Well, I just saw the tenth Star Trek movie, Star Trek Nemesis, and I think I share Ebert’s opinion (pretty funny and worth a read) that it is all getting a bit tiresome. Twice in the movie they blurt out some weird technical gibberish like, “We’ve detected some Flibberty-gibble emissions!” in a serious voice, and then they have the gall to have this big dramatic pause with intense music like we’re supposed to blindly accept that it’s something serious even though God knows we have no clue what they’re talking about because… THEY JUST MADE THOSE WORDS UP! And I’ve always wondered, who’s in charge of the ship when every single high-ranking officer goes on an away mission? Scruffy the janitor? And I couldn’t take people saying with a straight face that the twin planet to Romulus is named Remus; that’s just too cutesy. And they have to get some better weapons than those plastic pieces of crap; I’ve had toys that were scarier looking.
But that’s all standard Star Trek criticisms and shouldn’t turn off anyone who like the series. What is good about the movie is that they finally have a villain wussy enough for Jean-Luc Picard to beat up – a clone of himself. Actually, the villain was the strongest point of the movie, and I couldn’t help but root for him as he was much more interesting than the other characters. Plus, I just couldn’t fathom the motivations of one of the Romulans who ends up helping Picard. Anyhoo, this is supposedly the last Next Generation Star Trek movie, and, to emphasize that point, one major character dies at the end (no, not Whoopi Goldberg). I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more, though, as these movies are always profitable.
In summary, worth an outing for even a mild Star Trek fan (myself included), but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone else. Two and half stars.
BTW, I’ve added Picard to my list of possible replacements for Trent Lott.