[The film was shot on location near Yuma, Arizona.] The mystery of the desert fort presents an intriguing opening:Urged on by reports of a massed Arab attack, a column in command of Major de Beaujolais advances across the Sahara to he relief of Fort Zinderneuf.C.A young patriot, recites Lincoln and Jefferson, turned loose in our nation""s capital.Yeah.I think it""s all right.A "star-spangled banquet" is held to honor he new appointment and provide a proper send-off - the honor is given not to "some wealthy influential citizen merely to curry favor" or to an "unworthy political hireling.Great Scene(s):The wedding party for Riker and Troi, the skirmish between Kolarin natives and theEnterprise""s dune buggy on Kolarus III, Data""s and Picard""s escape from theScimitarin an attack flyer, the awe-inspiring moment when theEnterprise-Edeliberately rammed into theScimitar, Data""s leap from theEnterprise-Eto theScimitarthrough open space without a spacesuit, the memorable impalement death of Shinzon, and the self-sacrificial death of Data.[Note: Hiller had passed up the opportunity to work onThe Godfather (1972)to make this film.] The melodramatic and ragic soap-opera, tremendously popular and a financial success (the top-earning film of the year at $106 million) but panned by critics for its sappy content, was based upon Erich Segal""s # 1 best-selling short novel of the same name, released appropriately on Valentine""s Day in 1970.