by the fans of both series but that the lack of surprises was a benefit. Cinefantastique Steve Biodrowski praised some of the big-budget touches the film brought to the franchise, but wrote that most of the attempts such as John Alonzo's cinematography seemed to backfire. In contrast, Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Den of Geeks Chris Cummins praised Alonzo's work as one of the few bright spots of the film; "[Alonzo] makes the Enterprise look like an actual lived-in starship," Cummins wrote, and "for the first time ever, the crew of the Enterprise-D looked like they were truly in outer space". Opinions were divided on whether or not the film was accessible to non-Star Trek fans. Critics such as The New York Times Janet Maslin suggested that despite being "predictably flabby and impenetrable in places" and suffering from technobabble, there was enough action and spectacle to engage others. Boyar felt that specific plot beats would fly over the heads of casual viewers, but the film's innate sense of fun would keep them engaged. Others considered the film inaccessible to neophytes, and too preoccupied with fan-focused elements that detracted from the overall story, with Roger Ebert critiquing the movie as being "...so concerned with in-jokes and updates for Trekkers that it [could] barely tear itself away long enough to tell a story". The meeting of Kirk and Picard prompted comparisons between the two respective actors; Stewart's performance was often considered superior. James Berardinelli and Ebert wrote that Kirk's lack of presence through much of the film was still keenly felt. Biodrowski, in contrast, wrote that Shatner's hammy acting was a better fit for the film than Stewart's subtle delivery. Boyar thought Shatner did a good job playing a straight man in the final sequences and injecting more fun into the film. The Baltimore Sun Stephen Hunter considered Shatner and Stewart emblematic of two different eras of stardom, and that Stewart's commanding presence "wipes poor, saintly old Shatner off the screen". Cinefantastique and others criticized the scenes between Kirk and Picard as lacking. McDowell's turn as Soran received differing opinions. Berardinelli and Rickey called Soran a weak and ill-defined villain, and Hunter dismissed Soran as a nemesis unworthy of the titanic meeting of Kirk and Picard. People Ralph Novak called Soran a "standard-issue Trek villain", while Maslin, Newsweek Michel Marriott, and Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum enjoyed the performance. Novak wrote