Star Trek Sunday: First Contact

A review by Brooks Rich

We now arrive at my favorite Star Trek film of all time. I love Wrath of Khan and I love Undiscovered Country but this is the one I rewatch the most. The TNG crew's sophomore effort on screen is leagues better than Generations and sadly set a precedent the other two films they did couldn't meet. First Contact did the smart thing and had the Enterprise going against one of the biggest threats they ever faced on the show, the Borg, one of the most threatening villains in Star Trek history. It kind of does what Wrath of Khan, digging into the series to find a villain. Of course the Borg were much more well known than Khan was.

The Borg have started an invasion of the Federation. The Enterprise helps fight off the initial attack but follows the surviving Borg back in time and discover they are trying to stop Earth's first contact with an alien race that occurred after humans made the first light speed trip. The Enterprise crew must ensure this trip happens while also protecting the Enterprise after the Borg begin to assimilate the crew. Oh it's so good.

So in my opinion this film, Wrath of Khan, and Undiscovered Country are the three best Star Trek films. All three films have a similar element, a fantastic villain. In Wrath of Khan we have Alice Krige as the Borg Queen, the sort of leader of the Borg hive. Krige is so good in this and the scenes she shares with Data are some of the best. Star Trek always succeeds in having charismatic villains and the Borg Queen is right up there. If she's not the best out of all them, she's second only to Khan.

First Contact has some of my favorite special guests of the Trek film universe. Along with Alice Krige we have James Cromwell as the man responsible for first contact and Alfre Woodard as Picard's somewhat love interest. She's a great partner for Picard and doesn't always go along with him. See the fantastic scene where she confronts about not abandoning the Enterprise.

This film looks fantastic. The special effects still hold up and the models of the Federation ships and the Borg cube look great. Director Jonathan Frakes also has a great visual eye and gives the film a real cinematic feel, something I think was never really achieved in the previous films. This is the first film that really feels like a big budget science fiction film.

This film is awesome. There's no other way to put it. Sadly it was the last really great film in the Star Trek universe as the next two are just kind of meh. But absolutely watch First Contact. It's great ride.

Rating: 5/5

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