

Susan Granger's review of "STAR TREK: INSURRECTION" (Paramount Pictures)
       Love springs eternal in this ninth film of the popular "Star
Trek" franchise, as Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is
attracted to Anij, one of the leaders of an endangered planet and
First Officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) resumes his romance with
Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). True to the spirit of the
Starship Enterprise, whose purpose is to explore strange, new worlds
and, in doing so, learn about many different species, Captain Picard
and his crew come to the rescue of the Ba'ku, a small community of
humanoid people whose serene and peaceful way of life is threatened,
along with the Fountain of Youth properties of their planet's
atmosphere. And, as it has been so often, the Star Trek plot is a
metaphor for current events with Picard challenging a Starfleet
authority that he believes to be corrupt and becoming an intrepid
freedom fighter. Doing his best to overcome the weaknesses of the
script - a blustering but relatively ineffectual alien villain
(F. Murray Abraham), a leading lady who totally lacks screen charisma
(Broadway's two-time Tony winner, Donna Murphy), and an overdose of
techno-babble - director Jonathan Frakes keeps the pace light and
lively, breaking from the standard save-the-universe, thrill-ride
formula and emerging more as a robust, fun-filled reunion episode of
"Star Trek: Next Generation." To its credit, once again, the humanity
outweighs the hardware. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Star
Trek: Insurrection" is a breezy, lightweight 7, combining idealism,
action-adventure, and the requisite special effects with some of the
gentle humor and romance that characterized the original television
series.