Thirteen "Star Trek" books are sold every minute, and that's just on the planet Earth. The Trekkie phenomenon is so indefatigable that there's even a volume ("Trek: The Lost Years," by Edward Gross) about a time period when the television show was off the air. In the face of such enthusiasm, a "Star Trek" film needn't do more than exist to generate sighs of contentment among die-hard fans. But a couple of them ("II" and "IV") have had legitimate crossover potential, bridging the entertainment gap between the Starship Enterprise and the real world.
"Star Trek Generations" is the series's most ambitious film, if only because it mixes the casts of two "Star Trek" television series with the help of "some sort of a temporal flux." For readers who find it baffling that there even are two television series (actually there are three, with a fourth on the way), the question is obvious. How much interest does this new installment hold for general audiences, for "Trek"-resistant moviegoers who turn elsewhere for their religious experiences and wouldn't know a main deflector dish from a satellite dish or even a dinner plate? What can "Generations" really say to the jargon-impaired?
Answer: just enough. "Generations" is predictably flabby and impenetrable in places, but it has enough pomp, spectacle and high-tech small talk to keep the franchise afloat. And in an age when much fancier futuristic effects can be found elsewhere, even its tackiness is a comfort. It's been more than 25 years since the maiden voyage of the Enterprise, yet the camera still rocks excitably while the actors cower during simulated explosions. And the crew still stands at attention in the control room, gazing worriedly out that big, bogus spaceship window while they wonder what new perils are in store.
In "Generations," the phenomenon causing trouble is an intergalactic ribbon, a celestial band that shoots off bolts of electricity and supposedly threatens peace in the universe, even though the worst it really suggests is serious trouble with a toaster coil. This menace is ultimately important enough to require the joint services of Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner, revered stalwart of the series) and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart, his glowering, debonair successor).
If the film intends any contest between these two, or the different "Star Trek" casts they represent, it's no contest. Mr. Shatner can't match Mr. Stewart's thespian manner and Shakespearean intonations. But he's the one with the twinkle in his eye and the pampered, cosseted look of a star beloved by a gazillion fans. Mr. Stewart is admirably commanding, but he and the "Next Generation" cast don't have quite as much personality as the original show's old standbys. Mr. Shatner's appearance only bookends the movie, but he arrives and exits this story as a convivial old friend.
The film's techno-babble is confusing enough to require at least a second visit for absolute clarity; of course, that must be the point. In brief, Captain Kirk returns from retirement to find the Enterprise in the hands of young whippersnappers, and is barely on board before a crisis strikes. Then there are explosions, and Kirk vanishes.
After this, the film catches up with the "Next Generation" crowd 78 years later. They are in the midst of playing naval games on their holodeck, which looks like a frigate but quickly rearranges itself into the Enterprise once an alarm sounds. Nostalgia for old-fashioned sailing ships and homey family scenes is rampant among the space travelers.
Also in "Generations," and making a dandy, taunting villain, is Malcolm McDowell as Soran, a mad scientist who looks like Sting and plans to blow up a star to reach the intergalactic ribbon and attain eternal joy. Or something. The meaning of the ribbon is explained by Whoopi Goldberg, who appears as Guinan, her "Next Generation" character. It's time for Ms. Goldberg to duck roles that require her to be patient, kindly and wise.
"Generations" lumbers along companionably until, after an hour and a half, it reaches a crucial juncture. Soon after the Enterprise crashes in a forest (delivering the film's most impressive special-effects sequence), Picard finds himself beside Kirk, creating a kind of Trekkie Mount Rushmore. The meeting is pleasant, but the screenplay (by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga) doesn't deliver any fireworks here. And Mr. Shatner, amusingly convivial in more casual scenes, doesn't bring much agility to his final tussle with the gleeful, diabolical Mr. McDowell.
As directed by David Carson, "Generations" moves slowly but equitably among the two series' regulars, giving each a bit of fan-pleasing shtick. So Data (Brent Spiner), the blank-faced robotic character who's meant to compensate for the absent Mr. Spock, gets a computer chip that gives him emotions, which yield predictable comic results. As with most of "Generations," this will speak most clearly to the already converted but still seem reasonably diverting to the neophyte. Even if you came in late for "Star Trek," you can come in here.
"Star Trek Generations" is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It includes mild violence and nothing sexual, except a few Klingon women with cleavage.
STAR TREK GENERATIONS
Directed by David Carson; written by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, based on a story by Rick Berman, Mr. Moore and Mr. Braga, and the television series "Star Trek," created by Gene Roddenberry; director of photography, John A. Alonzo; edited by Peter E. Berger; music by Dennis McCarthy; production designer, Herman Zimmerman; produced by Mr. Berman; released by Paramount Pictures. Running time: 110 minutes. This film is rated PG.
WITH: William Shatner (Kirk), Patrick Stewart (Picard), Malcolm McDowell (Soran), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Jonathan Frakes (Riker), Brent Spiner (Data), LeVar Burton (Geordi), Michael Dorn (Worf), Gates McFadden (Beverly), Marina Sirtis (Troi), James Doohan (Scotty) and Walter Koenig (Chekov).
