Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi-Riker (Marina Sirtis) get married in Alaska. The Enterpise is sent to the neutral zone near Romulan space and finds B-4, a prototype of Data. Then they meet Praetor Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a human cloned from Picard, who now rules Romulus. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is captured and Shinzon plans to destroy Earth.
(first lines)
Senator: "Senators, consider the opportunities for the Empire. At last, the destinies of the planets Romulus and Remus will be united. Shinzon of Remus is offering us a chance to make ourselves stronger than ever before. It would be madness to reject it. I beg you not to let prejudice or politics interfere with this Alliance. By joining Shinzon's forces with ours, not even the Federation will be able to stand in our way."
Shinzon: "You are me. The same noble Picard blood runs through our veins. Had you lived my life, you'd be doing exactly as I am... Look in the mirror and see yourself. Consider that, Captain... I can think of no greater torment for you."
Picard: "I'm a mirror for you as well."
Shinzon: "Not for long. I 'm afraid you won't survive to witness the victory of the echo... over the voice."
Picard: "Why am I here?"
Shinzon: "I was lonely. You're too slow, old man. My life is meaningless as long as you're still alive. What am I while you exist? A shadow? An echo?"
Android: "The B-4 is physically identical to me, although his neural pathways are not as advanced. But even if they were, he would not be me."
Picard: "How can you be sure?"
Android: "I aspire, sir. To be better than I am. The B-4 does not. Nor does Shinzon. (to B-4) I must deactivate you."
B-4: "For how long?"
Android: "Indefinitely."
B-4: "How long is tha...
Android: "A long time, brother."
Like the other Star Trek TNG movies, NEMESIS is just like the TV series, but with more expensive production values. It is the tenth Star Trek film. I watched the movie on DVD, widescreen of course, which I despise. Over 50% of the TV screen is black bars. With the zoom feature I was able to get a beautiful picture, almost full screen.
NEMESIS is basically a rehash of STAR TREK II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982), with Shinzon as a not very threatening version of Khan. Like the other TNG movies, it's a boring disappointment. There is an emphasis on action this time, but not much of a story, character development, intrigue, or excitement. It looks good, but it's just more of the same. We've seen all of this before.
The main problem with the Star Trek TNG cast is most characters are not charming, with the exceptions of Data, Worf, O'Brien and sometimes Riker. All of the cast members of the original franchise are very charming.
Another alarming problem with Star Trek is its bad habit of killing off major characters. Spock died, Kirk died, Sarek died, 3 Enterprises were destroyed, etc. In the original series only dispensable characters died. How can they continue the saga with all the major characters dead? If you haven't seen NEMESIS, I won't ruin it for you by revealing which major character kicks the bucket this time.
Picard is the most alien creature in Star Trek TNG. He looks the most peculiar and speaks like Hamlet in outer space. All other characters, even from distant galaxies, talk like they're from Chicago. I've never liked the Picard character, mainly because he is portrayed as the greatest creature in the universe. He literally buries Kirk in Star Trek GENERATIONS. Picard is pompous, uneducated (Patrick Stewart left school at age 15), ugly, and too old for the part. Bring back Shatner!
Others in the cast include: Brent Spiner (Data), LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Worf), Dina Meyer (Commander Donatra), Jude Ciccolella (Commander Suran), Alan Dale (Praetor Hiren), Micheal Owen (Branson), Kate Mulgrew (Admiral Kathryn Janeway), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Bryan Singer (Kelly), and many others. The writing is credited to Rick Berman, Brent Spiner, and John Logan. Jerry Goldsmith composed the music. Stuart Baird directed.
NEMESIS is supposedly the last movie with the Star Trek TNG crew. A prequel is currently being filmed with a new cast.
