Star Trek : Générations

I always loved this movie. From the very first time I saw it, at the age of 10, I absolutely adored it. It took a big risk, admittedly, in bringing the Original Series and TNG together, but I believe it did it extremely well and with a lot of ingenuity.

The first part of the movie seems to pick up where "The Undiscovered Country" left off; and it does so on a somewhat sour note. Retirement does not sit at all well with Captain Kirk, and he hates the idea of being a "legend" and having the namesake of his beloved ship run by a bunch of inexperienced kids and a skeleton crew (the running "tuesday" gag is hilarious). I think Walter Koenig and James Doohan were marvellous in the first part of this movie, and the scene where they arrive on deck 15 and find themselves staring into the void of space is chilling.

After this, it picks up with the Next Generation Crew, and boy, does the camera love the Enterprise D. It's emotional to see the crew going through the changes this movie throws at them, and by the time Geordi's kidnapped and Data's emotions are uncontrollable, my heart was in my throat.

It's also a pleasure to see Whoopi Goldberg reprise her role as Guinan, and as far as humor goes, Data's newfound sense of humor had me on the floor.

I LOVED Picard and Kirk's interactions and the segment in Kirk's cabin is an absolute hoot. (Picard: "This is not your bedroom.") Soran is a great villain, truly ruthless and threatening. Out of all the Next Gen films, this is probably my favorite. It has an atmosphere about it that's very appealing to me, and the only other TNG film that had the same feeling was Nemesis, which I still maintain was a DAMN good movie.

(Credit IMDb) In the late twenty-third century, the gala maiden voyage of the third Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) boasts such luminaries as Pavel Chekov, Montgomery Scott, and the legendary Captain James T. Kirk as guests. But the maiden voyage turns to disaster as the unprepared ship is forced to rescue two transport ships from a mysterious energy ribbon. The Enterprise manages to save a handful of he ships' passengers and barely makes it out intact...but at the cost of Captain Kirk's life. Seventy-eight years later, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soren...who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soren's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years...

I find this to be very underrated among Star Trek goers. I mean, how cool is it to see the two greatest Star Trek characters in history Shatner's Kirk and Stewart's Picard team up to face evil adversity. It was a real treat to watch. I'm well aware Patrick Stewart had already started Trek previously before this with the TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it was still cool. I also thought the opening tribute to Kirk was well-done, and neat to see, considering he did so much for keeping Star Trek alive. This movie also benefits from one of the most underrated madman's of cinema Malcolm McDowell playing crazy like only he can, going up against the two memorable Star Trek icons. The finale is intense, emotional, and in my opinion a fitting send off for Kirk.

Performances. William Shatner is not the star, his screen time is precious, but his bravery to take this part and putting his ego aside is clearly refreshing. He is still charismatic, and iconic as ever. Patrick Stewart's intensity knows no bounds, and he was the perfect choice to take over in the movies. I love the guy. Malcolm McDowell is a great foe for Stewart, and I was glued to the screen every time he was on it. Not many people can play a madman like him. Jonathan Frakes is likable, and enjoyable to watch as Riker. Rest of the cast does fine.

Bottom line. This is an entertaining entry to the Star Trek saga, and many people underrate it as far as I'm concerned. It ranks among my favorites in the series. Recommended

7/10

The picture is a crossover between the classic Star Trek with New Generations , they are incarnated by the usual sagas , as Captain James T. Kirk (Shatner) , Scotty (recently deceased James Doohan) , Chekov (Walter Koenig) and even a Sulu's daughter(Kim), they are reunited with the new crew from USS-17o1 , as captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) , Data (Brent Spiner), Worf (Michael Dorn) , Laforge (LeVar Burton) , Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Dr Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) , plus an uncredited Woopi Goldberg in a brief apparition . The film focuses captain Picard who must confront a villain megalomaniac scientific (Malcom McDowell) who has an only objective to get a bizarre , weird entity : ¨Nexus¨ which heads a relentless rout , besides he is taking on nasty Klingons (Brian Thompson) . He travels time and manages to hook up with Captain Kirk , both of whom team up and battle against the nefarious enemy . As always , the comic relief results to be the commander android Data , this time , he attains an emotional chip experimenting human feeling .

Idealism , humor , humanity , several agreeable characters and trademark effects abound and will please the enthusiasts and the neophytes . The writing is concentrated upon characters as well as the action and magnificent special effects by ILM (courtesy George Lucas) and a spectacular production design . Atmospheric and sensational music by Dennis McCarthy , habitual of TV episodes . Colorful cinematography by the classic cameraman John A. Alonzo . The motion picture was well directed by David Carson . The movie was made in the typical professional manner of the franchise and in the nostalgic mode of its predecessors . Yarn will appeal to hardcore trekkers as well as the initiated.

The crew of the Starship Enterprise have a major dilemma on their hands when a scientist named Soran (Malcolm McDowell), whom they'd once saved from his doomed home planet, reveals himself to be a very bad guy. He's hellbent on returning to something called the Nexus, a domain where, once a person has been there, they apparently don't want to leave. It's just pure joy. To stop Soran, Captain Picard (the great Sir Patrick Stewart) must team with the legendary Captain Kirk (the almighty William Shatner), who supposedly perished saving the "Enterprise-B" during its maiden voyage.

"Generations" initially comes off as a great gimmick, of uniting two generations of Enterprise crews, but this never really pays off, as the only two who meet are Picard and Kirk. "Generations" is NOT one of the stronger entries in this film series, with an engaging but uninspired story. The main attraction for veteran fans is likely to be the prospect of Picard and Kirk teaming up for the final half hour, engaging in fisticuffs with the maniacal Soran and hurrying to prevent him from destroying a star.

This viewer can't speak as one who has necessarily been a big Trek fan from the start, so he basically views this as pretty fun, all things considered. Certainly all the series regulars are in very fine form, with the android Data (Brent Spiner) getting the lions' share of the comedy relief, as he has inserted a special computer chip that allows him to experience emotions. This presents a problem at times, because either *everything* is amusing to him, or he gets scared easily.

It's nice to see old hands James Doohan and Walter Koenig, however briefly; Shatner brings the final part of the film to life. Not such an easy task, given the talents of Stewart (Picard has some key emotional moments) and the delicious, hammy villainy of McDowell. In addition to the regulars from the 'Next Generation' series, other familiar faces like Alan Ruck, Jacqueline Kim, Jenette Goldstein, Glenn Morshower, Tim Russ, and Brian Thompson turn up. An unbilled Whoopi Goldberg reprises her role of Guinan.

Wonderful music by Dennis McCarthy and some impressive visual effects by ILM help to make this a reasonably entertaining series entry.

Seven out of 10.

When I originally saw this film in 1994 when I was 13 years old, I was distinctly underwhelmed but having re-watched this for the first time in over 20 years, I appreciate this film a lot more. Even though Star Trek will always work better as a TV Series, this is actually a very good film and I'll explain why below.

Originally I wasn't too fussed on the film because I was an avid Trekkie who had loved 'The Undiscovered Country', had been a huge fan of the TNG series and remembered that Scotty said in Relics that "I'll bet Jim Kirk himself hauled the old gal outta mothballs" and thus the film had what I considered a major plot hole as a result of Kirk dying. Now that I'm considerably wiser and no longer a virgin/13 years old, this minor plot inconsistency really doesn't matter to me. ;-)

Whilst the special effects are a bit rushed/cheap in places (re- using 'The Undiscovered Country' and TV Series effects), it stands up fairly well for a 20+ year old film on a limited budget (particularly compared to the new films). Anyway, special effects can sometimes get in the way of a good script or even negatively affect a film...as they did with 'Into Darkness'.

Generations has some stand out moments. I was quite touched by how lonely Picard and Kirk were despite the fact that they had extraordinary lives with excitement and variety that most of us could only dream about. And yet, Picard mourning the death of his family and the family he never had, really touched me...in a way that it didn't 21 years ago. Behind that extremely intelligent and reserved character, was a real, nuanced human being with regrets, dreams and hopes that were never quite realised. When people say this is out of character for Picard, it's obvious that the events in TNG Episode 'The Inner Light' really touched him on a personal level and made him reconsider how important family was. Kirk too, seemed to have heartache in his life and how his decisions/Starfleet ruined any chance of a normal existence. It was sad and compelling to watch and something I never really noticed when I was 13.

In fact, the writing by Braga and Moore is very good in the Nexus part whilst the acting by Patrick Stewart and William Shatner made this even more believable/tangible.

Moreover, there are humorous elements to the film - Data and the tiny life forms speech made my girlfriend laugh out loud several times - in fact, we watched it 4 times! Thus, it's not all sad. :-) And to me, that's the mark of a good film.

Soran, played by Malcolm McDowell, hams it up but is a good character. It was also nice to see Chekov and Scotty one last time. Seeing Kirk, Chekov & Scotty on the bridge and how out of place they were was a nice touch and well-acted.

Obviously the rest of the cast probably weren't utilised as much as they should have been but that's only a small negative.

Try to watch this with an open mind and maybe you'll appreciate Generations a lot more than you did previously. I know I did. :-)