By Phil Curtolo
The crew of the Enterprise is back to do battle with their most lethal enemies, the Borg, in Star Trek: First Contact.
The film stars the cast from the Star Trek: The Next Generation television show. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Commander William Riker (Jonathan Franks), Lieutenant-Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Lieutenant-Commander Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) and Lieutenant-Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) should all be familiar names to Trekies, which is the name given to fans. Some new faces are seen in the film, including James Cromwell, Alfre Woodard and Alice Krige.
This 8th episode in the long-lived series rotates around an event called "First Contact." Zefrum Cochrane (Cromwell, Babe) and his partner Lily Sloane (Woodard, Primal Fear) are to make the first warp speed launch in the history of the planet. Aliens are to pick this up and eventually land, peacefully, on Earth. This is a turning point in history, where the world stops fighting each other and starts fighting inter-galactic enemies. The Borg, lead by the evil Borg Queen (Krige, Sleepwalkers), travel back in time to stop this event from happening, and the Enterprise follows.
In past films, the battles were fought between the Enterprise and the Borg ship. Well not this time, as the Borg army of half-human robots get onto the Enterprise, in attempt to take it over. One by one, the crew members are turned into Borgs.
The usual acting performances were delivered by the usual stars, but Cromwell's Zefrum Cochrane, a drunken professor living in the past, which is our future, who is to change the course of history. Needless to say, his character is quite memorable, as he tries numerous times to run away.
To my surprise, Jonathan Franks not only starred in the film, but also directed it. He did a fine job, as the finished product turned out wonderfully.
Excellent special effects, gripping music, and clever turns are just a few of the surprises in Star Trek: First Contact. Grade: B+, **** out of *****
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