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 - Average, only Average.When I heard that ST 7 was going to be a "passing-of-the-torch" film I dreaded its release. After the wonderful send off of the original cast in Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition) all they could do is cheapen the effect. And lo-&-behold, I was right. The main problem with Generations is that it's a gimmick movie, nothing more, nothing less. And the sad thing is, it never had to be made. Once ST VI was done they could have just done a TNG film, no problem. When you look at the storyline there really is no reason why Kirk (with Scotty & Chekov at the beginning) needed to be included. The movie would have been no better or worse with only Picard & crew in it. Not that the storyline in general was that great. The plot could have been an episode on the TV just as easily as a film. There was nothing special about it. The film starts off with Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov as guests upon the newest edition of the Enterprise on its maiden voyage. Of course a distress call comes in that requires the Enterprise to rescue two freighters caught in a moving ribbon across space. As you would expect Kirk becomes the hero, but in doing so he is swept out into space. 80 years later Dr Soran (played greatly by Malcolm McDowell) plans to destroy an entire solar system so that he could enter "the Nexus", the aforementioned ribbon in space that upon entering you experience such joy and contentment that you never want to leave. Soran had a brief taste of it and is now desperate to go back. He enlists the aid of the Duras sisters, Klingons that had a reoccurring role in TNG. The story becomes somewhat predictable with Picard & crew trying to stop Soran and the sisters at all costs. Now here is my second issue with this movie. The TV show TNG had by this time become dependent on the "space-time continuum" and "alternate reality" plotlines. It seemed like when the writers got stuck in a plotline they pull out one of these gimmicks and "POOF", the crew goes back in time to correct the problem. While it was original at first it got so old and over used that it became annoying. So here we are in the film, Soran wins, the solar system is destroyed which helps him enter the Nexus, dragging along Picard, and the Enterprise crashes on the planet and then blows up, probably killing all on board. Picard of course can't stand joy and contentment so he searches and finds Kirk who, it turns out, was sucked into the Nexus when he was swept out into space 80 years ago. And together, they return to the planet minutes prior to Soran's victory and manage to defeat and kill Soran, saving millions of lives. Just curious, what happened to the Soran that entered the Nexus? Was he dragged back out again? That seems a little unfair. Or is this some alternate dimension with a different Soran? If that is the case, where is the different Picard? How come we don't run into him? Am I looking at this too deeply? Oh, absolutely I am! But I hate it when writers and filmmakers use gimmicks in storylines without understanding how they affect the story. This was a movie that should never have been made. It was suppose to be a bridge between the two crews and instead it was a bridge to nowhere. And if that wasn't annoying enough, when you view the "deleted scenes" on disc two, they can't just show us the scenes, they have to explain them. And it's not just a brief "here-is-the-scene-and-here-is-why-we-changed-it"; each scene had a 10 minute intro to it. Guess what people, I don't care if test audiences hated it or if your grandmother had a vision. Just shut up and show me the scene. It should not take 50 minutes to view 5 deleted scenes! Thank Heaven for fast-forward! Unless you are a huge Star Trek fan and want to round out your collection, pass on this. It was not conceived well, the plot is strictly TV fodder, and the whole concept of the two "generations" meeting was weak. Fortunately the next two ST films, Star Trek - First Contact (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition) & Star Trek - Insurrection (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition) brought the franchise back to respectability. Rating:  - a true fan would buy this :)if you like the next generation you'll want to own this. Very cool way to see the crew extend the stories past the season 7 eppisode. Rating:  - Could Have Been Great, But UnderachievedMuch like the first Star Trek film, "Star Trek Generations" could have been great, but ultimately failed to create the high drama and emotional character development that fans of the series crave. The idea of Captains Kirk and Picard interacting in one movie seemed like box office dynamite, but did not live up to the billing. The basic plot of this film has the "Next Generation" Enterprise crew investigating a strange astral phenomena in which people can live out their greatest fantasies. When that phenomena falls into the wrong hands, the conflict of the movie is set. The movie fails to deliver in a few key areas: First, the introduction and ultimate fate of the returning James T. Kirk seem quite anticlimactic. In what should have been a momumental "passing of the torch" moment, the writers/producers instead chose to play down the "cannon" aspect in favor of the script at hand. Second, the "Next Generation" crew all seem a bit wooden in their performances, almost as if they were taking themselves too seriously on the big screen, when they should have just remained true to their silver-screen characters. A few scenes actually work quite while, however, saving this movie from complete oblivion. The opening of the movie, featuring a fish-out-of-water Kirk watching a new captain command the Enterprise, is classic, while Captain Jean-Luc Picard's "fantasy life" in the astral phenomena adds depth to his character. Also, the emotion-chip plotline involving Data was humorous (even though Data's ultimate decision on the chip doesn't come until later on in the Next Generation TV show). To conclude, "Star Trek Generations" is an average movie that is very uneven throughout. Some scenes with Kirk are great, others are anticlimatic. Some information regarding the astral phenomena is interesting, while at other times it is just confusing. If you are just watching the Star Trek movies, I would recommend this film in order to become accustomed to the Next Generation cast. If you already are a "Next Gen" fan, this movie can easily be skipped en route to the next installment in the movie series. Rating:  - When two captains meet!Retired U.S.S. Enterprise crew members Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Chevok (Walter Koenig) and Scotty (James Doohan) are guests of honor as they christened a new enterprise but during their test of the ship, a mysterious energy ribbon called The Nexus as Captain Kirk disappears. Seventy-eight years later the USS Enterprise-D run by Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) with his crew Worf (Michael Dorn), Data (Brent Spiner), Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Geordie (Levar Burton), Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) are traveling through space, a mad scientist named Soren (Michael McDowell) who has a plan to destroy the enterprise and millions of lives. Picard must go into the Nexus where he must find the legendary and so called proclaimed dead Captain Kirk to help him stop Soren's madness before it's too late. Nicely done and well directed installment of the popular sci-fi franchise! I love how they had a few members of the original ST crew and the Next Generation crew are together in this movie. Sure fans had mixed feelings over this installment but i loved it! Whoopie Goldberg does a great uncredited apperence as Next Generation bartender Guinan, the special effects were spectacular and the storyline is very good. Some fans didn't like how Data the lovable android gets an emotion chip that makes him a happy go-lucky joker but i think it's funny, the acting is good and so is the directing. This is a very underrated installment of the series that is worth watching, this is where the old generation meets the new generation with a memorable end to Kirk and a welcome arm to Captain Picard and his crew. This 2-Disc DVD contains great picture and sound as always with these 2-disc editions of the franchise! the extras include audio commentary by Brannon Braga and Ron Moore with Text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda of the "Star Trek Encylopedia" fame. Featurettes, deleted scenes, alternate ending, storyboards, production gallery, and a tribute to Matt Jefferies. Rating: - a long episodeI will say this. If I had to pay 15 bucks or go to a theatre to see this film I wouldn't do it. However for the 5-6 bucks you are about to pay for it then yes it's worth it. It was a movie that should have never went to theraters but, been on a tv. It might as well been a two part eps with a bigger budget. Granted I like the movie and bought it on amazon and if you like TNG you'll like this film.
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