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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Boldly going where ST: TOS went before, September 7, 2004
Boldly going where "Star Trek-The Original Series" had gone before, "Generations" allows us to watch the passing of the torch. The Next Generation cast took the big screen but not center stage in the first feature of this television series. The real attraction here was the death of a beloved Trek icon-Captain James T. Kirk. As the film begins Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) along with former crewmates Scotty (James Doohan) and Checkov (Walter Koenig) are along on the ride for the launch of the newly commissioned Enterprise-B. When two ships signal that they need help, the Enterprise-B, despite the fact that it hasn't been outfitted with the rudimentary defense mechanisms, is ordered to help the two troubled passenger ships. New Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck) reluctantly zooms to their aid. With news cameras from every network on Earth covering the launch of the ship, Kirk feels compelled to step in and help the inexperienced crew save the lives on the ships in distress. Unfortunately, Kirk appears to be killed in the process.
About 80 years later the crew of the USS Enterprise C is celebrating the promotion of Lt. Commander Worf on the holodeck, Captain Jean Luc-Picard receives some disturbing news during the celebration; his nephew, brother and sister-in-law have been killed in a fire. The celebration is cut short when the Enterprise is ordered to help a research station under fire from Romulans. As the ship arrives, they discover everyone on the research vessel dead except Dr. Tolian Soren (Malcolm McDowell). It turns out that he is the cause of the attack and he's develop a dangerous new weapon that can cause a sun to go nova within minutes. He plans on using it to somehow harness the power of something called the Nexus ribbon. It appears that people that enter this ribbon that travels through space can relive the past and visit with loved ones long dead. Picard must stop Soren or millions of innocent lives will be sacrificed in the process. Unfortunately, he fails and both he and Soren are sucked into the Nexus. While in there Picard meets a most unexpected ally Captain James T. Kirk who it appears is very much alive. Picard must convince Kirk to help him stop Soren as he's cut off from his ship and crew.
Although it was much maligned by the press when it was first released "Generations" has the stuff big screen space operas and good science fiction are made up; there's an ethical dilemma, an action packed script and some solid character development. What it doesn't have is the sense that it was designed for the big screen. Despite the bigger production values and epic scope of the initial action, the film feels like it could have been made during the series'seven year reign. There's also the lack of a larger than life villain. While McDowell is great in his role as the complex villain Soren, you get the feeling that Picard and Kirk could easily take him out. The ending haunted the film from the very beginning; the death scenes for Captain Kirk had to be reshot after the film was finished as it just didn't have the mythic quality the producers and fans wanted. The final ending doesn't either but it is more satisfying than the original ending (which is included on this special edition). "Generations" provides an entertaining two hour adventure and, while not the best Trek film from The Next Generation crew ("Star Trek: First Contact" holds that honor), it's a satisfying adventure.
I've not seen this much edge enhancement in some time. While the transfer captures the vivid colors of the ocean at the beginning and the desolate beauty of the desert at the end, the over use of edge enhancement (in the form of a shimmering effect) cripples this disc. It's not really noticeable on a small screen but on big screen TVs, the use of a Proxima Projector or on a HDTV, it's noticeable to the point that it's distracting. On the plus side, this "next generation" edition of the film is a marked improvement over the bare bones edition Paramount issued five years ago. The film receives a nice anamorphic transfer with a much crisper picture and better detail than on the previous DVD. The bright colors and solid blacks are rendered very nicely. The analog blemishes are few and it's clear that this has been struck from a new print.
On the plus side as well we're offered a terrific 5.1 channel Dolby Digital track as well as a DTS version of the soundtrack. There are also Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks available for both the English and French soundtracks as well. The sonic detail and a great dynamic range highlight the soundtrack. The clear dialogue, effects and music are distinct and have tremendous presence regardless of which version of the soundtrack you select.
With a second disc of extras, "Generations" is a marked improvement over the first edition. The first edition of the film didn't even have the theatrical trailer. Here we get "The Star Trek Universe", "Production", "Visual effects" and other featurettes focusing on the production of the movie. The production quality of the featurettes is more than a cut above the standard releases as well. We get interviews on set with cast and crew as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the production of the movie nicely edited with some neat graphics.
"Star Trek Universe is divided into the following segments; Production is divided into three sections; "A Tribute to Matt Jeffries" which is one of the best and most touching featurettes here. Jeffries was the original art director for the original series and continued on in various roles throughout the movies as well. "The Enterprise Lineage" discusses all the ships from the series "Enterprise" to the Enterprise-D launched in "Star Trek: First Contact". "Captain Picard's Family Album" and "Creating 24th Century Weapons" round out this particular section. Production focuses on the following areas; "Uniting Two Legends", "Stellar Cartography: Creating the Illusion" and "Strange New Worlds: The Valley of Fire". The first focuses on the brainstorming that went into uniting two different TV icons in the movie. The second featurette discusses the creation of the famous Stellar Cartography deck and is related to the challenges of creating believable optical effects for this sequence. The third and final featurette here focuses on the alien planet where the bulk of the second half of the film takes place. "Visual Effects" provides an inside look at the creation of the models and miniatures as well as the sequence where the Enterprise crashes into the surface of the alien planet.
Next we get "Scene Deconstruction" that allows us to glimpse the creation of the main title sequence. We see how the effect for the Nexus Ribbon is created and see how the illusion of the crash of the Enterprise was so convincingly portrayed. There's a number of deleted scenes included (most of them unfinished which is why they weren't integrated back into the film) including the "Orbital Skydiving" scene that was originally supposed to open the film. "Walking the Plank" provides a glimpse of a sequence that takes place during Worf's promotion ceremony that was trimmed for time reasons. The last two will be of particular interest to fans of the film and series. We see a more involved sequence depicting Christmas with The Picards. This involves Captain Picard's imaginary family and his experience in the Nexus and, for the grand finale, the alternate ending that only preview audiences saw. There's also the inclusion of deleted scenes, a photo gallery and a selection of production storyboards to compare to the finished film.
Writers Ron Moore and Brannon Braga provide the commentary track for the film. Since both wrote a number of the best TV episodes of "The Next Generation" and this film along with "First Contact", they're able to provide a unique and fascinating glimpse into the compromises involved in making a Trek film. From Paramount's direction that the film has to be understandable by anyone not familiar to "Star Trek" to issues with the fans reaction to the film, both writers give us a candid account of the production. This, along with Michael and Denise Okuda's precise and informative text commentary give an excellent insider's perspective on the making of this film.
Although "Star Trek Generations" couldn't possibly live up to the fan expectations for the film, it's still a solid outing in the franchise. If more risks had been taken with the screenplay and direction, perhaps this film could have been as good as "Star Trek: First Contact". Regardless, Paramount has put together a fine and comprehensive special edition here. My only complaint is the over use of edge enhancement that mars an otherwise fine transfer free of the analog blemishes that marred the "Star Trek V-Collector's Edition" from a couple of years ago.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great transition!, September 6, 2002
Star Trek Generations is simply a great transition movie, handing the torch from Captain Kirk and crew to Captain Picard and crew. While not living up completely to what we the fans wanted, that doesn't really matter. That is the case in most of the movies. Especially the odd numbered ones for some strange cosmic reason. We all knew the Galaxy Class Enterprise 1701-D had to go. It was simply not made for the silver screen. I was personally hoping that more of the original series crew could've made it for the opening sequence. The scenes between Kirk and Picard were very well done. If I remember correctly, this was also the first time that we'd heard Captain Sulu's first name. Patrick Stewart once again showed the depth of his acting abilities with the death of his character's brother and nephew. It's a little disturbing to see Captain Picard basically recieve a beating from Soren. After watching Kirk fight many a people and win over the years. Malcolm McDowell, Soren played a very good, tortured villain. And yes, Captain Kirk said in Star Trek V The Final Frontier that he always knew he'd die alone. And that was the case, he was alone in the sense the Spock and McCoy weren't there. The way Kirk died did seem a little melodramatic for the character. Overall though, a very good transition movie. I would suggest that if you'd like a few more of the details, I believe you can still get a copy of the book. It does bring to light some of the things that were glossed over on the screen.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Passing the torch to the Next Generation: Not half-bad..., April 6, 2005
On one hand, I'm glad to see Paramount's finally come `round, and is giving the Star Trek movie line the Special-Edition-DVD-with-all-sorts-of-extras treatment. On the other hand, I wished they'd done this the FIRST time they put the movies out on DVD! But hey, why release the best stuff at the outset when they can get the fanboys to purchase the stripped-down, movie-only DVD, then turn around and release the Special Edition version a couple years later, knowin' full well the UberTrekkies will be more'n willing to trade up? Once again the ol' Dreaded DVD Double-Dip Ploy (read about this annoying phenomenon at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/3CVFIEG84F2PF) rears its ugly head...
But even though I was royally... ticked... by Paramount's nefarious double-dip, I must admit they actually improved on the old DVD's picture and sound quality, which was great to start with. Not only is the soundtrack crisper, I can also hear the more discreet background bits that I never picked up on before on VHS and heard reasonably well on the initial DVD release. And the picture clarity and resolution is even better than before.
Anyhoo, I thought that 'Generations' was a decent entry into the Star Trek movie canon, and was better than most of the odd-numbered 'Trek movies, AKA the ones that are considered the worst of the feature film series. It had more than its fair share silly and schmaltzy moments, many of which were pointed out with a combo of delight and chagrin by screenwriters Ronald Moore and Brannon Braga in the commentary track. The big highlights here are Data's newfound emotions, and his hilarious over-the-top efforts to control them; some of his antics could give Jim Carrey a run for his money! But all fun and games aside, 'Generations' didn't seem to put a wholehearted effort into 'passing the torch' from the original show to the Next Generation. Fortunately, the subsequent 'Trek outing, 'First Contact', proved with little doubt NextGen's worthiness in taking over and maintaining the `trek film franchise... that is, until it was followed up by the consecutive disappointments `Insurrection' and `Nemesis'.
The Special Collector's Edition commentary track features screenwriters Ronald Moore and Brannon Braga talking about the grind they experienced writing the script, which wasn't helped by the fact that they were also working on the final season of NextGen at the same time. As I stated before, the pair pick apart the scenes that "didn't quite turn out as we'd have liked", as well as going over various plot holes and continuity problems. They were especially brutal about the sickly-sweet "Picard family Christmas" scene, which apparently was cut down from an even longer sequence (a rough cut of the full scene is included in Disc Two's `Deleted Scenes' section). Also covered here: their thoughts on the whole "passing-the-torch" deal & whether or not it worked out to their satisfaction, and the new ending.
Speaking of the new ending: the old one is presented in rough-cut form in the Deleted Scenes section. And lemme tell ya, it didn't work quite as well as the new ending did (shot in the back?! Puh-leeeze...), so it's a good thing they decided to change it. Come to think of it, it looks like none of the deleted scenes would've worked as well as the stuff they eventually went with in the theatrical release. From the orbital skydiving scene that was to be intercut with the champagne-bottle-in-space opening credits sequence, to the Even-More-Overdone-Picard Christmas scene, none of `em looked quite right, and the acting in them was less than decent. Of course, mebbe all they needed was for the effects to have been put in, and the dialogue re-dubbed, and they mighta worked just fine... but I doubt it. BTW I'd heard they filmed a cut-out scene where Soran tortured Geordi LaForge, which apparently didn't even make it into the `Deleted Scenes' section (mebbe Paramount made it into an "Easter egg"?)...
Then there are the usual interviews and behind-the-scenes/making-of mini-docs that tend to populate a Bonus Features platter. The most interesting mini-doc for me is the "Picard Family Album", which includes all sortsa photos, citations and "gags", including photos of the movie crews' ancestors standing in for pics of Picard's ancestors, and even behind-the-scenes photos from previous Trek-flicks. Also of interest is "Creating 24th-Century Weapons", a look at a knife-maker who's made several different knives and blades that have been seen in various Trek shows and movies, including the famed Sword of Kahless and the blade Shinzon holds aloft in the `Star Trek: Nemesis" promo poster. And lemme tell ya, the guy is REALLY into his work, and takes great pride in seeing his creations show up in the various Star Trek eppies and flicks. BTW the "stingray" gauntlet-knife he shows off near the end of the feature is a creation that's not to be missed!
I also found the behind-the-scenes look at the crashing of the Enterprise-D saucer section in miniature kinda interesting, mainly due to the effort they had to go through just to set the whole thing up. Then there's the "Valley of Fire" piece, which covers the reshoot of the new death-of-Kirk scene, and provides a reasonably convincing response from the good captains about the rumors of a "rift" between them. Also of some interest to me was the tribute to the late Matt Jefferies, the chief designer of the original series sets & props. And in case you're wondering: yes, that's Jefferies as in "Jefferies tubes"...
Oddly enough, the bonus disc lacks theatrical trailers, which makes it the only Special Collector's Edition Trek-flick DVD release so far to lack trailers. However, it makes for an interesting coincidence when you consider the fact that the initial DVD release didn't include any trailers, either. Well okay, it's not really all that interesting; I just wanted to show off my scary-talent of knowing all sortsa absolutely irrelevant and useless information...
`Late
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