On Third Thought

After my third viewing of Star Trek - I have also seen Terminator, review forthcoming (check out Ben's take on it at his blog) - I think I finally figured out why the only soft spot in the movie - the big bad - doesn't work. The entire movie hinges on the idea that an alternate reality has been created by Nero's travel back through time. He substantially alters the course of history, first with the encounter with the USS Kelvin, and then the destruction of Vulcan.

Nero is one upset Romulan because a star exploded and destroyed his planet. The Vulcans - led by Spock - agreed to help by creating a black hole to swallow the star, but arrived too late. In the movie Nero takes this out on Spock and Vulcan by destroying Vulcan with the same black hole stuff. The problem is, Nero wants to insure his wife and child will survive, but that star is still going to go nova in 129 years time; his first priority should be destroying that. From his point of view, doing so would save Romulus and erase the future that has left him alone and stranded in the past; what should have happened is that Nero destroys the star - I'm pretty sure it's the same star he emerges at in the opening scene - and he doesn't blink out of existence. All is not right; he still exists, and so the future - his future - still does. He can't undo anything. Then, his crusade becomes one of torching the earth. If there will be no future for his wife, there won't be one for anybody.