1/2

Star Trek: First Contact - Brings you where no other trek movies have gone before!

Directed by: Jonathan Frakes
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell, Alice Krige, Neal McDonough
Written by: Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, and Ronald D. Moore
Producer/Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Local Release Date: 20/02/97
Run Time: 112 minutes.
Full Listing of Credits

While I am very much a fan of the original star trek TV series I must admit I don't glue my eyes to the google box in the wee hours of Thursday mornings watching Star Trek: The New Generation. I also haven't seen a single episode of the recent ST:TNG spin-offs: Voyager and Deep Space Nine. Being a loyal fan of Captain James T Kirk, I had a notion at the back of my head that FIRST CONTACT was going to be enjoyable at best, but I was wrong. It took only minutes to get me to warp speed on the plot. On the whole, STAR TREK FIRST CONTACT was intelligently directed; the plot was simple but concise, and, most importantly, it fused the two most popular elements of ST:TNG -- time travel and the Borg.

For someone with hardly any directorial experience, Jonathan Frakes (who in the film also reprises his role as the Enterprise's second-in-command, Cmdr. William Riker) passed the test with panache. I was pleasantly surprised with his fluidity behind the camera. The scenes are crisp and executed with style, and the audience never had a chance to be lulled to sleep. It was clear that this man has a passion for Star Trek, and the energy that he injected into the movie created a thrilling spectacle for his fans. I certainly hope he gets the opportunity to direct more Trek episodes.

The movie opens with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) waking up from a nightmare about his encounter with the Borg. The Borg are a race of hybrid beings, humanoids enhanced by cybernetic implants, who are joined together in a group consciousness known as the Borg Collective -- the Borg Queen. Their only known pursuit is the "Assimilation of other cultures and technologies, and the perfection and export of their form of organization." And the assimilation of earth is their mission in this movie.

The Enterprise, however is asked to stay away due to the Star Fleet's lack of faith with Picard. (Six years ago he was captured and assimilated by the borg). As it turns out, the Star Fleet ships are no match for the Borg and the Enterprise joins in to help destroy the Borg ship. This scene, with the various Star Fleet ships attacking the Borg Ship, was simply dazzling in effects, but sadly it all ended there.

The war, however, does not end here for the defeated Borg then travel back in time (to the year 2063) to prevent the launch of earth's first warp speed flight by Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell of BABE). This flight was to have resulted in earth's first contact with another race of beings who eventually helped form the Federation. From this point on, the movie revolves between the frantic rush on earth to get the flight launched on time and the fight against assimilation by the Borg on the Enterprise, where the Borg has managed to "beam" aboard before it was destroyed.

Personally, I thought the strong screen presence of Picard was an asset for FIRST CONTACT. His protrayal of a futuristic Ahab intent on revenge against the Borg was a welcome change to his disciplined, uncompromising and stately manner in the TV series. His obsessive rage against the Borg as he spilled a whole magazine of bullets into the Borg was my favourite scene.

If there was anything I didn't like about First Contact, it was the change in nature of the Borg from their portrayal in the original TV series. The group-conscious borg-collective are here given an individualized queen (Alice Krige), who commands and controls the Borg collective. While a friend of mine felt Krige was "gorgeously seductive", I felt this introduction of individuality and added personality in the borg collective somewhat made the Borg a less fearful enemy.

While Trek II (The Wrath of Khan) remains my personal favourite, Star Trek First Contact deserves the 4 1/2 stars I am going to give it. And if you are contemplating on whether to spend your next $7 on the movie, I have this advice to offer:

For fans of Star Trek: I'll give a resounding YES to go see the movie.
For non-fans: This *IS* the time to get converted.
And for those who for some reason just HATE Star Trek: I am sorry for you.

And oh, remember to bring the along the pop-corn and coke to add icing to the cake.

The Flying Inkpot Rating System:
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.

The above is written by a BIASED trek fan for THE FLYING INKPOT.

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