William Shatner Movie:

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		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
There were only two ways for "classic Trek" cast members to appear in a movie with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation: either Capt. Kirk and his contemporaries would have to be very, very old, or there would be some time travel involved in the plot. Since geriatric heroes aren't very exciting (despite a welcomed cameo appearance by the aged Dr. McCoy), Star Trek: Generations unites Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in a time-jumping race to stop a madman's quest for heavenly contentment. When a mysterious energy coil called the Nexus nearly destroys the newly christened U.S.S. Enterprise-B, the just-retired Capt. Kirk is lost and presumed dead. But he's actually been happily trapped in the timeless purgatory of the Nexus--an idyllic state of being described by the mystical Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) as "pure joy." Picard must convince Kirk to leave this artificial comfort zone and confront Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), the madman who will threaten billions of lives to be reunited with the addictive pleasure of the Nexus. With subplots involving the android Data's unpredictable "emotion chip" and the spectacular crash-landing of the starship Enterprise, this crossover movie not only satisfied Trek fans, but it also gave them something they'd never had to confront before: the heroic and truly final death of a beloved Star Trek character. Passing the torch to the Next Generation with dignity and entertaining adventure, the movie isn't going to please everyone with its somewhat hokey plot, but it still ranks as a worthy big-screen launch for Picard and his stalwart crew. --Jeff Shannon

Star Trek: Generations [Region 2] Reviews:
"I Was Out Saving The Galaxy When Your Grandfather Was In Diapers."
2009-12-14 - I am a huge fan of Star Trek in any form. Yes, some versions are better than others, but I still believe that any Star Trek is better than no Star Trek at all. That all being said, I really like STAR TREK-GENERATIONS, the sixth Star Trek film. While it is not the best incarnation of Star Trek, it certainly is not the worst. In fact, it is a good, effective passing of the torch from one, er, generation to the next.

I have seen this movie a number of times: the first at the theatre in 1994, and most recently on tv the other night. After all these years, STAR TREK-GENERATIONS is still exciting and entertaining, with familiar, well-loved characters, terrific special effects that hold up today, a decent, emotional plot, and fantastic actors with amazing chemistry. Additionally, the spectacular destruction of the Enterprise Mark D continues to be one of the best crash-landings on film. I can remember cringing and gasping in the theatre the first time I saw it, and it still makes me flinch today.

STAR TREK-GENERATIONS successfully transitions the film franchise from The Original Series to The Next Generation. This is a film that had to be made, and it is solidly done. It has the right kind of "Wagon Train to the Stars" feel that Roddenberry initiated all those years ago - full of action, adventure, moral issues, and larger than life characters. This meeting of our two strong, beloved, yet different captains of the Enterprise is memorable and poignant, and that alone makes this film worth seeing. If you are a Star Trek fan, then STAR TREK-GENERATIONS is not to be missed.


Dull, Plodding, Bad...And a Continuity Problem
2009-11-30 - This movie is so bad it's difficult to know where to begin. But let's start with the energy ribbon known as the Nexus. Kirk and later, Picard, are caught up in the Nexus and face an eternal life of bliss, only to blow it to save the universe. Okay, not the universe, but a planet of billions. The problem is, once they're in the Nexus, how do they get out? This is never answered and it could be argued that their saving the solar system was only an exercise in the Nexus and not real itself; thus, everything that happened after this movie is still part of Picard's imagination in the Nexus. So, no, Kirk was never killed and Picard never saved the real solar system at all, only the one imagined within the Nexus.

One could further argue that Picard only thought he had met Kirk and enlisted his aid, because there's no evidence that one person in the Nexus can interact with another (even Whoopi Goldberg's character, Guinan, was only an imagined "shadow"). So Picard only thought he met Kirk and only imagined that he saved the solar system and the crew of the Enterprise. Even the next movie, FIRST CONTACT, can be seen as a Nexus creation, the real crew having perished in GENERATIONS.

Unfortunately, this movie can't provide an out for the STAR TREK (2009) movie, which completely changes the entire timeline. But what the heck. That's what happens...or doesn't happen...in science fiction.



One of the best Trek feature films!!
2009-11-25 - The first of the feature films centered on the Next Generation crew is also probably the best. The film continues to develop Data's character, using an emotion chip that provides several hilarious scenes and more range to Brent Spiner's excellent portrayals. Picard has some moving moments as well, in a plot that includes aspects of time travel and wish fulfillment that allow him to meet James T. Kirk (William Shatner) from the original Enterprise! Various character developments and really epic events toward the end of the film make this "must-viewing" for anyone who wants to follow the series! A real pleasure to watch, despite a great variety of moods and plot elements. And even though Malcolm McDowell is handed a rather cliched "villain" role, he manages to just barely keep that character out of the standard "snarling villain" stereotypes that pervade so many of the other Star Trek feature films. Although Trek worked best as a television series, of all 10 Trek films that were based on those series, I feel this film is a strong candidate (with Star Trek IV) for being the best one. (I do not count the new "Star Trek" movie by J.J. Abrams, since the only person with that film that had any involvement whatsoever with the earlier productions was Leonard Nimoy, and since the film contradicts so many of the established norms for the show.)

Star Trek - Generations (Two-Disc Special
2009-11-05 - One of the great feature length movies, Love it
Quick shipping through amazon!

A bit clumsy
2009-10-28 - So one of my main issues with this film is how the story is handled. As much as I love Malcolm McDowell as an actor, his character here seems horribly out of place and curiously convenient.

By that, I mean he seems to be more of a villain than the "innocent doctor family man guy" he claims to be, until the Borg killed his whole family. He seems too prepared for evil actions, and all just to get himself into the Nexus, where he can live forever in perfection and joy.


The entire plot of the film solely involves this, and the Enterprise crew trying to stop him because of something. I forgot why. I think it has to do with him re-directing the Nexus in a way that it could destroy a bunch of inhabited planets.


That sort of shows you how the plot was thought out and directed. The only real focus is on the way people remember the film: "The one where Kirk and Picard meet"


I loved the first few minutes of the film, which show the launch of the Enterprise-B with Kirk, Chekov, and Scott aboard, and a bunch of news reporters covering its launch. Problems abound, they take in refugees from a pack of ships destroyed by the Nexus, one of which is Guinan(!) who is a "The Next Generation" mainstay, and the other is Dr. Somebody whose name I don't know but is Malcolm McDowell.

In order to save the ship, Kirk sacrifices himself in some way, then gets sucked out of the airlock and into the Nexus.



Almost 80 years later, the rest of the story begins with the TNG crew and such. Their story is mostly boring and pointless. Data gets an "emotion chip" which makes him an annoying douche. Sometimes he's funny or cute, but it's mostly annoying. Geordi has to put up with Data's stupid, and that's kind of it.

Out of nowhere, Picard receives news that his brother or cousin or someone has died, and thus the Picard line has no heirs, because Jean-Luc is the last one left, or something, and he has no children. So he has a breakdown, causing some minor tensions and odd command decisions.


Notice how I say things like "or something" or "or someone" or "kind of". This is in no way an implication that I'm an idiot who doesn't pay attention unless there's explosions; it's an implication that the movie either doesn't really care, doesn't really show or explain it much, or that it's so poorly shown or told that I just can't honestly remember any part of a certain point.


The core of the movie was really something that should have occurred in the pilot episode, as it involved a symbolic "passing of the torch" to the TNG crew... the year their 7 year show ends.

So Picard ends up in the Nexus as Doctor Strangelove's plan succeeds, and he finds himself in a scene of idyllic perfection, at an olde style house during Christmas, with a wife and family and children like he always wanted. But he's smart enough to realize it's the Nexus's bullpies, and Guinan appears to be MISS EXPOSITION! and explain how the Nexus works, and how there is no concept of straight chronology in the Nexus. So Picard realizes James T. Kirk is alive in the Nexus, and is warped to Kirk's own "heaven".


And Kirk is chopping wood.


I find that important to note because it would make sense if Kirk had been living there for the past 78 years and was just doing a daily chore, but he's not. He says he had only just arrived a few hours ago, and found his way there. And he's chopping wood.


From there, Kirk is treated as a befuddled old man, as he notices Picard wearing a STARFLEET EMBLEM on his odd uniform, looking strikingly different from the uniform Kirk is still wearing, and he makes no mention of this. He doesn't seem to care, and he instantly believes Picard is part of Starfleet.


Now at this point, I was still having my mind blown by the Nexus's concept of keeping people basically trapped in a time vacuum where nearly a century passes like an hour, and Kirk is sitting on the bridge of the Enterprise-B by noon, then is greeted by a man commanding the Enterprise-D at sundown, and told 78 years had passed since noon.


Instead, Kirk ignores most of what Picard is saying, and keeps talking about the cabin he's in and how it's exactly how he remembers it, and how his girlfriend is inside a room expecting breakfast, and then goes out horseback riding.


ONLY THEN does Kirk seem to finally accept the truth, and start talking to Picard instead of talking AT him, and learn about how it is now 78 years in the future in the "real world". So Picard magically has Guinan warp the laws of everything, and they SOMEHOW escape the Nexus just at the moment when Picard confronts Doctor Jeckyll on the planet where he brings down the Nexus to him, and this time he and Kirk fight with the Doctor and disable his magic magnetic laser.


And then, as they call it, they dropped a bridge on Kirk.


It's not too accurate, and I imagined it as them dropping like a SUSPENSION BRIDGE on Kirk or something. But no---Kirk is clinging to a metal bridge when it comes off, and he stays clinging to a man-sized piece like a starfish in a cage falling downhill.


THE ONLY benefit to this movie beyond eye candy or petty plot devices that would be of more benefit for the TV show is Kirk FINALLY accepting someone else in command of the Enterprise. From The Motion Picture, Kirk nastily stole command from Decker, then smuggly kept it on as Decker conveniently disappeared. Kirk politely took command from Spock in Wrath of Khan. Captain Alan Ruck guy even BEGS Kirk to take command of the Enterprise-B when they run into the dangerous Nexus.


But finally at the end, Kirk "passes the torch" to Picard, with the line "Who am I to argue with the captain of the Enterprise?"


What else did the film offer? A fun prologue, some pointless and stuffy TNG character interactions, meaningless Klingon intervention that made almost no sense from the context of the Klingons supposed to be at peace with the Federation, then having a hasty, incomplete explanation that the Klingon sisters are 'renegades' of some sort flying a Warbird that is 20 years outdated. If anything else of some importance happened, I completely forgot it, because it was just that unimportant.