Star Trek: Nemesis

It may be the last gasp of the aging Next Generation cast, but Nemesis is among the best of the Star Trek features, one that's free of the symptoms of sequelitis. There are almost no in-jokes or obsessive self-parody, and precious little time is spent rehashing what we already know or setting up the next episode. This is a smart, engaging, well shot, and resonant sci-fi action movie (directed by Stuart Baird, who also helmed the actioner U.S. Marshals); it may not boldly go where no Star Trek movie has gone before, but it's nevertheless challenging in many ways.

The basic premise is about the threat and revelations of clones. The wedding festivities of Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) are interrupted by the discovery of an early prototype of the android Data (Brent Spines) on a planet near the Romulan Empire. Meanwhile, the Romulan Senate has been overthrown in a coup, and the Empire is now led by the dictator Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who turns out to be a secret clone of the Enterprise's Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Shinzon had planted the Data-lookalike as part of a plan to capture Picard, because, as a clone, his genetic makeup is faulty and he's dying, with Picard his only hope. But having grown up like a Dickensian orphan in the mines of Remus, Shinzon is driven by rage and hopes to destroy his noble lineage — that is, Picard, the Enterprise, and Earth.

What follows is acted out with the seriousness of Shakespearean tragedy, and while the language doesn't compare, the drama certainly does. Nemesis is a story about the evil potential within oneself, and what it means to confront a mirror image that lives and talks back. And though Jean-Luc — with regulars like Worf (Michael Dorn) and Geordi (LeVar Burton) at his side — never feels like a loser, his struggle with genes and destiny is genuine, and the Enterprise's battle for survival is filled with suspense. The special effects serve the story well, and when it's all over, you'll be wishing that there were more features left in the Star Trek series. Gene Roddenberry, its late creator, would be proud.

— Howard Karren