Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Jonathan Frakes

Country

USA

Cast

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell, Alice Krige, Patti Yasutake, Neal McDonough, Majel Barrett, Robert Picardo

Storyline

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 4, 2063, to stop Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Enterprise go back in time to make sure that Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) makes his famous warp flight. However, the Enterprise-E runs into unexpected trouble when the Borg start to assimilate the starship.

Opinion

After the disastrous "Star Trek: Generations", Jonathan Frakes also known as William T. Riker directs "Star Trek: First Contact", a solid, successful sci-fi film as well as one of the best entries in the series so far.

Beautifully written by Jonathan Frakes, the film has multiple storylines - Riker and part of the crew have to convince Dr. Zefram Cochrane to conduct the first human warp mission, Picard has to deal with his Moby Dick, the attack of the Borg -, all progressing at a beautiful pace, and even though the story seems a bit stretched in some parts, overall the story keeps you interested both with what the crew is going through on Earth, and what is happening on the ship. I read that the story was carried on from the TV series, and I congratulate with Frakes for providing all the background necessary to watch and enjoy the film, especially for those, like myself, who hasn't seen the TV series. 

The compelling story wonderfully balances drama and humour, and features funny and sharp dialogue.

The villains, the dreaded Borg, are very interesting, and the Borg Queen is one of the greatest Star Trek villains so far, and the best villain since Khan in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".

I am not saying the film is flawless though. The scene in which the Borg Queen seduces Data is memorable, but the dialogue, actually what Data says, is a bit cheap. Also, I don't understand why Picard considers destroying the Enterprise such a big deal: that has been done so many times already, some of which without any reason at all, and now that there is a good reason, he just says no.

As for the acting, overall is great. Most of the actors give genuine performances, so genuine they conveys and invite the audience to feel the characters' feelings.