The intrepid Starship Enterprise crew prove there is no final frontier for the sci-fi film franchise by returning for more inter-galactic adventures in Star Trek: Nemesis.

This time, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise crew find themselves on a diplomatic mission to initiate peace with the Romulans.

But upon arrival on the alien planet, they are faced with a threat that could lead to Earth's destruction, and Picard meets his most dangerous adversary yet, a surprisingly personal nemesis.

For the new leader of the Romulans is called Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a human replica of Jean-Luc Picard, who assures the real Picard that the Romulans desire a peace treaty,

But is he really interested in aligning with the Federation? In possession of a weapon of immeasurable destruction, Shinzon has the power to destroy the Enterprise and her crew. He even has the means to annihilate Earth. And Shinzon is stoking a particular malevolence for Picard, who finds himself face-to-face with the most dangerous enemy of his life.

"Star Trek Nemesis is a story about accepting change," says producer Rick Berman. "It's a story of passages, of a family that we have known for many years fracturing and moving on in their separate ways."

"It's also a tale about loyalty and courage," adds Patrick Stewart. "It shows how people behave under the most extreme and seemingly hopeless of circumstances."

"In a movie like this, the central driving force is the conflict between the hero and the villain," says screenwriter John Logan. "Rick, Brent (Spinder, screenwriter) and I set out to create an enemy for Picard that would have a personal resonance with him, and we hit upon the simple idea of Picard versus Picard; that is, a younger, more vital version of himself facing the Picard that we know. We all found that incredibly exciting for the sparks it could create."

Patrick Stewart agreed with the writer wholeheartedly: "The plot gives the narrative an extra complexity in that the villain of the story is also, in many respects, the hero of the story, too. Shinzon has so many of the qualities of Picard, and yet these qualities are warped by his background."

Casting Shinzon proved to be a demanding task for the filmmakers. Not only did the person portraying him have to be a competent enough actor to hold his own opposite Patrick Stewart, but he also had to look enough like Stewart so that the audience would accept him as both a dead-ringer of Picard and a younger version of him, too.

"It's not easy to find an actor who can inhabit the technical demands of such a role, while also having to look like someone else," says Stewart, who had nothing but praise for Hardy's performance.

Hardy was eager to join the ranks of Star Trek's infamous villains. "Shinzon is a dynamic, young, bitter, helpless individual who comes to battle the man he was supposed to be . . . the man he felt he deserved to be," Hardy observes of his character.

"He's torn between all he knows, based on his past, and what he believes he has the potential to be, in the form of Picard. As an actor, I found a human soul within the character and that made him a very interesting villain."

Newcomer director Stuart Baird brought a fresh eye to the 10th film in the Star Trek series.

"Everyone involved with the film was very generous in sharing his or her vast experience," he says. "In the end, I feel we produced a film that will be appreciated by loyal Star Trek fans, and I also think we'll give those who have never experienced a Star Trek movie an exciting introduction to a wonderful new universe."

January 2, 2003 14:30