Star Trek: Nemesis -- Movie Review

• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) - Excellent action, but remains decidedly unambitious, 6/10.

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Flawed, but surprisingly worthwhile. I first became a fan of "Star Trek" in the late 1990s, so this sci-fi action movie was the first of the series I saw in theaters, a month after its December 2002 release. I still have the ticket stub! Unfortunately, not many others did, as "Nemesis" earned only $6 million more than its $60 million dollar budget - making it the lowest grossing entry in franchise. In fact, this box office disappointment all but sank the struggling series - until a completely overhauled reboot was produced in 2009.

When the Enterprise is baited into a Roluman civil war, they're shocked to discover a clone of Captain Picard is behind it all. From the dumb-looking backwards letters in of the opening title until the thirty-minute mark, there's no real conflict for our heroes. And when there is, it's because - yet again - the Enterprise is the "closest ship in range". Are they seriously still using this tired excuse? Is it so hard to come up with a more convincing reason this particular crew were required for this particular mission? Like, I don't know, "The dangerous Romulan who just assassinated the Senate also happens to be your long-lost clone, so we thought maybe you'd like first dibs on the assignment." Come on, it's easy.

Picard is portrayed for the final time by Patrick Stewart, who, despite taking a salary cut to keep the budget under control, reportedly made as much money working on this film as he during for his entire 7-year-run on the TV series. He is afforded some really meaty dialogue and introspective scenes in the PG-13 rated film, and as you'd expect, completely nails his performance. Something that was no doubt second nature to the seasoned actor by then.

A yet unknown Tom Hardy is compelling as his evil, and younger doppelganger. But, if we're being fair, Picard's true 'nemesis' was John DeLancie's "Q" - who never had the opportunity to appear in any of the films. Hardy though demonstrates an uncompromising desire for domination - a stark contrast to Stewart's refined and diplomatic portrayal. Which is necessary, as it raises interesting theories and ideas about the possibilities of life. Here we have the exact same person, whose vastly different histories and hardships molded them into completely separate individuals. To that end, Hardy remarks, "If you had lived my life and experienced the suffering of my people you'd be standing where I am."

It's a chilling, and undeniably sound hypothesis regarding the classic "nurture vs nature" concept.. As a reasonably privileged individual who grew up in an affluent east-coast city, it made me wonder; what if I was raised in a third-world country, or even just went to school in a state that wasn't ranked #1 in education? How much different would my life be? What combination of factors might cause me to turn to violence or crime? It's certainly a fascinating thought-experiment worth exploring... but to attribute all of its academic merits to "Star Trek: Nemesis" is probably giving the film too much credit. So let's move on.

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Chronologically speaking, this is the last substantive look fans ever got into the universe Gene Roddenberry created all those years ago. And since the upcoming "Star Trek: Discovery" show is yet another prequel, this distinction is likely to remain for the foreseeable future. So, for that reason, and perhaps that reason only - fans will want to check this picture out, at least once anyway. "Star Trek: Nemesis" has excellent action, but remains decidedly unambitious. It's a GOOD movie.
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