MOVIE REVIEW: Star Trek Nemesis (2002)

[CW: sexual assault, terrorism]

The world had changed.

In the wake of the September 11 terrorism attacks, the Patriot Act, the resulting “War on Terror” in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the failure of the World Conference Against Racism 2001 in Durban, it looked like the world of Star Trek was further away than ever to the lay-person. To casual fans with a cynical bent and/or those who understood the minutiae of the Trek timeline, it was right on track. The Star Trek fandom needed their fix of a better future and happily continued to wear their VHS tapes and DVDs out, but Paramount had other plans. The studio believed the Enterprise-E crew had one more movie in them, and it was gonna be a doozy. Thus, Star Trek Nemesis lived up to the hype…in the worst way possible.

[SPOILERS: you’ve been warned.]

On far-off Romulus, home of the paranoid Vulcanoid alien species called Romulans, disaster struck: nearly the entire Romulan Senate was wiped out in an act of biological warfare when a “gene-bomb” (a bomb keyed to specific genetic markers to affect select targets in a blast radius) detonated on the floor of the senate chamber. The planet soon comes under a new autocratic ruler: Shinzon, based on the Romulan moon of Remus. No one knows what he looks like as the dictator is always cloaked in shadow. It’s a prime time for the Enterprise-E to make a show of force to keep the peace, as so ordered by Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew, Roots: the Gift [1988], “Orange is the New Black” [TV-HBO]). Picard and crew redirect the Enterprise-E honeymoon cruise for Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes, “Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman” [TV-ABC]) and Troi (Marina Sirtis, The Grudge 3 [2009], Death Wish 3 [1985]) to follow the plan, but are waylaid by a positronic signature coming from the 3rd planet in the Kolarin system — what should be a barren planet in the Romulan Neutral Zone. To find the source, Picard (Patrick Stewart, “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” [VG]), Data (Brent Spiner, I am Sam [2001]) and Worf (Michael Dorn, “CHiPS” [TV-NBC]) take a shuttlecraft down. To cover even more ground, they go out in…a dune buggy. Fighting past belligerent alien raiders, the trio find the source: a vault that contains another Soong-type android in parts. Once they return to the Enterprise-E, they re-assemble the android and learn its name: B4 (also played by Brent Spiner).

As Data tries to learn more from his android brother B4 — who seems to be operating at the level of a surprisingly well-behaved toddler — Picard, Troi and others meet with Shinzon (Tom Hardy, Layer Cake [2004], Venom [2018]) on Remus. There they realize that the dictator of Romulus looks like the spitting image of a young Picard; that’s because he is a discarded clone of Picard from a failed Romulan plot. Shinzon took his revenge on the Romulans for abandoning him (instead of killing him), and now seeks to expand his rule with help from the native Remans aliens, led by the Viceroy (Ron Perlman, Quest for Fire [1981], Hellboy [2004]). The clone has also been trained in the psychic arts by the Remans, meaning he presents a clear danger to all psionic species such as Vulcans (like Spock) and Betazoids (like Troi). He plans on using a modified version of the gene bomb on every planet in the Federation, so the Enterprise-E once again comes to the rescue and succeeds…but at a cost that would shake our beloved crew to the core.

So right off the bat this movie — assumed to be the last Trek movie at the time — was seen as not good. I’ll admit the introduction of a Reman plot that we knew nothing about (and not something from recurring Romulan villain Sela) was completely from left field and a nice touch. It can’t all be references to the show. Tom Hardy does an amazing Jean-Luc Picard impression while exuding imperial energy, even as his unstable genetics crumble with ever-increasing popping veins and clammy pale skin. He would have made an excellent Ming the Merciless with stronger eyebrows. The Janeway cameo nearly sent me through the roof, as I am a big fan of the UPN “Star Trek Voyager” TV series and watched all 7 seasons; words cannot describe how great it was to see her get the recognition for defeating the Borg in her lifetime and all the Delta quadrant achievements. What I do have words for is the movie’s failures.

Shinzon”s mental rape of Counselor Troi was used as a catalyst to push our male heroes into action outside of normal channels, straight out of the . What makes this particular element of the story is not only how this was coded as a psychic sexual assault, this is the second time this has happened to Troi (in “Violations”, TNG s5e12), and the writers didn’t seem to really care about what they did or what this would do to this character. Such a decision or lack thereof may have crossed the line for many Trek fans, because it’s so gross in its complete disregard for Troi’s character as a woman and a Starfleet officer. It’s a clear example of fridging her, and should not have been in this film.
Nemesis swings big on B4, the Soong-type android found near the beginning of the film. The name was too whimsical for the story, and he was an emotional lump on a log for the entire film. Making him some sort of sleeper agent for the Remans didn’t make him appealing or interesting in the slightest. Even after Data died, people wanted him back (like Spock in 1984’s The Search for Spock) and many may have assumed that Data copied himself into B4 so Data wasn’t truly dead. Data does return in episodes of the Paramount+ series “Star Trek: Picard”, leading to an ignominious end to one of science fiction’s favorite androids.

With Star Trek Nemesis, many people thought the Trek movies were over and they could go back to watching their TNG home videos. That is until 2009 when J.J. Abrams stepped in and gave us the “Kelvin Timeline”, what could be considered the ultimate Star Trek time travel/alternative dimension story…where nary a goatee would be found.

CHOICE CUTS:

• A dune buggy. Why, when you have a shuttlecraft that’s faster and airborne? To do sick tricks and jumps to keep the more action-oriented audience interested, I suppose. Believe it or not, Patrick Steward did almost all the stunt driving.

• Not only is Star Trek Nemesis is the first Star Trek movie made in the 21st century, it’s the last Star Trek film to get a VHS release.
• The title font Exocet was a popular font in the 1990s to portray edgy style. It was also used for signage in the Hall of Violence in Demolition Man [1993].
• This movie was filmed around the same time “Star Trek Enterprise” [TV-UPN] was on the air.
• CAMEO: Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers [1997], “Beverly Hills 90210” [TV-FOX]) pops up as Donatra, a Romulan commander enamored with Picard’s legend, and she is not disappointed.
• Admiral Janeway would return as a holographic teacher in the animated Trek show “Star Trek Prodigy” [TV-Nickelodeon].

• CAMEOS: Returning for the wedding of Riker and Troi are Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg, Made in America [1993], Monkeybone [2001]) and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton, Stand By Me [1986], Fag Hag [1998]), back from his semester abroad with the Watchers!
• Denise Crosby (Pet Sematery [1988], “The Walking Dead” [TV-AMC]) playing Sela (Tasha Yar’s daughter from another universe) would have been amazing to see play out, but the producers couldn’t figure out how to fit her in.
• Tom Hardy was going through a rough mental patch involving drugs, drink and self-destructive thoughts when he was filming Star Trek Nemesis. While he did his best, he nearly ended his life due to the negative reaction to the film. Eventually he found new work and built the stellar career he has today.