Star Trek: First Contact Review
by Michael Dequina (mrbrown AT ucla DOT edu)December 9th, 1996
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STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
A film review by Michael Dequina
Copyright 1996 Michael Dequina
Star Trek: First Contact (PG-13) *** (out of ****)
Anyone familiar with the series of Star Trek movies knows of the "even-odd pattern"--the even-numbered installments of the series are good while the odd-numbered ones are, well, not-so-good. The pattern continues with the new Star Trek: First Contact, an energetic sci-fi adventure that (coincidentally?) is the eighth entry in the hugely popular series.
In this first Trek feature to feature only cast members from the late Star Trek: The Next Generation television series, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the rest of the 24th-century crew of the Starship Enterprise--Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes, who also directed), android Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner), Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton), Lt. Cmdr. Worf (Michael Dorn), Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis)--travel back to 21st-century earth while doing battle with the Borg, a race of cybernetic beings that share a collective mind with the Borg Queen (Alice Krige). The Borg intend to alter history and assimilate all of humankind into their race--starting with the earth-orbiting crew of the Enterprise and a 21st century stowaway (Alfre Woodard).
This is an interesting plotline that is sure to mesmerize Trekkers everywhere and engage everyone else, but, unfortunately, it only makes up the Star Trek half of the script by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore. The other half of the title--First Contact--refers to a subplot that takes place on 21st-century earth, where Riker, Troi, and LaForge meet legendary scientist Zephram Cochran (James Cromwell), who is about to embark on the first warp speed flight in human history, which directly leads to the first contact with extraterrestrials. While this story does tie into the main plot and pays off interestingly in the end, it is nowhere near as involving or exciting as the Borg battles on the Enterprise. Not helping matters is the tiresome Cochran character, an eccentric whose drunken schtick starts out funny but becomes too one-note after a while.
In the end, though, the First Contact subplot doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the film as a whole. The story is typical sci-fi fantasy, but the conviction of the cast--most notably the always-phenomenal Stewart--makes you believe and care. Frakes, making his feature directorial debut, keeps the action swiftly rolling along and delivers the action goods, even upping the violence a notch (this is the first Trek film to bear a PG-13 rating) to greater effect. ST:FC has a bigger budget than the last Trek outing, the middling Star Trek Generations, and it definitely shows on screen--the production design and especially visual and makeup effects are outstanding (in particular those involving the Borg Queen). Braga and Moore's mostly sharp script will please both Trek devotees and the rest; the references to the Borg storyline in the TV series, the continuity with the previous film (e.g. the ongoing saga of Data's emotion chip), and a fleeting Star Trek: Voyager crossover will make Trekkers squeal with delight, but such points are made easily accessible to those less familiar to the Trek mythos.
Paramount was reportedly worried about the staying power of its Trek franchise with the Next Generation cast now carrying the helm. Based on the entertaining success that is Star Trek: First Contact, I'd say the studio has nothing to worry about (at least not until this cast retires and the crew of the wan Star Trek: Deep Space Nine takes over...).
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Michael Dequina
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