9 out of 10
 

The crew of the USS Enterprise is reunited for one of the happiest occasion in any universe or alternate dimension: Commander William Riker and Counsellor Deanna Troi are to finally get married. The movie opens with Patrick Stewart, reprising his role as Captain Picard, making a toast to the soon-to-be newly weds at an engagement party. Shortly thereafter sensors pick up some positronic signals, which only androids such as Lt. Commander Data would possess. Data, Picard and Worf lead an away mission to retrieve the pieces of another Data prototype. Captain Picard gets to have some fun on a new vehicle, a dune buggy of sorts. The captain gets a communiqué from Star fleet. Janeway, the former captain of the USS Voyager, now an Admiral, orders the Enterprise to the Romulan Empire’s home world of Romulus. The Romulan Empire is comprised primarily of Romulans, the ruling caste, and Remans, who inhabit the other planet in the twin star system, and who are a worker caste. The Remans have overthrown the Imperial Senate, and the new Praetor, Shinzon, wishes to discuss peace with the federation. It is revealed that Shinzon and his Remans do not wish peace, but instead wish to use a terrible biological weapon to strike at Earth and crush the United Federation of Planets. Picard must stop his nemesis and prevent a catastrophe.

This happens to be the best Star Trek movie in quite a long time. It reminds me of the fan favourite Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Picard finally gets his own Khan. A foe from the past that wishes the Captain pain and suffering to repay him for a past wrong. There is plenty of action. A good old fashioned phaser fight as Data rescues his friend and Captain from the clutches of the Praetor, a dune buggy chase sequence in a desert, and perhaps the best space battle in recent star trek history. Shinzon’s ship is a behemoth with several times the firepower than the Enterprise. The development in terms of character depth of Shinzon as Picard’s nemesis is well thought out in both dialogue and the portrayal by the actor.

Although the script has a more serious tone than previous films, there is always room for humour, it is not over the top, and it is very appropriate. There is one point where Worf is protesting Betazed wedding customs, which require everyone to be naked for the ceremony. The DVD also has deleted scenes, which add an extra depth to the storyline. The music as always is quite spectacular. The storyline has a few turns and surprises, and the underlying themes of friendship, and Data’s quest for self-discovery is also apparent. The last few movies could have been long TV episodes; this one had the feel of a movie. The end actually brought me to tears, Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart are two of the best Trek actors, and Spiner even co-wrote the script. The one flaw I can see is it is more of a movie for actual trekkies; they do not go into too much explanation or background for the non-trekkies. However, it is not enough to take away from the overall feel and flow of the movie.