Action director Stuart Baird was called upon to helm this tenth installment in the Gene Roddenberry franchise, and indeed there are more space battles and phaser fights than in any of the previous Star Trek pictures. At this point, looking to juice the series with action scenes is the equivalent of applying a defibrillator to a cadaver. For most of its run, the Star Trek films have been lifeless – mired in dull technobabble, sophomoric philosophical pretensions and awkward humor. The sense of wonder that defines superior science-fiction is all but absent. Nemesis is no different. Picard (Patrick Stewart) encounters an evil clone of himself, allowing existential identity issues to further bog down the proceedings. By the time the movie whimpers to its end, with various good-byes and even a key death, I felt no more attached to this universe than I did after watching 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. After 13 years and 10 movies, the most I can muster is a shrug.
