Galaxy Quest

Online readers, I did not get a chance to see the new “Star Trek” movie before today, but I might this weekend, although I cannot say for sure. However, I’m not going to leave all of you out in the dust today, so I will talk about a certain “Star Trek” like movie called “Galaxy Quest,” released in 1999.

Whether you love “Star Trek” or laugh at it, you’re about to be in luck, because this comedy called “Galaxy Quest,” a likeable comedy that at the same time manages to parody those popular futuristic space shows and comedy the same aspects that have made them so sturdy.

“Galaxy Quest” repeats one single joke, about a cast of unsuccessful actors from a canceled television series who are recruited by some naïve intergalactic aliens to help them in a problem with a rough, war-loving villain who has annihilated their entire species. If “Galaxy Quest” never achieves consistently unsteady heights as it plays out its combination of knowing satire and heroic adventure, it nevertheless keeps its story firmly in order, gives a few honest laughs, moves fast, if not at warp speed, and our protagonists are a talented cast.

The cast includes Tim Allen as the self-centered Jason Nesmith. To his masses of fans, he is Commander Peter Quincy Taggart, of the famous catchphrase “Never give up; never surrender.” Sigourney Weaver, so granger to fighting with creepy extraterrestrials, plays Gwen DeMarco, known to her fans as Lieutenant Tawny Madison, the delightful communications officer aboard Taggart’s ship, Protector. We also have the late Alan Rickman is Alexander Dane, who sadly remembers that he once played Richard III at a time before he tried out to be casted as the Spock-like mortal Dr. Lazarus.

These actors and Tony Shalhoub and Fred Kwan, alias Teach Sergeant Chen, and Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber, the navigator Lieutenant Laredo, have been reduced to signing autographs at fan shows for $15 per photo and cutting ribbons at supermarket openings when destiny (directed by Dean Parisot from a script written by David Howard and Robert Gordon) interferes.

Lawrence Van Gelder stated in his review, “In a scene that skewers the ubiquitous ''Star Trek'' fan conventions, as the testy, disheartened crew copes with costumed cultists, minutiae-obsessed teenagers and giggling groupies, Nesmith-Taggart is approached by a group of odd creatures he assumes are fans. He dismisses their monotonous babble.”

The next day, after he wakes up on the floor in his family room, hung over after a night of drinking alcohol alone, they fly him off to what he thinks is another re-enactment: a negotiation as Taggart with the villain Sarris, played by Robin Sachs, on behalf of the friendly Thermians. However, when Jason is amazingly returned, he realizes that he has been aboard a real spaceship.

It appears that the Thermians, led by Mathesar, played by Enrico Colantoni, believe the courage and principle-filled “Galaxy Quest” television episodes they have watched to be real historical documents and have wanted Commander Taggart to help them.

“Alexander,” Taggart said to the once and future Dr. Lazarus after he returns to the mission and joins his old crew, “this is the role of a lifetime.”

Now they are off, joined – in one of the film’s best comic formations – by Guy Fleegman, played by Sam Rockwell, now a convention organizer but once an unclear little player who died a quick death in episode 81. Gelder stated, “Throughout the adventure, as the heroes do battle with Sarris and his minions, encounter cannibalistic space creatures who resemble children, face off against assorted monsters and other perils while standing between the Thermians and extinction, Fleegman remains convinced that being an unknown actor, he is fated by the laws of scriptwriting to perish once more.”

In the dry comic background that now goes out over much of planet Earth, “Galaxy Quest” may not be a testament to the genre, but it gives a ray of hope for the future.

I saw this in the theaters in 1999, and I absolutely loved it. I thought it was a funny movie and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I highly recommend everyone to go out, rent the movie and see it since I honestly think that you will enjoy it.

When you think about it, this movie is very reminiscent of what happened to “Star Trek.” After how much of a critical and commercial disappointment “Star Trek Nemesis” was and how bad the short-lived “Star Trek Enterprise” was and cancelled after three seasons, Trekkies did not have anything “Star Trek” related to look forward to in movies and shows for about six-seven years. Now thanks to J.J Abrams rebooting the movies and a new “Star Trek” show coming out, Trekkies can be happy to watch their favorite franchise now and not only look forward to the conventions. Like I already stated, you have got to see this movie because you will get a good laugh out of it and it’s a great action-packed comedy.

Just sit put everyone because I will try to see the new “Star Trek” movie this weekend. If not, I will try and see what time next month I will check the movie out. “Star Trek Month” is not over yet, but is going overtime until I see the new movie.

Star Trek into Darkness

With the success J.J. Abrams had with his 2009 “Star Trek” remake, in 2013, he released the sequel, “Star Trek into Darkness.”

Tom Meek started his review out by saying, “I now know why Paramount was so tight about letting the press get an advance peek at the second installment of J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the Star Trek enterprise; there’s a huge reveal in the middle of “Star Trek Into Darkness” that will have Trekkie loyalists either in rapture or pandemonium.”

Meek continued he review by stating, “That aside, the 2009 release of Abrams’ series resurrection hit a nasty snag here in Boston when the Globe ran a review more than 24 hours before the embargo date the studio set and expected the media to respect. It was a four-star review, but you could see people at the studio and the PR firms here in town that were handling the press leaping from the windows.”

Getting back to this sequel. Many sci-fi franchises – including “Star Wars,” “Alien” and the main theater launch of “Star Trek” – hit their highest peak with the second installment (“The Wrath of Khan,” “Aliens” and “The Empire Strikes Back”). Not so much here, but it’s close. Meek mentioned, ““Darkness” has a lot more action and twists than the 2009 film, but while that film was hampered by setup and backstory, it’s addled by too much circumvolution and plots within plots. It’s great to see how it intertwines with longstanding Trek lore, making connections that hit with sudden realization and nostalgia, but I’m not entirely convinced all the plot threads that begin here tie neatly into the Trek future we already know.”

At the source of Abrams’ brilliant rebooting, beyond the smart and well-measured use of eye-pleasing special effects, is the inspired casting of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as the younger Kirk and Spock. They’re perfect younger selves, but maybe the most accurate incarnation is Karl Urban as “Bones” McCoy. His inflection and mannerisms are mysterious to a creepy point.

At the start, the principals and crew of the Enterprise have yet to land their “five-year mission” show. They get a test run, during that they can’t interfere with intelligent original extraterrestrials. Meek noted, “The mission leads them to a wondrous planet bristling with red trees and inhabited by alabaster humanoids with big black saucer eyes still at the spear and papyrus stage, and Kirk, in trying to save them and Spock from a catastrophic volcano eruption, exposes the Enterprise to the Neolithic newbies who have a “Chariots of the Gods” moment and embrace the iconic space vessel as a deity.”

Back on Earth, Kirk is in so much trouble for the violation, but a terrorist bombs Starfleet’s record in London and afterwards attacks headquarters in San Francisco. Kirk’s misbehaviors are a sudden non-starter as the man behind the attack turns out to be one of Starfleet’s own men – with the rebellious gone scoundrel, James Harrison, played by a frightening Benedict Cumberbatch, being no ordinary insider. He’s a specialist in special weapons and everything Klingon and, as the icing on the cake, he has super blood as well. (If you want to know exactly what that means, or to say any more, would really be a spoiler alert.)

A quick meeting with Command and Kirk gets his ship back and goes after Harrison, who’s now situated on an abandoned planet inside Klingon jurisdiction. It’s there that matters become complicated and political, which you could say is redundant. Gears involving 72 suspect photon torpedoes, the destruction of the planet Vulcan and a warlike admiral, played by a skinny but ready Peter Weller, winning at the helm begin to spin, and you can throw in the sociable Mr. Scott as well, as he gets a pink slip and, according to Meek, “becomes a barfly.”

You can’t blame Abrams and his team of (three) writers for their motivation, but maybe a wider departure into the unknown might have produced greater success. Overall the production is top notch, crisp and adrenaline rushed (which you can see in IMAX and 3D, whichever theater you go to and how much you can pay). There is never any disappointment, but there are so many last-second death tricks that by the time you get to Abrams’ fast-paced finale you might be tired and need to take a break. Meek credited, “The tempo’s off, and there could have been more quiet moments between the rocket shots to let the characters spar and evolve like there were in Abrams’ last go at Kirk & Co.” The love triangle between Spock and Uhura with Kirk may be where the film spent the most money on minus special effects.

Perhaps what the promising wonder behind the camera needed was a friendly reminder that this is James Kirk we’re watching and not James Bond.

In the end, as good of a movie this might be, it felt like a mediocre remake of “The Wrath of Khan.” Especially in the last act, like in the final 15 minutes. I would say check it out, especially since it’s not half bad, but bear in mind, you will be noticing that a lot.

Alright everyone, if I don’t get a chance to see the new movie before this Friday, check in to see my review on a “Star Trek” spoof which is actually pretty funny.

Star Trek (2009)

For this week, I will be looking at director J.J. Abrams’ rebooted series of “Star Trek” films, starting off with the first one released in 2009.

Manohla Dargis started her review by saying, “A bright, shiny blast from a newly imagined past, “Star Trek,” the latest spinoff from the influential television show, isn’t just a pleasurable rethink of your geek uncle’s favorite science-fiction series. It’s also a testament to television’s power as mythmaker, as a source for some of the fundamental stories we tell about ourselves, who we are and where we came from. The famous captain (William Shatner, bless his loony lights) and creator (Gene Roddenberry, rest in peace) may no longer be on board, but the spirit of adventure and embrace of rationality that define the show are in full swing, as are the chicks in minis and kicky boots.”

The first appearance being in 1966, the original “Star Trek” is a supreme fantasy of the first order, a look of the liberal future where people of all color and one Vulcan come together by their exploratory mission (“to boldly go”), a main command (no interference) and the once in a while argument. An origin story directed with a nice touch and perfect tone by J.J. Abrams, the fully loaded remake - Dargis mentioned, “A showcase for big-studio hardware, software, muscled boys who can act and leggy girls who aren’t required to” – goes way back to the part before the Enterprise team came together on the Enterprise, a shiny spacecraft that always flies into intergalactic storms. Even supreme needs a little boost.

Apparently so does reboots on your favorite franchises, which explains why the movie opens with a loud, sort of hectic segment consisting of fireballs, airborne bodies, heroically tightened man jaws (Chris Hemsworth) and a screaming pregnant woman (Jennifer Morrison) about to give birth to the future James Tiberius Kirk. Born in space (actually, a shuttle craft), Kirk is determined to return to the darkness. (Future “Trekkies” will be studying the Oedipus complex really well). However, since this is an origin story, first there’s a look at a boy (Jimmy Bennett playing Kirk as a child) driving down an Iowa highway on a stolen hot rod, a definitive character moment that’s next to the images of a young scholar (Jacob Kogan as the kid Spock) solving problems with his intellect and a few punches.

Kirk and Spock don’t meet in person until they’re adults – now played by Chris Pine and Zachary Qunito – at Starfleet Academy, which, staying true to the show’s liberal predilections, is in San Francisco. At school, Kirk tries to put the movies on Uhura (Zoe Saldana), a beautiful girl who smoothly ignores him, and makes friends with a doctor, Leonard McCoy, best known as Bones (Karl Urban, who’s funny but sounds like he is imitating the late DeForest Kelley). Kirk also has a face-to-face encounter with Spock, a bossy instructor. In the tradition of all the great romances, the two men almost immediately loathe one another, a rivalry that defines the Western divide between the mind (Spock) and body (Kirk) that gives the story emotional and dramatic force as well as some generous laughs.

These laughs never go into mockery. Abrams didn’t treat “Star Trek” as a sacred book, which would be dangerous for everyone save the Trekkies. However, neither does he pin a pop cultural classic that, more than 40 years after its debut, has been so parodied (Dargis said, “It feels like there are more “South Park” parodies than original episodes”) it was difficult to see how he was going to rejuvenate the series. Dargis goes on to say, “By design or accident, he has, simply because in its hopefulness “Star Trek” reminds you that there’s more to science fiction (and Hollywood blockbusters) than nihilism. Mr. Abrams doesn’t venture into politics as boldly as Mr. Roddenberry sometimes did, though it’s worth noting he does equate torture with barbarism.”

The villains here are the Romulans, who, according to Dargis, “at one point in television time used to look a lot like Spock, but here resemble a Maori motorcycle gang complete with facial tattoos and Goth threads.” Led by the angry psychopath Nero, played by Eric Bana, who does know how to play a villain seriously, the Romulans are mainly in the film to antagonize the Starfleet crew into space. There Abrams displays some expensive-looking special effects, including an enemy warship that, according to Dargis, “with its enormous, grasping tendrils, by turns resembles a monstrous jellyfish and a malignantly blooming flower.” The film comes down on the ray of hope, but its apocalyptic breaks, including the image of a planet imploding into gray dust, Dargis described, “collapsing like a desiccated piece of fruit,” remain.

Despite these visuals, the bright lasers and latex aliens, “Star Trek” is mainly about two men arguing in a long conversation about civilizations and their displeasures. Hot and cold, thoughtless and firmly controlled, Kirk and Spock need each other to work, a dynamic Abrams captures with his two well-balanced leads. Quinto lets you see and hear the struggle between the human and the Vulcan in Spock through the emotions that flow across his face and from time to time throw off his unmoderated phrasing. Pine has a harder job – Dargis mentions, “he has to invoke Mr. Shatner’s sui generis performance while transcending its excesses” – which makes his shaded interpretation all the more effective. Navigating clear of complete imitation, the two instead purify the characters to capture their essence, the traits of Kirk and Spock.

Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the story has plenty of dialogue, but Abrams keeps the talk moving, slowing down only sporadically, like when Captian Pike, played by Bruce Greenwood, or the ironically smiling late Leonard Nimoy say some patriarchal advice on Kirk. Being a “Lost” veteran, Abrams handles the action scenes better than he did in his only other big-screen excursion (“Mission: Impossible III”), mainly by not loading too much time on them. By far his best moments take place on the brightly lighted deck of the Enterprise, where against the background of unlimited space, Kirk, Spock and the rest of the young crew mistake with roles that – much like the young actors playing them, including Simon Pegg as Scotty, the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov and John Cho as Sulu – they eventually and rather perfectly make their own.

In the end, I say to check this film out. It’s a nice remake, but if you don’t enjoy it fully, I can understand that. However, after 6 years of no “Star Trek,” I can understand the big deal behind this movie. You might like half of the movie or the whole thing, but I was thoroughly enjoyed by it.

Check in on Wednesday when we look at the sequel to this movie in “Star Trek Month.”

Star Trek: Nemesis

Now we have come to the 2002 underrated and unjustly hated, “Star Trek: Nemesis.” I saw this movie in the theaters when I was 13 and I didn’t hate it. When I recently re-watched the movie, I still didn’t hate it. Here is the basic story:

A clone of Picard named Praetor Shinzon, played by Tom Hardy, created by the Romulans but eventually exiled to hard labor on Remus, assassinates the entire Romulan senate, undertakes dictatorship, and baits Picard and the Enterprise to Romulus under the false trick of a peace proposal.

Obviously, if I knew that this would have been the last “The Next Generation” movie, I would have been mad myself. Doug Walker is right when he said, "Hey, come on! Give us something better than this! This is really overblown."

However, just as a “Star Trek” movie, it’s not that bad. Especially when you consider how bad almost all the odd-numbered “Star Trek” movies got. There are parts of the movie that I really enjoyed.

I liked the idea of you going up against your younger self, and if you grew up in a different environment, would you be different? Do you have the genetics or the willpower to stay from the path you went on, or would you go along the same path no matter what? This is what you call “nature vs nurture,” which was very interesting.

The best part of the movie is when Picard is talking to Shinzon and they are trying to learn from one another. Those were the great parts and really complex, making it very interesting.

They do get lost in the somewhat overblown action scenes that are really over-the-top, even by the standards of “Star Trek.” At the same time, you did get to see some cool moments. Remember when the two ships actually crashed into one another? Really, the dome of the Enterprise slid into the other ship which blew my mind in terms of “Star Trek.” It did look great though and was really cool. Some of the moments did go a little too far, like when Data jumped from the Enterprise into Shinzon’s ship and when a car drove off the cliff and into the Enterprise, which were stupid.

Despite all of that, the movie gave us some stuff that Trekkies really wanted to see. At the beginning of the movie, Commander Riker and Counselor Troi finally got married, Whoopi Goldberg returned briefly as Guinan and even Will Wheaton came in briefly as Dr. Crusher’s son, Wesley, even though he didn’t speak, but was also in a deleted scene. It was really nice to see all of “The Next Generation” characters together again.

I do acknowledge that there are problems with this movie. It’s another story of the villains wanting to go to Earth and destroy everything. Doug Walker admitted, “Star Trek is one of the few sci-fi movies and shows where, actually, I don't mind the political talk. It's not like Star Wars, where that is sort of sci-fi/fantasy. This is very much, "Hey, what if this future was real?" You know, there would be these political talks, there would be sort of these debates, and I would've liked a little bit more of that in this Star Trek, instead of just going for so much action.”

For what is in the movie, despite how stupid it can get, which it can get really stupid. However, the stuff that works in the movie I think really does work. A lot of that comes to Picard and Shinzon. I also liked that they had a second Data, which was interesting. For those who were mad that Data’s evil android brother, Lore, wasn’t in the movie, I have something to tell you Trekkie Geeks. Go back and watch “The Next Generation” episode titled “Descent, Part II.” At the end of the episode, Data deactivated Lore (spoilers) then reported that he was to be disassembled permanently. In here, they found another prototype of Data, made by his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, who is called B-4, also played by Brent Spiner. Doug Walker called B-4 a “sort of this mentally off Data.” At the end (spoilers), I know what they were going for, where B-4 would be Data’s replacement. Data wouldn’t die, B-4 would come back as Data and sort of live though him, which was good stuff. Even though this was interesting, it wasn’t really that developed, but I did like it.

I did like what the movie dealt with Picard, but I would’ve liked to have seen more of that with Data.

As the final “The Next Generation” film, it’s not a good last film. If “Nemesis” was going to be the last film, I would have said, “You can do better than that.” However, this is decent and I’m glad I saw it because of some of the good action, good effects, and not completely lacking of character. Unlike some of the other “Star Trek” films. The only “Star Trek” movie that had nothing good in it at all was “Insurrection,” which I stated my opinion on Wednesday why I thought that. "Insurrection" didn’t have the worst moments, it was completely forgettable. Every “Star Trek” movie had something good in it that made you glad you saw it, which was nice, but “Insurrection" didn’t have that.

I honestly think that “Nemesis” had more to it than some people gave it credit for, but it just got shadowed by those over-the-top action scenes and some of the dumber moments that I believe people just sort of forgot it. I advise that everyone re-watch this movie because there are some good moments in there.

“Nemesis” is the film that everyone says is the other bad Trek film and broke the fabric that was the even numbered movies were the good ones. I don’t think it was that bad. It did have some annoying scenes and way too much action, but the whole idea of nature literally against nurture was kind of interesting. I liked the idea that Picard had to battle Shinzon, the clone of his younger self, and if in a different environment, Picard could have been someone completely different. The relationship between Picard and Shinzon, in many respects, is actually somewhat heartbreaking. That’s what held the movie together. On a storytelling level, it probably isn’t technically a good movie, but I enjoyed watching it for the most part, but I do admit that as the final “The Next Generation” movie, it probably wasn’t everything it could have been.

Honestly, this wasn’t supposed to be the final “The Next Generation” film. There was one more planned out with a script in the writing process, but since this movie was a critical and commercial disappointment, the script was scrapped. However, I still think you should re-watch it and give it a chance. For those who have not seen this yet, definitely check it out.

For everyone who thinks that this is the end, it’s not. Next week we will be looking at director J.J. Abrams’ rebooted series in “Star Trek Month.”

Star Trek: Insurrection

Alright everyone, that time of the month came that I was scared of from the first day. If you don’t know what I am referring to, I am of course referring to the absolute worst “Star Trek” movie, “Star Trek: Insurrection,” released in 1998.

Dustin Putman started his review out by saying, “I have never been a "Star Trek" fan, and, to tell the truth, out of the five films in the series that I have seen (1,2,3,8,9), I have disliked all of them. I do, however, always go into one of these with an open mind, and the ninth film in the series, "Star Trek: Insurrection," is no exception.”

Not having the hardcore sci-fi element of “Star Trek: First Contact,” this movie tells the story of a planet that has only 600 people, called the Ba’ku, including the Fountain of Youth. At the beginning of the movie, the Ba’ku are under attack by another extraterrestrial species, known as Son’a, who want to exterminate every Ba’ku so that their own race will not be extinct. Another person the Ba’ku is attacking is Data, everyone’s favorite android from “The Next Generation.” Cut to Picard and the crew on the Enterprise, no one knows why Data was unexpectedly taken over by something else. Some of the Enterprise team beam down to the planet, where Picard encounters and falls in love with one of the inhabitants, Anji, played by Donna Murphy, who is over 600-years-old, but looks like she is in her 30s.

“Star Trek: Insurrection” is a completely uninspired and cheap-looking movie in the franchise, and is a major step down from “First Contact,” which looked like they did something different and was inspired by the show. “Insurrection,” on the other hand, plays like a rejected episode from the show because of the small-scale, standard storyline, and relying heavily on one-liners rather than what Trekkies love. Putman is right when he said, “The film was filled with nearly non-stop comedy, and worse yet, most of it fell flatter than a cartoon character that drops off a cliff.” On top of that, when there are any action scenes, they’re not engaging or new, relying on the clichéd time suspension rule of the time bomb counting down sluggishly. This plot device, which was seen in about every action movie at the time and might still be today, gets old fast. Putman asked, “Are filmmakers so bankrupt of ingenuity and ideas that they must always have a timer ticking away during the climax?”

Another element of the “Star Trek” films is that Picard always has some sort of love interest, but she somehow disappears when the next film comes out a few years later. Even though Donna Murphy, whose character is the same thankless love interest in here, is one of the few characters that we get familiar with in this movie, Alfre Woodard was “so” much better in “First Contact.” Putman stated, “She should have returned for this one, but I don't blame her for not wanting to waste her time with this movie's disappointing and often lifeless screenplay, by Michael Piller.”

Putman is right when he says, “"Star Trek: Insurrection," is perhaps the weakest film in the "Star Trek," series, although I have not seen what is widely considered the worst, "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier."” (Consider yourself blessed Putman). This movie is the type of “safe” sequel that will confuse those who aren’t fans of the series, since it is such a downgrade compared to most of the blockbuster action films at the time (although most of them were not very good, either), and does disappoint loyal Trekkies, since it could have easily been better if the makers had realized that the screenplay needed to have a few more rewrites. Actually, they probably should have put the script through the shredder. That way, they could have come up with a story that at least look smart and fresh.

Like I stated at the beginning of the review, this movie feels like a rejected episode from “The Next Generation.” Because when you look at, minus all the ethical discussion of the Ba’ku looking like cheap rip-offs of the Amish, the film overall is a bore. The action and effects look so dull that it looks like no effort was put in this. I felt like nothing was accomplished in this movie. At least all the other odd-numbered Trek films left you with something good that made you glad that you saw it, but this didn't have anything backing it, which is the worst crime for a Trek movie. This one is just totally forgettable. In all honesty, if you want to skip this one, I say go right ahead, since this falls in the same trap as the first and fifth movie. Instead, watch some of the great two-part episodes from "The Next Generation" show. Even though Trekkies and regular moviegoers say the fifth movie is the worst, I sincerely think this movie is far worse and the worst in the series.

Phew, what a relief. Now that I have gotten that horrendous movie out of the way, check in Friday for the last movie for “The Next Generation” cast, which will be a defensive review in “Star Trek Month.”

Star Trek: First Contact

The Borg are back, the future is in danger and the “Star Trek” mythology advances quickly. “Star Trek: First Contact,” released in 1996, is a wonderfully exciting sci-fi flick that is, in my opinion, the very best in the long-running Paramount franchise. Variety is right when they stated in their review, “Better still, this is one TV spinoff that does not require ticketbuyers to come equipped with an intimate knowledge of the small-screen original. Fans and non-fans alike will line up for this wild ride, and many will be repeat customers. Expect earthshaking domestic grosses, impressive foreign biz and, eventually, out-of-this-world homevideo sales.”

The title is particularly suitable, where that “First Contact,” which tells about the main encounter between humans and aliens, also is the first “Star Trek” movie to not have anyone from the late Gene Roddenberry’s original 1966-69 TV series. In the last film, “Star Trek: Generations,” the mighty Captain James T. Kirk passed the torch over to Captain Jean-Luc Picard, commander of the new and improved Starship Enterprise. Now it’s up to Captain Picard and his team from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to keep the universe safe for the United Federation of Planets. Thankfully, the new and, in my opinion better crew, are up to the mission.

Variety mentioned that, “Written by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, with considerable input from producer and “Next Generation” veteran Rick Berman, “First Contact” actually is a sequel to “The Best of Both Worlds,” a popular two-part episode from the “Next Generation” series. On television, Picard was captured and very nearly “assimilated” by the Borg, a marauding race of half-organic, half-robotic cyborgs. He managed to regain his humanity, but just barely.”

As the movie begins, Picard continues to have nightmares of when he was assimilated by the Borg. This clearly explains why Picard, normally a by-the-book captain, is wanting to ignore orders and join the fight when Starfleet Command fires a torpedo on the large Borg cube-shaped ship. Picard leads the USS Enterprise to the battle just in time to issue an order and attack the Borg. Unfortunately, several of the Borg escape and fly to Earth, where they want to control the “present” i.e., the 24^th century by rewriting the past. What’s even more unfortunate, some other Borg manage to get on the Enterprise, and go about assimilating the entire crew for the greater good of their Borg Queen.

Jonathan Frakes, an amazing actor who played Picard’s right-hand man, Commander William Riker, on “The Next Generation” show, does two jobs here as director and co-star. Having earned this right by directing a few of the show’s episodes, Frakes makes a positive debut as a feature filmmaker, satisfying excitement and keeping clearness as he runs through a two-track storyline.

Picard and his team follow the Borg back in time to April 4, 2063, the day before an oddball scientist named Zefram Cochran, played by James Cromwell, is supposed to make the first recorded warp-speed flight in a renovated rocket. The Enterprises know from their history books that, because Cochrane made this flight, he gave them the interest of traveling aliens, which in turn ted to the formation of the United Federation of Planets and the production of the United Federation of Planets and the making of four different “Star Trek” shows. Once they beam down to Earth, however, Riker and his friends find out that the Borg, also careful of history, have damaged Cochrane’s rocket. It’s up to the Enterprise’s Away Team to make repairs and to make sure Cochrane doesn’t get drunk long enough to keep history intact.

Meanwhile, back on the Enterprise, Lily Sloane, played by Alfre Woodard, Cochrane’s non-alcoholic friend, has her hands tied in Picard’s fight against the Borg invasion. At first, it looks bad for our protagonists. The Borg carefully take control of so many levels of the Enterprises, and turn every human they can get their hands on into one of them. In fact, the Borg Queen, played by Alice Krige, even is able to capture Lieutenant Commander Data, the android officer who has been given an “emotion chip.”

The Borg Queen gives Data what he wants by making him human. As they talk, the movie takes an interestingly uncertain turn, so that it’s not entirely clear just who is seducing them. For a while, there is serious doubt as to where Data’s real devotions lie. Credit Brent Spiner and the scriptwriters for finding incredible new ways to make a familiar character unsettlingly changeable.

Trekkies may be disappointed by the fairly short shrift to certain Enterprise characters as Dr. Crusher, Counselor Troi, Lieutenant Commander Jordi La Forge, played by host of “Reading Rainbow,” LeVar Burton, and Klingon warrior turned Starship officer Worf. Even more shaking, however, is the way “First Contact” introduces horror-movie elements to a traditional “Star Trek” story. Much of the violence and many of the shadow-flashed fight sequences are heavily influenced by “Alien” and “Aliens.” Variety made another comparison where, “The Borg drones and Borg-ified humans, like their counterparts in the original TV episode, look a lot like malevolent bit players from the “Hellraiser” movies.” Trekkies remembering Gene Roddenberry’s original look of a less violent “Star Trek” universe may be turned off by the heavy material. However, mainstream audiences will love the greater importance on the greater level and action-movie elements.

Patrick Stewart once again agrees himself with all the weight and style you would expect from a Shakespeare stage actor. His greatest moments is when he is with Woodard in a scene that has their characters fighting over the best tactic to fight the Borg. Woodard’s Lily agrees with the Enterprise officers who want to escape in escape pods after setting the Enterprise’s self-destruct program. However, Stewart’s Picard who, logically, has some unfinished business with the Borg doesn’t agree and says this is weak negativity. Give both of these actors credit that their mercurial conversation is honestly exciting.

Other performances, including Cromwell’s delightful change as the hard-drinking Cochrane, are just what they should be for “First Contact” to work. Variety stated, “Much the same can be said for the special-effects wizardry, by far the most elaborate seen in a “Star Trek” film. Tech credits including Matthew F. Leonetti’s striking cinematography and Michael Westmore’s inspired makeup are stellar across the board.”

If “First Contact” is telling viewers what the next generation of “Star Trek” movies will be like, this series is show to live long and prosper.

As I had stated already, this is actually my personal favorite of the entire franchise. I guess you could say that I prefer “The Next Generation” over the original show. Don’t get me wrong, the Original Series is a classic that will live on forever, but I, like many others, think “The Next Generation” was just better since I liked the characters more in there. If you liked The Original Series better, I don’t blame you. That’s probably the reason why people like the second or four the best. This movie did exactly what "Wrath of Khan" did, where it fixed everything wrong from "Generations" and both "Wrath of Khan" and "First Contact" makes viewers want that to be the starting movie for both The Original Series and The Next Generation. Many will say two is the best, others like James Rolfe might say four, but then there are others, like myself, who like this one better since it felt like the show. I liked the introduction of the Borg and everything so that it didn’t leave you out in the dust. If you haven’t seen this, don’t read my review and go out and see it.

Seeing how great of a job Frakes did on this movie, he was signed on to direct the next movie. Will the next one be a decent odd-numbered Trek movie, or will it fall in the same trap like almost all the others with its horrendousness? Find out Wednesday in the next review that I’m not looking forward to at all in “Star Trek Month.”

Star Trek: Generations

“Star Trek Generations,” released in 1994, was supposed to be the movie that bridged the original “Star Trek” cast and the cast from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Captain Kirk would pass the torch to Captain Picard and then the crew of the Enterprise-D would continue in a new series of movies. Even though this sounds like a good idea when written, in reality the results don’t do justice to either Kirk or “The Next Generation” crew.

The movie starts with the maiden flight of the Enterprise-B. Kirk, Scotty and Chekov are onboard as part of the ceremonial launch. During the launch the ship gets a distress call from two ships caught in some kind of energy ribbon called the Nexus, they respond with a rescue attempt where Kirk is “killed.”

This opening segment was to have Kirk, Spock and McCoy, but the late Leonard Nimoy turned it down because the script was really weak and the late DeForest Kelley’s deteriorating health prevented him from showing up. With very little change of the script, the late James Doohan and Walter Koenig came in to replace them as Scotty and Chekov. Scott Nash stated in his review, “Out of sheer laziness their lines remain the same despite the character change.” You can obviously see that when Chekov tells two crewmen that they’re now nurses as he goes to prepare a sick bay.

The film then fast forwards 78 years later on the holodeck of the Enterprise-D for a really embarrassingly unfunny segment of the crew on a ship for Lieutenant Worf’s, played by Michael Dorn, promotion ceremony. Data’s, played by Brent Spiner who voiced Pock in "Gargoyles," “I want to be more human” bit, which had gotten old during the series, is brought up one more time here and he is given the emotion chip.

When the story does eventually move forward, it is revealed that a Dr. Soran, played by Malcolm McDowell, who was one of the men rescued by Enterprise-B at the beginning of the movie, is trying to find a way back into the Nexus, because apparently once you are in the Nexus, anything you really want is there. Nash made a good comparison when he said, “It's like living in a Matrix of your own design.” His plan wouldn’t be such a problem except that to get back in the Nexus, he’s destroying stars to change the course of the Nexus so that it will pass through a planet that he wants to be standing on.

Nash is right when he said, “Although there are moments of excitement and action, this plot ends up feeling like a souped-up two part episode of the television series with some higher quality special effects. It's definitely not a movie for anyone who is unfamiliar with the characters. No introductions are provided and no background given.”

Picard does find out about the Nexus through his ship’s bartender named Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg, and ends up in the Nexus along with Soran. He finds out that instead of dying, Captain Kirk was actually inside the Nexus this whole time. Picard convinces Kirk to leave the Nexus with him and help him defeat Soran. Kirk does and he (spoilers) dies for real this time in a very unsatisfying way.

Kirk’s death should have been emotional. He should have been saving the galaxy one more time and he absolutely should have died while onboard the Enterprise. Nash mentioned, “Reportedly an early version of the script had Kirk commanding the battle bridge onboard the Enterprise-D and dying in combat against the Klingons, but the plot was scrapped. So instead he dies trying to stop a madman from destroying a star, which is noble enough, but not nearly legendary enough.”

What’s really annoying about his death is that he dies because of a ridiculous plan that is because of a poorly written script. When Kirk and Picard leave the Nexus, they are told they can leave it and go into any time or place that they want. Picard chooses five minutes before Soran’s plan is successful. This means that the finale is a race against time. Why doesn’t he leave with some more time before Soran’s plan was completed? It could have been anywhere from hours to a day or when Soran was on the Enterprise and make him a prisoner there?

Not only is Kirk’s death ruined, it also takes time away from “The Next Generation” cast, which this movie was supposed to be about. Dr. Beverly Crusher, played by Gates McFadden, and Worf are shrunken to extras in their first film. Commander Riker, played by Jonathan Frakes (who also did the voice of David Xanatos in “Gargoyles” and hosted “Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction”), gets a few lines, but only Picard and Data get their own plotlines. Commander Troi, played by Marina Sirtis who also did the voice of Demona in “Gargoyles,” has a scene with Picard early in the movie that you don’t really feel emotion for, but at the end is given the task to pilot the ship to give her something to do (something she was never shown to have before).

Nash is right when he says, “Being that this is Star Trek 7, an odd-numbered Trek film, I suppose it's no surprise that it's such a bad one.” This is evident that they shouldn’t have combined casts from two shows, at least not in this incompetent way. Kirk’s dead should have had a movie of its own and definitely “The Next Generation” deserved a better introduction than this one.

Like I already stated, this movie doesn’t make any sense because it’s all over the place. Some parts are good, some parts are bad, there some powerhouse scenes later and some nice effects, but it falls in the same trap that “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” did where it wasn’t a good first film of “The Next Generation” cast. If you were entertained by this, great, but I really thought it was insulting to make Data into Bozo the Android.

Also, I vaguely remember seeing this movie in the theaters years ago. I only remember two scenes of Data: one is where the Klingon ship was blown up, the camera pans around the bridge, then Data breaks the silence by going, "YES!" Another is when the ship is crashing and Data mutters the S word. My brother claims I sang Data's "Life Forms" song for an entire year, which I don't remember at all since I was only a kid. Plus, that song was really random and annoying.

After getting that movie out of the way, check in next Monday where we talk about a much better film in the series, which is also my personal favorite, for “Star Trek Month.”

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

After the miserable failure of “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” everyone thought that the franchise knew that they had a limited chance of success to set things right. The series’ original cast was getting older past the age of reasonably another huge sci-fi adventure, yet no one wanted “The Final Frontier” to be their final movie. Also, “Star Trek” was approaching its 25^th Anniversary, and that was a positive moment too good to look past. Paramount gave them another film. Leonard Nimoy, who had Executive Produced the final movie, approached director Nicholas Meyer, who directed “The Wrath of Khan. Together, they came up with a story idea where the longstanding fight between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire would work as a political story for the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union.

“Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” released in 1991, opens with a literal crash. On a routine scientific expedition, the starship Excelsior is shot by an energy shockwave coming from a huge explosion near the Klingon home planet. What has happened is that the Klingons’ main energy production factory on their moon of Praxis has had a Chernobyl-type catastrophe. The Klingons at first refused help from the Federation, but is soon forced to admit that their empire is falling because of economic ruin and public unrest. Their current leader, Chancellor Gorkon, played by David Warner, starts to talk in order to end hostilities with the Federation. On the Blu-Ray review, it states that, “A new age of Glasnost (however that may translate in Klingon) is emerging.”

As their first step, Starfleet assigns its battleship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, to meet the Chancellor and escort him to a peace conference. Captain Kirk, whose son was murdered by the Klingons, grudgingly accepts the tasks and tries to hide his inner prejudice against the Klingons. He thinks that a difficult diplomatic dinner will be the hardest part of the mission. However, strangely, the Enterprise has opened fire on the Klingon vessel without Kirk’s command. General Chang, played by Christopher Plummer, the Chancellor’s hard-nosed right-hand-man, has Kirk and Bones arrested and put on trial for trying to start a fight. Spock and his new Vulcan apprentice, Valeris, played by Kim Cattrall, must look through the Enterprise and find out what conspiracy was attempted to interfere with the peace process.

The review stated, “Though I hadn't been too impressed with Meyer's script for the series' fourth movie, 'The Undiscovered Country' is a welcome and much needed return to form for the 'Trek' franchise.” The same director of “The Wrath of Khan” is back at the top of his game. The film not only has the expected sci-fi action, but also parts of a political thriller, murder mystery, courtroom drama, and prison camp escape movie. Somehow, they blend perfectly with every spaceship, photon torpedoes and latex makeup.

The director keeps the pacing sharp and the production values high. Trying really hard not to repeat the laughable special effects from “Star Trek V” (which was stated as “outsourced to the lowest bidder”), the team at Industrial Light & Magic have come back into the chair. Their work here returns to the franchise’s previous look. The Blu-Ray review states, “The shockwave blast from the Praxis explosion proved so influential that the visual (thereafter known as the "Praxis Effect") was later reused in numerous sci-fi movies, including George Lucas' wretched 'Star Wars Special Editions.'” In his most motivated scene, Meyer gives a zero-gravity assault inside the Klingon ship. The CGI drops of floating blood were quite impressive for 1991 (if a little dated now), as were the shapeshifting effects (all the rage at the time) of a shapeshifter alien played by model/actress Iman.

Gone is any silly comic relief that had poisoned the last two movies. “Star Trek VI” has a focused and thematically-rich screenplay with hilarious dialogue and multi-dimensional characterizations. The review stated that “Plummer's Shakespeare-spouting Chang is a juicy villain.” One of the nice things is that Sulu, who has been underused, is not the captain of the Excelsior in “Star Trek IV,” and this promotion makes him play a critical part of the movie’s climax. The rest of the team, who has really showed their ages in recent movies, seem especially alert and energized here, no doubt responding to the better material they had to work with.

The review states that, “Acknowledging that this was to be the original crew's last adventure, the film has many themes of retirement, outliving one's usefulness, passing of the torch, and death, all handled eloquently and with proper respect.” Wrapping up 25 years under their belt, “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” makes a very stylish finale for our favorite crew of the starship Enterprise.

“Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered County” is a welcome return after the failure of “Star Trek V” and a worthy finale for the original Enterprise crew. Too bad the producers couldn’t help but to bringing Kirk back for the disappointing “Star Trek: Generations,” but we’ll get to that this Friday. It gives the reason that Paramount will probably re-release this film in its longer “Director’s cut” format. How long that will take is only what time will tell. The Blu-Ray review ended by saying, “To be honest, the theatrical cut is superior, if only for the removal of the dumb plot twist at the end. Even so, this Blu-ray's video quality is problematic. I would welcome any excuse for a fresh remaster. The audio is pretty good, though, and the disc has plenty of bonus features.”

I would strongly suggest that everyone watch this movie. You will absolutely love this, especially since it was released at the 25^th Anniversary of “Star Trek.” If you saw “Star Trek V,” and I would feel bad if you did, “Star Trek VI” will wash that bad taste out of your mouth. This movie was a great final entry of the Original cast.

Check in Friday when we talk about the disappointing next entry in “Star Trek Month.”

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

With the late Leonard Nimoy’s “Star Trek” films being both critical and commercial successes, “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” released in 1989, was William Shatner’s turn as the director of the series, and it almost killed the franchise.

The movie opens on a mysterious planet called Nimbus III, we meet a Vulcan with a crazy laugh, and can take away peoples pain. We then cut to Earth where we see Kirk, Spock and McCoy enjoying their break at the Yosemite National Park, Scotty is busy trying to get the new Enterprise up and ready, while Chekov and Sulu are enjoying their hiking trip.

The crazy Vulcan I mentioned before is named Sybok, played by Laurence Luckinbill, who has a strong faith, and an urge to leave Nimbus III (Adam Sloman stated in his review, “I'm not quite sure how or why he ended up there”) and kidnaps three delegates that represent Earth (David Warner), the Klingons (Charles Cooper) and the Romulans (Cynthia Gouw). The team’s breaks are soon interrupted however, when, like always, Kirk is the only Captain who can save the day.

On the other side of the galaxy, Klingon commander, Klaa, played by Todd Bryant, gets annoyed of shooting down space probes and after hearing about Kirk and the Enterprise playing to Nimbus III, he decides to put himself up against Kirk.

With the new Enterprise’s transporters acting finicky, a shuttle is dispatched, sending a rescue party to the surface of the planet. Kirk soon has rescued the hostages, only to realize it was a planned out trap on Sybok’s end to capture the Federation starship.

Cut back to the ship, the Klingons have got in the way again and the shuttle craft has to go for an emergency landing. Kirk has a brief fight with Sybok. Spock has the chance to shoot Sybok, but refuses, telling Kirk that they are, in fact, half-brothers and the trip are taken to brig.

Working his ability on the rest of the crew, Sybok soon has the ship at his fingers and sets course for the Galactic barrier where, he thinks, god lives.

Scott is successful in breaking the trio out of their cell and they go around trying to regain control of the ship. They succeed only in telling the Klingons where the ship is going, before Sybok catches up with them, asking for the chance to heal their pain. We get a nice look into McCoy’s back story, but Sybok’s attempt with his brother is not a success. Spock, what it looks like, has found his place in the universe and is happy with that.

Kirk refuses Sybok, and reminds us that pain in important, that it teaches us a lesson, and makes us the type of person we are.

Sloman stated in his review, “With the sort of timing only found in Hollywood, the Enterprise then arrives at God's planet. Sybok, Kirk, Spock and McCoy head down for a tête-à-tête with the Almighty.” They find on this planet isn’t God, but an alien, played by George Murdock, looking for a ride and wants to join with the Enterprise.

Suffering the wrath of God, Kirk asks what God needs with a starship. Attacking Kirk and Spock, the alien reveals he is a prisoner of the planet and Sybok realizes his mistakes and fights the alien, wanting to heal its pain.

Scott finally gets the transporters working, beaming Spock and McCoy back on the Enterprise, leaving Kirk alone to face the increasingly peeved extraterrestrial God. The Klingon Bird of Prey suddenly arrives, firing at the alien and beaming Kirk on their ship. Back on the Enterprise, Klaa apologizes for his unnecessary violence and the two ships fly their separate ways allowing the Captain and his team to finish their vacation back on Earth.

Sloman stated in his review, “The Final Frontier is widely regarded amongst fans as the worst of the series, but I don't think it's as bad as that. There was certainly worse to come from the franchise.” I do agree with him, but this is pretty bad. However, there is one movie that I think is worse than this, which we will get to later in the month. As with all good “Star Trek,” its strong moments are character led. The camp fire scene is great at first, and McCoy’s disregard for Kirk’s mountain climbing is another great moment from the late DeForest Kelley. What is also worth mentioning is his scene with his father, played by Bill Quinn, the suffering of his father’s death with a cure so close to getting is a great look into his character’s background, away from Starfleet.

The film really fails with it special effects. Simply put, they’re terrible. There’s no other word best to describe them. Robbed of ILM’s help, (they were busy working on an “Indiana Jones” movie and “Ghostbusters II”) Shatner was forced to look around for the cheapest choice possible and it hurts the film.

Sloman said, “It puzzles me why Paramount chose to cut so many corners with this film, from cheap special effects to simply cutting large chunks of storyline (Den Of Geek has already covered the cut Rockman sequence) that could have lifted the film; it shows little faith in Shatner, his story and his direction.”

There are problems with the story, however. It’s jumbled, to say the least. How does Sybok know about the God-Alien? How is the Enterprise able to travel across the galaxy so quickly? Sloman mentions, “It also rankles me that, despite Sybok's powers, the crew are so quick to betray Kirk.” The funny moments feel a little forced, as if it was shoved in to calm those that, after “Star Trek IV,” were happy to see a “Star Trek” film.

This movie isn’t great. In all honesty, you’re not missing a lot if you decide to skip straight from “Star Trek IV” to “Star Trek VI.”

I agree with Sloman where I feel that other films that were about finding God, it was done “way” better than in here. I don’t feel like anything was accomplished with the whole “finding God” element. This is worse than the first movie, in my opinion. Reasoning behind this is because of the flat story, pointless characters and scenes that just don't seem to flow together. The infamous Uhura dance made me feel really dirty and when Kirk, Spock and McCoy are singing, “Row Your Boat,” mentioning it again and bringing it back at the end I felt was really stupid.

Alright, now that we thankfully got that stinker out of the way, tune in Wednesday for my review on the final film entry of the Original Series cast, “Star Trek VI.”

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

When they finished writing the script for “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” released in 1986, they must have had so many pointless smirks on their faces. This is easily the most convoluted of the “Star Trek” stories – however, strangely enough, it is also the best, the funniest and the most enjoyable in laymen’s terms. Roger Ebert admitted, “I'm relieved that nothing like restraint or common sense stood in their way.”

The movie starts with some unfinished work from the previous movie, including the Klingon ambassador’s protests before the Federation Council. These scenes don’t have much to do with the rest of the movie, but they give a certain encouragement (like, how Ebert described, “James Bond's ritual flirtation with Miss Moneypenny”) that the series remembers it has a history.

The Starship Enterprise team is still stuck on Vulcan with the Klingon starship they confiscated in “Star Trek 3.” They choose to return home on this alien ship, but on the way they find a strange deep-space inquiry. It is sending out signals in some strange language which, when translated, turns out to be the song of the humpback whale.

It’s around this mark that the script talks must have really taken off. See if you can wrap your head around this: The Enterprise team decides that the inquiry is targeting on Earth, and if no humpback songs are responded, the planet could be destroyed. Therefore, the team’s mission becomes this: Because humpback whales are extinct in the 23^rd Century, they must travel back in time to the 20^th century, steal some humpback whales, and return with them to the future – which will save Earth. Ebert said, “After they thought up this notion, I hope the writers lit up cigars.”

No matter how questionable the story is, it gives what is probably the best of the “Star Trek” movies so far, directed with cool professionalism by the late Leonard Nimoy. What happens is that the Enterprise team land their Klingon starship in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, cloak it with an invisibility shield, and separate into the teams through the Bay area looking for humpback whales and a complete source of reduced nuclear power.

What makes their search entertaining is we already know the members of this team really well. That cast’s laidback contact is unique among movies, because it hasn’t been figured out in a few weeks of rehearsal or shooting. By the time this movie was released, it was the 20^th anniversary of “Star Trek,” and most of these actors have been working together for most of their professional lives. These characters know one another.

For example, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock visit a Sea World-type aquarium, where two humpback whales are held in custody. Catherine Hicks (who played the mother in the horrendous “7^th Heaven” show), as Gillian, the marine biologist in charge, plans to release the whales, and the Enterprise team need to find out her plans so they can recapture the whales and go back to the future.

Obviously, this requires the two men to ask Gillian out to dinner.

She asks if they like Italian food, and Kirk and Spock do a wonderful little verbal jazz based on the running joke that Spock, as a Vulcan, cannot tell a lie. Ebert advised, “Find another space opera in which verbal counterpoint creates humor.”

The stories of the previous “Star Trek” have focused around dramatic villains, such as Khan, the feared genius in “Star Trek 2.” This time, the villains are faceless: the international hunters who continue to follow and kill whales despite clear signs they will annihilate these decent mammals from the Earth. “To hunt a race to extinction is not logical,” Spock calmly observes, but we see shocking footage of whalers doing just that.

Instead of giving a single human villain as counterpoint, “Star Trek 4” gives a heroine, in Hicks. She obviously is moved by the dilemma of the whales, and although at first she understandably questions Kirk’s story that he comes from the 23^rd Century, eventually she joins in the mission and even claims on returning to the future with them, because of course, without the humpback whales, the 23^rd Century also doesn’t have humpback whale experts.

There are some major action scenes in the movie, but they aren’t the highlights. The “Star Trek” series has always depended more on human contact and thoughtful, cause-leaning stories. What happens in San Francisco is must more interesting that what happens in outer space, and this movie, which might seem to have an unlikely and inconvenient plot, is actually the smartest and satisfying “Star Trek” film so far.

I liked this better than 2, just like James Rolfe admits. The environmental message in this movie was needed at the time, and they pulled it off perfectly. Plus, the comedy in this movie is the best of all of them thus far, especially with how the crew is trying to fit in the 20^th Century. Nimoy really followed this movie up from 3 very well, so it ended the trilogy very well. Now, when I mean “Trek Trilogy,” I mean 2, 3 and 4. These three are connected very well to one another and I highly recommend everyone to check this one out. If you liked 2 and 3, you’ll love this one, I promise you.

Look out next Monday when I review what Trekkies and regular moviegoers like to call the worst “Star Trek” movie. Trust me, I’m not looking forward to it either.