This movie plays more as a tribute to its fans than a universal crowd pleaser. It is filled with humor, inside jokes, a sensible and thought-provoking story, and, of course, cool special effects. This is a fun sci-fi movie, as opposed to Gattaca and Dark City, which were more intentionally intellectual.

Without getting too complex, the plot involves a planet that is discovered to be a galactic version of the fountain of youth. Ru’afo (Abraham) wants the planet for himself and his people, to replenish and restore them. The Federation wants to use it to save and help millions, while Picard and crew want to save and help the people of the planet, according to Starfleet’s Prime Directive (sounds like Starfleet is the one in conflict with itself to me). It is quite a moral dilemma presented here, but my only curiosity is why can’t they all just get along and share the planet. Once again, just a thought

The story is handled rather intelligently, it does veer off at times, getting caught up in technobabble, but otherwise, it is fairly entertaining, smart and easy to follow. The movie is a tad unevenly paced, for two reasons. First of all, because the technical jargon, and inside jokes, may isolate non-fans. I have a familiarization, being a fan of the original series, and knowing basically enough about the new ones to understand it, so I could pretty much follow it. But there were times when I felt like Van Damme in Calculus in regards to some of the references. The other thing that throws off the pacing is, ironically enough, the complaint from most fans in the past. It has been voiced that the appeal of the series, and successful movies, was the humor and fun. So in the previous movie, First Contact, and here, there is more lightheartedness amongst the crew. The problem I had is that there was too much. It was like they tried to hard, and forced and wedged it into some spots where it didn’t belong, and all it did was slow the movie down a bit. Also, it seemed that the ending dragged a bit, like the filmmakers were stretching things out a bit unnecessarily

But don't get me wrong, I did like this movie a lot, these complaints I listed were small, compared to the sheer fun and enjoyment that I had while in the theater. Some wonderful effects, beautiful scenery, made up for all of these downfalls. The cast all seem to be enjoying themselves and having fun onscreen, and leading both the fun, and the performance of Patrick Stewart. He is easily one of the great actors working, and he is completely in his element here, even busting out his singing skills along with Spiner, in a song from Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. The rest of the series cast is typically entertaining as well, none really standing out, but all effective and enjoyable.   The downside of the casting comes, surprisingly, from Abraham, as the bad guy. It's not that his performance is bad, but knowing what he can do from seeing his work in Amadeus, as a villain, this time out, he doesn’t come close to measuring up.