Generations bridges the gap between the Kirk and Picard eras.

How do you get the crew members of two very different generations of the starship Enterprise into the same movie? The only reasonable method, of course, is to use time travel, and this is exactly what Generations employs. An attack on the Enterprise B by a mysterious energy ribbon leaves Captain Kirk (Shatner) missing, presumed dead. Into the future 70 years, Picard (Stewart) and his crew on board the new Enterprise come across a madman, Dr Soran (Malcolm McDowell) who wants to alter the course of the ribbon and kill billions of people. Picard must convince Kirk - who isn't actually dead, but just in a kind of purgatory called the 'Nexus' - to help him stop Soran and save the day.

This Trek outing is geared more towards story than action, and it is clear that its main purpose was just to sew up the gap between the two generations of movies. This means that Generations doesn't get very far in any respect - special effects are average and sparse, and the movie is lacking in any high quality dramatic scenes.

The directing quality is something to worry about, as Generations lacks character depth and a decent pace, showing up Carson's inexperience. Kirk's death should have been a landmark scene in the series, but its treatment by the director is mediocre, and flat. Add to this a number of fairly significant plot inconsistencies, which fans may find annoying.

This is the bare-bones DVD, so if you already have a VHS copy, you might want to wait for a special edition to be released. However, it's unclear when or if Paramount may do this.

See also: Patrick Stewart; David Carson

Not bad, but one of the more disappointing movies in the Star Trek series.