Star Trek: Insurrection Review
by David Sunga (zookeeper AT criticzoo DOT com)December 11th, 1998
STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)
Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4.0)
********************************
Key to rating system:
2.0 stars - Debatable
2.5 stars - Some people may like it
3.0 stars - I liked it
3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out *********************************
A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Jonathan Frakes
Written by: Rich Berman and Michael Piller
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Donna Murphy, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, F. Murray Abraham
Ingredients: Forced displacement of ethnic minorities, idealistic starship captain
Synopsis:
An idyllic planet has rings around it that emit mysterious metaphasic radiation, creating an anti-aging effect similar to that of the fabled Fountain of Youth. In order to covet this valuable resource for themselves, the greedy United Federation of Planets and their ally the mysterious Ru'afo of the Son'a race (F. Murray Abraham) try to forcibly relocate the planet's inhabitants: 600 peaceful Ba'ku villagers, who have renounced technology and don't wish to be relocated.
Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Federation starship USS Enterprise decide that forced relocation of minorities is an immoral violation of the Prime Directive (the law preventing the Federation from interfering with the development of other societies). They side with the villagers and lead an insurrection against Ru'afo's forces.
In the subplot, Picard falls in love with Anij, a Ba'ku woman who is over 300 years old.
Opinion:
In 1962 racism in America was so rampant that George Wallace won his governorship supporting the separation of Whites from non-Whites. Only about three years later came Gene Rodenberry's space adventure series Star Trek - - a disguised method for 1960s people to examine their own attitudes towards war, racism and international cooperation. Roddenberry's Star Trek was not so much about the future as it was about current issues and moral dilemmas. Advocating a more multicultural society, it helped shape America.
Like its 1960s predecessor, STAR TREK: INSURRECTION has a strong moral tint to it: questioning whether the greater good of the majority (the Federation) outweighs the needs of the minority (the Ba'ku). This agonizing question, which has plagued humanity for centuries, is decided in about 5 minutes by the Enterprise crew. Then they have a short, bloodless war, where a child must predictably run back to look for his beloved lost pet despite an avalanche of falling rocks. And in the aftermath, the heroes ride off into the sunset without regard to how future conflicts over the metaphasic resource might occur or be prevented; or how their use of technology has affected the villagers whose culture has vowed to renounce technology; or the politics of disobeying Federation military orders.
STAR TREK: INSURRECTION clocks in at about an hour and 43 minutes. Somewhat escapist, the film leaves the juicy, formidable questions unanswered. But it is still plenty enjoyable in the way that TV episodes are: nice, neat, and sanitized. After an intriguing beginning, there is no shortage of action in the second half to keep Trekkies and non-Trekkies satisfied.
Reviewed by David Sunga
December 11, 1998
Copyright © 1998 by David Sunga
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