Film Review: Reviewed By Alan Jones; 3 out of 5

Ethnic cleansing gets the Star Trek treatment in this ninth feature that's aimed squarely at fans of the long-running series and its feature-film spin-offs. But even they will have seen plenty of episodes of The Next Generation that are better, richer and deeper than this. Going comfortably where Star Trek had boldly gone before, this light-hearted tale concerns a Fountain of Youth planet and the two alien races who are locked in a struggle for the right to use it. There's nothing new in this proficient cocktail of predictable space heroics and Lost Horizon homages with its push-button script that allows each member of the crew a moment of glory. Visually impressive (marking the first use of computer digitals for the spaceship sequences), the film also features F Murray Abraham as a neat villain, while Broadway star Donna Murphy is affecting as Captain Picard's love interest.

Plot Summary

Science-fiction adventure starring Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes. The planet Ba'ku holds magical properties that keep the population young and living in harmony. So when an alien race attempts to take over this paradise, it falls to Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet and its people.