10 Reasons To Stop Hating Star Trek: Nemesis
5. "It Didn't Suck As Much As Insurrection"
During a DragonCon panel with LeVar Burton and Marina Sirtis in 2005, the host began to ask the somewhat pointed question, "The movie [Nemesis] did not do as well at the box office as it had hoped to do […]". But before he could finish, the delightfully frank Burton replied, "because it sucked".
Audible gasps were heard from the audience before the equally honest Sirtis retorted, "It didn't suck as much as Insurrection," adding, "I fell asleep at the première of Insurrection". Everyone was clearly taken aback by the pair's (quite refreshing) candour. Without wishing to be overly critical about Insurrection either, perhaps there is some merit to Sirtis' reasoning?
Whatever the faults of Nemesis are, it would certainly be difficult to reproach the film for its lack of action; its cinematic scope and pacing do arguably manage to keep the audience's attention throughout. Whatever you thought about the quality (and quantity) of those scenes, it's doubtful you fell asleep over your popcorn during them.
By comparison, Insurrection does feel markedly more soporific with its middling, low-stakes plot that lacks momentum, especially during those slow-mo moments. Nemesis might well have a zany story, but at least it has a story, and one that has the galactic implications to warrant a big-screen outing. To review it in the words of a certain Doctor from another crew, "I can't complain about being bored".
No one's asking you to love Star Trek: Nemesis here, but merely to re-evaluate its relative suck-value.