This is what a Star Trek movie should be like. Star Trek: First Contact is a true tour de force. If you were going to watch just one TNG-era film, this would have to be it. It’s epic. It’s funny. It takes the crew of the Enterprise-E where none of them have gone before. And it has The Borg in a plot that is plausible and compelling, and allows our characters to explore their own humanity. Suffice to say that not only is this is simply one of the best Star Trek movies ever made, it’s a worthwhile film for any movie fan.

If “The Best of Both Worlds” was worthy of being a movie, then common sense would say that only a movie could do justice to another full confrontation with The Borg. True, the series returned to The Borg as characters, but this is the second wave of invasion that has haunted the Federation’s footsteps ever since the epic, two-part episode. With that in mind, First Contact had a LOT to live up to. While it doesn’t quite reach the same levels of success that “The Best of Both Worlds” achieved, First Contact is pretty damned close.

From the opening revelation that the Borg have returned, the film does an excellent job of creating a palpable sense of danger. And it is this impending doom that helps propel the movie through its various twists and turns.  We start with a Borg offensive, witness an impressive space battle, and then travel back in time to Earth, where the Borg are attempting to assimilate a weaker, less advanced human civilization.  The pacing is particularly well done, allowing for scenes to convey their full range of emotion — such Picard’s “debate” with Lilly, or the Borg Queen’s temptation of Data — without becoming labored or plodding.

And that’s what drives this film — it’s range of emotion. Whereas Star Trek Generations tried to provide a commentary on emotion, First Contact allows emotions to provide a commentary — on characters, ideas, and actions. The two main emotional storylines center on Picard and Data. Picard’s story is one of revenge, while Data’s is one of temptation. The subplot in which Zefram Cochran rises above his own imperfections to become a hero of humanity is also quite compelling. The result is a film that is accessible to not only fans of Star Trek, but also to anyone who enjoys a good story.

Within the Star Trek canon, Zefram Cochran is the man who invented warp drive (here on Earth, at least).  His invention, and the subsequent encounter with extra-terrestrials, become a turning point in human history — transforming years of strife and hunger into the more idyllic society envisioned by series creator Gene Roddenberry.  But Cochran is not a “great” man.  He is, simply, human.  His invention was created to gain access to women and money — not at all the lofty results which transpire.  And so watching this great “hero” as just a man is quite compelling.  It’s a lesson that anyone can change the world.

It’s a lesson that Data and Picard knows well — as does the Borg Queen. The Borg Queen was an ingenious invention for the story.  Her presence gives the Borg a “face” (literally), which allows them to have a better presence on screen than simply “zombies.”  She realizes that, in spite of the hive mentality, her individuality gives strength to the Borg.  It is part of the reason Picard was singled out in “The Best of Both Worlds” and it is the reason that Data is singled out in First Contact.  The Borg Queen tries to tempt Data with flesh — literally — and it makes for a fascinating (and eerily quasi-erotic) series of exchanges between the two characters.

As for Picard, he has certainly not forgotten the horrors he faced at the hands of the Borg when he was transformed into Locutus.  But before he can defeat the Borg, he must confront his own worst enemy: himself.  Picard’s obsession nearly leads to the loss of everyone on board the ship, as well as the future of humanity.  But the character of Lilly becomes a kind of mirror for Picard, allowing him to see the destructive power of his rampant anger.  The use of Moby Dick, as a symboli (and literal) plot device is particularly well done.

All of which helps the story become something more than just a “time travel” and “zombie” film.

That First Contact makes a concerted effort to be a time travel story was a cause for concern. While usually very interesting, time travel stories are difficult to pull off with any measure of success. “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is an example of the success. But something like “Time Squared” or “Time’s Arrow” are examples of how such stories can be either preposterous, or boring. I have to credit the film’s writers, Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga, and Rick Berman, for crafting a story that takes us to a time that is not only compelling, but also perfectly Star Trek: humanity’s first encounter with an alien species.

That the aliens turn out to be Vulcans was a masterstroke of genius. It meant that the film was not only entertaining and well-crafted — but that it also added heavily to the Star Trek mythos. So when the film ends, and we hear that familiar fanfare, we know that we have experienced not just a classic film, but classic Star Trek, as well.

Star Trek: First Contact is a transcendent film.  You can watch (and enjoy) it without ever having seen a single moment of The Next Generation.  But for fans of TNG, there is a wealth of material to enjoy — from Data’s continued queries to be more human, to the cameo of Lieutenant Barclay.  About the only criticism I have has to do with the Enterprise-E.  Obviously this film needed to contend with the fact that the Enterprise-D was foolishly destroyed in Star Trek Generations.  But I would have preferred a “new” ship that looked exactly like the old one (save for a handful of addons).  The new Enterprise is certainly impressive, and I enjoy it on-screen.  But without the old ship, there was something missing.

Filed under: Feature Films, TNG Reviews