Star Trek: First Contact Review
by Mike V (bb07974 AT binghamton DOT edu)December 16th, 1996
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STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
A film review by Mike V
Copyright 1996 Mike V
It pains me to see so many people ogling over this rather mediocre picture. I intend this review to be short and to the point, so I will not discuss the plot except where it is relevant to my opinions. If you are looking for a brief synopsis, check out any of the other reviews on this newsgroup.
The film begins in tragic fashion with yet another time travel paradox. This is generally what writers come up with when they cannot think of a decent science fiction plot. We are all familiar with the paradoxes associated with such a move, and we also know that the matter has never been satisfactorily dealt with. Not only does Stak Trek fail where all others have failed, it doesn't even address the paradox -- as if there is no paradox to be addressed.
Things go from bad to worse when the Borg magically appear on the Enterprise, now back in the 21st century (it appeared that the Borg probe was destroyed, so where did they beam on from?). Now, the borg are certainly a fascinating species as portrayed on the show (Next Generation). It also appeared as if they had already been dealt with. But here they are ressurected with a terminator style vengeance. They are hellbent on assimilating everything that moves.
It is precisely for this reason that I find the movie so displeasing. It is a horrible disservice to sci-fi fans to turn an interesting sci-fi plot into an action movie. This, however, is done time and time again (Jurassic Park, Independence Day, the last Star Trek, and so forth). At this point in the film it became abundantly clear that I could put my brain on hold and just watch the action as I might watch Die-Hard.
the only thing that salvages the film is the interesting relationship that develops between Picard, his crew, and the earthlings. Still, I found a thoroughly vindictive Picard somewhat implausible. I very much doubt that this character would sacrifice the fate of humanity to exact revenge upon the Borg.
Furthermore, haven't we had enough of Data trying to be human? He has the emotion chip already -- is there really a further need for some kind of erotic stimulation from a cyborg? Data's quest to become more human has also been dealt with on many occasions (and far more coherently) on the show (a great episode was the one in which he became "father" to a new android).
Finally, the notion that a burned out rocker creates the very first warp drive shuttle is just absurd. His character was utterly implausible, and it wasn't because of the acting. Are we to believe that the greatest scientific discovery, one that bridges the gaps of space, was stumbled upon by an embittered drunk looking for an isle of nymphs?
In conclusion, let me first apologize for the poor structure of this review. It was written off the kuff, without any forethought plan of attack. In any event, every sci-fi notion in the film was dealt with much better in the show. This movie has nothing new or interesting to offer, and it ultimately degenerates into another hollywood action film.
On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a five.
- Mike [email protected]
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
