

(Here goes my "Insurrection" review, which I thought I'd get out the way
before the ol' memory cells start to fade. Look out for the final three
episodes of DS9's sixth season within the next week or so...)

** SPOILERS BELOW **

STAR TREK: INSURRECTION
---------
Screenplay by Michael Piller
Story by Rick Berman and Michael Piller
Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Although they've ditched the numerals, believe it or not "Star Trek:
Insurrection" is the ninth entry in the STAR TREK film legacy, and the
third to feature the cast of THE NEXT GENERATION. First of all, those of
you aware of the "curse of the odd-numbered TREK films" (ie, they're
somehow never as good as the even-numbered) may well be wondering whether
or not they've finally broken the jinx. The answer is both yes and no;
while "Insurrection" isn't on a par with the best of the TREK films, it's
certainly not the worst and beats the other odd-numbered entries, such as
"The Motion Picture" and "Generations" and certainly the dismal "The Final
Frontier". In itself "Insurrection" is a reasonably good film, if sometimes
a little patchy in execution.

Things start off with a beautifully-shot montage of scenes featuring the
serene village of the Ba'ku, a peaceful, spiritual race who have put aside
technology to build themselves a paradise. This is a particularly Trekkian
statement; that the future of mankind lies not so much in technology and
space as it does exploring the *real* Final Frontier -- the human spirit.
The Ba'ku represent what humanity is capable of becoming. Of course, they
are helped along by the fact thheir world contains rejuvenating radiation
which keeps them forever young. This energy captures the interest of the
Son'a (there's nothing like an apostrophe to make a name look cooler is
there? I'm half-thinking of changing my name to Sc'ott Andre'sson ;-)).

The Son'a are a dying race, and at first glimpse the exact opposite of the
Ba'ku -- materialistic, vain and bitter. I do suspect that if the Ba'ku
represent what humanity is capable of becoming, then the Sonn'a are what we
currently are (one can't help but notice we live in a very materialistic,
consumer-driven, dare I say *greedy* society). Incidentally there's a
clever convergence of the Ba'ku/Son'a storylines at the end which further
emphasise the choice that each of us has today (we can be a Ba'ku or a
Son'a, to put it quite simply). Yeah, well I won't go into the
philosophical side of it too deeply, needless to say this is an
intelligent, sophisticated story with a very relevant, positive message for
today. The Son'a attempt to relocate the Ba'ku in a bid to use the planet's
regenerating energy and this is nicely paralleled with the tragedy of the
Native American West. STAR TREK is often at its best when it explores
deeper issues in a positive light and although this is h!
ardly TREK at its finest (by a long shot) this is a pretty good attempt.
Given that the majority of sci-fi films nowadays have about as much depth
and I.Q. as a blade of grass (which in some cases is probably unfair on the
grass!) that's a welcome thing, indeed.

Unfortunately, while the basic storyline is strong and intelligent, the
film flounders a bit on its execution. Generally it was fine, but on
occasion rather patchy. For a start, there was *way* too much
"technobabble". Now it's fine in very small doses, because it makes the
characters look like they can do their job, but particularly towards the
end, there was far too much "scientific" mumbo-jumbo, constituting plot.
Incidentally, Michael Piller's script was generally proficient, although
the dialogue sometimes lacked that all-important sparkle. There were a
number of rather wordy expositions which I guess were necessary, but there
was perhaps a slight predisposition to *tell* instead of *show*.

It transpires that the Federation (represented here by the sleazy Admiral
Dougherty, the latest in a long line of corrupt Starfleet Admirals) are
conspiring to work with the Son'a to move the Ba'ku in order to share the
secret of the planet's "fountain of youth". Whilst intriguing, the
conspiracy aspect wasn't handled as deftly as it has been before on THE
NEXT GENERATION and particularly DEEP SPACE NINE. But any attempt to inject
some shades of grey and make the good guys seem less cardboard is always
welcome. And it wasn't an especially clear-cut issue, either -- the Son'a
were a dying species and as Admiral Dougherty said, the planet's radiation
would have helped billions of people.  Would relocating the Ba'ku really
have been so much given that? Of course, I'd tend to side with Picard and
the Ba'ku (as we're obviously meant to) but I'm just going to show that
there's a degree of moral ambiguity and certainly no easy answers. Yet one
of the film's main problems is that it d!
oesn't capitalise on this, and there's absolutely no hint of doubt on
Picard's side -- for him there *is* an easy answer! It would have been a
lot more dramatically-sound had his decision been made tougher. DS9 does an
excellent job of portraying rounded, three-dimensional characters by
instilling a degree of moral ambiguity. "Insurrection" would have benefited
from that, and it would certainly have made Picard and co seem a bit less
cardboard (and more human) under the circumstances.

Incidentally, I'd heard that they were aiming to give "Insurrection" a
lighter tone, likened to "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". I'm not quite
sure they pulled it off; the comedy didn't *blend* as well as it did in
"First Contact" and while there were some nice amusing touches, this aspect
was a bit hit-and-miss. I got a giggle out of the exchange on the shuttle;
Picard: "Do you know Gilbert and Sullivan?" Worf: "I have not had the
opportunity to meet all the new crew." Picard: "They're *composers*,
Worf!", but having Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner singing a song from HMS
Pinafore was...icky. The gag about Data repeating Beverly and Troi's
comment about "have you noticed your boobs getting firmer?" to Worf *was*
funny, even though it made Data look a bit dim in the process!

The rest of the comedy was largely down to the characterisation of the
regulars. The writers evidently tried to have some fun and it works to
varying degrees as the crew are affected by the planet's rejuvenating
radiation. Riker and Troi prance about like gormless teenagers, resuming a
relationship they had several years prior to the television series while
Riker finally gets rid of the beard -- and not a moment too soon for Troi.
Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis have a nice, light chemistry and their
scenes togetheer are pleasant enough, even if none of it felt especially
true-to-character. Geordi's regaining his sight was rather touching,
however brief. And while Picard loses a few wrinkles around his neck,
there's no sign of any hair sprouting up! Was he always bald? Poor Beverly
again has next to nothing to do -- was it even worth having Gates McFadden
there at all when she was so superfluous to the plot? Worf seems to be the
butt of much of the humour with most of the jo!
kes on him and his pimple as he once again undergoes Klingon puberty.
Speaking of Worf, it would have been nice to have had some reference to
Dax, or better yet, an appearance (even just a brief one) by Terry Farrell
herself! Even a small cameo by TREK's most engaging, charismatic actress
certainly wouldn't have gone astray. By the way, where was Quark?! I
thought he was supposed to have a quick cameo? And although I spotted Max
Grodenchik's name in the end credits (billed as "alien ensign"), I
evidently missed him. D'oh!

Anyway, "Insurrection" had two little sub-stories alongside the main plot.
The first, Picard's relationship with Anij (Donna Murphy) was amiable, if a
bit insipid (it would have been nice if they'd actually *kissed*! Even just
a peck on the cheek). Stewart and Murphy didn't quite have the chemistry to
make it work, but it was quite sweet nonetheless (I loved the bit with the
hummingbird!). And I liked Anij -- here we have a mature, strong,
intelligent woman who doesn't have to display an acre of flesh or become a
vulnerable damsell in distress (though, yes, she did get injured at one
point).

Another sub-story was shared by Data and the kid (can't remember his name).
Anyone who's ever watched THE NEXT GENERATION will immediately experience
deja vu -- the Data-befriends-frightened-child storyline was a stock TNG
cliche. Apparently its only reason for being here was to up tthe "cuteness"
factor. It was harmless enough, but I think I'll pass. As far as Data was
concerned, there was more character *regression* than development. Have the
writers already tired of his "emotion chip" (which, we're told, he didn't
take with him on this trip)?

The performances are all enjoyable, even though the script doesn't really
tax anyone too much. Patrick Stewart does his usual great job, and the rest
of the regulars are obviously having some fun. The guest cast were
generally solid; Donna Murphy did a good job as Anij, even if she was a
little low-key for some tastes, and Anthony Zerbe made a suitably slimy
Admiral Dougherty. As Ru'afo, the leader of the Son'a, F Murray Abraham was
a rather forgettable villain (mind you, it didn't help that all the Son'a
looked virtually the identical) although he did have his moments (one of
them *not* being that laughably exaggerated "Nooooooooooooooooo!!!" when
his mission is aborted).

Once again Jonathan Frakes does an exemplary job directing. He's certainly
got an eye for visual flair, and whilst he's not exactly James Cameron
quite yet, for a relative beginner I'm very impressed. On the other hand
the special effects were surprisingly mixed -- whilst the explosions were
quite spectacular, the close-ups of the ships were unconvincing. The
robotic "tagging" devices llooked fake and the shot of Data in the Son'a
ship attacking Ru'afo was unintentionally funny. I assume they used CGI,
which has its virtues (like I said, the explosions were great), but as far
as the ships go, actual models are far more convincing. I did love the
music, though! Jerry Goldsmith is one of Hollywood's finest composers and
he does an absolutely tremendous job. His opening theme was superlative and
he keeps the momentum going right through the film.

One niggle I had with "Insurrection" was it's climax; not so much because
of what happened, but more the *way* it happened. The final ten minutes are
a flurry of beaming on and off different ships, activating particle
collectors, being transported aboard holographic ships, chasing the bad guy
before he can carry out his planÖoh, and it's all seasoned with a dash of
technobabble, of course! Thing is, you have to concentrate exceptionally
hard if you're to follow the plot. There's fast-paced and then there's
so-fast-paced-it's-difficult-to-follow.

Some other thoughts;

* OK, so Riker piloted the Enterprise manually using what looked like a
home PC *joystick*?! I'm not quite sure whether that was meant to be funny
or taken seriously...

* The "Collector" ship immediately reminded me of the Bajoran light ship
Sisko built in DS9's "Explorers". The "sails" looked almost identical. Oh,
and did it strike anyone else as odd that this technology was utterly
beyond the grasp of Starfleet?

* There were about three references to the Dominion. I had hoped that the
film would tie-in closer with the events of the past season's DS9. There
was no mention that the Federation was actually at war, but an interesting
observation on Ru'afo's part that the Federation may be crumbling. Picard
also mentioned "negotiations with the Dominion" -- huh? And on researching
the Son'a, Riker claims that they manufacture the drug Ketracel-white. This
strikes me as extremelyy unlikely, as it's previously been established that
the drug is specific to the Founders, who use it to control the Jem'Hadar.

* Did I mention that the location work was absolutely gorgeous? Well, it
was! I wonder where it was? Wouldn't mind a holiday thereÖ

* The scenes of Son'a skin-stretching were rather vile. Mind you, they
don't bear a patch on the Vidiians from VOYAGER (who would just as happily
graft *your* face onto theirs!). Admiral Dougherty met with a particularly
nasty end -- in fact I'm surprised the film was only a PG certificate.

That's about it, I think you get the idea by now! I'm not sure how
accessible it is for those completely unfamiliar with TREK and I suspect
the uninitiated might go away feeling rather more confused than they were
to begin with! But as far as I'm concerned, "Insurrection" may have its
flaws and it's certainly not TREK at its best, but it's still an
intelligent, thoughtful film that works reasonably well. The only major
disappointment was that they never blew up the Enterprise at the end! It
has to be one of the ugliest ships I've ever seen on TREK. Ah, well,
there's always the next movie...or the one after that...or the one after
that...

Rating: 7

--------
*Scott Andresson
<[email-masked]>

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