Subject: REVIEW: STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996)

From: [email-masked] (Michael Dequina)
Date: 9 Dec 1996 20:55:51 GMT

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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...).
__________________________________________________________

Michael Dequina
[email-masked]  /  [email-masked]
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