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Star Trek 8: First Contact
Year Of Release
1996
Director
Jonathan Frakes
Producer
Marty Hornstein, Rick Berman, Peter Lauritson,
Writer
Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Ronald D Moore, Brannon Braga
Cast
Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Neal McDonough, James Cromwell, Alfre Woodard and Alice Krige
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Year Of Release
1996
Director
Jonathan Frakes
Producer
Marty Hornstein, Rick Berman, Peter Lauritson,
Writer
Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Ronald D Moore, Brannon Braga
Cast
Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Neal McDonough, James Cromwell, Alfre Woodard and Alice Krige
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The Borg attempt to enslave humanity in the past, before First Contact between Terrans and Vulcans; Picard must fight his demons from his assimilation into the Collective as he leads the Enterprise-E back in time to ensure that Zephram Cochrane's first warp test and subsequent meeting of the extra-terrestrials take place.
Sadly, this movie pushes close to mediocre.
The plotline could have been super-exciting, especially involving The Borg going back into the past and changing things around but sadly all the audience got was a small scale actioner that's laden with badly written humour; namely seeing Counsellor Troy drunk and Zephram Cochran being more of a comedy relief once Data is captured by The Borg.
The added extra of Picard and his past dealings with The Borg could have been worthwhile too, but, it wasn't really utilised very well. It just boils down to Picard looking for revenge rather than to bury demons of his past.
The places that work though are the general storyline and plot and the writing overall when it comes to emotions of the characters. Having The Borg try their best to change Earth’s past by time travelling, it makes for a tense situation that the audience can get behind and cheer on Picard and his crew.
The dialogue and more sombre scenes, particularly between Picard and Lily Sloan make for some nice scenes that portray Picard as a little more human than he’s ever been seen before.
Which brings me to the acting.
It’s more about Patrick Stewart facing his Borg past and James Cromwell becoming something he doesn’t want to be. Cromwell however is a completely different character to the Zephram Cochran we saw in the TNG TV series. He’s also annoying at times; which is not good for a main character really.
Stewart holds it together well though and we at last see him lose his temper more than once while Picard gets stressed by the whole situation.
Alice Krige though is the standout role as The Borg Queen. Krige is absolutely on top form as a half living half machine entity that tries her best to twist Data against his roots. Krige’s natural ability to be disturbing without even trying is perfect for the role.
Sadly, another downer is that the effects seem low in budget. In fact, even lower than the TV series.
Most of the film is based in a forest on Earth, so there's no real area for a budget to be spent and some of the sets are as wobbly as the original 1960s TV series.
When seen though, the computer and miniature effects departments worked out of their socks to get the shots needed. It’s just a shame that the sets and general setting was a let-down.
Another thing, is that, how did a bunch of hermits living in tents in a forest manage to build a 300ft space vehicle that has warp capability?
Sadly, this movie pushes close to mediocre.
The plotline could have been super-exciting, especially involving The Borg going back into the past and changing things around but sadly all the audience got was a small scale actioner that's laden with badly written humour; namely seeing Counsellor Troy drunk and Zephram Cochran being more of a comedy relief once Data is captured by The Borg.
The added extra of Picard and his past dealings with The Borg could have been worthwhile too, but, it wasn't really utilised very well. It just boils down to Picard looking for revenge rather than to bury demons of his past.
The places that work though are the general storyline and plot and the writing overall when it comes to emotions of the characters. Having The Borg try their best to change Earth’s past by time travelling, it makes for a tense situation that the audience can get behind and cheer on Picard and his crew.
The dialogue and more sombre scenes, particularly between Picard and Lily Sloan make for some nice scenes that portray Picard as a little more human than he’s ever been seen before.
Which brings me to the acting.
It’s more about Patrick Stewart facing his Borg past and James Cromwell becoming something he doesn’t want to be. Cromwell however is a completely different character to the Zephram Cochran we saw in the TNG TV series. He’s also annoying at times; which is not good for a main character really.
Stewart holds it together well though and we at last see him lose his temper more than once while Picard gets stressed by the whole situation.
Alice Krige though is the standout role as The Borg Queen. Krige is absolutely on top form as a half living half machine entity that tries her best to twist Data against his roots. Krige’s natural ability to be disturbing without even trying is perfect for the role.
Sadly, another downer is that the effects seem low in budget. In fact, even lower than the TV series.
Most of the film is based in a forest on Earth, so there's no real area for a budget to be spent and some of the sets are as wobbly as the original 1960s TV series.
When seen though, the computer and miniature effects departments worked out of their socks to get the shots needed. It’s just a shame that the sets and general setting was a let-down.
Another thing, is that, how did a bunch of hermits living in tents in a forest manage to build a 300ft space vehicle that has warp capability?
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All in all, the weakest of the series but could have been magnificent.
The storyline was used relatively well, and there are tons of character driven plots going on that make First Contact probably the most personal and interpersonal film of the lot, even over Wrath Of Khan.
The acting is also top notch.
Sadly, it ended up looking low in budget, had some annoying characters and the occasional plot that makes no sense at all, even for a Trek film.
It’s also not as exciting as it should have been given the premise.
My rating: 71%
All in all, the weakest of the series but could have been magnificent.
The storyline was used relatively well, and there are tons of character driven plots going on that make First Contact probably the most personal and interpersonal film of the lot, even over Wrath Of Khan.
The acting is also top notch.
Sadly, it ended up looking low in budget, had some annoying characters and the occasional plot that makes no sense at all, even for a Trek film.
It’s also not as exciting as it should have been given the premise.
My rating: 71%
