Nemesis one of the best, misses mark with non-fans
My apologies up front, but my review of this film, and reaction to some of the other reviews present, is more personal and less detached than reviews of this type usually should be. But where Star Trek is concerned, my opinions are more emotional, and even deeply more personal than usual for TV and film subject matter. If this will derail you, read no further.
After watching so many people regurgitate their semi-informed views on the state of Trek and recent projects, and this film in particular, I have abandoned my "to each their own" stance on the subject, and will have my say.
Another reviewer writes: "I'm simply amazed at how many Star Trek fans abhor this movie! I guess I'm not enough of a Trekkie to understand the hatred, though I have been a fan since the 1970's."
I was thinking the opposite. I myself have been a fan since the '70's. I believe that makes people like us "real" fans, and provides sufficient credentials to have an opinion. At first I also wondered why so many bad reviews. Then, I realized, in settings like this, you are not seeing the opinions of Star Trek fans. You are getting the opinions of "a majority of the people." Big difference. Star Trek never was truly appreciated by a majority of the people. A majority of the people apparently thought the original series should be cancelled....
Asking people who probably did not truly "get" Trek, and what made it work to begin with, to rate which movie is the best, is like asking my mom and dad (children of the 50's) if Iron Maiden is a great band, and just taking their word for it. Not the proper audience.
You have people that are too young to appreciate the original, and wish it were more like Babylon 5, or folks that think Sci-Fi should run like a reality show. But, I digress....
Nemesis is, along with Star Trek II, probably one of the best of all Trek films. (As a true cinematic artwork, and excellent overall expression of the "Great Bird" 's original concept for ST without the limitations of weekly serial TV, Star Trek: The Motion Picture tops them all, and has not been surpassed. But, it lacked the sting of battle, heat of conflict, and the shrill squeal of phaser fire that fans craved.) Like Star Trek II, Nemesis has its share of flaws and inconsistencies, but like STII these are out shined by the action, drama, and spirit of adventure. These were seriously lacking in TNG episodes and films, and this final TNG piece seems to have been given a major transfusion of TOS blood. Ironic that yet again, when Paramount finally gets it right, they again nip it off at the bud because box office returns weren't exactly what they wanted, after trying this exact formula with newer TNG cast a total of ONE time. Those of us long suffering fans have come to expect nothing less from them. If it is time to let Star Trek be, it is not because its potential is gone, it is because those to whom the reigns have passed do not know how to utilize it creatively, and refuse to listen to the people who really watch it loyally: Longtime Fans. Not the "bloggers" online that tune in now and then when taking a break from World of War Craft, or there is nothing good on Sci-Fi Channel. I hate to say it, but: If you don't like this film, you probably just don't like Star Trek anyway, and should just go watch your old episodes of "Earth2", and leave this fine film, and its fans in peace.

The Ultimate Enemy Is Oneself
The Good Things
*Lots of cool action and special effects.
*Very different filming style. Much more vivid and interesting use of colors and camera angles. Also a bit darker and more dramatic.
*Storyline is interesting. It's cool to finally see the Romulans in a film.
*Characters are smashing. There are lots of paralells involved; Picard vs his clone, Data vs B-4 (his clone), Troi vs that ugly alien, Riker vs the same ugly alien, and so on. Duality is the key point, and it makes for some very interesting interactions and dialogue.
*Writing is good. Not so much comedy, but definately lots of drama.
*As mentioned above, strong themes of duality.
*Okay music.

The Bad Things
*The ending is a little dissapointing. Data is dead, the Enterprise is destroyed again, and everybody moves onto different paths. It almost warrents a whole new Star Trek TV series.

The Questionable Things
*It's almost too different. Definately a strange departure from previous films.

I didn't really like this one at first, but I'll be darned if it didn't grow on me. The action and special effects are very slick and cool. Above all, there are a lot of interesting issues involving duality between the characters, with the Romulans, and overall light and dark. It's dark and deep, but also a little too dreary and different. Still, it's very interesting and entertaining.

The one-disc version had good video and sound quality, and had some deleted scenes and featurettes. The two-disc version has good quality still, some of the same extras, plus additional featurettes.

Nemesis of My Eye
I had stayed clear of this film mainly on recommendations of others, but when the Special Collectors Edition Series came along, I could hardly resist it. As Sci Fi Films go its not bad, but as a Star Trek film goes, I'll take a Captain Kirk film any day. I thought the basic story line was quite good, in the sci fi sense, but a total goose in the Star Trek Sense. Its not hard to see why things went to horribly bad in the film, the director, as well as the principal writer were all non-trek oriented ( the main writer did admit to being a "Trekkie" however, when his idea
of advancing a plot was the glasses in Star Trek 2 that Bones gave to Kirk, then somethings wrong), also you can see how much of a heavy hand the Studio had in the edits with the deleted scenes... some of the most "Star Trek" styled moments just got the chop. Nemesis is a Good Sci-Fi film, but a superb example of how a franchise film is wrecked in the "do a film by Committee" style of film making that has so successfully killed many films.

THE DVD: Great Extras. Lots of informative material in the commentaries, and in the disc 2 extras. Great to see Ron Perlman out of Makeup and without his digitally enhanced voice as Vice-Roy ( which he plays in NEMESIS).Very Good Collection of Interviews and lookbacks.

The Franchise Crashes To A Halt
After the so-so box office totals brought in from Star Trek: Insurrection, as well as an overall downturn in viewership of Star Trek TV shows on the air, the Star Trek franchise heavily promoted "Nemesis" as the film that would keep the franchise alive and kicking. Instead, this horrible film had the exact opposite effect.

With "Nemesis", the Star Trek writers/producers tried to emulate the story of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", where Captain Kirk squares off against hated rival Khan. In this story, Captain Jean-Luc Picard discovers he has a clone who is trying to take over the Romulan High Council. This plot fails for two reasons: First, the tension between Picard and his clone is not nearly what it should be, as the clone is so evil that Picard (and thus the audience) can feel no sympathy towards him. Second, the Romulans are just weak villains. They have never been featured in any previous Star Trek movies, and their appearance in this film does not better that reputation.

Also, for the third consecutive movie, the fan-favorite Data character is heavily featured. While this is usually a good thing, the plot surrounding Data seems a bit contrived this time. The "drama" of finding "Data's" severed head...already used in the Next Generation series. A Data clone...same deal. Plus, the end scene (which is supposed to be reminiscent of "Khan's" ending) does not carry with it the emotional punch of Spock's death.

To conclude, though the graphics and action scenes in this movie are on par with the other Next Generation movie installments, as well as some character development at the wedding of Riker and Troi, the drama is severely lacking, turning to outright boredom in some spots. If you are a hard-core Star Trek fan who will watch this film no matter what I say, enjoy the slim good moments when you can. If you are just looking for a good sci-fi film, avoid this movie and wait for J.J. Abram's re-boot of the Star Trek franchise in 2009.

Star Trek Nemesis Collector's Edition
I had already seen this movie prior to buying it, but I would definitely watch it over and over again, and that is a requirement for me in order to purchase a DVD. Nice way to end it all off for the crew of the Enterprise, but alas the ending...It was nice to be able to see all the deleted scenes. All in all a great movie for fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation.