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Star Trek: First Contact

15  FEB
SAT
Planet Earth. Population 9 billion. None human.


Directed by  Jonathan Frakes
Written by  Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore
Starring:  Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean-Luc Picard)
Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. William Riker)
Brent Spiner (Lt. Cmdr. Data)
LeVar Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge)
Michael Dorn (Lt. Cmdr. Worf)
Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher)
Marina Sirtis (Cmdr. Deanna Troi)
Alfre Woodard (Lily Sloane)
James Cromwell (Zefram Cochrane)
Alice Krige (Borg Queen)
Runtime: 110 minutes
Plot:
It is the 24th century, and a collective of part humanoid, part machine beings face the Federation in what would be the biggest battle of all time. This collective, called the Borg, lose, and desperately attempt to go back in time to April 4th, 2063, to stop Earth's First Contact with an alien species (the Vulcans, to be precise). Captain Picard, and the crew of the Enterprise-E (NCC 1701-E) go back in time to make sure that Zefram Cochrane makes his warp flight. The Enterprise runs into unexpected trouble, however, when the Borg start to assimilate the Enterprise. - Julian King



Comment:
This is the first very good Star Trek movie I've ever seen (except, eventually, Star Trek IV that was quite funny), probably because it looked much like a common episode of the series (which I generally like) rather than an attempt to push everything too much in order to obtain a two hours movie (eg. Generations, a very boring and stupid movie).

The special effects are very well made, the initial space battle against the Borg cube is great (but short). The new Enterprise-E is nice, probably it is a bit too rotund and stylish, the design of the spaceships in the evolution of Star Trek seems to follow too closely the design of real life objects of the period in which the series/movie has been produced (from the simple shapes and sharp edges of the '60s to the elaborate and curved shapes of the '90s).


The story is rather interesting and not so senseless despite the time travel, probably because there is much action and fun. Obviously there isn't much suspense about the ending because it seems far too evident that none of the main characters will die and there is no chance that at the end the Borg will win! This is probably the most negative point about the whole movie but what could you expect from a Star Trek episode... err... movie?

About other negative parts of the movie, first of all the Borg Queen seems to be rather artificial considering how the Borg were described in the movie and especially in the series. Also, the role of Captain Picard is probably too amplified, he is not only shown as a leader but also as a real hero, which is too exaggerated, in my opinion. I also wonder how they manage to destroy the Borg cube by simply firing where Picard said: he knows the Borg better than anybody else but why should they have such a silly Achilles heel? OK, it's better not to question too much about Star Trek, otherwise the movie will be completely ruined...


Rating: 7.8  ****



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© Copyright Sergio Monesi, 1997-1999.
Last updated: 25 Jun 1999