Star Trek: Nemesis

This topic contains:

• details about Star Trek: Nemesis' classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Star Trek: Nemesis completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 6 February 2003.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Star Trek: Nemesis contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references, nudity and sexual activity
• substance use and coarse language
• the movie's message
• overall comments

A synopsis of the story

Star Trek: Nemesis is set several hundred years in the future where star ships travel faster than the speed of light, and an infinite number of alien races exist. Nemesis begins with the Romulan Senate (alien rivals) being disintegrated by a deadly form of radiation. Following the destruction of the Romulan Senate, captain Jean-Luc Picard of the star ship Enterprise is sent to Romulas to negotiate peace. Before Picard can reach Romulas an alien warship captained by Shinzon, a clone of a younger Picard intercepts the Enterprise. Shinzon presents himself as a peacemaker intent on establishing peace between the Romulans and the Federation. However Shinzon is dying and requires a transfusion of captain Picard's blood to live.

Shinzon kidnaps Picard, but before he can perform the transfusion, Picard is rescued by Data (Enterprise's resident android). At this point the crew of the Enterprise discover that Shinzon's ship is a deadly radiation weapon of mass destruction, and that Shinzon is intent on destroying Earth.

The Enterprise and crew race to Earth, but are attacked by Shinzon. After a fierce battle, the Enterprise is left floating in space at the mercy of the Shinzon's deadly radiation weapon. To save his ship and destroy the radiation weapon, Captain Picard transports to Shinzon's ship and manages to defeat Shinzon. Picard and the Enterprise are finally saved by Data and the deadly radiation weapon is destroyed.

Use of violence

Violence was presented in Star Trek: Nemesis from start to end:

• The violence was performed mainly by males and presented in terms of good against evil. The violence presented by the good side was portrayed as defensible, just and right with no sign of remorse. The violence presented by the evil side was portrayed as offensive and tyrannous.
• One scene involved a female member of the Enterprise crew being telepathically sexually violated and terrorised by Shinzon and an alien. While not sexually explicit, this scene was violent, horrifying and intimidating.
• The violence was presented with physical real life consequences, such as people being disintegrated, shot, impaled on metal stakes, stabbed, blown up, sucked into space, and generally physically assaulted and terrorised. However, there was a general lack of psychological effects and consequences such as shock, remorse and grieving.

Material that may scare children

Star Trek: Nemesis contains realistic frightening and threatening images throughout the entire film that would be of concern for children under twelve years of age including:

• Aliens with grotesques faces, protruding fangs and talon-like fingernails
• Living beings having their flesh spontaneously mummified and disintegrated
• People being chased, shot at and terrorised by aliens
• Loud explosions and gun fire
• Vehicles and space craft being blown apart
• Images of a teenage boy as a slave in a mine
• Violent and threatening gestures by grotesque looking aliens
• A human face distorting in a grotesque manner
• Violent images of people being shot, bashed, stabbed, thrown through the air, sucked into space and sexually violated

While horror and violence is portrayed through out the film, graphically explicit displays of blood and gore are minimised with the most graphic scenes presented at the start and end of the film

Sexual references, nudity and sexual activity

There are three scenes presented in Star Trek: Nemesis with sexual reference.

• The first involves subtle gestures of sexual favours made by a Romulan women towards Shinzon.
• The second relates to a scene involving a couple in bed, while the inference is that the two are engaged in love making, both are covered to the shoulder by bed coverings.
• The third relates to the sexual violation of a female crewmember mentioned above.

Substance use and coarse language

There are no scenes involving intoxication through the use of substances. There is a brief scene at a wedding involving the consumption of alien alcohol (Romulan ale). Other than the single use of the word 'damn', no coarse language is presented in Star Trek: Nemesis.

The movie's message

The main take-home message presented in Star Trek: Nemesis is that violence, including the self sacrifice of life is justifiable and acceptable if used by the 'good side' against the 'evil side' with no remorse required by the good side for their violent acts.

Values shown in the movie that parents may wish to encourage include friendship, loyalty, teamwork, and equal gender roles.

Values shown in the movie that parents may wish to discourage include: the use of violence as justifiable when fighting evil; that males are the more dominant and controlling gender; people with opposing values and beliefs are evil, dangerous and threatening; and evil villains are mostly males and have an obvious evil appearance.

Overall comments

The pace and reality of the horror/violence presented through out Star Trek: Nemesis makes this film inappropriate for children under the age of twelve years. The effect of the horror and violence on younger teenagers is also of concern, and of particular concern is the scene involving the sexual violation of the female crewmember.

Children under 12
Not recommended

Children over the age of 12
Depending on the individual child and their exposure to material of this type, some young teenagers may need parental guidance in dealing with this movie.