Nemesis - press reviews start to roll in

[Tabitha]

First one I have noticed is Harry Knowles' review over on www.aintitcool.com

From the title it is obvious he didn't enjoy it at all. "Star Tedium: Nemesis". I tried to keep mysefl spoiler free by just skimming over the review, from what I can tell it is spoiler light. He has nasty things to say about Worf's treatment, and the make-up. He's not impressed with the casting, and generally seems to think this is a contender for worst trek ever

I am giving it the benefit of the doubt and overall am confident I will be happier with Nemesis than I was with Bond 20.


Anyone seen any other reviews?

 

[ray gower]

Not sure if any review is going to be reliable yet. They seem to be polarised between die hard Trekk worshippers and the professionally unpleasant.

Picked this up from IMDB

The best Next Generation movie!

I have got to say, this is the best Star Trek movie I have seen in years! It is without question the best Next Gen. movie and in the entire history of Trek movies is second only to Wrath of Khan, though this movie does compare favorably to it. Even more, the story parallels Wrath of Khan in certain ways, to good effect. The enemy Picard faces in Shinzon is every bit as personal as Khan was to Kirk, though for a much different reason. The space battle in this movie is just flat out AWESOME! Indeed, the whole story is excellent and enjoyable. The acting is well done(I'm sure these guys can play their roles in their sleep by now!). The effects are wonderful (the idiot critic who says they are bad doesn't realize Romulans are supposed to look that way!).

All I can say is if this is indeed the last of the Next Generation movies, they go out on top!

 

[EmilyH]

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Hmm...I saw it last night, and I didn't think Shinzon was that great of a villain. He wasn't bad, but I don't think he was up there with Khan. Maybe more like the Borg Queen or something. Shinzon probably ranks about the same as Saddam Hussein -- if he is pushed to extremes, & thinks he has nothing to lose, he will destroy everything if he has the ability to do it. Perhaps not a mirror image, as the film suggested, but a distorted view.

I enjoyed the movie for the most part. It was much better than Insurrection, IMHO, & I would rent it on DVD later.

Why is it that the villains in science fiction so often show strong aspects of real-life villains? In Classic Trek, you had the Klingons, who were supposed to be the Russians. The Vulcans & Romulans were supposed to be the Asians. No idea about the other races, but it did tend to reflect what was going on in real life at the time. I think sci-fi is a medium where writers can bring up things in disguise that would be strongly criticized if those same situations came up in reality. Just a thought.

 

[Dave]

Audiences are not voting with their feet...

I don't know why reviewers either love or hate Star Trek. Why can't they watch it, consider it and write a review on what they see? Star Trek isn't like a Bond movie, where you know the formulae already, each one is a different story, and some work better than others.

It looks like audiences aren't going out to watch Nemesis though. It does have a great deal of competition though...

SCIFI WIRE -- Nemesis Treks Weakly

Star Trek Nemesis opened in a disappointing second place in the box-office rankings, with only about $18.8 million for the three-day period beginning Dec. 13, the Hollywood trade papers reported. Paramount had hoped for at least $20 million for the 10th Trek movie's first weekend. Nemesis reportedly cost about $60 million to produce.

By contrast, the last Trek movie, Star Trek: Insurrection, opened to $22.1 million in December 1998, and Star Trek: First Contact launched with $30.7 million in November 1996.

Meanwhile, The Hot Chick premiered with an estimated $7.5 million, tying for fourth place with the James Bond movie Die Another Day, the trades reported.

Here is someone who likes it (from Bureau 42)

I can't find any more recent reviews, it seems that most other reviewers read the script, didn't like it, and left it at that. Despite his denials, this does contain spoilers that I hadn't heard before:

Summary
After the Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan planet of Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a truce, the Federation soon find out the Romulans are planning an attack on Earth.

Review
So, here we are my friends. Four years. Four painfully long years. The critics have trashed it and (gag) "Maid in Manhattan" beat it at the box office. So what's the real scoop?

Simply put: It's a great Star Trek movie. In short, the first half of the movie pushes it down, where the last half is absolutely awesome (sound like another Sci-Fi flick of 2002?).

The reviewer at MSNBC accused it of having "a case of the cutes." I only saw that in the opening sequence, the Riker-Troi wedding. And even then it's not that bad. We're getting to see some old friends for the first time in four years. We're allowed a little schmaltz.

Now, I'm not going to defend the movie from all of the negative reviews it has received. That's disingenuous to you all. John Logan is obviously a Star Trek fan, perhaps too much a fan. There are way too many places where he's done an homage (that's Hollywood-speak for ripping off) almost every Trek film that's been made before Nemesis. To be fair, that may not be his sole doing, since Spiner and Berman also get writing credits.

High Point
Personally it was when the Enterprise makes a run straight at the Scimitar. My wife turned to me and said, "Playing chicken?" and I reply "Not...exactly." Bless her for not paying any attention to the commercials that showed the sequence over and over and over...

The entire battle sequence at the end was just awesome. If you thought the one in Star Trek II was something, just hang on to your seat for this one.

Low Point
It's not so much a spoiler, since every freaking preview shows it: Data's flying leap from the Enterprise to the Scimitar was just too freaking cheesy. I almost closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch it.

The Scores
Originality: It's a mixed bag here. Some stuff is new, with some topical bits about cloning thrown into the mix. 4

Effects: Damn! I mean, daaaaamn! From the first establishing shot of Romulus to the final battle, the details are awesome. One thing I've always liked about Star Trek is its attention to the smooth, simple beauty of space and its starships. 6

Story: A little too easy to guess what would happen next. 4

Acting: Stewart is king! Whether he's tooling about the desert or having a heart-to-heart with his friends, he's probably the most gifted actor to grace the name Star Trek. 5

Emotional Response: There's a piece at the end that left me moved, I won't say what it is, but if you've read any of the leaked material, you know what I'm talking about. All in all it was great to see a group of favorites together again. 5

Production: Every set is stunning in it's realism and detail from the Romulan Senate to the interiors of the Scimitar. 6

Overall: Star Trek fans I have but one thing to say to you: It's an even numbered film. Go on and enjoy! 5

Total: 35 out of 42