

_Star_Trek:_Insurrection_ (PG) ** (out of ****)

I am not a "Trekker," so I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed the
last big-screen installment of the long-running film and television
franchise, 1996's _Star_Trek:_First_Contact_.  Delivering thrills and a
terrific adversary (the menacing Borg race) for general audiences to chew
on, and enough of the trademark techno-talk to appease the geekiest of
Trekkers, director/co-star Jonathan Frakes had his cake and ate it too.

After _First_Contact_'s critical and popular success, it comes as no
surprise that Paramount and _Trek_ producer Rick Berman tapped Frakes to
helm _Trek_ movie#9, but not even he can break this series from its curious
"even/odd" curse--that is, even-numbered installments = good, odd = bad (or
at least not good).  To be fair, Frakes's direction is not the problem with
_Insurrection_--it's the weak script by Michael Piller, from a story Piller
co-devised with Berman.  This time out, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick
Stewart), Commander Will Riker (Frakes), android Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent
Spiner), Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton), Dr. Beverly Crusher
(Gates McFadden), Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and Michael Dorn's
Lt. Cmdr. Worf (again on loan from his current TV home on
_Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine_) commit the titular act of insurrection
against their higher-ups at the Federation when they set out to protect the
population of a peaceful planet from a maniacal, Federation-allied alien
(F. Murray Abraham) determined to harness the planet's power of granting
perpetual youth.

_Insurrection_ is a far cry from the violent, "Resistance is futile" Borg
antics of _First_Contact_ in terms of action, excitement, and,
unfortunately, interest--to non-Trekkers, that is.  A lot of the time is
spent on light character moments, such as Data bonding with a
technology-fearing young boy, Riker and Troi rekindling their romance, and
Worf re-experiencing Klingon puberty, thanks to the perpetual youth bug.
Trekkers will eat that stuff up; others will be looking elsewhere for
something engaging, which cannot be found in the by-the-numbers story or
the incredibly boring villain.  What they will ultimately fix their
attention on is the always-commanding presence of Stewart and the typically
polished effects and makeup work.  Aside from that, this subpar outing has
nothing to offer anyone outside of the _Trek_ faithful.

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Michael Dequina
[email-masked]   |  [email-masked]
Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown
CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com
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