cinemajesty
Movie Review: "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996)With "The Next Generation" at the cinematic peak of their powers with newly-crafted "Enterprise NCC-1701-E" after "Generations" (1994) crashes, comes this nearly-perfect 105-Minute-Editorial by film cutter James W. Wheeler, who makes idealistic use of darkly-"Borg"-infused camera footage by cinematographer Matthew F. Leonetti under directions of also-starring as Commander Riker, actor Jonathan Frakes directing far-out into pushing the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, strongly as in shape-of-a-life portraying actor Patrick Stewart, to confront his inflicting demons from a former complete "Borg" assimilation in the television-season-three finale furioso "The Best of Both Worlds" directed by Cliff Bole (1937-2014) stretching a "high-rise" cliffhanger scenario between June 16th 1990 to season-four-reopenings on September 22nd 1990 with "The Best of Both Worlds - Part II" towards further regards to never-seen-before Picard's mecha-alterego "Locutus", which convicted-actions thrills onboard of a Riker-commanded "Enterprise".Director Jonathan Frakes makes use of his years of experience in the universe of "Star Trek" initially-created by U.S. Texan Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991) for the legendary three seasons from 1966 to 1969 starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015), when this motion picture from Paramount Pictures marks the highlight of "The Next Generation", secretly inhabiting "Star Trek" wisdom in dialogue in the middle of action-packed war-zones from Planet Earth with encounters in favors of warp-speed-engine inventing character of Zefram Cochran, with pleasures for an-old-republic as an ocassional pub-brawl-included actor James Cromwell, when supporting character Lily, given face by Alfre Woodard, receives absolution on well-written, razor-edged "Star Trek" mission fulfilled with Picard sharing the far-future-concept of "Everyone Working Daily Within Their Abilities With No Further Wages Needed" in ultra-stark visions of 24th century clean-sighted starship metal-runs against escapology-themes of substance-infusions of a still-all-too-present abusive enjoyments of the late 20th to early 21st century, when "First Contact" becomes a superior science-fiction winner event movie - not only for the "Trekkie" in all of us.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend
(Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)
Jack Vasen
This movie spent a lot of time making fun of the idol-worship of Zefram Cochran as the man who changed history. Yet this is exactly how those who love Sci-Fi, and many more who love space exploration, feel while hoping for that moment (impossible as it may be) when a person from our Earth travels faster than light. I venture to say that like me, many have pictured themselves in that role and in all that would follow it, including the possibility that it would bring about a first contact with an alien species. So who among us can resist a movie about this very thing. True, the movie diluted the moment of achieving FTL with the simultaneous battle on the Enterprise. It chose instead to celebrate the moment of first contact with pomp and emotional music. Perhaps that is more appropriate.The movie had some great acting from several people. The tension between Lilly and Picard was excellent. Patrick Stewart delivered some great lines during Picard's confrontation with Lilly. Stewart would go on soon after this to play Ahab on TV. Frakes direction was solid although as Riker he seemed to have that grin of his a few times too many. And the score behind the picture was great, and at crucial moments moving.
MisterWhiplash
First Contact is not simply as a great Star Trek film. It's wonderfully smart and sophisticated science fiction period. Here's the hook that I like about it, which may or may not have been intentional (but given that Ronald Moore is the co-writer, the beautiful mind behind Battlestar Galactica, I'll say yes): we often think about being from other worlds coming to our own and how we see them and their technology, and that's the point of view, of US seeing the OTHER. The power with this movie is that because it's Trek, we have a vehicle for characters who are from another time and place, though who are us (in some ways more than others, usually more), and in this story as the Enterprise has to go back in time to the year 2063 with on one side The Borg to grapple with again and to make sure that a one-day-important man Zephram Cochrane (James Cromwell), who is basically a drunk who loves to dance to old time rock and roll and has somehow created what will be the warp drive everyone uses in the future, the roles are reversed. In short, we get to have a pure science fiction story that is loaded with ideas that, because it's the Borg (again, not unlike the original series the movies do a good course correct with their sophomore outing), we get to see what attaining "perfection" really means on contrast with a character like Zephram on the other side. It's a terrific balancing act.I'm sure that for Trek fans, and the ones for TNG I think are a *little* more fanatical than even the ones for the original series, could be wrong on that, there are great callbacks and just by making it the Borg, which was one of the highlights of that show and how intense and psychologically profound it got (what would happen if you were stripped of your personality and "assimilated" by an entire collective consciousness - an analogy for political persuasion I suppose but could be anything). But for general audiences, i.e. those who may not watch Trek or only do occasionally, it works on its own terms. The writers and director Jonathan Frakes make this fast moving but loaded with character motivations and arcs and plot - even for Alfre Woodard, who at first appears to be a supporting player, is probably closest to an audience surrogate and all the better for it (she gets to play a lot of emotions here, the full spectrum for bad-ass to terrified to indignation and wonder and awe and so on). And I think the themes it's wrestling with are easy enough to grapple with, about how what it means when you're thrust with the reputation of being a MAJOR leader and figurehead in the future, or if there's a being that can turn on and off an 'emotion chip' ("Sometimes, I really envy you," Picard comments, rightfully so), but also has the goal to become more human and is given that chance... by the villain. I can go on and on.It's also extremely funny - the great comedic lines are sharp and witty, or they play on character stuff like when Zephram gets Marian Sirtis' character drunk on "this thing called Tequila" - and has beats that combine humor and satire and suspense with seemingly great ease: when Picard has to buy a moment or two from the Borg, he "brings to life", literally, a chapter from a book that's set in a 1930's style nightclub (he in a fedora and suit, Woodard in period clothes, surrounded by extras and so on) until he realizes he's in the wrong chapter, pushes it ahead and is in a white tuxedo, gets a Tommy gun and blows away the Borg (much as he can do). This is one of those moments that would be brilliant in any movie, that could pull it off well, and this does. And at the heard of it all is the villain of the "Leader" of the Borg, played with aplomb and delivish villainy by Alice Krige, who wants to turn Data as with all beings into this "perfect" consciousness that she's had for so long. But does she truly know what she is? Or care? Certainly to Data it matters for much of the run time.Such rich conflict in this movie! And characters talking out their problems, like Picard's issue about whether he should or shouldn't destroy the Enterprise in order to save his crew from the Borg. And throughout the writers weave in clever ideas and concepts and give full SCI-FI moments like, I couldn't even believe it, Picard and Warf and that other guy going out with Zero-G space suits on to the ship to stop some thing-a-ma-bob from going off that the Borg's setting up, and that transported me to a direct place in science fiction cinema too - that slow-speed and all the more intense for it act of doing something in space where if you lose your grip on the ground you'll float away to death. This may be the best Trek film of the modern day, on par if not superior(!) to 'Khan' as a blend of adventure, story, action, and deeper philosophical notions about how we see ourselves, our roles in shaping the future, the past, and being ourselves throughout it all.
