A widespread consensus among Star Trek aficionados holds that the odd-numbered movies, beginning with the spectacularly unpromising Star Trek: The Motion Picture, tend to be less successful than the even-numbered movies, like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn.

The last “even” film was the widely embraced First Contact. This was followed by the forgettable Insurrection; which means we're due for a good one.

Do we get it? For the most part, yes. The 10th film in the franchise, Star Trek: Nemesis, may be the closest in the spirit to the well-done Next Generation TV series. Where First Contact was essentially a sci-fi action movie, Nemesis embraces the eerie Twilight Zone mood and Shakespearean resonances of its small-screen source material.

At its center is not simply a contest between heroes and villains over who will prevail but a philosophical debate over whether a person is anything more than the sum of his heritage and experiences — whether everything we are or choose is entirely due to nature and nurture or whether we have the ability to transcend the input of our DNA and experience through free will. Cathoic Trek fans will be delighted to see that the film embraces the right answer.

Trek fans should enjoy this affectionate and sometimes startling excursion with the “Next Gen” crew, which features a wedding and one of the best starship dogfights in the film series. Will Nemesis be the crew's “final voyage”? Like Wrath of Khan, Nemesis cries out for a sequel. Whether that sequel will get made depends on how well Nemesis does at the box office.

Steven Greydanus, editor and chief critic of DecentFilms.com, writes from Bloomfield, New Jersey.