Star Trek: Nemesis

OK, since "Star Trek: Nemesis" is an even-numbered "Trek" movie, it should be pretty good, right?

Wrong.

The supposed trend of even-numbered "Star Trek" movies being the best of the long-running film series has come to a screeching halt with this science-fiction thriller, which in some ways is the worst of the lot. If anything, this film could put the final nail in the coffin of the fast-fading "Trek" television and movie franchise.

This isn't just a bad "Trek" movie, it's also bad science-fiction, riddled with psychobabble, inconsistencies and the hoariest of cliches. And that doesn't even include its revisionist version of some established "Trek" continuity, which will have many longtime Trekkers shaking their heads in disbelief.

Worse, it plays out like a half-hearted "hits" medley of moments from such decidedly better movies as "Mad Max" and "Alien," including various scenes from both the "Trek" series and films. And the plot itself is little more than a rip-off of, arguably, the best of the "Trek" films, "The Wrath of Khan."

Here, the "Next Generation" crew faces peril from the most unexpected of sources: an evil clone of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, named Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who has just become the new Romulan viceroy. Shinzon is planning to unleash a new lethal weapon on the Earth, which will establish the Romulans as the dominant force in the galaxy and cripple the United Federation of Planets. It will also help his allies — an even more evil Romulan race, known as the Remans — rise to power.

So it's up to Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise crew to stop Shinzon. At the same time, they also have to solve the mystery surrounding the just unearthed android B-4 (Brent Spiner), yet another cybernetic brother to science officer Data (also Spiner, of course).

You'd think that a screenwriter as experienced as John Logan ("Any Given Sunday," "Gladiator") would know enough not to include such soap opera-like plot devices as evil twins. Of course, you'd also think director Stuart Baird ("U.S. Marshals") might be able to make this mess exciting. You'd be wrong in both cases.

That leaves a terrible burden on the cast, which is already getting a little long in the tooth. Still, Spiner and Stewart do have a few solid moments.

However, as much as Stewart tries to convince us otherwise, it's hard to believe he's really being threatened by Hardy's wimpy Shinzon, who looks (and sounds) more like "Austin Powers" villain Dr. Evil than Picard.

"Star Trek: Nemesis" is rated PG-13 for violence, brief sex, rape. Running time: 116 minutes.

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