Home :: DVD :: Television :: Star Trek  

A&E Home Video
BBC
Classic TV
Discovery Channel
Fox TV
General
HBO
History Channel
Miniseries
MTV
National Geographic
Nickelodeon
PBS
Star Trek

TV Series
WGBH Boston
Star Trek - Nemesis (Widescreen Edition)

Star Trek - Nemesis (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $15.99
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 .. 54 >>

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not Too Shabby.
Review: Overall, I enjoyed STAR TREK: NEMESIS. If this is indeed the final film featuring the Next Generation cast, it is a fitting swan song. The film brings together the cast in a way that the other movies did not. It is also probably the 2nd best Next Generation film (FIRST CONTACT being the best).

The film opens with the wedding of Riker and Troi. Wesley Crusher is seen (wearing a Star Fleet uniform nonetheless!), but only at the wedding table. Riker gets command of his own ship, but he doesn't get to helm it in this movie and his honeymoon is delayed because of the discovery of the quartered B-4 (the prototype for Data) and a new leader on Romulus. The film has some fairly interesting fight scenes and most of the main cast members get some decent screen time. However, the movie parallels (among other films) THE WRATH OF KHAN a great deal and that unfortunately makes the essential elements of the plot predictable. I don't want to give anything away, but will say this: Lear just won't be the same without his Fool.

A fairly decent sci-fi movie and one of the better Star Trek films. I doubt this will be the last Trek film, but if it is, the song ends with a sweet melody.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's a shame
Review: ... The movie I thought was very good. Action seens were a lot better. It would be nice to see a good enhanced DVD since they did horrible at the box office.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Could have been better
Review: My thoughts about Nemesis when I left the theatre was of being unfullfilled by what happened in the film. It was a good idea I thought to use the Romulans and Remans. Using the controversy of cloning as a theme of the movie was a good idea. The special effects were good. But what bothered me were the things that were not in the movie. Having read the novel before I went in to see the movie may have been a bad idea, but it also let me know some of the things that were removed from the movie. I understand about 40 minutes were cut from the film and much of it was things the fans would have liked. I highly recommend to the powers that be at Paramount that they reinsert the missing pieces in the DVD to satisfy the fans. I also thought Data's death was unnecessary. It would perhaps have been much more interesting to see how Data would have handled becoming first officer of the Enterprise, seeing how his interactions with Picard and B4 would change due to his promotion and becoming B4's mentor. One omission that perturbed me was when in the middle of the battle the Enterprise ran out of photon torpedoes, but nobody mentioned anything about the quantum torpedoes. Also, what kind of ship was the Titan? Was Riker getting a Sovereign, Galaxy or Prometheus class ship to command or an old rust bucket?
Personally, I'm hoping it's a Prometheus class. One thing neither the book nor the movie addressed is what is Wesley doing back in the picture. These are fan items of interest that the fans would have liked to know, and I suspect the 40 minutes of additional footage would have answered at least some of these questions. Nemesis was good, but could have been so much better.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: MediaGab Review
Review: Star Trek Nemesis is the tenth movie but only the fourth movie with the next generation crew. The crew is on their way to the home world of Counselor Troy to attend the wedding of Commander Riker and Troy when then get side tracked into investigating what their sensor pick up as a positronic being on another world. They then get invited to Romulus for talks.

Turns out it is all a ploy and the real reasons are uncovered by the crew. At this point all hell breaks loose.

The story line of the movie is very well done. But I think that the challenge of this adversary as challenging as say the Borg. The movie is very action packed but for being the last next generation movie I think that it could of ended it with a real challenge.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better Than INSURECTION, But Not As Good As FIrst Contact!
Review: STAR TREK X: NEMISIS is the supposed last of the Star Trek films in the 36 year history of Star Trek originally conceived by Gene Roddenberry (Andromeda, Earth:Final Conflict) back in 1964. Directed by Stuart Baird (Executive Decision, US MArshals) the film has a dark tone. This film is definitely more interesting than the last installment (Insurrection), but not quiet as good as First Contact. I think the tone of the film is what missed its mark for me. There was too much talking between Shinzon played by ??? ( ) and Captain Picard played by the always brilliant Patrick Stewart ( ) and exposition and not enough for the other characters to do.

The star for this film was Data, played by Brent Spinner (Out To Sea, The Master Of Disguise ) playing a duel role as the ever misfitted android and an duplicate "brother" called B4. The scenes of his light-hearted humor, curiosity, quick wit and heroism make this film very enjoyable. Problem because Brent was also one of the three who came up with the story idea as well with producer Rick Berman (Enterprise, Deep Space Nine, Voyager) and screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, The TimeMachine, Any Given Sunday).

The story is simple - but a little weird. Captain Picard was cloned by the Romulans (the Bad Guys) in order to be replaced in the Federation an infiltrate the "Good Guys". Due to a change of politics and governments - the plan was abandoned and the clone grew up under hardship to become the future destructor of planet Earth. Yawn....

Now the real action takes place more than half-way into the movie where Shinzon's ship gets rammed by the Enterprise. From that point the forward the movie is a roller coaster. And, thanks to Data, who destroys the most deadliest weapon known in the Universe - the Earth is saved. Data even has a moment where the audience cheered!

The supporting cast gets second seat in this film and even Jonathan Frakes (Clockstoppers, Thunderbirds ) gets a decent fight scene in this, but not a great contributor to the plot overall. Mr. Frakes did a great job directing First Contact.

There are cute scenes, wedding reception scenes, love making scenes, there is even some off-roading too - but over-all it takes the last 40 minutes to get you involved. Also there is an emotional ending that may shock Star Trek fans - the two who didn't know anything about it.

The score is by the incredible Jerry Goldsmith ( ) and the special effects are top notch and completely believable. Overall Star Trek fans should be satisfied and the non Trekker will enjoy the detailed ending - just wished it had me humor and more for the other characters to do. Go see it and tell me what you think! (12-22-02) 3x

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Finale To The "Next Generation" Movie Series.
Review: After the vast disappointment Paramount gave us with "Insurrection" (one of the worst of the series), they make up for that loss with #10 in the long-running series of, in my opinion, the best sci-fi movie series ever. The plot is pretty imaginative, all except for the clone part, which seems pretty run-of-the-mill sci-fi stuff after "Episode II" and the "Austin Powers" movies. But, the plot simply wouldn't be as good, or work as well, without it, and it is handled very well. The plot is, however, at times somewhat confusing and underplayed, but not much. And one can easily spot some similarities between this and other previous Trek films; "The Wrath of Khan" most of all, as well as "The Undiscovered Country", and even a dab or two of "The Search For Spock". But these aside, it's a highly enjoyable movie, and makes a worthy end to the big screen voyages of Picard n' crew. The whole Enterprise (which, by the way, looks better than ever) crew is in top form, of course. The guy who plays Shinzon gives a highly entertaining, and different, performance. While not trying to be as menacing as a Klingon or Khan, he gives a stand-out performance as the "Nemesis" of the title (and he really does look like a younger Patrick Stewart). The ending is exciting and tense; yet, there is a sense of sadness as well (especially ********* to ruin it would be futile), but also of hope...........as with "The Undiscovered Country", which was the last voyage of the original Enterprise crew.

"Star Trek: Nemesis" is well-worth seeing on the big screen, and is certainly tied with "First Contact" as the best of the Next Generation film series. Well worth the 4-year wait!

(Now I wonder if they'll make a film series of "Deep Space Nine", which I think would be interesting to see; I haven't seen more than one full episode of that series, but what I remember of it was really boring. but it had a great theme! And after that, maybe films of "Voyager"? "Enterprise"?)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Just misses the mark
Review: "Star Trek: Nemesis" reteams the crew from the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" TV series and ensuing feature films. Once more, we enter the sci-fi world of the intrepid crew of the Starship "Enterprise." This latest installment in the ongoing "Trek" saga opens with turmoil on Romulus, the homeworld of one of humanity's perennial foes. The "Enterprise," still under the command of Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart), is sent out to deal with the situation. The film introduces a new alien race: the Remans, who hail from Romulus' sister planet. Key to the story is Shinzon, who grew up on the Reman homeworld yet has a strange and very personal connection to Picard.

"Nemesis" certainly has a lot of good elements going for it. The Remans, who reminded me of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" type demons, are a visually impressive alien race, and equally impressive is Shinzon's massive warship. There are some well played action sequences, and it's great to see the Next Gen crew together again.

But I felt by the film's end that its makers had aimed for an epic scope and emotional resonance which they never quite achieved. While the film is certainly a great improvement over the last Next Gen feature (the limp "Insurrection"), it never achieves the heights reached in the best of the Next Gen films ("First Contact") or in the best of the TV episodes.

Maybe part of the problem is the villain Shinzon, played by Tom Hardy. He too often comes across as a petulant schoolboy. I didn't fully buy him as the brilliant, battle-hardened military commander he allegedly is. He's not in the same league as Trek's best villains, like Khan or the Borg Queen. Also, while the Remans are visually striking and as a species have a compelling history, I felt that in the end they were underdeveloped as a new alien race. And while Ron Perlman brings a commanding presence to his role as the Reman Viceroy, I felt the filmmakers seriously underutilized his great talents.

Other aspects of the film struck me as gratuitous or clumsily put together (particularly some sexual innuendo that seems stuck at a junior high mentality). And, like "Star Trek: Insurrection," some aspects of the film had a "been there, done that" feel to them; Hardy's Shinzon in particular felt uncomfortably like a rip-off of a certain blonde nemesis already faced by the Next Gen crew during their TV run.

These gripes aside, I must still say that I enjoyed "Nemesis," and I do hope that this film is not the end of the line for either the Next Gen crew or the toothy Remans.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Grades well on the Trek curve
Review: As a Star Trek feature film, "Nemesis" is at least in the top five (of ten), arguably in the top three. As a stand-alone science fiction movie, however, it is probably average.

Screenwriter and self-described lifelong Trekkie John Logan ("Gladiator") indulged in a bit of wish fulfillment by shaking up things among the characters and trying out new toys. This is both a help and a hindrance in "Nemesis" case. The script has smatterings of inside jokes that aren't very funny and characters utter lines they'd probably never say in their television incarnations. And the introduction of a space dune buggy was distractingly embarassing, to put it kindly.

But - all in all - the positives still outweight these negatives.

The villain Shinzon is more than a two-dimensional psychopath. He's a three-dimensional neurotic! A clone of the Enterprise's captain, Jean Luc Picard, Shinzon is a case study in nature versus nurture. Possessing Picard's intelligence, passion, and strength, he is saddled with fears and pains that create a horribly vengeful and destructive man. Picard's face-to-face dealings with his double provide a "there but for the grace of God go I" mirror to his own life. Picard was raised by a provincial jerk but at least his childhood wasn't spent on a perpetually dark planet working as a slave. This is no excuse for bad behavior, however, and it's made clear that Shinzon does have the power to choose.

Logan also purposely made the empath Deanna Troi useful for more than having unsure feelings about things and looking good in a revealing top. His solution was simple (maybe even implausible) but it had the virtue of novelty and poetic justice.

The Data subplot unnecessarily parallels the Picard story, as he finds (yet another) long-lost prototype for himself, the B-4 (aka, Data Gump). But it provides a back door for possible future stories.

There won't be any future stories, however, if "Nemesis" gets even worse box office overseas than it did stateside. I hope that's not the case. This one was pretty good.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Let the self-parodies begin! Oops. They already have.
Review: Moronic. That about sums it up. But it would be unfair to fellow Star Trek fans to leave it at that. The one positive thing I can say about Nemesis is that the villain reminded me of Dr. Evil. That at least gave me a reason to crack a smile.

Make no mistake. This is the worst of the Star Trek movies. (I am well aware of just how bad Star Trek V was. But at least it had decent special effects.) The main problem is a bad story. Not too many ways around that, unfortunately. Not even Patrick Stewart's wonderful way with a phrase can dig him out of this silly story line and just plain bad dialogue. This is the kind of script that would get you laughed out of any screenwriting competition.

Now, the "idea" behind Nemesis could provide nice fodder for a decent storyteller. Indeed, the movie's timing couldn't have been better with the core plot device resonating in the headlines. Without giving away details, it's a story of a clone, but with not a shred of originality, coherence, and provocativeness about it. In the right hands, it could have been turned into a fascinating study on the Manchurian Candidate, or a wrenching moral drama about human identity and the issues raised by genetic tinkering. But no. This is a story that probably was written by a sixth grader. And not a smart one.

Indeed, even retaining the basic plot structure, it is possible that a good writer might have made this at least into a compelling drama--the rise of a young Reman slave, the intrigue of a rebellion within the shadowed hallways of Romulus, the conflict borne when a Federation captain cannot bear to betray his duplicate. But, it's all wishful thinking from a Star Trek fan who has just watched butcherous slobs hack a long-running saga to pathetic ribbons. (If I could include an audio clip here, it would be the sound of a thousand rhesus monkeys wailing.)

Aside from sending the writers and producers to a penal colony in a distant galaxy, it's also time to retire the crew. Will Riker, looking as plump as James Doohan in his final outings, appears to be morphing into Burl Ives. Troy looks almost as decrepit. Data? Let's just say that he's been reduced to bad singing and bad jokes, but fortunately he finds a decent cure. Worf? He's marginalized and emasculated. If he were a real Klingon, his brother would have hunted him down and put him out of his misery. Of the entire lot, only Picard acquits himself passably. And we're forced to suffer cameos by the equally insufferable Guinan and "Admiral" Janeway.

Am I urging you not to see this? Absolutely. Go rent First Contact, or even Insurrection. Or better yet, grab a few DVDs of the ORIGINAL Star Trek, when they had great writers and great stories. With this kind of tripe, I'm sure Gene Roddenberry is spinning in his grave. Let's not make it any worse for him by lining the pockets of the greedy and untalented thieves who coopted the Star Trek franchise and turned it into moron-ville.

Finally, the special effects and editing are poor, too. Everything gets foggy and disjointed where it shouldn't to cover for a lack of technological skill and attention to detail. This is short-cut and cheapskate stuff, ladies and gentlemen. And even the aliens are cardboard cut-outs. Ugh. Which only makes it worse, since you know that the big budget is only going to make the swine behind this film richer, not into a better looking movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Star Trek: Nemesis
Review: The movie was really good although at the end, my favorite character of The Next Generation was destroyed. I kinda felt weird. My favorite part was when the Remans attack the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E and the helmsman was sucked into space. I also liked when the Enterprise rammed into Pretor Shinzan's ship. This movie is great for all ages although it's rated PG-13. Happy viewing!!!


<< 1 .. 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 .. 54 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates