STAR TREK: GENERATIONS. Directed by David Carson; written by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga; produced by Rick Berman for Paramount. Starring Patrick Stewart and William Shatner. Rated PG.
More reviews by —
TITLE:
RATING:
Let's face it. This could be the most useless review I've ever written. I mean, if you're a Trekkie, and I said this movie was horrible, you'd still have to see it, right? And if you're one of those people who have never been able to understand the Star Trek fuss, and I said it was a masterpiece, you still probably wouldn't want to see it, right?
Well, it's neither horrible nor a masterpiece. And I'm going to tell you what I think about it anyway, whether it makes any difference to you or not, so there!
As a devoted, though not terribly fanatical, Trekkie of long standing, I was looking forward to this movie, hoping it would be as good as the best of the series. But, unfortunately, it falls somewhere in the middle. (It's certainly not as bad as the worst, though, which is a blessing.)
The much-hyped meeting of the old Enterprise Captain Kirk (Shatner) and the new Captain Picard (Stewart) does occur, and the two unite to save the universe (or a small part of it, anyway). But the relationship itself doesn't set the screen on fire.
Their two personalities are so different, they can't really become friends. The meeting has enormous symbolic importance for Trekkies, but heavy symbolism doesn't usually make for entertaining cinema. And that's certainly the case here.
Star Trek: Generations is blessed with a good villain, however. He's Malcolm MacDowell as an obsessive who thinks nothing of wiping out a few hundred million people to get what he wants. One of the story's problems, though, is that he doesn't get to rant and rave enough. He should have been set up better, if he's to be the villain it takes two Enterprise captains to defeat.
A few supporting cast members from both old and new Star Treks make appearances. But Whoopie Goldberg as the mysterious Guinan is the only one who has much to do with the main story. Brent Spiner steals the show, as he often does on the small screen, too, as the android Data. His problems with a newly installed "emotion chip" are both funny and touching; but they don't really connect with the Captains' story.
The special effects are pretty impressive for the most part (although there does seem to be entirely too much footage of people being thrown about the bridge of the Enterprise during space battles—can't those crewmen be buckled in?!). But effects aren't the main attraction for true Star Trek fans—the story is. And the story here is OK, but not as good as it should have been.
January 4, 1995
I have written reviews of these other Star Trek movies: