STAR TREK: NEMESIS - DVD review

It's sort of sad and ironic that the release of the most recent "Star Trek" film was overshadowed by the uber-geek event of the millennium, the "Lord of the Rings" saga. What once would have been a cause celebre, the unveiling of the next chapter of a beloved television series, was treated as a mere afterthought by those leaving the theater after their fourth viewing of "The Return of the King." And perhaps the worst part of all? After several mediocre-to-bad installments, "Star Trek: Nemesis" wasn't that bad; in fact, it was quite good.

Part of the problem of past "Star Trek" films was the inclusion of a large cast who suffered from growing egos. "Nemesis" suffers none of that; the focus is squarely on the captain of the ship, Jean Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) with a subplot featuring everyone's favorite android, Data (Brent Spiner). It's fortunate, too, because Stewart is given the chance to stretch his acting chops like he never has before in the Trek universe. While he may still be stiff on the bridge, he's almost impish off, a charismatic figure that, it would be easy to see, would be a pleasure to serve with.

The film starts off by kicking the main plot into high gear with the assassination of the Romulan council. Pattered after the Italian empire of the time of Christ, there is a large schism between the military and the bureaucrats who make the final decisions. The generals want to take the fight to the Federation, and though the council has no love for them, they feel the timing is simply not right. So what is a frustrated military man to do? Assassinate the lot of them and usurp them with a previously unheard of slave class from the mines of a moon around Romulus. Of course.

That moment of Greek tragedy is followed with a wonderful moment of great joy: The wedding (finally) of Deanna Troi and Will Riker. Data sings, Picard gives a toast, and Worf (comically, of course, since that's all Klingons are these days; comic relief) gets smashed on Romulan Ale. The first half hour of the movie is an adventurous romp, one that is seemingly without purpose. After the wedding, the Enterprise departs for Betazed, home planet for Deanna Troi where another ceremony awaits, this one sans clothes.

The crew is interrupted, though, when they find signs of another android like Data on a planet that hasn't yet achieved warp drive capacity. This gives the crew a chance to break out the new "Star Trek Dune Buggy." Named something far more "Trekkie," it's nothing more than an excuse to have Worf, Data, and Picard race around some desert dunes on a desert world that's conveniently close to the Romulan Neutral Zone. It actually reads more like a stage in a video game than a Hollywood movie scene.

The recovery is astonishing: Looking just like Data, the android is not nearly as complex. It instead acts like an idiot child, asking only "Why," but never comprehending the answers. And since the Enterprise is near the Neutral Zone and considering the recent tragedy on Romulus, Admiral Janeway (holy crap, you mean Voyager made it back to Earth? I quit watching after the second season) asks the Enterprise to make contact with the new government. It, of course, puts off the commencement of the wedding ceremony on Betazed for Riker and Troi… but last I checked the Enterprise wasn't a taxi service. I could be wrong.

Picard and a team makes first contact with the new ruling class of Romulus, the Remans. Long held as a slave class on the dark side of a mining moon, the Remans revolted and took power with the help of the military. They are lead by Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a human who looks strikingly like Picard in his younger days… and not without purpose. Though I shouldn't want to spoil the surprise for you, he is a weapon created by a former Romulan regime who was cast aside when a new group took power.

The Remans, bent on destroying more than just the Federation (think wiping out Earth), quickly get into conflict with Picard and company. Personally, I really like the Remans. They are an angry, disgusting, and vile race, but one whose malice is justified. They hate because they were subjugated for so long that now they want to take it out on the universe. Furthermore, the designs for them as characters and their world are absolutely beautiful. Dark and angled, their ships simply look strong, belying the power they truly possess.

Atypically set on starships, "Nemesis" is perhaps the first "Star Trek" movie that feels like it could actually happen. There is an obvious chain of command and the residents of Enterprise know how to handle a conflict. In that vein it's closer to "Master and Commander" than an actual episode of the Trek franchise. Furthermore, the movie takes a lot of cues from "Star Wars," finally including single-person fighters (for the Remans) and treating these lumbering battle cruisers like the behemoths they are instead of a spry and agile craft. And honestly, I never had any admiration for the Romulans and their warships before seeing this movie, but their portrayal in "Nemesis" has left them in a completely new light for me.

I liked a lot about "Nemesis," it's true. Data gets some great moments and a swan song (literally) and I think "Trek" was finally beginning to come into the new millennium where Roddenberry's ideals, though wonderful, were being updated for a new generation. But there are still some issues I take. As I mentioned, Worf is completely cast aside as comic relief in this movie, having only a couple of good battle scenes. One would think that the fearsome head of security would be given the chance to square off against the most powerful Reman, and not Riker. Furthermore, there is a scene where the Remans attempt a mind link to put a shunt between Riker and Troi. Though it is a disturbing scene, there is no point to it, save being a plot point later in the film. There are several threads like that left hanging, including how Shinzon created the Data-like android Bee-Fore.

The cinematography is good, the tone appropriately dark, and the action is by and large magnificent in "Star Trek: Nemesis," plus it takes on the difficult psychological concept of nature vs. nurture. It's not only good for a "Trek" film, it's pretty good on its own merits as a film.

Video:
I was a smidge worried about the 2.35:1 Anamorphic widescreen transfer on this disc at first. During the scenes in the Romulan senate chamber there looked to be a little grain and compression evident, but that perception changed rapidly. The film is dark, due to a variety of factors, not the least of which is the fact that the Enterprise is fighting a race raised on the dark side of a moon, but the fine detail looks excellent. There isn't any noise and few blemishes, and the colors come through with a great vibrancy.

Audio:
Clear, deep, enveloping and resonant. There is nothing more I can say about the excellent audio tracks included on this DVD. I primarily listened to the dts track, which was wonderful, but the 5.1 Dolby Digital track was no slouch either. I give a slight edge to the dts track because it sounded cleaner, but there were few differences that I noticed.

Extras:
Paramount has been going all-out on these new Collector's Edition DVDs for the Star Trek films and "Nemesis" is no exception. On the first disc we're treated to two audio commentaries, the first by the film's director Stuart Baird. Baird leaves a lot of empty spaces in his commentary and speaks lazily. But the information he speaks of, on editing choices and how to film, in addition to character motivations. Unfortunately it devolves into a lot of explaining of what's on the screen.

Producer Rick Berman also sits in for a track and talks about casting and putting the film together. He, too, leaves a lot of space for the audience to watch the film and not hear his thoughts. If the two had been in a room together, we might have had just one great track instead of two that are mediocre.

If you've ever read any of my "Enterprise" DVD reviews, you know how much I love the Text commentaries by Michael and Denise Okuda. And one is included here, throwing out tons of in-universe and behind the scenes information on the actors and production. If you are only going to use one track, this would be the one I recommend for fans.

The second disc is dedicated to extra features alone. I should also take this chance to mention the very nifty animated menus that are included on this disc. A nice bonus.

The first category is "Production." An austere title, this section is dedicated to behind the scenes information. "Nemesis: Revisited" is a twenty five minute documentary that mixes behind the scenes shots and retrospective interviews with Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, et al. Writer John Logan, who is a real "Star Trek" fan, also joins the Revisited documentary. It would have been great to hear more from him, because he seems like he really cares about the material. This is an excellent documentary, as DVD extras go.

"New Frontiers: Stuart Baird on Directing Star Trek" is a feature that looks at the director. As bored as he sounds talking about the movie, it's obvious he has a passion for making good movies.

There is also a short three-minute featurette with Tom Southwell, the storyboard artist on the film that talks about the stopgap between script and shooting, helping to design the look of "Nemesis." The feature takes the time to contrast the storyboards and the final product.

"Build and Rebuild" is a quick montage of the creation of the magnificent sets that make up "Nemesis." I mentioned in the review how much I liked the design, and it's great to get a chance to hear from the designer.

And one of the sillier scenes in the film, the dune buggy chase, is recounted in documentary form. "Four Wheeling in the Final Frontier" talks to Rich Minga, the stunt coordinator, and Donald Woodruff, the art director as they create the vehicles used in the extravaganza.

The final extra under the Production category is the screen test for Tom Hardy as Shinzon, leader of the Remans. He plays opposite Patrick Stewart.

The second section is titled "Star Trek Universe." "A Star Trek Family's Final Journey" treats this film as the final episode in The Next Generation's, and explores the familial dynamic of the cast.

"A Bold Vision of the Final Frontier" talks about the design of the Scimitar, the bad-ass Reman battle cruiser. There is a similar design discussion for "The Enterprise E."

The third section features "The Romulan Empire." It's broken down into a retrospective exploration of who the Romulans are, who the Remans are, and why Shinzon is so bitter toward the world. The next feature looks at the designs of the Romulan homeworld, one which I don't know has ever been seen before in the Star Trek Universe. The designs are beautiful, on a tangential note. Similar breakdowns are completed for the Romulan Senate chambers and the ship for the film's antagonists, the Scimitar.

There are also a section of deleted scenes from the film that discuss omissions and seeming mistakes in the film. The initial cut of the movie was about 45 minutes longer than the final theatrical cut, and Rick Berman explains some of the omissions, including the return of Wesley Crusher. Some of the scenes are introduced by members of the cast and crew, giving them some great perspective. The quality of the scenes is generally rough, looks like they came from video and had no processing.

The second-to-last section is entitled "Archives," which is a selection of still photographs of props, production photos, and storyboards.

The final section is dedicated to the teaser and theatrical trailers, plus an advertisement for the "Borg Invasion" in Vegas.

Film Value:
"Star Trek: Nemesis" is different from just about any Trek film that has come before it. A great antagonist, a clear protagonist, great design, and a story that is epic yet contained in tight quarters all combines to make a pretty decent film.