Star Trek: First Contact
Directed by Jonathan Frakes
Written by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga.
Starring Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, James Cromwell, Alfre
Woodard, Alice Krige.
Showing Saturday at LSC
3 p.m., 7 p.m., and 10 p.m. in 26-100
By Teresa Huang
Staff Reporter
S
tar Trek: First Contact
is an exciting and intelligent film free
of cheesy one-liners that provides further evidence that the "even/odd
rule" still applies to
Star Trek
movies. (Ask a Trekker if you don't
know it.) Directed by "Number One" Jonathan Frakes, the movie presents
fresh ideas and a new conflict between the ever peaceful Federation of
Planets and the Borg, a man-machine race determined to assimilate other
races into their collective.
First Contact
doesn't waste any time getting right into the
action. After a spectacularly rendered opening segment recalling Captain
Jean-Luc Picard's abduction and assimilation by the Borg, the movie opens
to find the entire Federation at battle with several Borg ships. The U.S.S.
Enterprise-E, led by Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), pursues an escaping
Borg ship, traveling back in time to the 21st century, where they learn the
Borg plan to sabotage and prevent the space mission in which humans made
first contact with alien life. While an away team led by Commander William
Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge (LeVar
Burton), and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) beams down to Earth to
make sure the mission is completed, the crew of the Enterprise-E deal with
problems of their own, namely Borg attempts to assimilate their ship. So
much for the Enterprise-E.
The action in this movie was great. Even though there weren't any huge
space explosions or chases, the close encounters with the Borg were
frightening and suspenseful. The special effects were excellent, too,
thankfully with no long, drawn-out inspection of the new ship.
The Borg are easily the most sinister and threatening force the
Federation has ever encountered. They are connected as one being, and have
the power to adapt to any weapon used against them, making them the most
popular and complex adversary in
Star Trek
history. While the
original
Star Trek
series held some degree of anti-machine
sentiment,
Star Trek: The Next Generation
reflected a new attitude
toward increased interaction with ship computers and the inclusion of Data
(Brent Spiner), a constant reminder of the happy coexistence of man and
machine. The Borg were introduced to challenge this notion by representing
what happens when technology loses its humanity.
According to
Star Trek
history, the Borg have never really wanted
to be more human. They strive to be more perfect and view humans as flawed
beings in fragile bodies.
First Contact
is interesting because the
Borg here weren't just trying to assimilate into their collective, but we
see that the Borg now strive for a partnership rather than a domination of
the human race, a theory explained by the Borg Queen, played by Alice Krige
(
Sleepwalkers
).
Alice Krige was sufficiently creepy as the Borg Queen. Even though the
leader of the Borg collective was a woman and displayed plenty of feminine,
human qualities, she was still frighteningly machine-like and cold, which
gave an interesting contrast.
Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes saw their roles reversed: Stewart
was the tough guy yelling at everyone while Frakes was rather likable.
Patrick Stewart's performance was good, though not stellar. His role did,
however, give the audience an opportunity to see the complexities of his
character and show how his experiences with the Borg affected his command
and his personality in ways he still hadn't realized himself.
Alfre Woodard (
Primal Fear, How to Make an American Quilt
) gives
a terrific performance as Lily Sloane, the 21st century woman who
accidentally awakens while in the Enterprise's sick bay and who gets caught
up in the chaos on the ship. Though her role was not always clear, she
provided most of the comic relief and stood as a layman's challenge to the
future. The introduction Captain Picard gives her to the ship and to the
future is wonderfully visionary and also serves as an introduction to the
non-devoted Trekker.
James Cromwell (
Babe
) was also great in his role as Zefram
Cochrane, the man who invented the warp drive and made first contact with
alien life. There were also plenty of terrific cameos by recognizable
characters, including one introduced by Doctor Crusher that is sure to
please fans.
First Contact
isn't just another
Star Trek
movie, but a
good action-packed drama as well. It's an effective mix of
Star Trek
culture, action, and suspense, serving as a good introduction to the
technological and social utopia
Star Trek
depicts. If you're a
Trekker,
First Contact
may be just what you've been waiting for from
the
Next Generation
cast. If you're not a Trekker, go see it anyway
- you may become one after all.
