Star Trek Generations (1994)

 

Even though 'The Undiscovered Country' was a very nice sendoff to the original crew, this one serves as a fun segue for the next generation. 

Literally: this is the way how they introduce the cast and crew of 'The Next Generation' in the continuity, even if the series had already been established at this point. 

What you get is a highly entertaining film that does struggle a little with its story, as a lot is thrown at the viewer and the actual plot and devices contained herein are a little convoluted, but let's not kid ourselves: this is one of the reasons why we like 'Star Trek' anyway. 

We start off with part of the old school, as a new Enterprise is sent on a short maiden voyage around the solar system. But when they pick up a distress signal from ships stuck in some sort of energy flux, they soon find out that they themselves are getting into trouble. Of course, some technobabble scheme will solve it and Kirk goes down to reprogram certain thingamajigs. But the energy ribbon hits the vessel and Kirk is presumed dead. 

Fast forward 78 years and the new crew of the latest Enterprise is inaugurating mr Worf as the loyal and longstanding crewmember he has been. But not all is well: Picard receives a distressing message and is not feeling well as a result. The ship is called to investigate the Amargosa space observatory, as it has been attacked. They only find Romulans and a scientist called Soran, who is acting rather peculiar. Turns out, Soran was one of the original people saved from the energy ribbon all those years ago, but he has been desperate to return to it. He knows he can't enter via ship, so he is blowing up suns in order to shift the path of the energy ribbon known as The Nexus. He is also in league with the renegade Klingon sisters Lursa and B'Etor. Fans of the series will get this. Non-fans will have no idea who they are or why they're here.

Heck, I don't really know why they're here, except maybe to get their comeuppance. It feels forced, though. 

Lots of things happen. Yes, that is a rather vague description, but it is most apt: lots of things do happen. Picard is unable to stop Soran from blowing up another sun and is then trapped in The Nexus, which is apparently a place where you only find happiness and time is a non-existant concept. 

Heck, if that is the case, why would anyone ever want to leave?

Oh yes, Soran also killed millions of people on a nearby planet to get his way. Right. 

Picard comes across Kirk, who is oblivious to the fact that he's been in there all this time. Picard convinces him to join forces against Soran and together, they attempt to thwart his firing of a missile, as timetravel is of course a thing. 

In all fairness: this is one of those entries where being a fan of the franchise makes this immensely more enjoyable. These are nearly all of the characters you love to see and a few of the older ones as well. There is also a reason why people like Patrick Stewart are so iconic in the role. The nods and winks are a lot of fun and the comic relief (as in: Data) works well... if you know how the character works. Malcolm McDowell is a nice foe and he plays it with conviction, but it is rather heavy on the 'one man will do anything to get his way' and in all fairness: it is quite convoluted, to say the least. But hey, that final showdown between the two captains and Soran is one for the ages and a gloriously beautiful sendoff of Kirk. 

Honestly, I always get a bit misty at that point. 

But all that also makes this a little hard to digest if you're not invested in the source material. You will have no idea who most of the characters are or why they behave the way they do. The story is on the thin side and The Nexus is one of those devices that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You will have to engage your suspension of disbelief quite a long way. Also, the story skips and jumps rather erratically at times, which could work as an episode of the series, but as a standalone film, it does feel forced at times. 

In the end, this is more a film by fans for the fans. In that respect, this is one massively awesome endeavour. But as a film in its own right, it does fall a little short of being excellent. It is highly entertaining, but you need to know quite a bit about the series if you want to fully appreciate and enjoy it.