It turns out there's a conspiracy afoot, masterminded by the devious, gruesomely aged Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham, hamming it up under makeup resembling a cosmetic surgeon's worst nightmare), who's in cahoots with a renegade Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe, in one of his final screen roles). They covet the fountain-of-youth power of the Ba'ku planet, but because their takeover plan violates Starfleet's Prime Directive of noninterference, it's up to Picard and crew to stop the scheme. Along the way, they all benefit from the metaphasic effect, which manifests itself as Worf's puberty (visible as a conspicuous case of Klingon acne), Picard's youthful romance with a Ba'ku woman (the lovely Donna Murphy), the touching though temporary return of Geordi's natural eyesight, and a moment when Troi asks Dr. Crusher if she's noticed that her "boobs are firming up." Some fans scoffed at these humourous asides, but they're what make this Trek film as entertaining as it is slightly disappointing. Without the laughs (including Data's rousing excerpt from Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore), this is a pretty routine entry in the franchise, with no real surprises, a number of plot holes, and the overall appearance of a big-budget TV episode. As costar and director, Jonathan Frakes proves a capable carrier of the Star Trek flame--and it's nice to see women in their 40s portrayed as smart and sexy--but while this is surely an adequate Trek adventure, it doesn't quite rank with the best in the series. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
The first of the nine STAR TREK films to feature largely computer-generated special effects and is again directed by Number One, Jonathan Frakes. While on a survey mission, Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise stumble on a conspiracy originating high up the Starfleet chain of command that involves a distressing plan of ethnic cleansing. On a remote planet, a small, peaceful race of human-like beings called the Ba'ku seems to be immune to the ravages of ageing. Head bad-guy F. Murray Abraham leads another race for which exposure the planet's radiation is the only cure for an advanced state of degeneration, and, using clandestine Starfleet connections, arranges to wipe out the Ba'ku unless the Enterprise has anything to say about it.