THROWBACK REVIEW: Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact in multiple ways feels like this was the Star Trek movie that was made for me. It is one of the coolest adventures of the Trek universe, and easily the best of the Next Generation films of Star Trek.  Long have I praised this film, long have I defended it from the relative few who I have seen trash talk it.  And long will I continue to love and defend it.  I won't let some nitpicking fans ruin my love of this film, especially when I feel that a lot of their points that they try to make are debatable at best. Is Captain Picard out of character here?  Is there too much action?  Let's just take a look.

I will start this review out by pointing out ironically, my only problem with this movie.  The setting. At the end of Generations, we'd witnessed the destruction of the USS Enterprise-D, and we saw the crew getting picked up by a few Starfleet ships, before warping into the distance, ready to continue their many adventures.  Well, when First Contact starts up, where are we?  On the new and beautiful ship Enterprise-E.  But.....where did it come from?  This is my biggest question.  Why weren't we given a little introduction to this ship? I mean in Star Trek IV, when the crew is getting shuttled to their new assignment, we were given a glimpse at the newly constructed USS Enterprise-A. This gave us some insight as to the fact that the legacy of the Enterprise was only beginning.  Here, they're literally just sitting around a table, talking about their new ship and how they're ready to fight the Borg. I mean don't get me wrong, the Enterprise-E is a beautiful ship, but I would have loved to get to know her a bit before this movie.  An introduction scene or montage or something.  I mean heck, even the crew members like Geordi look different. His visor is gone.  We were given no hint that he'd be given implants instead of his visor before this.  And in his case, no one even bothers mentioning the fact that he decided to get implants or what led to his decision.  It's just a minor gripe about how they set up this movie that gets to me.  But by the time the movie gets rolling, this problem can easily be forgiven, because when we hear that the Borg are attacking Earth...well...who wouldn't be on board?

The opening battle between Starfleet and the Borg cube is one of the coolest scenes of these movies. Normally, Star Trek isn't a franchise I'd associate to put together a fun space battle, but this movie certainly went above and beyond to put this one together in which we get a small cameo by the USS Defiant, and even a very brief glimpse of the famous Millenium Falcon from Star Wars.  And while this battle may not be too visually spectacular when compared to the dogfights of Star Wars or whatnot, it's still a very impressive scene to have come out of Star Trek, before launching us into the main plot of the film in which the Borg send a probe back in time to assimilate Earth before humanity can launch their very first warp-capable ship, which would enable first contact between them and the Vulcans. The Enterprise, caught in this time warp, finds itself in the 21st Century, in a post-WWIII world.  Where we meet easily my favorite non-Enterprise character of the movie, Zephram Cochrane, played perfectly by James Cromwell.  James is an absolute riot in this movie.  I don't think I've ever see a guy play a depressed drunk quite like him. The crew of the Enterprise is tasked with assisting him in repairs to his ship, which is damaged during the Borg attack, and in just...well...helping him find that pride to actually do the launch again, though the hero worship doesn't help at all. Every emotion, every line that James says is just...so in character.  Even the franchise's only title drop in it's long history seems fine. James easily makes this movie worth watching.  He was perfect for the role of Zephram.

One of the things people tend to complain about in this movie is the fact that Picard seems out of character, as he slowly descends into an obsession to destroy the Borg at the cost of...well...anything. I've read articles about how this once intelligent and level-minded leader, was turned into nothing but a man who just wanted to kill anything Borg, despite not ever showing this side before.  To that I say...really?  So his willingness to use a single Borg drone to carry a virus to eradicate the entire Borg race wasn't an obsession? In that same episode, his angry refusal to even speak to the Borg drone who was starting to show signs of individuality wasn't an out of character grudge?  Look I understand that in that episode, he did decide against his act against the Borg, and did in fact get to know the drone in question, but you gotta put into effect what exactly is going on in this movie.  Picard's entire way of life is at risk.  The Borg are threatening to end life on Earth as we know it, erasing everything we've done.  Now I will say that yes, Picard could have been more level-headed but all captains react differently in a crisis. Picard didn't want to lose the Enterprise, despite the fact that for all he knew, it was already lost. With everything the Borg had put him through in the entire franchise, I could easily see why he was so reluctant to accept defeat, and to destroy his foe in the only means left.  And to see him finally realize what he was doing in the end, I felt was very fitting.  When he starts quoting Moby Dick, before finally ordering the complete evacuation of the Enterprise it's easily one of the strongest scenes of the movie. I can only guess that people don't like this because it makes Picard, arguably one of Star Trek's strongest captains, appear weak. Weakness is a part of being a captain, and I find it interesting to see how captains handle this aspect. I mean....if you want an example to compare it to, Captain Edward Smith was supposed to have been the most experienced and talented Captain of White Star Line back in 1912. Yet when the Titanic struck an iceberg, even the talented Captain was weak in the time of crisis. It's just a thing that captains face, and I thought this movie pulled it off. 

As far as the action is concerned in this movie, you'll hear no complaints from me. I've long since grown a bit tired of hearing complaints about how much action should be in Star Trek. Now before I go on, yes, there are times when Star Trek action does very much feel out of place. And I will take note of it. But in this particular film, there was not one scene that felt out of place. Why? Well I guess it was how the scene was set up. I can't really compare it to action of Star Trek II or VI, because unlike action of those two movies which involves ship to ship combat, this action primarily takes place within the Enterprise, which is a move I absolutely love. The concept of the Borg beginning to take over the Enterprise is something that will keep you on the edge of your seat, especially when you begin to realize that the fight is a losing battle. But that tension is still present. When you watch the crew slowly walking through the halls of the Enterprise, past Borg drones, left and right, or when Picard and Worf are battling the Borg on the hull of the Enterprise itself? Man....it's so satisfying to see Worf slice through a Borg in zero gravity. 

But I think the best aspect of this movie, is finally seeing just how humanity meets the Vulcans for the first time. Now I will say that the climactic scene, which features the landing of the Vulcans feels a bit rushed into, especially after the climactic fight between the Borg Queen, Picard, and Data. The fight is resolved, and we pretty much suddenly see the landing happening. I would have appreciated just a little buildup, but the whole fascination between the humans and Vulcans alike is well done, and the music to the scene? Perfect. I've not talked much about the music of the films, but I really should. The musical score of this film, and Generations are fantastic. Regardless of what you might think of the movies, the music is very well done. Back to the scene, we've only had to imagine before this how First Contact could have played out. To see the humans and Vulcans finally meeting, engaging with one another, and experiencing each other's culture for the first time is a treat I really love. I absolutely love how the Vulcans react to Zephram's jukebox. 

At the end of it all, there's a lot I could talk about in this movie, from interactions between both Data and the Borg Queen, and Picard and Zephram's friend, Lily, but then this review would be longer than I'd like. All you need to know, is that I feel this is the one film of the Next Generation crew that got almost everything right. The strongest of the film's. And though there are a few minor gripes, it's nothing that made me dislike this film, or penalize it in ways other films did get penalized from me. Is it my favorite film? I dunno. Again, it's still hard to decide between this, and Undiscovered Country, but it's still a great film, for multiple reasons. 

Star Trek: First Contact, is issued with tough love, a three and a half star rating out of four. I want to give it that full four star rating more than anything, but I think it just barely misses that. Barely. While it does so many things that will make it rival other strong films, it does seem a little rushed in a few areas which does end up slightly hindering the experience, but it's still one of the best out there, and I will continue to preach that until the cows come home. From the action, to the acting, it still feels like the perfect Trek movie for me as a person. 

Please feel free to request a movie you'd like me to take a look at. Leave a comment down below telling me of your own thoughts on this movie or whatnot, and as always, thanks for reading. 

Final Verdict: 3.5/4