Star Trek Generations (1994)

[I originally wrote this while furloughed in January 2019, during which I decided to re-watch — or in the case of the final two in the series watch, since I hadn’t gotten around to seeing them yet — all the Star Trek TOS and TNG movies.]

Star Trek Generations is more back to the “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach of Search For Spock than the hyperfocused style of Wrath Of Khan or Undiscovered Country. There are some great set pieces in here and some good individual scenes, but it’s not the easiest film to get through.

I really enjoyed the opening sequence of Kirk, Scotty and Chekov saving the Enterprise-B on its maiden voyage. The bickering between Kirk and Scotty are almost an acknowledgment that by this time it was well enough known that William Shatner and James Doohan didn’t like each other so the producers let it spill over to the characters.

It’s an odd combo to bring back from the original crew (I know they used James Doohan and Walter Koenig because Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley declined to appear). The only previous scene I can recall of just the three of them together was when the three activated the self-destruct sequence in Search for Spock that destroyed the original Enterprise. That seems like bad karma to bring onto the Enterprise-B’s first mission.

I forgot that Data was the comic relief character in this one. Yikes. Comic relief in the form of Dr. McCoy yelling at people is much, much more entertaining than Data using his tricorder as a sock puppet. Can’t blame Brent Spiner; the script did him no favors there.

Patrick Stewart and Malcolm McDowell were great and I wish more of their scenes together were like the quiet conversation in Ten Forward and less of them shouting at each other next to Gorn Mountain. Malcolm McDowell seems underused here. On paper, Malcolm McDowell as an actor should be one of Trek’s great villains, but somehow it doesn’t work. Dr. Soran’s plan is monstrously absurd, but not in an enjoyable, over-the-top, Khan-like way. Patrick Stewart has some great scenes, both dealing with the grief at the death of Picard’s brother’s family and his joy at gaining a family of his own in the Nexus.

I really liked the scenes of Kirk and Picard together in the Nexus. I liked the little touches in Kirk’s cabin (he owns a Klingon bat’leth and the TOS Enterprise’s dedication plaque) and the additions to his backstory (Memory Alpha puts the cabin sequence and Kirk ending his relationship with Antonia and returning to Starfleet as occurring between The Motion Picture and Wrath of Khan). There’s a nice conversation between Kirk and Picard on horseback, where Shatner’s equestrian skills are nicely showcased.

Then there’s the issue of Kirk’s death. The reason for him to come back is a crisis worthy of Kirk. Kirk and Picard need to work together to prevent the deaths of millions of aliens and the crew of the Enterprise-D. The way they do it (punching Malcolm McDowell in the face on a catwalk) is not particular worthy of Kirk. Any able-bodied character could have done it. There’s nothing uniquely Kirk about it. It’s not based on any unique skill or piece of knowledge that only Kirk could bring. Picard could have found anyone else trapped in the Nexus to bring back for the fistfight.

In fact, shouldn’t there be an echo of Dr. Soran himself already in the Nexus as there was an echo of Whoopi Goldberg? I wonder if it would have been more interesting to have Dr. Soran’s echo accompany Picard back to stop himself instead of getting Kirk to do it.

[Originally written in January of 2019.]