STAR TREK: GENERATIONS
A film review by Jeffrey Graebner
Copyright 1994 Jeffrey Graebner
Over the past 27 years, "Star Trek" has grown into a phenomenon that is essentially unmatched in the entertainment world. Gene Roddenberry's original idea has now spawned four TV series (with a fifth starting next year) and seven theatrical motion pictures. There are also numerous books and other merchandising. All of this history makes STAR TREK: GENERATIONS a tricky film to review. It needs to be discussed in terms of its own merits as a film while also looking at how it fits into the entire "Star Trek" universe.
This seventh film in the series is the first to feature the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" lead by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). From the original "Star Trek" (and the six previous films), Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) has a supporting role while Scotty (James Doohan) and Chekov (Walter Koenig) make cameo appearances early in the film. All of the "Next Generation" cast members that were still with the show at the end of its seven-season run appear in the film.
The principal villain in the film is Soran (Malcolm McDowell) a madman who is struggling to return to the mysterious "Nexus," a place where fantasies become reality. The entrance is a strange "ribbon" that travels through space. Attempts to fly a ship into the Nexus simply result in the ship being destroyed. Soran's plan is to alter the course of the ribbon to allow him to jump into it from the surface of a planet. This is accomplished by causing stars to collapse thus generating gravitational fields that will require the ribbon to change its course. Picard and his crew discover his plan and must stop him before he wipes out an entire civilization.
This plot is rather ridiculous, but the biggest problem is that it is also the most confusing plot that has yet been used in a "Star Trek" movie. In addition, there are several secondary subplots going on. The film would have been helped a great deal if the script had been simplified. The screenplay is by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga from a story by Moore, Braga and producer Rick Berman. All three came directly from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the film includes some of the same weaknesses that plagued the last few seasons of that series.
The single biggest problem that has been inherited from the series is the cheat of solving problems by having the characters using invented technical jargon and unexplained gadgets. The earlier movies did all use a lot of invented science, but it was always *explained* in clear terms within the world of the film. It was always clear what the equipment or terms were and what they would do. That isn't true during many parts of STAR TREK: GENERATIONS. Even the central phenomenon of the "Nexus" is never particularly well explained.
The script also suffers from a lack of focus. The movie includes several subplots that are not really that closely tied into the main plot. The most notable of these involves the android Data (Brent Spiner) adjustment to a new chip that allows him to experience emotions. This subplot provides some of the film's best scenes (and much of its comic relief) as well as the most significant character development. The writers never quite manage to tie it in with the rest of the film, though. This subplot is very good, but it seems to be coming from a different movie.
A subplot involving the Duras sisters, a pair of renegate Klingons who were originally introduced on the TV series, is integrated a little better. It was kind of a shame that they insisted on including villainous Klingons in this film. They could have easily been replaced by Romulans or some other Federation enemy without undermining the fact that one of the biggest differences between the original series and "The Next Generation" is the fact that Klingons are now *allies* of the Federation. The only hint of this fact in the film is the presense of Worf (Michael Dorn) on the Enterprise bridge crew.
Despite the film's script problems, there are some aspects of the film that are *extremely* good. The film's biggest asset is a cast who know their characters well and who clearly work well together. The "Next Generation" cast members have built up seven years worth of familiarity and chemistry all of which clearly shines through in the film. Some of the cast members are severely underutilized (particularly Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher, who is barely in the movie), but with the exception of the fourth film (still the best of the series), all of the "Star Trek" movies have tended to concentrate on certain cast members to the exclusion of others. It is very difficult to give a lot of screen time to every member of such a large cast.
Scotty and Chekov make their appearances during the film's opening sequence in which they join Kirk in the dedication of the Enterprise-B (The ship that was decommissioned at the end of STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY was the Enterprise-A while the ship flown by the "Next Generation" cast is the Enterprise-D.) This sequence exists primarily to set up Kirk's entry into the Nexus so he can later emerge in the "Next Generation" time frame. Still, it was a nice touch to include a couple of the other members of the original cast and they do have some good scenes together. It is rather obvious that the scenes were originally written for Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy, though. They even have Chekov helping out in sick bay at one point.
Kirk's presense in the film is clearly intended to ease the transition of the movies from the old cast to the new. I'm not convinced that was entirely necessary (the new cast has had seven TV seasons to build an audience), but the scenes between Kirk and Picard are generally enjoyable. It is nice to see these two characters meeting face to face. Over the years, "Star Trek" fans have spent a lot of time discussing the significant *differences* between Kirk and Picard, but this film actually concentrates more on the *similarities*. The two characters are more alike than one might think. It is a bit unfortunate that none of the scenes of Kirk and Picard together are on the bridge of a Starship. They missed the opportunity to allow some first hand comparisons of the two captains' different ways of commanding a ship.
The technical aspects of the film are competent, but not always spectacular. At times, the TV origins of producer Berman and director David Carson are noticeable. The movie is filmed in Panavision, but the whole frame is rarely used. Industrial Light and Magic has provided some very competent special effects for the film, but only two sequences really allow them to shine. The first is a wonderful scene in a Stellar Cartography room on the Enterprise. This really shows off some of ILM's computer graphics skills. The second great special effects sequence can't be described without giving away a key plot point, but viewers will know it when they see it.
For the score, Dennis McCarthy has a larger orchestra to work with than he did for his TV scores, but it still doesn't sound significantly different. McCarthy's score isn't horrible, but it is rather bland. The "Star Trek" film scores have all had a tough time living up to the tremendous scores that Jerry Goldsmith wrote for the first and fifth films and James Horner wrote for the second and third. Like Leonard Rosenman's score for STAR TREK IV and Cliff Eidelman's score for STAR TREK VI, McCarthy's work simply doesn't stack up. The score lacks a distinctive main theme and McCarthy also repeats Eidelman's mistake of failing to open the film with Alexander Courage's famous fanfare. McCarthy (or possibly Carson) also made the very odd choice of leaving one key fight scene completely unscored. That sequence was *desperately* in need of some music.
While there are some major problems with STAR TREK: GENERATIONS, the film certainly does have enough going for it that it is sure to please even the most casual fans of the series. As a regular viewer of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," it is very difficult for me to say how the film will play for those that are unfamiliar with the TV show. The film doesn't take much time to re-introduce the characters (many long-time "Star Trek" fans were probably somewhat put off by the fact that STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE *did* spend a lot of time re-establishing the characters). The actors all know their characters well, though, and I suspect that even non-fans may be able to catch up.
This is a good first effort for the "Next Generation" cast and crew and it demonstrates that the new cast certainly can carry themselves on the big screen. I look forward to additional films featuring this cast, but I hope that Berman and co. will be smart enough to concentrate on their current TV series and to pass the feature films on to people who are more comfortable with that medium.
There are two key sequences towards the end of STAR TREK: GENERATIONS that need to be discussed, but which cannot be mentioned without giving away key plot points. As a result, I *strongly* suggest that readers who have not yet seen the film stop reading here. The following paragraphs will reveal two major developments that occur in the film:
[SPOILERS]
The destruction of the Enterprise-D provides the film's most spectacular special effects sequence and was also a surprisingly bold move. Even though this isn't the first time that the Enterprise has been destroyed in a Star Trek movie (the original Enterprise was destroyed in STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK), this marks the first time that the ship has actually been destroyed by enemy fire. In the past, the ship has seemed largely indestructible and it was great to see them show that *not* to be the case.
Most importantly, the destruction of the Enterprise-D will allow for the upcoming films to separate themselves more from the TV series. The next movie will have to introduce an all-new ship providing endless new possibilities.
Of course, the other key plot "surprise" is the death of Captain Kirk (although this is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the history of movies). I wasn't really pleased by the way that this was handled. Kirk is certainly the type of character that needs a big heroic death, but this one really wasn't right for him. STAR TREK: GENERATIONS shows Kirk dying on a distant planet in another time to save an unshown race of people. The character really needed to die in defense of *his* ship and *his* crew. This death is very unsatisfying and surprisingly unmoving.
-- Jeffrey P. Graebner Columbus, Ohio
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