Star Trek Nemesis

There is one particularly jaw-dropping moment in the tenth Star Trek. We're in the midst of interstellar battle. Enemy fire strafes the bridge of the Enterprise and the glass shatters, so that several disposable crew members are sucked out into deep space. Sorry, run that past us again. It's the squillionth century or whatever, and Starfleet's still sending out ships with windows? Just one sequence, but it encapsulates the tired familiarity which, however endearing it may be to devoted Trekkies, leaves the franchise looking at best old-fashioned, at worst lazy. To be fair, some effort has been made with this fourth adventure for Stewart's Next Generation crew, by bringing in Gladiator writer John Logan and respected action director Baird. The outcome is as professionally crafted as ever, but the material feels learnt by rote, with strong echoes of The Wrath of Khan as unhinged baddie Shinzon threatens to blast Picard and Co to smithereens with a deadly form of 'Thaleron' radiation.