Star Trek: First Contact Review
by Denes House (dhouse AT itsmail1 DOT hamilton DOT edu)December 4th, 1996
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STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
[Spoilers]
A film review by Denes House
Copyright 1996 Denes House
Grade: 44 out of 50 (4.5 Stars out of 5)
The following contains significant spoilers for the movie Star Trek: First Contact. Reading the review before seeing the movie may spoil some fans' enjoyment of the film, though I studiously avoid giving away the end, or the culmination of any plot point.
REVIEW:
The film opens (after some eye-sore credits) with a spectacular pull-back from within the eye of Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) to show that he is trapped within the monstrous hive-ship of the evil Borg collective. The sequence recounts Picard's "assimilation" into the collective years earlier, and sets up some of his key character motivations for the rest of the film.
The Borg, as fans of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series will know, are perhaps the most fearsome foe the crew of the Enterprise has ever faced. Part organic, part machine, the Borg are relentless in their drive to assimilate the genetic and technological distinctives of cultures that they encounter into their own. Assimilation is painful and brings all individual minds into a collective hive-mind, losing all individuality, and becoming part of the "all." Interestingly enough, what Star Trek sees as evil, Isaac Asimov promoted as the highest good and the nature of all reality in his "Foundation" series.
Flash forward several years. The Borg are attacking the Earth once again. Picard, now captaining the new Enterprise (NCC-1701-E), is ordered to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone, rather than join in the fight. Picard bitterly observes that Starfleet Command probably considers him a risk rather than an asset because of his unstable feelings towards the Borg. When the battle goes badly, though, Picard and crew disobey and head for Earth, maximum warp.
The battle is a mess. The U.S.S. Defiant, captained by Deep Space Nine's Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) is badly damaged, and her crew beamed aboard the Enterprise.
Picard assumes command of the battle group, and under his direction, the Borg's cube ship is completely destroyed - but not before launching a smaller, spherical ship that plummets towards Earth. The Enterprise pursues the sphere,
as it begins to generate a temporal vortex.
Realizing that they cannot defeat and assimilate humanity in the present, the Borgs' plan is to head back in time to prevent the formation of the United
Federation of Planets, Starfleet, and eventually Picard, by stopping a pivotal event - humanity's first contact with extra-terrestrial life.
That contact will come the day after Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) makes the first warp-speed flight. The Borg want to stop that flight from happening.
Picard decides to follow the Borg back in time, to stop their evil machinations, and keep history on the right path.
The resulting movie plays out on three levels. First is Picard's fight against the Borg onboard the Enterprise, as they try to assimilate the ship and her
crew. Next is second-in-command Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes)'s quest to ensure Cochrane takes his epoch-making flight. Finally, there is the struggle as the Borg seek to assimilate Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) the Enterprise's android second officer.
Can Picard stop the Borg? Will Data be assimilated? Will Cochrane make his flight? These are the storylines that drive this film, and fortunately, all of them turn out to be interesting, character-driven tales.
Story: 8 out of 10
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This is a plot that could easily get confusing, but first-time film director Jonathan Frakes keeps us in the story, and writers Ronald Moore and Brannon Braga give us characters to relate to, who bring out all the necessary explanations.
Each thread of the story unfolds in a fast-paced but clear manner, with strong implications of what could happen if this does not all work. In other words, it's compelling.
The story weaves in themes of revenge, duty, destiny, hero-worship, individuality, loyalty, seduction, temptation, and many more.
Picard is driven by his pain and desire for revenge, along with higher ideals like protecting his planet and culture, and defeating a foe whose evil perhaps he alone fully knows. He is seduced by the siren song of revenge, and is willing to destroy his life, his ship, and his crew in pursuit of that end.
Data is seduced on a far more immediate level. The simple pleasures of warm breath blowing across the most intricate sensory network imaginable -- human
skin -- are obviously just as tempting as the sensually evil Borg Queen's sexual advances. His ultimate desire -- to become more human -- comes within reach, but the price is the destruction of all that he holds dear.
Cochrane experiences what might be called negative-seduction. The prospect of being a hero, a "statue," repulse him. He knows his own frailties and is too honest with himself to want to see himself worshiped. Like the early Christian missionaries Paul and Barnabas, Cochrane wants to scream, "Why are you doing this? I am only a man, not a god!" His desire is to run away from the destiny that awaits him, at the cost of a better future for
humanity.
All three stories achieve their thematic complexity from genuine human character struggles.
Characterization: 9 out of 10
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And that is my favorite thing about Star Trek: First Contact. The film has been praised loudly for its special effects, and they are impressive (see below). But this movie works first and foremost on a character level. This is a character-driven, not an action-driven movie. There is furious, tense action, to be sure -- but all of it is at the service of the plot and the characters. The action and effects serve the story, not the other way around.
I was on the phone with my mom, talking with her about "Independence Day," which she had just seen on video. Did she enjoy it? "Yes, but you could just as easily have turned off the sound and enjoyed it just as much." ID4 was all "sound and fury, signifying nothing." First Contact is a movie about real characters, and ultimately, a movie about US.
Any film that delves into human character as deeply as First Contact does taps into the well of our self-concept, and challenges us to ask questions about our own values, motivations, and desires. What drives us? Is is revenge, sex, or fame? Or is it rationality, loyalty, and nobility? Moore and Braga's screenplay not only touches on serious themes, but does so by exploring real characters, brought to life by gifted actors.
Acting: 8 out of 10
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In general, the acting in First Contact is superb. Roger Ebert wrote that Bond movies and Star Trek movies rise and fall based on the quality of their villains. The Borg, and in particular the Borg Queen (Alice Krige). Marked by a particularly gruesome, fascinating, frightening and sexy makeup design, the Borg Queen as played by Krige is a scintilating character, evil and fearsome yet at times tender and touched by human frailty. She scares you and seduces you at the same time.
Patrick Stewart is a forceful but focused personality on the screen, at turns raging or vulnerable, macho or frightened, governed through a struggle between moral choice and raging passion. His performance is marked by a brilliant clarity, focusing a turbulent energy. Every minute he is on the screen he controls the scene, even when his character is out of control. Stewart is a big-screen presence, commanding respect, winning trust, inspiring connection in the audience.
Serving as Picard's counter-balance is Alfre Woodard's Lily Sloane, an equally forceful screen personality, and the character most likely to be talked about as you leave the film. Woodard is in most scenes with Stewart through the film's last two acts, and is the only one with him in the movie's most powerful and pivotal scene. Not only is her character necessary, her performance needed to be top-notch, and Woodard's was
Oscar-caliber.
Brent Spiner turns in an excellent performance, playing the innocent "son" being seduced by a gruesome evil. Spiner has commented that he sees Data's relationship with Picard as being a son/father relationship, and that shines forth clearly here. Like Ripley going back for Newt in Aliens, Picard's actions towards Data show the fatherly concern he has for his android son. Spiner portrays the Last Temptation of Data well, skillfully causing the audience to wonder just what side he's on.
James Cromwell as Zephram Cochrane is less intense, but quite believable in his role as reluctant role model for high school kids for centuries to come. He is not what the audience expects him to be, but he plays a fully realized character that the audience comes to identify with.
Solid supporting performances were turned in by the whole Next Generation cast, most notably Michael Dorn as Lt. Worf.
Continuity: 5 out of 5
======================
Despite all the rumblings on the Usenet, I did not see any irreconcilable continuity mistakes in First Contact. Strong reference is made to Data's emotion chip, to the destruction of the Enterprise, and to Worf's tenure on Deep Space Nine. The Holographic doctor (Robert Picardo) from Star Trek: Voyager appears in a priceless scene, and even the starship Bozeman is mentioned in the opening battle scenes.
The only possible mistake I want to deal with specifically is Zephram Cochrane's planet of origin. The character of Cochrane was originated in the Classic Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis" where he was refered to as "Zephram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri." This has led some Star Trek novelists and others to speculate that first contact with aliens happened with folks from Alpha Centauri, or that Cochrane was born on an earth colony on that planet.
First Contact's timeline makes more sense, but Trek canon must be appeased. It is highly possible that Cochrane was born on Earth but *settled* on Alpha Centauri later on in life. In any case, First Contact's assertion that Cochrane was from Earth does not *directly* contradict any filmed Star Trek to date.
Special Effects: 5 out of 5
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The special effects were of the "ooh and ahh" variety, causing the audience to gasp in wonder, but at no time did they dominate either characters or plot. Frakes uses them as the beautiful tools that they are, and no more. There are space battle scenes, plasma explosions, space walks on the hull of the beautiful new Enterprise, and a spectacular escape-pod scene, but all of it goes simply to telling the story - and that's the way it should be.
Emotional Impact: 9 out of 10
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This movie will leave a lasting impression. Darker than any other Trek film, but complex emotionally and structurally, Star Trek: First Contact may be the best Trek movie to date, and is an excellent movie by any standard. Acting, directing, writing, and special effects are all of an Oscar-quality level, which goes together to create a dynamite film.
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Thus says me, Denes House ([email protected])
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