"Star Trek: Generations" revisited
As all good "Star Trek" fans know (and hey, even non-fans know it), when it comes to the movies, the even ones rock and the odd ones suck. Sure, the odd ones aren't all horrible, but they don't live up to the highs the even numbered movies offer us.
But, due to a recent "Star Trek" rewatch/indoctrination (Hi Jim!), I've gotten a chance to re-evaluate one of the films I'm not too familiar with: "Star Trek: Generations."
Here be spoilers! Reading more may cause you to find out facts well-known in geek land. You have been warned.
"Generations" isn't going to be my favorite, but I do think this is one of the odd-numbered ones that's gotten a bad rap.
The transition from the original series cast to the next generation cast was never going to be easy, and for a "bridge" movie, it gets the job done. We get to see our old friends Scotty (James Doohan), Checkov (Walter Koenig) and of course Captain Kirk (William Shatner) in one last unexpected adventure. Kirk *dies* in a heroic effort to save the folks aboard the Enterprise B...and then we fast-forward 80 years.
A mad scientist Soran (Malcolm Macdowell), in an attempt to return to the Nexus (think of a holodeck that's generated from your heart's deepest desires), blows up a star, which causes the shockwave to destroy a primitive but inhabited world.
And it's up to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), who has also been sucked in to the Nexus, to rip himself out of pure joy and do his duty and save the world, with the help of a long-lost friend.
It's a little convoluted, no question. And in the words of Ron D. Moore, the Nexus scenes are just plain "treacley." And I'll admit, Kirk's real death is not given the gravity it deserves (but don't worry fans; the books bring him back!).
But really, "Generations" is not that bad. It's exciting, which some cool explody bits; it's funny, especially the opening sequence and Data's early experiences with his emotion chip; and it's moving, especially in Picard's early scenes.
Maybe it's time to reconsider the odd movies (just not one and five; sorry, but those do suck).
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