Question: Wouldn't Shinzon have had to know where the enterprise is being assigned in order lure them to pick up B-4? Data's brain has a safeguard so his positronic energy signature cannot be tracked. And how did he know a different ship instead of the enterprise wouldn't come to Remus to pick up B-4?
Question: Other than maybe galactic domination, why does Shinzon want to destroy Earth? He was a human, created and enslaved by the Romulans? Why is he so bent on killing everyone on Earth?
Chosen answer: Earth is the headquarters of Starfleet, and the de facto capital of the United Federation of Planets. As Picard says at one point in the movie, "If you destroy Earth, you cripple the Federation." Shinzon wanted to remove the biggest threat to the Romulan Empire so he could gain sympathy and support from the Romulan people, so they would support his rule.
Answer: Shannon seems to be based partly on Mordred from Le Morte d'Arthur and partly on Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon. Ming had nothing against Earth, and Mordred had nothing against Camelot. Villains are just into conquering and destroying. It's what they do.
Question: I thought I heard somewhere they cannot shoot while in warp (because nothing can go faster than the ship in warp speed which is faster than light). Why is the Scimitar able to shoot the Enterprise while in warp and take out its warp drive?
Answer: Classic Trek and Star Trek: Enterprise have both established that ships can fire at warp speed.
Answer: Usually, phasers/disrupters do not work at warp speeds, due to the beams travelling at light speed, therefore the firing ship would run into its own beam. Torpedoes can be fired at warp which is what the Scimitar appeared to be firing. That said, there have been several instances of phasers fired at warp (the Nebula-class ship/Prometheus chase in "Message in a Bottle" for example).
Question: If Shinzon is Picard's clone, wouldn't it have been easier to have Patrick Stewart play both parts? Tom Hardy doesn't even look like Stewart.
Answer: Shinzon was always intended to be much younger than Picard - the whole point is that he's a Romulan project that was ultimately abandoned - he hasn't gone through the accelerated aging process. Patrick Stewart could not have convincingly played a version of his character who was that young. And Tom Hardy does bear a distinct resemblance to a young Patrick Stewart if you look properly.
Question: I noticed on the box set cover when I bought this movie that it said "and introducing Tom Hardy" instead of "starring Tom hardy" as normal. Any particular reason for this? Was it just because Hardy was a relatively unknown actor in the more widespread showbiz community?
Answer: That's exactly it. Hardy had only a couple of small parts before his starring role in Nemesis. Robin Wright Penn was credited the same way for The Princess Bride, her first major role.
Question: If Remus is a tidally locked planet, and the bright side is too hot to live on, wouldn't the dark side be too cold to live on?
Answer: On the surface, yes. But if I recall, the Remans live underground. Below a certain depth from the surface, the outside temperature would not affect living environments underground and they would pretty much have one single temperature through out their whole civilization. Like how here on Earth, regardless of what part of the planet you are on, once you reach a certain depth, the temperature below the surface is usually a constant 65° globally until you start getting too deep.
Question: Who becomes the Enterprise's new first officer since Data's death? I know about the deleted scene which shows a new first officer meeting Picard, but since it was deleted I assume it never actually happened. The only person I can think of is Worf but does anyone know for sure?
Answer: It's unknown, and, with no TNG films on the horizon, will most likely remain that way for some time. Without information to the contrary, it's probably reasonable to assume that, despite the scene being deleted, Commander Martin Madden (the new first officer seen in that scene) does indeed take the position.
Answer: Long range sensors can show the general location of specific ships (this is part of the reason Romulans and Klingons use cloaking devices). All Shinzon has to do is find a remote planet close enough to the Enterprise that would cause them to be the most prudent choice to investigate. It's definitely a gamble but not one that is made without calculation.
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