

~Title:  Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Okay, I admit it.  I do like to watch Star Trek on occasion, and might even 
consider myself a slight fan of the series.  I've seen 7 of the 9 movies, and 
many of the episodes of Next Gen., Deep Space 9, and Voyager.  A lot of the 
good and the bad aspects of the series in there, and the latest incarnation, 
"Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998) mixes both.  It has the premise and the ideas 
of the wonderful TV series, but with the execution of some of the worst 
films.  

"Star Trek: Insurrection"  once again brings us back to the familiar company 
of Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Lieutenant Data, Worf, and the rest of 
the "Next Generation" crew.  This time, we are reunited with them amidst 
a plot between corrupt Starfleet officials and an alien race called the Baku, 
who attempt to basically evict the peaceful, agrarian Sona people from their 
home planet, which is basically a giant fountain of youth.  This, of course, is 
in the interests of research, as discoveries about the planet can potentially 
help millions of people suffering from variosu illnesses or whatnot.  Of 
course, when Picard finds out about the intention to move these people, 
him and his crew revolt against the officials and their alien allies.  

Now here's the main problem with the film.  When I was watching it, I 
thought to myself, what was so bad about moving them- 600 people- if it 
were in the interests of millions of others?  On the other hand, it _is_ the 
eviction of 600 innocent people.  The story would have been made a lot 
better if  it addressed this moral dilemma- do you sacrifice the few for the 
greater good?  Rather, it answers this question way too quickly and then the 
story just turns into a fairly mindless "sci-fi flick", using film cliches like 
the child going back into a dangerous area to save his pet.    And in order to 
try to make up for the lack of plot, it attempts for a "twist" towards the end 
revealing something about the relationship between the Sona and the 
Baku, but that twist feels contrived.  

Similarly, I think the characters and their relationships seem to suffer as a 
result of the disappearance of strong plot as well.  I liked the way things 
were going with the characters in the beginning, articularly the rekindling 
of the relationship between Counselor Troi (Mariana Sirtis) and 
Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes, who also directed).  The moments 
they shared were snappy, smart, and with some welcome sexual energy.  
But those moments, of course, are gone later in the film.  Captain Picard 
also starts up a romance of his own with a young-looking Sona woman 
(actually a few centuries in age) and I think that the chemistry between 
them can be pleasant and beautiful, just like the woman herself is, but 
again, that suffers as the romance tries and fails to integrate into the latter 
half of the film with the phaser blasts going in every direction.  

Many believe that today, good special effects are taking the places of a good 
story, and that pretty much seems to be the case with "Insurrection".  The 
visual effects are probably the most remarkable element of this film, and are 
a step above those that are offered in the other Trek films.  Some shots, 
particularly involving the Enterprise itself, are  obviously computer 
generated, while others, like when we see more of Lt. Data's body as he 
strips off the "invisible" clothing that he wore, are pretty eye-opening.  My 
personal favorite is the shot of the invisible Holodeck revealed after water 
had been sprayed on it.  

However, none of this makes up for what I think are the foundations of a 
good film- characters and plot, both of which 2/3 of the film is lacking.  The 
ideas behind this film had pretty good potential; it's disappointing to see 
them with relatively half-baked execution.  My score out of 10: 4.5

They said they tried to make it more like the TV series, but I guess not 
enough.  

Arnold Kim