The crew of the Starship Enterprise have a major dilemma on their hands when a scientist named Soran (Malcolm McDowell),whom they'd once saved from his doomed home planet, reveals himself to be a very bad guy. He's hellbent on returning to something called the Nexus, a domain where, once a person has been there, they apparently don't want to leave. It's just pure joy. To stop Soran, Captain Picard (the great Sir Patrick Stewart) must team with the legendary Captain Kirk (the almighty William Shatner),who supposedly perished saving the "Enterprise-B" during its maiden voyage.

"Generations" initially comes off as a great gimmick, of uniting two generations of Enterprise crews, but this never really pays off, as the only two who meet are Picard and Kirk. "Generations" is NOT one of the stronger entries in this film series, with an engaging but uninspired story. The main attraction for veteran fans is likely to be the prospect of Picard and Kirk teaming up for the final half hour, engaging in fisticuffs with the maniacal Soran and hurrying to prevent him from destroying a star.

This viewer can't speak as one who has necessarily been a big Trek fan from the start, so he basically views this as pretty fun, all things considered. Certainly all the series regulars are in very fine form, with the android Data (Brent Spiner) getting the lions' share of the comedy relief, as he has inserted a special computer chip that allows him to experience emotions. This presents a problem at times, because either *everything* is amusing to him, or he gets scared easily.

It's nice to see old hands James Doohan and Walter Koenig, however briefly; Shatner brings the final part of the film to life. Not such an easy task, given the talents of Stewart (Picard has some key emotional moments) and the delicious, hammy villainy of McDowell. In addition to the regulars from the 'Next Generation' series, other familiar faces like Alan Ruck, Jacqueline Kim, Jenette Goldstein, Glenn Morshower, Tim Russ, and Brian Thompson turn up. An unbilled Whoopi Goldberg reprises her role of Guinan.

Wonderful music by Dennis McCarthy and some impressive visual effects by ILM help to make this a reasonably entertaining series entry.

Seven out of 10.

This film is an excuse to pair Captain Picard with Captain Kirk--something that should not have normally occurred since Kirk died long before Picard was born according to the shows. However, because of a silly plot device called "the nexus", they join together to kick the butt of the bad guy, Malcolm McDowell. Because of this odd plot, you only get to see a few of the old crew and most of the new crew at the beginning of the film--the final half is just the showdown between the three. I really don't want to get into a thorough discussion of the plot and all that occurs--you can certainly see it yourself. But the film packs a lot of emotion into it--seeing one of the characters actually die twice in the film. And, it is odd but original. The problem, though, is that with this "nexus", you can choose to go back to any point in time and relive it--trying to correct what occurred the first time. However, when the captain gets that chance, why didn't he go back several months or even years and prevent anyone from dying in the first place? This plot hole is pretty big and makes what happened in the movie irrelevant if the good captain had only used his brain.

'Star Trek: The Next Generation' may not be quite as influential or as ground-breaking as the original 'Star Trek' series, but quality-wise it is every bit as good with a few improvements.

Like with the original series, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' also spawned a series of films that are watchable in their own right but vary wildly in overall quality. 'Generations' is one of the weaker films based on 'The Next Generation' series, and to me one of the lesser 'Star Trek' films in general. There is plenty to admire here in 'Generations', but it is also frustrating that 'Generations' is as uneven as it is.

It is very easy to see why 'Generations' has got its mixed critical reception and why it's generally met with disappointment by 'Star Trek' fans. It has been mentioned for very good reason that Kirk deserved a better send off than he got here. Even as someone who isn't a fan of William Shatner's acting and who prefers Spock vastly of the original crew characters, it cannot be denied regardless that the character is iconic in the 'Star Trek' universe. Instead of an affectionate and heartfelt send off it ought to have been, it felt like a rushed tacked on cheat that reeked of the studio and producers wanting to get rid of the characters. Shatner's ego has nothing to do with it (if so he wouldn't have stood for such an indifferent treatment of such a character),like it wasn't with the failure of 'The Final Frontier' which with the budget hindrances and studio interference was doomed from the start.

More of a problem actually was Data's emotion chip subplot. Not only was it under-cooked in the writing and the explanations but it also felt well over-egged in how it featured in the film. It featured too much, and Data's ridiculously over the top behaviour (which Brent Spiner badly overdoes) and the humour that came with it embarrassingly contrived didn't help at all, instead further hindrances. It was lovely to see Chekov and Spotty again, they are played beautifully and have some humorous lines and interplay. They are underused however, seem out of character and their dialogue clashes with their personalities established in the original series, almost like there were other characters initially in mind.

Some of the story execution could have been better. There are many good moments here, mostly down to characterisation, but some of the narrative is a bit muddled and with some of the padding and some leaden pacing it did seem to me, and others, like an extended episode of the series rather than an expansive own entity. While there are instances where the lighting is very striking and atmospheric, there are other instances of either being too dark or too garish.

'Generations' has a lot to admire however. It is impeccably made, with rich and grand spectacle, elaborate settings, intimate and immersive photography and mostly first rate special effects (apart from the odd recycled one). The music score is very cleverly integrated into the film and works very well as music on its own. There is a mix of brassy pomp (like the fanfare in Kirk and Picard's first encounter),subtly intense mystery (the choral writing and synthesisers representing Picard's family discovery) and emotional lyricism (characterised by muted strings in Kirk's final scene). The sound effects are suitably eerie.

The script is problematic, like its over-emphasis on the poorly thought out emotion chip subplot and some overly talky philosophising, but has its good parts too. A lot of what Picard says is very thought-provoking, the interplay between Kirk and Picard is both funny and poignant and some of the best lines come from Soran (like his chilling taunts and interaction with Picard).

Likewise the story does have enough that's exciting, thought-provoking and compelling (even if it is bloated and unoriginal),and it's just about comprehensible (even with the Nexus stuff needing more clarity in places). It is very character heavy and is wisely driven by the characterisation and interaction. It's here where 'Generations' excels. Really enjoyed the interplay between Kirk and Picard, that reservations of them not gelling or the pairing not making sense were quickly forgotten. Picard's grief was also really quite moving, and Soran is a quite chilling threat which adds to the tension and suspense.

With the exception of Spiner (which was the result of bad writing),the performances are very good. Shatner surprisingly and remarkably reigns in the temptation to ham in a rare occurrence, and the charismatic, more restrained and affectionate approach was appreciated while also not forgetting to have fun. Jonathan Frakes was also great, while the Next Generations crew and Walter Koenig and James Doohan entertain hugely as well. Patrick Stewart brings effortless dignified gravitas to Picard, while Malcolm McDowell is on snarlingly evil form as one of the most interesting and best acted cinematic 'Star Trek' villains.

Overall, messy but with many things admiration-worthy. 6/10 Bethany Cox