Believe it or not, before Star Trek came along in 2009, there was an entirely different series of movies released under the Star Trek franchise. I know, I'd forgotten all about them, too. The last of these movies was 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, a tired, confused affair that hastened the end of the original Trek franchise (until the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise killed it dead three years later). To be fair, Nemesis wasn't the outright worst offering in Star Trek history, and one of its redeeming qualities come in the form of its soundtrack.
The Gold Standard
Longtime Star Trek composer Jerry Goldsmith is behind the music of Nemesis, so at least the soundtrack knew what it was doing, even if the movie didn't. Being as familiar as he was with Star Trek (having composed the music for four previous Trek movies), Goldsmith is fully aware of all the cues and motifs that fans have come to consciously and subconsciously associate with everything from the characters to the various incarnations of the USS Enterprise.
The Last Adventure of the Next Generation
To that effect, "Repairs" features the same four-note theme heard in Goldsmith's other scores to his previous Star Trek films, going hand-in-hand with screenwriter John Logan including homages to all the Trek TV series in Nemesis itself. But even amidst that comfort, and hearing the Next Generation theme gently played as the magnificent Enterprise-E gracefully glides through the expanse of space, there's still a sense of unease, of menace and danger in the music.
This is fitting, since Nemesis is much darker in tone than any of the movies the preceded it. But seen (or heard) in an unintentional light, this being the end of many things for Star Trek. Take, for instance, "Remus", the opening track on the CD. It begins with Alexander Courage's iconic Star Trek fanfare (where the residing captain would normally say "These are the voyages…") - but instead of a triumphant, heroic overture, the mood quickly shifts into something far more ominous, threatening.
It speaks to the obviously grimmer tone of Star Trek: Nemesis, but one can't help wonder if the change in feel goes beyond the movie's tagline, "A generation's final journey begins". With Nemesis arguably beginning the end of the second wave of the Star Trek screen franchise, and with its soundtrack being one of Jerry Goldsmith's last compositions before he passed away, the score has a definite element of finality and farewell.
But Some Things Never Change
Still, this is a Star Trek soundtrack, and there are the usual standards. The exquisite battle scenes between the Enterprise and Shinzon's Scimitar made for stunning viewing, and "Engage" captures well the moment of the bruised and battered Enterprise ramming the Scimitar. There's also the less-exquisite subplot of Data (Brent Spiner) and his inferior model B-4. Ostensibly written to give what is otherwise a very bleak movie some moments of comedy and hope, the themes are reflected in the final track "A New Ending", which starts with a motif of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies", before seguing into a full rendition of the Next Generation theme.
Verdict: Not Guilty
But there was to be no hope for the Next Generation, as Nemesis served as an ill-fitting curtain call on a show that deserved much better. Even as the soundtrack ends with the usual victorious theme from the television show, we're ultimately left with the feeling of a movie - even a franchise - that knew its time was all but over.
4.0/5.0: An epitaph to what was great about Star Trek: The Next Generation, what wasn't great about Star Trek: Nemesis, and to Jerry Goldsmith's unforgettable mark on Star Trek.
Michael Perera - The only rule in writing is honesty. If you're honest, the words will write themselves.
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