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Full Review
"Star Trek: Nemesis" (Paramount) is another satisfyingly familiar, if predictable, sci-fi adventure for the crew of the Starship Enterprise in the continuing movie series. Director Stuart Baird sticks to the tried and true formulas of the "Star Trek" franchise to deliver a film that goes where every "Star Trek" fan has gone before, but hardly explores any new frontiers.In this installment, the cast and characters of the television series "Star Trek: Next Generation" are reunited to attend the marriage of Officer Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to counselor Troi (Mariana Sirtis). Before the second half of the his-and-hers, dual-planet ceremony can be completed, the Enterprise is dispatched on a diplomatic mission to respond to unusual peace overtures to the Federation from its erstwhile enemies, the Romulans.
Unbeknownst to Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew, the ruling Romulan senate has been assassinated by Remans and their Romulan military collaborators who seek a war with the Federation. Remans come from a sister planet to Romulus that never rotates and so has a perpetually dark side where truly hideous creatures work in slave mines under the thumb of their Romulan masters.
Upon his arrival, Picard is amazed to find that the Romulans are now actually led by Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a near-human clone of Picard himself, who professes to want peace, but is actually plotting with his Reman viceroy (Ron Pearlman) to kidnap Picard, destroy the Enterprise and, ultimately, the Earth with a radiation device that desiccates everything it touches.
Picard is naturally drawn to his younger clone, who symbiotically thinks and feels his every thought and emotion. But Picard's philosophical nature-vs.-nurture debate with his nemesis fails to persuade Shinzon to desist from his evil ways or to aspire to be more like Picard's exemplar.
A subplot involving the discovery of an inferior prototype android clone of Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner) reinforces this theme, provides comic relief and a touch of pathos.
When words fail, the battle is joined and is fought to the death between the rival starships.
As with other "Star Trek" stories, this, too, is a morality play about the forces of good versus evil and the struggle within human (and not-so-human) nature to overcome baser instincts and recognize the higher, nobler purposes of existence in a decidedly multicultural universe.
The message is wrapped in enough battle scenes to satiate the action fan and enough "Trek"-nological conventions to satisfy Trekkies who come just to hear the recognizable dialogue and to watch the transporters, phasers, cloaking devices and mind-meldings. Others, however, may find with this film that the franchise is winding down.
Due to stylized sci-fi violence with grotesque depictions of alien life forms and an implied wedding-night encounter, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rating is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
These movies have been evaluated for artistic merit and moral suitability by the media reviewing division of Catholic News Service. The reviews include the CNS rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
A-I -- general patronage;
A-II -- adults and adolescents;
A-III -- adults;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.
Note: Some movies previously were designated A-IV. Older films with this classification should be regarded as classified L.