Grade: B
Production: Paramount, 1994
Running Time: 1 hour 57 minutes
Video Summary:
Decades after Captain Kirk's apparent demise, Captain Picard encounters and recruits his predecessor to help save a planet from a madman. During the launch of the new Enterprise, an energy ribbon overwhelms the ship. Captain Kirk helps to save dozens of lives, but the Nexus pulls him out into space. Years later, a brilliant scientist hooks up with the vicious Duras Sisters to try to lure the Nexus to his own location. Dr. Soran wants to re-enter the mysterious energy ribbon where he found peace and joy, but in order to divert the Nexus, he plans to destroy an entire solar system.
Picard pursues the villains, but he is too late. A supernova triggered by Soran's weapon destroys the planet. Picard finds himself in the Nexus, where he tracks down Captain Kirk, who was similarly saved decades earlier. Kirk agrees to accompany Picard back to the moment of the supernova, where he dies heroically fighting Soran. Though the Enterprise does not survive the battle either, the crew foils the plans of the Duras Sisters and the alien solar system is saved.
Best For Ages:
6-8 - Younger kids may be frightened by the villains, but should enjoy the action and humor of GENERATIONS.
8-12 - Older children will respond to the camaraderie and the drama of the struggle to save a planet.
12 & up - Trekkers will love it; those not familiar with The Next Generation may be less enthusiastic.
Parental Advisory:
Educational Value: Though android Data makes science seem fascinating, some of the fiction gets pretty silly. However, the unrealistic depiction of stellar phenomena will be lost on most viewers.
Entertainment Value: It's a real treat to see Kirk and Picard onscreen together, though most of the other characters get shorted. The visual sequences are spectacular, if scientifically implausible at times.
Violence: Soran kills scientists to steal equipment and tries to destroy a solar system. The Duras sisters use torture and abuse to achieve their ends. Kirk is killed in combat.
Profanity: A few expletives, including one in Klingon.
Frightening Situations: Kirk is swept into space while trying to save the Enterprise. A planet blows up when a weapon makes its sun go nova. Picard's ship crashes, though most of the crewmembers are saved.
Emotional Intensity: Soran seeks oblivion after a devastating personal loss. Picard and Kirk must choose between duty and the lives they dream of having. Data struggles with his desire to be more human.
Review:
GENERATIONS puts Kirk and Picard together on the screen, but it's not a true crossover in that the rest of the crews don't interact. Scotty and Chekov make brief appearances in the opening flashback, and the television cast from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION are all accounted for, but Picard and the villains get most of the screen time. There's not much depth to any of the characters: it's unclear why the mercenary Duras Sisters would work with a madman like Soran, and Kirk's decision to return to the fray comes awfully quickly for a man who's been living in paradise.
Yet once the heroics start, they are great fun to watch. Picard quickly rejects his domestic fantasy to save millions of lives, while Kirk struggles gamely to fight a relentless adversary despite being decades out of practice and out of shape. The visual effects when the star goes nova and when the Enterprise crashes add to the excitement, which is slow to build but effective at the climax.
Still, the stakes feel lower in GENERATIONS than in previous Trek films like THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK and THE FINAL FRONTIER. Next Generation episode THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS and YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE explore similar themes of heroism and sacrifice with greater emotional intensity. Follow-up film STAR TREK FIRST CONTACT also plays for higher stakes: the destruction of Earth.
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