Even Number Star Trek Movie Week: Star Trek: First Contact

Back again boys and girls to round out our Even Number Star Trek Week and I had a few issues with this particular movie but all will be explained momentarily.  Moving beyond the original cast this film would be the second of the Next Generation crowd so prepare yourselves for absolutely no racial slurs about green blooded hobgoblins and such.  So strap yourselves in, prep that Steppenwolf CD and blast past the moon.  This is Star Trek: First Contact.

Yes Data, the movies revolve around us...what's your point?

Cmdr. Riker: We finished our first sensor sweep of the neutral zone.

Captain Picard: Oh, fascinating. Twenty particles of spoiler dust per cubic meter, 52 ultraviolet radiation spikes, and a class-2 comet. Well, this is certainly worthy of our attention.

Jean Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart of Dune, Excalibur, Gunmen, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Conspiracy Theory and X-Men) awakes from a nightmare that makes him relive his assimilation into the Borg six years prior. Starfleet contacts him priority channel letting him know that a Borg attack is incurring along the borders and their destination will allow them to reach Earth in record time.  And rather than have the flag ship of the Federation there at the ready, Starfleet orders Enterprise to the Neutral Zone along the Romulan region of space in the unlikely event they may join the Borg in this attack. 

Resistance is futile. Every orifices will be probed!

The communications chatter points out the Federation is losing so Picard and the Enterprise crew disobeys orders and joins in the fight.  In the nick of time the Enterprise is able to save the crew of USS Defiant commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Worf (Michael Dorn of CHiPs, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Gargoyles, Fallout 2, Cow and Chicken and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and he takes up his former place at tactical.  The fleet under the command of Picard fends off the Borg but not before they open a time portal (plot device) and the Enterprise follows after them.  The Borg have changed the past before Starfleet could be created and the valiant crew has to put things right.

Meeting the very creator of the Warp travel Dr. Cochcran (James Cromwell of L.A. Confidential, The Green Mile, Babe, Spider-Man 3, Six Feet Under and A Lonely Place for Dying) our trekkers need make sure the doctor is safe for his first contact with an alien species that will aid humanity unite and create the uptopia of Earth…but get portrayed in Enterprise as swaggering know-it-alls.

Gasp! It's Loctus of Bald!

I’ve just a few reasons I did not immediately love this film.  Picard in the films is almost a separate entity from his personality in the series.  More the space cowboy of Kirk’s standing and while that makes for better film experience it really detracts from the character.   No Wesley Crushers allowed to even make an appearance but hey apparently there was bile and hatred of the only teen in space that was never allowed to be human and screw up more often.  This was also Jonathan Frakes’ first film directorial debuted aside from episodes of the Next Generation and overall was a smash hit aside from some nitpicking on fans’ behalf.  All in all this is an enjoyable film.