The Worst Film Ever

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Redundant and unnecessary.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Other than the 3 Abrams-era entries, all the Star Trek films are really just long, high-budget episodes of the shows that would probably mean little to and even annoy those who aren't familiar with the tone and pacing. Otherwise, this is easily the best of all the TNG films. Great thoughts on historical legacies, philosophical questions about autonomy, patience and beauty in the space fights, and maybe my favorite villain in all of Star Trek.

After chasing God in Star Trek V, reenacting the Cold War in IV, and being offered an ultimate "fantasy life" in Generations (all very philosophically-themed films), Star Trek: First Contact shifted its focus to action/adventure, and was better served for it. Plus, not only was the film a rousing adventure, but also contained the emotions to back it up.In this film, the Next Generation crew is reunited with the Borg (whom, perhaps with the exception of Klingons, are the most compelling villain race in the Star Trek cannon). This reunion touches an extremely raw nerve in Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who once was captured and tortured by the Borg, setting up the emotional drama of the film. The "Picard meltdown" scene is one of the best in the entire Star Trek series as far as emotional conflict is concerned. While trying to stop the Borg from changing the entire course of human space travel (the main plot of the film), Picard must balance his intense hatred of the one-eyed automatrons with the safety and well-being of himself, his crew, and the entire human race.Besides that strong emotion, though, the other aspect of the film that succeeds is its ability (much like the II-IV movies) to give all the Enterprise crew something important (and interesting) to do. Worf tries to secure the ship from the Borg, Data is heavily drawn into the Borg's plan (being a cybernetic being himself), while Riker, Geordi, and Troi must help Zefram Cochrane gain the confidence to lift off on the most important of all manned space flights. Each story is just as compelling as the other, with Worf providing the bulk of the action, Data adding more emotional conflict, and Riker/Geordi/Troi pushing the main plot forward as well as adding doses of humor.To conclude, Star Trek: First Contact is easily the best Star Trek film featuring the Next Generation cast, and I would argue rivals movies II and IV as the best in the entire series. With its combination of action, emotional drama, time-travel plot (those always keep you thinking!), and sly humor, this film combines all the positive aspects of the Star Trek cannon and tops things off with a great script and spot-on acting. If you have never seen a Star Trek movie and could care less about the "old guys" (The Original Series cast), this is the movie to start with. If you were introduced (albeit rather poorly) to the Next Generation crew in Star Trek: Generations, this movie will properly acquaint you to the show.

This thoroughly entertaining movie is probably the best of the Star Trek movie series, thanks to a fast pace and a complex plot which throws in a number of different ingredients into the brew and keeps things moving at a speed, without ever becoming too technical or confusing. While the film is clichéd in places (that old "countdown to self-destruction" is pulled out of the stock ideas closet AGAIN) and guilty of being a rip-off in others, the sheer quantity and quality of the action, acting, set design, and fluid direction make it a rip-roaring adventure in the best old fashioned sense. Only a few times does it throw in some sickly sentimentalising, which is another plus.The main problem with the film is the lack of characterisation - as there are so many characters and situations packed into so little time, a lot of people get left out. A good portion of the film is made up of action and events, which leaves us little time to get to know the characters. Female crew members Marina Sirtis and Gates McFadden are near forgotten and get only a few lines after the inclusion of Alfre Woodard as a tough female heroine, who is admittedly good but hogs too much of the limelight. Meanwhile, Jonathan Frakes and Levar Burton are relegated to near-cameo roles after being earthbound for most of the movie. This is understandable with Frakes, as he was busy directing after all, but it doesn't give much opportunity to check out Burton's cool robotic eyes very much.Patrick Stewart is as good as ever as Captain Picard, and here he's given plenty of opportunity to be tough and sweatily frightened in equal measure. The character of Data, the android, is also explored, which is quite interesting as he is mainly used as simple comic relief. Michael Dorn is wasted as Worf, the klingon member of the crew, and has little to do aside from run around and grunt a lot. Non crew-members include James Cromwell as the drunken inventor (very different role here) and Alice Krige who gets to play the chief villainess - a memorably slimy addition to the baddies, who gets a memorable introduction via her head and spine being inserted into the rest of her body.As time travel is used as a plot device, there are the expected number of plot holes which have been brushed over smoothly with lines of jargon as throwaway explanations, something which annoyed me a little. My favourite parts of the movie involve the crew exploring the parts of their ship which have been taken over by the Borg, including quite a few spooky moments which resemble the best bits of ALIENS. The Borg are an impressive army of cyborg killers, and the scenes of them being put together are a lot of fun in a grisly-but-tame kind of way. As a special effects-laden blockbuster (the CGI is incidentally pretty good), this movie is action-packed enough to appeal to both fans and non-fans of the series, and a lot of fun to watch - just don't expect anything too heavy.

So much to love about this movie: - The wonder of space exploration and the fictional history of the first warp drive. Hearkens back to the Wright Brothers and the first ever flight - As the title suggests, an amazing theme to talk about the first time ever meeting other intelligent life - Time travel, the drama around changing historical events in the balance, and a great villain - Entire cast at the top of their form, plus great directing from Frakes - The music is epic and perfect for the themes around humanity, exploration, and wonderNo question the best TNG movie. In my opinion easily the best Star Trek movie ever. On the list for one of the best science fiction movies as well.