The last Star Trek film I own (for the foreseeable future, the last I'm likely to own), this is another of the more well-regarded Star Trek films (see: that rule about the even numbered ones). As with others, I realized quite immediately that this, too, was a film I had seen previously. I used to watch both Star Treks in my (extreme) youth, The Next Generation still airing, but with the original series buried in an incomprehensibly late time slot, giving it a greater allure. Of course, the films were also familiar to me, and at the time there of course were only the original cast films, and it really pumped up my interest in that cast. At some point, in contrast, my interest in Next Gen waned, then flagged, then flopped. Something bothered me--perhaps the rumblings of my later approach to things, disinterest or dislike magnified by conflict--in this case "Star Wars vs. Star Trek." I had a greater appreciation for the variety of lifeforms that appeared in the former series, beginning to get more and more annoyed at how minimal differences between lifeforms were--a wrinkled forehead, pointed ears, so on and so forth, versus some shapes that weren't even humanoid. Something bothered me about the ultra-sleek, clean, clear, colour-separated appearance of that show, eventually mostly forgetting it to the ages--my youth not allowing me to see the reason for those minimal differences, nor to appreciate the less effects-driven nature of things.
First Contact gets its name from the fact that it surrounds the events of the first contact with extraterrestrial life in the Star Trek universe--Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) has designed the first warp drive, catching the attention of passing aliens who come to investigate, launching the world that eventually becomes the Star Trek universe. The reason they end up at this event--obviously backward in time--is the appearance of a Borg Cube near earth, which re-awakens Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart, of course) memories of being assimilated and becoming Locutus of Borg, and a desire for vengeance. When Picard follows a distant internal signal telling him the Cube's weakness, the ship is destroyed, but not before launching a pod which shoots backward in time to assimilate earth and prevent the future from ever occurring. Now the crew of the Enterprise-E must both help Cochrane to keep his schedule and initiate first contact, as well as save the Enterprise from the gradual assimilation of the Borg.
The cast, as per usual (Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Marina Siritis, etc) meets their marks and fills their characters, the straight-laced soldier of Frakes' Riker, the peculiar, curious Data for Spiner, the excitable geek of Burton's LaForge, so on and so forth. I've got to note, I did recall seeing Geordi without his visor before, but did not realize (or, I suppose, forgot) that he was eventually visor-less. Anyway, it's half action film--curiously, they flipped the script and decided that Stewart would have the action half instead of Riker--and half in the vein of The Voyage Home--an antagonist-less playful romp to maintain good, decent, honest things. The action side of things, being Borg-associated, is actually rather dark, and a bit scary. The relentlessness, mixed with the callous absorption of individuals without any belief in loss at this is rather disturbing. Alfre Woodard as Lily Sloane, the sole representative of the 21st century on the Enterprise during this escapade, becomes a voice of reason to the increasingly vengeance-minded Picard, while the foil for the away team is Cochrane himself, an alcoholic with a taste for 60s rock and roll and no interest in bettering the human race, despite their high opinions of him and hindsight praise. It takes that lovely conceit of the fallable nature of man that hides, likely without exception, behind any famous figurehead, hero or historical figure. It can be slightly overbearing at some moments, but generally works quite well. Frakes directs (his feature film debut, but he'd been in the chair for various Star Trek series episodes) with a good sense of balance, keeping both stories moving, getting strong performances and never losing the pacing, atmosphere or tone of either story. Indeed, the quality of the even-numbered films--despite my occasional disagreement with the flaws of the odds--holds true here.
I never really thought about it before though. The Borg really are zombies. They come in hordes. All they want to do are make your friends into them and they don't speak. They just kind of slowly walk to you with a blank stare in their eyes. No wonder I like this movie so much.
This really is the most accessible of the Star Trek films. While there will always be that certain nerd factor in the entire concept of Star Trek, this one really focuses more on the characters and takes a lot of the science fiction out of it. Really, it's heroes fighting monsters while back in the past. What's even better about this movie is that you learn everything you need to know about Star Trek from watching this movie. It shows you the origins of Star Trek, gives you a really in-depth knowledge on how tough the Borg are and what has happened to Picard and you get to see the world without all the sleek spaceships. This is a world that is going to see it's first warp-drive vessel and it's made out of missle! There's nothing really alienating about this movie.
The look of this movie is also significantly better than the first film. Jonathan Frakes, who plays Commander Riker in the show and in the films, directed this one and he really is talent for a guy who mostly only directs Star Trek. (According to IMDB, he's also directed some other sci-fi stuff, but you catch my drift.) This is actually kind of a scary, cool movie. While I compare it primarily to a zombie film, there's elements of Alien also that just adds this overall creep factor to the movie.
Star Trek VI is probably my favorite of the series, but this is defintely second place. By far, this is the best of the Next Generation cast movies. What's really amazing is that they tailor the movie to both the new audience and the hardcore Trekkie. I refer to just some of the moments that could have been skipped, but were nods to the fans, like the inclusion of Lt. Barclay. For those who know the show, you'll recognize Barclay as a recurring guest character. Normally, this kind of addition might be considered too nerdy, but adding him into this movie gives just a visual gag to those who don't know who he is and a sense of validation to those who do. It's great to know that this movie really exists in the Star Trek universe. The Original Series films mostly ignored their source material and made stories that lived independently from what they didn't on the show. (With the exception of Khan, who gets a far more important perspective in the film.) This movie feels like these characters naturally evolved into this point. Barclay made it on board. Geordi worked to improve his vision. There's all these moments to let you know that these characters just didn't stop the second the series ended, but continued to live fuller, richer lives.
This is probably the best Star Trek movie when it comes to a mix of general audiences and hardcore nerds. There's something for everyone when it comes to this movie and really is just a fun thrill ride.
The TNG crew finally get a chance to shine in this exciting, intense adventure story that matches them up against their most memorable foes, a race of alien cyborgs who annihilate your individuality and absorb you into their heartless collective at a mere touch. Series regular Jonathan Frakes makes a confident jump into the director's chair, juggling eye-popping effects, rousing action scenes and intriguing plot twists with equal aplomb. His familiarity with both the cast and the Trek universe clearly shows, as he wrangles top-notch performances from his co-stars while simultaneously ratcheting up the tension and icky makeup effects to levels previously unseen in the series (this is the first one to garner a PG-13 rating, not least due to Alice Krige's outstandingly creepy/sexual turn as the menacing Borg Queen). If there is a weak point to the film, it's that the story tends to go flat whenever the characters leave the ship and travel down to earth to hang out with cranky (and kinda grating) James Cromwell as a drunken scientist from the past. Still, it all pays off with a spectacular double-climax that not only does right by the series, but leaves 'First Contact' able to stand on its own as a solid sci-fi actioner that even non-fans can enjoy.
Captain Picard and crew return for what many fans consider the real first good TNG movie, and perhaps the last, an adventure where the Enterprise E, a new ship, travels back into time to the early days of the first warp drive test to stop the Borg from destroying Zephram Cochrane, a man who invented starship engines, and changing the timeline forever. Not quite as lofty as saving the whales, but it will do, and it is a rousing space cowboy adventure with robotic zombies, so it has it all.
This installment in the long running "Star Trek" film franchise is the follow-up to "Generations" which featured cast members from both the original series and "The Next Generation" tv series.
With "First Contact" the torch is officially passed to Picard and his crew in what is their first and best solo big screen adventure.
The crew of the new Enterprise E must time travel to the mid 21st century to stop their most dangerous enemies The Borg from preventing the creation of the first warp drive engine in order to stop Earth from making first contact with aliens (The Vulcans) thus preventing the founding of The United Federation of Planets.
The movie also features a great cast with a solid performance by Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard who is still dealing with his last Borg encounter in which he was made part of the collective. Also, Brent Spiner really shines as the android Data and Alice Krige as the Borg Queen is a truly sinister and menacing presence.
This has to be the best Star Trek, if not the best Sci Fi movie, (next to star wars of course). It's one of the darker Trek movies, and though only fans of the series would understand a lot of the plot line, there is still plenty to keep the blood pumping. Suspence, thrills, and chills all the way.
Enjoyed it. Decent story with some funny moments. The Next Generation was on TV for so long that switching to movies didn't work as well. The Borg were great villains.
A "Voyage Home"-like comedic adventure, where Captain Picard meets the inventor of warp drive and must fight the Borg, confronting his own past with them.
I saw this with my dad because he liked Star Trek, and i was bored. The entire time through it I was amazed at how everyone seemed to love working with each other and had the fun they were having acting... something rare in most movies. The story is pretty good... I can't complain about how it doesn't add up to the series like some people since I never watch the show (which seems to be the common complaint) but I though this one worked... and the Borg are pretty damn cool, I must admit. But I still degrade it for the fact that aliens are no different than humans other than facial differences, and some of the talk during battles seemed like utter gibberish. Still, the only really entertaining Star Trek film I've seen.
The main problem with First Contact is that the greatest Borg storyline (Best of Both Worlds) has already been done within the tv series, while there are riffs on that story here, it doesn't match up. An improvement on the previous film, with some decent scenes but not up to the better films in the series.
Its sorta sad that the episode "Best of both Worlds" has a better story than this movie, though similar. Also pissed at no introduction to the Enterprise E.
Darker, more violent "Trek" entry. Probably too much. Loses a certain amount of Roddenberry's spirit in the process. Excellent film score by Jerry Goldsmith (along with son Joel) help bring the emotions up in this entry.
"You think I want to go to the stars? I don't even like to fly, I take trains." One of the best Star Trek movies with a great story, lots of action and great performances. Most memorable are James Cromwell as the legendary Dr. Zefram Cochran and Alice Krige as the Borg Queen.
Time travel, the Borg, and action. This one is good enough. And to think it was directed by Star Trek Next Generation actor Jonathan Frakes also (he did a good job).
MCT:July 25, 2008
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MCT:December 27, 2007
