Well, I saw the new Star Trek movie yesterday, and despite the cliches, the internal inconsistencies, and the recycled plot elements from previous ST movies, I admit liking it overall.

The movie is energetic, fast-paced (though it gets off to a horribly slow start with an agonizingly-long wedding scene between Riker and Troi), and it keeps your interest throughout. But the motifs are tired.

There are a few novel ideas in this film, but very few. There are many more familiar elements that we've seen over and over again (especially from STII...lots of elements are borrowed from Wrath of Khan). That's not an especially bad idea, since Khan was probably the best movie in the franchise, but ultimately the conclusion one reaches while walking out of the theatre is the realization that Star Trek has played all its cards and that it would be best for everybody if the franchise were put out to pasture.

There's a hard core fan base that would never tire of an endless string of Star Trek movies, no matter how tired or rehashed their elements were (we could have a Plexus Ribbon in the next film). Actually, there's a major character that dies at the end of the film, and presumably many hardcore fans wouldn't mind a "Star Trek XI: The Search For _________". But most people probably couldn't stomach it.

So Nemesis was better than Insurrection, but that isn't saying much. It was a watchable, reasonably enjoyable film. But I think I'm finally burning out on Star Trek, the sets, the plot points, the repetitive situations. Finally, after over 20 years of Trek, it's losing its charm for me.

And I don't think I'm alone.