the last to feature any of the crew from the original series (led by Captain Kirk). The previous film, "The Undiscovered Country", focused on the last mission undertaken by Kirk and his crew.

The film opens in 2293, at the launch of the Enterprise-B. Commanded by Captain John Harriman, the helm officer is Demora Sulu - the daughter of Kirk's former helmsman, Hikaru Sulu. Since the ship's maiden flight is scheduled to be little ore than a brief trip to Pluto and back, it hasn't yet been fully equipped and doesn't have a full crew. All the same, Starfleet has invited the press and three 'living legends' for the occasion : Captain James T. Kirk, Captain Montgomery Scott and Commander Pavel Chelov. The short trip, however, is interrupted by a distress call from two refugee transports fleeing the El-Aurian homeworld - recently assimilated by the Borg. There is no option but for the under-equipped Enterprise to respond. Some of the refugees are rescued - the rescue, however, is not without its price. Among the surviving refugees are Dr. Tolian Soran, a scientist, and Guinan (later, a friend of Jean-Luc Picard's and barkeep on the Enterprise-D). Guinan reveals the energy strip to be an entrance to a place called the Nexus, a separate continuum where reality is based on the individual's desires.

Seventy-eight years later, Jean-Luc Picard's Enterprise receives and responds to a distress call form the Amargosa Observatory. The Observatory was apparently attacked by the Romulans - who, ot would seem, were attempting to retrieve some stolen trilithium. Once again, Soran is amongst the survivors. It appears he has been working on a way to return to the Nexus since Harriman's Enterprise 'rescued' him from it. His plan to return there, however, would result in the deaths of milions, and would also put a deadly weapon into the hands of his allies, Lursa and B'Etor. The sisters of the treacherous Klingon, Duras, would certainly use it to destabilise the Klingon Empire and end the alliance with the Federation.

It has been said that, while the even-numbered Trek movies tend to be excellent, the odd-numbered ones tend to be poor. As the seventh movie, the rule states that "Generations" sits in the "bad" pile. Admittedly, it does have the occasional corny moment - but it does have a great deal going for it also. Kirk's itchiness on the Enterprise-B and the teasing his former colleagues give him is quite funny. It's always enjoyable seeing Klingons (in this case, Lursa and B'Etor) playing politics and / or starting a fight - providing some impressively explosive moments.

Rating:
Summary: So So.. It really could have been better
Review: Well, let me add my two cents...

The movie, as mentioned by so many others, is a contrived plot to link the two series. But, I had heard that the studio did not meet Nemoy's demands for story changes and thus lost the chance to really make it a meaningful link with all the main TOS characters. Nemoy might have even directed? Now THAT would have been inspired. Oh well. Spock and Bones NOT in the story already dooms the plot. Plus all those silly holes... all right it is Science Fiction. But, why did Soren get pulled back from the Nexus when Kirk and Picard came back from the Nexus? Why didn't Kirk and Picard just go back to when Soren was found on the observatory and arrest him then? If Kirk was in the Nexus 80 years before Picard showed up, why is he only just cooking those eggs? Also, when the Nexus ribbon had hit the planet, did the crew on the crashed Enterprise get sucked in too? Why not show us this? And, with all these folks crowding in the Nexus, why is it only Guinin who appears to Picard? One other point, all through the Next Generation TV show, there is this brooding romantic spark between Picard and Dr. Crusher. If that was so, why is Picard's Nexus family (and especially his Nexus wife) such old fuddy-duddy farts? ("Oh paPAH, I just love the dolly!")

OK, besides all this, we have some excellent acting by Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart. PS's scenes when he is struggling to deal with the death of his brother and nephew are wrenching and so understated. He is a gem. BS's comic manic emotion-chip stuff is priceless. Unfortunately, William Shatner scenes are also understated. After all these years, he decides to listen to all his critics and tones it down? Wrong move, we expect him to be over the top. The much-hated rusty bolts close-ups and the rather uninspired death of Kirk is a downer. I am surprised Shatner didn't stamp his foot and say NO!

The extra features have this thrown-together, the-fans-will-buy-anything feel to them. Do we really need to see that piece about the knives? I am sure Paramount has extra stuff for TNG fans to drool over, but they are sadly lacking. Besides, extras with no-trailers is a rip-off. Did they even bother to mention Tuvok as a human on the bridge of the Enterprise-B?

But as a Trek fan, I too, like cattle, ran to buy this DVD and will problably buy all the rest as they come out. But, hopefully Paramount will treat us with the proper respect and give us something really special for our money next time.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best Trek film, but very underrated
Review: As a theatrical movie, "Star Trek Generations" fails - it feels more like a long TV episode - mostly due to the re-appearance of the Duras sisters. This was, quite possibly, the worst aspect of this film. They're fun characters, but their presence, let alone villainy, is hardly on the same level as General Chang (Star Trek VI).

The commentary and special features also point out tha some dr Sorin/Geordi torture scenes were cut. This is a shame as this would have added much a needed sense of "We hate your guts" to Sorin, who is more or less a character we'd much rather give our pity to because of his plight!

Guinan is also awkwardly handled. Remember, her and the El Aurians' had escaped the Borg. Just how far were they travelling before the Federation found them, on their doorstop no less? (I'm assuming an earlier (unseen) hailing had the El Aurians told Starfleet who they were, as it makes no sense for Starfleet to otherwise know what species this is.) Anyway, Guinan says it's impossible to get back into the nexus and that she has to live with it and Sorin must be convinced of it. But in the same scene she says that to Picard, she also says "If you go in, you won't want to leave" - so we now know Picard will be going on.

In short, the plot is a mess and the revised ending gives Shatner to deliver a nice speech at the end. (Fortunately, we get to see the original ending, which is good as the original ending is far more dramatic, and ironic.)

And why aren't the trailers included?! Couldn't Paramount have waited an extra week or two for the clearances to be approved? Given the amount of 'deleted scenes' material, it seems goofy that a trailer couldn't be cleared.

And I recall a few differences between the home video/dvd/laserdisc releases over the theatrical release. Mostly in the form of an extended crash sequence, and a better camera angle when the red- oops, yellow-shirt guy gets blown over Worf's console, who I then suspect made the shirt red. (the angle was originally a consistent slow-mo with Troi being consistently visible on the lower right. The home video ed sees a different angle of the guy being thrown back, which then turns to Troi bouncing back.)

This movie, while awkwardly written, has a few plusses that kicks my rating up a notch:

As the Enterprise D sets (barring the corridors which were taken from the Kirk-era films) were made for the small screen, the producers darkened the lighting. The resulting look was AWESOME and (unintentionally?) added a lot of atmosphere to the film, as well as making it look distinctive and, well, COOL! (Unfortunately, 'First Contact' sees the usual brightly lit sets once again - but that's the least of that flick's problems).

I love how it deals with mortality. Indeed, as I said before, the original Kirk death sequence does not exactly detract from this movie (though I will admit, SOME of the changes for the final confrontation were welcomed.) Seeing a personal side to Picard was a nice touch, and well acted by Patrick Stewart.

Of course, the crash sequence is still wonderful to watch. While not the first sci-fi venue to show a ship crash as such (Blake's 7 had), Generations executed the effects considerably better.

The commentary. This is a MUST-LISTEN-TO. The producers say a lot about what they felt they did wrong. While a bit too kissy-up to Shatner during his scenes, there wasn't much in the commentary I didn't like, and some of it was eye-opening (including a differnt idea for the season 6 finale...)

The extras. There's a lot of extras on this release. The crash sequence deconstructed, a doco on effects, a great tribute to Matt Jeffries, the original Kirk death scene, the film shot for the original opening credits idea... All great stuff.

Now onto DVD quality:

Sound: Dolby 5.1 and DTS sound ROCK THE HOUSE. Especially DTS. In terms of audio, this is a great release.

Menus: I thought Trek VI had a great menu system, but Generations takes the cake. Well designed and fun to navigate.

Video: Uh-oh. Now I had seen the extras first. Some of the film was damaged and there was a lot of dirt and dust. I thought 'well, these are extras so I won't whine'. Then I watched the movie. Atypical for these releases, there's a LOT of dust and other print flaws visible. Worse, infinitely worse, is that Paramount must have used edge enhancement while 'restoring' the film. In the Veridian 3 scenes with Sorin, the edge enhancement halo artifacting is very visible and very irritating. Video here is a disappointment. Indeed, if I could mix my laserdisc's cleaner/less-jagged video with the DVD's sound, I'd be all smiles. Though, as far as DVDs go, I couldn't see too much in the way of compression artifacting.

It's worth getting for the extras and because the movie actually tries to be deeper, but don't expect the best video quality.