Star Trek: First Contact Review
by Serdar Yegulalp (syegul AT !ix DOT netcom DOT com)January 6th, 1997
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STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
A film review by Serdar Yegulalp
Copyright 1997 Serdar Yegulalp
CAPSULE: The Even-Off Rule holds up once again; this is easily the best "Trek" yet. Do not wait for video.
Ask any Star Trek devotee about the Even-Odd Rule of Trek Movies, and you're likely to get one of the oddest bits of movie folklore this side of the man who allegedly hanged himself on the set of "The Wizard of Oz".
The Even-Odd rule is simple: all of the odd-numbered Star Trek movies stink, and the even-numbered ones are wicked cool. Think for a minute: since when has anyone actually admitted to liking Star Trek: The Motionless Picture? Or Trek 3, the Search for Cash? Trek 5 (about which the less said, the better)? And wasn't the first Next Generation Trek movie a bit of a letdown?
The reverse also seems to hold true: Treks II, IV and VI all hold up well on repeat viewings -- not just as Trek movies, but as movies, period. My personal votes go for Trek II -- and now Trek VIII, or "First Contact", as the wags at Paramount have chosen to dub it.
If you didn't follow "Star Trek: The Next Generation" when it was on TV, you may miss a few things, but the opening five minutes cover that territory without too much trouble. That, and we get *easily* one of the most amazing opening shots I've ever seen: basically, a pull-back shot that starts at the near-microscopic level and ends up giving us a view of something about the size of a small planet. It's something else.
The story settles into place quickly. The Borg, a monolithic race who fused technology and biology milennia ago, are even more hellbent on assimilating the Federation's space than ever. Not good. To that end, they've employed a dastardly plot that ultimately involves time travel -- to say more would spoil the fun -- and the crew of the Enterprise decide to defy orders and follow them.
The movie quickly bifurcates into the familiar away team / up-on-the-ship plot threads, although each one of them develop in totally different directions. The ship becomes the center of a swarming Borg invasion (something like "Die Hard" in space), and the away team find themselves having to adapt to rather primitive surroundings (oh, and there's this little problem with the locals...) I'm being deliberately vague to avoid ruining a good many surprises -- not the least of which involves Data's newly-installed emotion chip (you remember that, right?) and the Borg queen. The less said about her, definitely the better.
(This movie may also settle some bets among Trek enthusiasts: "So what would happen in a Borg and Data got into an arm-wrestling match?" Or a Borg and Worf, for that matter? Watch and learn...)
The cast is in fine form. Memorable scenes include Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) getting royally drunk on *real* alcohol for a change, and Data's increasingly tense exvhanges with the Borg queen. The supporting actors are also good. Alfre Woodard is especially well-used (her funniest line about the Borg: "Sounds like they're Swedish..."), and she and Patrick Stewart have one amazingly well-written and -played scene together near the end.
Jonathan Frakes, the actor who portrays William Riker in the series, was given the helm this time. According to the press notes, he studied films like "Blade Runner", "2001" and the earlier "Star Trek" films for notes an inspiration. The homework paid off: this is easily the best of the "Trek" movies, and a standalone triumph, too.
Three and a half our of four phasers.
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