

STAR TREK: INSURRECTION
(Paramount)
Starring:  Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton,
Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, F. Murray Abraham.
Screenplay:  Michael Piller.
Producer:  Rick Berman.
Director:  Jonathan Frakes.
MPAA Rating:  PG (profanity, violence)
Running Time:  101 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.

     By now, every "Star Trek" fan deserving of the name is familiar with
the "odd-even" rule for the feature films.  The second, fourth, sixth and
eighth films in the series have been the most entertaining; the first,
third, fifth and seventh, not so much.  STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, the
latest biannual return of the "Next Generation" cast, marks the ninth
big-screen journey into the Trek universe, inspiring a combination of
trepidation and hope.  Could this finally be the adventure which would
break the odd-number jinx?

     Well, not exactly.  STAR TREK: INSURRECTION is an average story,
competently told, energized primarily by the chance to mingle once again
with the characters from the "Next Generation" television series.  The
premise finds the Enterprise called to assist when Data (Brent Spiner),
participating in a mission on another planet, apparently malfunctions.
Once in the system, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and company discover
the voluntarily agrarian Ba'ku society about to be removed from the planet
by an alliance between a Federation admiral (Anthony Zerbe) and a race
called the Son'a, led by Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham).  It seems that
radiation on the Ba'ku planet possesses a "fountain of youth" quality
which makes it incredibly valuable, particularly to the genetically
deteriorating Son'a.  Picard is outraged by the plan to forcefully
relocate the Ba'ku, however, and leads his crew to help defend the planet
against the Son'a's sinister plans.

     STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, like most of the films in the series, is
clearly designed to appeal to the Trek faithful first, and to a broader
audience second.  That's one of the qualities which makes INSURRECTION
feel as fragmented as it does.  Every cast member gets to bow to the crowd 
in a showcase sub-plot -- Data bonds with a Ba'ku boy over the mysteries
of childhood; Worf (Michael Dorn) re-experiences Klingon puberty as a
side-effect of the planet's radiation; Riker (Jonathan Frakes, who also
directed) gets frisky with Troi (Marina Sirtis) and shaves off his beard;
LaForge (LeVar Burton) has his natural eyesight regenerated and weeps at
the sight of a sunset.  During the run of the series, each cast member
could get a couple of episodes per season to anchor the main story line.
Over the course of a 100 minute film, trying to give seven characters
enough to do to keep them happy leads to plenty of punch lines but not
enough focus.

     It's particularly unfortunate that all the business for the other
crew members draws attention away from Patrick Stewart.  Here he gets a
romantic relationship with a Ba'ku woman (Donna Murphy), as well as a
chance to lecture on the historical tragedies of "ethnic cleansing."
Stewart has the presence to make virtually anything he does feel
commanding, but there's always a sense that he should have _more_ to do.
Just as he was always the best thing about the "Next Generation" series,
he's the bext thing about the "Next Generation" films, whether playing the
fool in a ceremonial headdress or radiating moral courage.  Stewart as
Picard is almost always going to be a good enough reason to watch a Trek
film, while watching him step back for the good of the ensemble will
always be a bit disappointing.

     There are other good reasons to see this particular film, including
some sharply-staged action sequences (Frakes showed a similar facility in
1996's FIRST CONTACT) and plenty of belly laughs.  There are also other 
reasons to be disappointed, including a wasted villain in F. Murray
Abraham and a resolution which you may miss if you blink.  Altogether it
feels a bit small for the big screen, more like a solid episode of the
series  (complete with obvious allegory) than a film.  Perhaps there
aren't that many great ideas for Trek features to go around, and maybe
that's why the heirs to Gene Roddenberry's vision manage to come up with a
really good one only once every four years.  If they decided not to make a
movie every two years, and waited until that really good idea was ready,
they could eliminate that "odd-even" problem once and for all.

     On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Trek meets:  6.

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