Science fiction <-/-> Special Effects

Science Fiction and Special Effects. Two phrases that seem to have got inextricably linked together. You can’t have a science fiction movie without mind blowing special effects - that seems to be the popular belief. But why? Do you have to rely upon special effects to make a good science fiction movie? Is that what science fiction is all about? Just mind blowing special effects that leave you feeling like you just travelled through space? Sure, special effects do have a place of their own in movie making, but do they need to be the sole criteria to judge the quality of a science fiction movie?

Well, no, if Star Trek: Nemesis is any example to go by. Sure, the movie has its fair share of special effects to offer, but it does not completely rely upon them to carry itself, unlike some other recent sci-fi movies - Lost in Space and Matrix Reloaded come to mind. Real trekkies don’t care about special effects! Well, at least, not much.

So, what is a sci-fi movie supposed to be? How about a story set in a different time other than our past and present. Or a different world. Or perhaps in our time and world, but of a nature than does not fit in with our current understanding of the world and the laws of the universe. Something unexpected that cannot be explained by our current knowledge of science. And if such a sci-fi movie can stand on the basis of its story, its message, its performances, its entertainment value, then that is a movie with longevity.

On these lines, I am glad that the makers of ST Nemesis decided not to depend on special effects and instead paid more attention to the story and innovation in ideas. And that is what made ST Nemesis a good movie - a movie of substance. So many sequels these days are susceptible to being mediocre because they have no new idea to present - just an old idea of the original but embellished with plenty of icing to disguise the lack of innovativeness. Not so with ST Nemesis. Yes, cloning is not quite a completely new idea, but cloning was only a tool used in this fascinating story woven around Captain Picard and Commander Data. And the movie was not expected to provide a completely new idea - just a new twist to the existing idea of space travel in the 24th century.

The story is about a Romulan Shinzon’s plan to conquer the federation and rule the whole galaxy. Or is it? Is there perhaps a more personal reason for Shinzon to be after Enterprise and its captain Jean-Luc Picard? Early on in the movie, we find out that Shinzon is actually a clone of Picard, created by the Romulans to replace Picard so they could conquer the federation. But they abandoned the plan and sentenced Shinzon to the mines of Remus, a sister world of Romulus. Shinzon survived, and now he has plans of his own. And he is dying of a rare syndrome. Enough said.

In addition to a clone of Picard, there is also a clone of Data. And he is imaginatively named B4 - because he supposedly came into existence ’’before’’ Data. However, if you recall, earlier ST movies and the ST-TNG series featured an evil twin of Data. Given that, it was hard to understand why the discovery of B4 caused such concern - Enterprise crew reacted as if this was the first time a positronic android similar to Data had been discovered. So, whatever happened to Data’s original evil twin? B4 and Data have a major role to play in this movie - watch the movie to find out what! But at times, it looked like the creators of ST-TNG crew have got bored of Data - nothing much is left to develop in his character. So, they needed a new android who was not as advanced as Data so he can go through the same ’’growing pains’’ as Data did years ago.

Among the other characters, Riker and Troi get married in this movie. Phew! Hopefully, that will be the end of Riker’s womanizing - now he can stop copying Kirk’s favorite pastime. Worf has no role in this movie at all. Ah, but the big surprise in this movie was that our most lovable empath Deanna Troi actually does have a role in the story, other than just looking decorative and making dyspeptic faces while announcing dramatically ’’I feel pain!’’ In this story, her empathic powers are actually used to determine the location of a cloaked ship. Woohoo! Troi’s job is safe in case of layoffs and crew cutbacks on Enterprise.

At the end of the movie, Riker leaves the crew of Enterprise as he is assigned command of another ship. Does that mean an end of an era - will there be no Riker in the future movies around ST-TNG crew? Or will there even be any more ST-TNG crew movies at all? Perhaps its time to switch to other crews, such as the crew of ST Voyager led by Captain Janeway.

Incidently, Janeway makes a guest appearance as an admiral in the movie. Now I am confused about the relative timeline of Janeway and Picard. I thought Janeway and Voyager came chronologically later than Picard and Enterprise.

The movie is at time quite predictable. The revelation that Shinzon is really a clone of Picard did not utterly come as a surprise. However, the way Shinzon cuts his skin with a dagger to draw blood so Picard can test it and get to know the truth is so dramatic that it sure caught me by surprise. What was the need for such dramatization - as if a huge surprise was being revealed!

Another such predictable scene it the fight between Riker and the Romulan viceroy! How come every space ship in sci-fi movies has a deep shaft that seems to lead into infinity and which has a narrow bridge running across it. And the adversaries invariably make their way onto that bridge during the fight. No prizes for guessing who is going to fall down that shaft. Haven’t we had enough of it already?

Ok, finally, on the topic of special effects. The movie did not rely on special effects, but did have a fair sprinkling of them every now and then. The scene where the Enterprise bridge is taken out by the Romulans is simply breathtaking!

There’s nothing new to say about the acting. Almost all the actors in the movie have played their roles before, and they live up to their expectations. The only new face in a major role is Tom Hardy who plays the part of Shinzon - he delivers a good performance. He is being called one of Star Trek’s sexiest villains!

In summary, Star Trek Nemesis is a good and worthy member of the Star Trek movie series. It is not earth-shattering (pun unintended) as, say, The Matrix was, but certainly a decently entertaining and enjoyable movie. Worth a watch. So, if you are a trekkie, watch it. But if you have never seen a Star Trek movie before, this one will not blow you away.

(Originally posted on MS on Nov 2, 2003)