Star Trek: Nemesis (Spoilerific Review)

It's been quite a while since I've written about any movies, so I figured I'd do a proper review for an underappreciated, if flawed, film I just rewatched: Star Trek: Nemesis. Releasing without much fanfare in late 2002, Nemesis arrived rather unexpectedly as the swan song for not only The Next Generation film series but for classic Trek in general. Sadly, in fact, it may have been the last true Star Trek movie we will ever see.

I've got a knife. A big, shiny knife.

Opening with a gruesome extermination of the entire Romulan Senate, Nemesis sets its dark tone early. You know right away the bad guys here mean business, and Picard and friends are in for an unprecedented ordeal. Moving through some mostly well-played humor, we learn that Riker and Troi are about to get married and that Riker is finally about to assume command of his own ship, the Titan. So, unless they yank that out from under us by movie's end, the crew will be splitting up. This really is the end.

It's not long before the crew detects strange readings on a planet just outside the Romulan Neutral Zone. Readings that indicate an android. An android like Data. Not far from where all those big-time Romulans were just assassinated. Hmm, something's afoot.

Beastly.

After recovering the dismembered android, a Data doppelganger, Picard and co. receive orders from Admiral Janeway (how wrong is it that Picard's taking orders from that dolt??) to hightail it to Romulus to play nice with the new Reman in charge. Yes, a Reman in charge of Romulus. Might this have something to do with that grisly opening scene?

First meeting with Shadowy Reman's beastly warship, the Scimitar, Picard and friends beam down to the planet to have their first creepy encounter with Shadowy Reman himself, some bald weirdo named Shinzon. Except he's actually human. And knows everything about the Enterprise crew, especially Picard. And is a CLONE of Picard. Whoa! Also, he likes to creep on Troi.

Can I touch your hair? And wear it as a wig?

After some phony offers of friendship, empty promises of peace, and telepathic Troi rapin', Shinzon abducts Picard to steal some juicy Picard blood, which Shinzie apparently needs to survive. Then he's gonna wipe out Earth and stuff with that green bioweapon he nullified the Romulan Senate with at the beginning. Not good. The Romulans pissed him off so much by forcing him into slave labor as a kid that he's gonna get them back by using his super-deadly weapon to wipe out...Earth? Hmm...

This all culminates in a slam-bang finale involving the Enterprise, the Scimitar, two Romulan warbirds, fancy green space gases, a flying Data, a vengeful Troi telepathically raping her telepathic raper('s helper) back, a creepy impalement (and creepier aftermath), and a heavy loss for Next Gen-ers. It's really quite the spectacle.

Now, I'll admit that I was a little disappointed with Nemesis when it first came out. It's not quite the sendoff that The Undiscovered Country was for the original crew, and it does have its problems. It seems like a pretty big stretch for Shinzon to be going after Earth when it's the Romulans he has a real beef with. I get that he doesn't like living in Picard's shadow and needs a full blood transfusion from him, but his plan to use the Romulans after luring Picard there (for what, exactly?) and to take out the Federation--which necessitates taking out Earth--all feels a bit convoluted. Cheesy moments manage to find their way into the proceedings (I'm looking at you, scene where Shinzon's viceroy takes a Palpatine-like plunge down a shaft somewhere in the bowels of the Enterprise). And the Remans suffer from a seriously bad case of Stormtrooper Syndrome throughout the entire movie.

Best to focus on Shinzon, Jean-Luc. They can't hit you.

For all its flaws, though, Nemesis does deliver. I always loved the underlying philosophical question it poses: how different of a person would you be if you were raised under different circumstances? To what degree is your life shaped by forces out of your control? It's something I've thought about a lot, and I still haven't come up with a good answer. Picard doesn't have a good answer in the film either, and he's clearly bothered by the thought that he could've turned out like Shinzon if he had been slave laborized. Data has some interesting input on the matter, as he relates it to his own contrast with his clueless android buddy, B4. Data and Picard endeavor to be more than they are; they strive to improve themselves. Shinzie and B4 don't. However differently their circumstances might be pushing them, that's the distinction. I confess that's a bit simplistic for my liking. It doesn't take into account the prospect that self-improvement is a luxury for the successful; if your potential is nurtured by favorable circumstances, you can reach it and keep going. But if unfavorable circumstances consistently block you from reaching your potential, how can you improve yourself? It's not quite so easy. At what point, though, does bad luck become an excuse to do bad things? I don't think there's a good answer, and while I'm intrigued by Data's, I did feel like it was a hasty attempt to brush the issue aside so we could move on to the lengthy final action sequence. I wish they would've delved into the question a little more.

Largely because of that question, though, Shinzon is a good villain. It's always interesting to see a corrupted, shadowy reflection of the hero, gazing through the proverbial glass darkly. Here's a dude with the exact-same genetic material as Picard, who at times has had the exact-same thoughts and dreams as Picard, and he's about to wipe out an entire planet (for starters). Under the right (wrong) circumstances, could Picard have ever reached a point where he would do such a thing? Picard himself isn't sure, and it haunts him throughout the film. He feels sorry for Shinzon and wants desperately to help him, but he can't. The toll this takes on Picard is abundantly clear when he drives a metal rod through Shinzon's stomach and watches him die inches away from his face. Picard stares ahead, motionless, frozen, as the bioweapon's firing sequence nears the end of its countdown. That, along with Data's timely arrival and wordless goodbye to Picard, plays extremely well. I've felt the impact more with each viewing.

Well, the memory download didn't work.
I think I'll just try stabbing you in the neck.

And let's talk about Data. Nemesis does a fine job of showcasing why he's such a great character. Without a second thought, he does everything possible to help B4, including sharing all of his memories with him. Without a second thought, he sacrifices himself to save Picard and the rest of the Enterprise crew. In fact, he disobeys Picard's direct order to remain on the Enterprise, without any hesitation, to ensure that he's the one to go down with the Scimitar in the process of destroying the bioweapon and that Picard can make it back safely. Now that's a stand-up guy.

Like Spock before him, Data is a character who is mentally and physically superior to humans. He's in a position that gives him every reason to look down on humans. But he doesn't. He's fascinated by them. Wants to feel their emotions. Wants to learn everything about them. Wants to actually become more like them. And, in the end, he dies for them without hope or expectation of anything in return. I can't begin to express how refreshing it is to see a higher-than-human character who focuses on the better parts of humanity, strives to understand what it is that makes them human, and celebrates their unique nature. This is infinitely more appealing than a higher-than-human character who expresses disgust for humanity, condemns them for their nature, and expects unconditional worship and obedience from them...but that's a topic for another day. In short, Data is awesome.

No worries, Captain. I got this.

When I first saw Nemesis, I thought Data's death was too abrupt and the aftermath was too rushed. I felt like there wasn't enough time to really feel the impact. But after subsequent viewings, I really appreciate the brevity with which it's handled. For long-time fans, there's no need to pound us over the head with how big a loss this is. It's huge. And the silent moments say more than any words could. Riker unwittingly demonstrates this when he tries to cheer everyone up with a funny story about his first meeting with Data. Data had been making a hilarious attempt to whistle a song, but Riker can't quite remember what the song was. This is an excellent illustration of how the crew members are fumbling to deal with the loss of their friend, struggling to find the right words and fighting to piece together the memories they suddenly have to rely on. This is also helped by B4's unexpected singing of Data's song from the beginning and Picard's subsequent smiling walk down the hallway. His friend's memories will indeed live on.

There were plenty of little touches I appreciated in the film, as well. The well-played humor. Shinzon's taunting of Picard during the final battle ("You're too slow, old man."). Picard telling Data to shut up during his toast. Mike Novick from 24 as a Romulan who gets uppity with Shinzon. The dark, sinister, foreboding quality of every shot on Romulus (I especially loved the POV shot of the Romulan chick peeking back through the senate chamber gate when Shinzon was having one of his episodes). It's good stuff, and the film didn't get nearly enough credit for it.

Though I didn't think so at first, Nemesis is a worthy goodbye to The Next Generation crew and a solid film in general. It has a few problems, but the good far outweighs the bad. If you weren't wowed by it the first time around, I encourage you to give it another shot. Come at it with a fresh set of eyes. In this age of mindless popcorn Trek, Nemesis is the last piece of classic Trek we'll be seeing for a long, long time (possibly forever). Like Data, its memory is strong enough to live on. So make it so.