‘Star Trek: First Contact’: Resistance is not futile

Tobias Cotton-Selman

By Jesse Burchill Staff Writer “Star Trek: First Contact” is turning 30 this year, and as a long-time Star Trek fan, I decided to give it a re-watch. The 10th film in the Star Trek franchise, “First Contact” is also the second film of four that are based on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and is widely considered to be the best - the others are “Generations,” “Insurrection,” and “Nemesis.” The movie begins with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Commander Data (Brent Spiner), and the rest of the TNG crew manning the brand-new vessel, the Enterprise-E. When the Borg Collective, a hive mind of cybernetic beings seeking to assimilate all organic life into their collective, begins another attack on Earth, the Enterprise crew gets involved in stopping the Borg’s plans. Led by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), the Borg begin by launching an attack on Earth itself, engaging with Starfleet in orbit and launching a secondary ship. As the Enterprise takes pursuit of the ship, it creates and enters a time vortex, and Earth suddenly and radically changes - humanity is gone, and Earth is now populated entirely by Borg. The Enterprise-E follows the second Borg ship through the still-open vortex to stop them. After the transport, the crew find themselves over 300 years in the past - it is April 4, 2063, shortly after the end of World War III. It’s also one day before one of the most important moments in humanity’s history: making first contact with the alien Vulcans after Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) successfully pilots humanity’s first faster-than-light warp engine, which led to the formation of the United Federation of Planets roughly a century later. It’s at this point that the crew learns of the Borg’s true plan: prevent first contact and assimilate humanity before it can rise to power across the galaxy. They swiftly work with Cochrane and his assistant Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard) to stop the Borg’s plans, while the Borg Queen sees to it that the Enterprise crew is assimilated into her ranks. The film is then divided into two parallel plotlines: fighting the Borg on the Enterprise, and ensuring that Cochrane’s flight succeeds on Earth. The Borg were already intimidating in the original show, and now they’ve got the budget of a feature-length film to really hammer home how horrifying they are. The makeup and practical effects for the Borg drones and the assimilated crewmates are as astounding as they are frightening. The drones look like something out of H.R. Giger’s work or the Hellraiser movies. Add in how nearly unstoppable they are in combat, and the Borg are still as chilling as they were in 1996. Many of the Borg Queen’s scenes are in the film’s third act, but she is nonetheless a chilling antagonist in how callous she is to human life and how she manipulates Data into serving her by preying on his desire to experience humanity. All the while, Alice Krige gives a very effective performance as a manipulative and ruthless monster, making the most of comparatively little screentime. James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane really sells the character’s doubts about becoming such a major figure in the history of humanity. When the crew finds him, he’s an alcoholic who created humanity’s first warp drive for the money - a far cry from the legend he’ll become. His struggles to accept his role really humanize him, and once the Vulcans land at the film’s end, Cochrane takes the first steps to the historic role he’ll inherit by introducing the Vulcans to alcohol, music, and dancing. Cromwell gives him his most important trait: being believable as a conflicted character. Alfre Woodard as Lily Sloan, brought up to the Enterprise early on for medical treatment, perfectly sells the “fish out of water” element of her character, especially regarding the Borg and the Enterprise’s native 24th century, and works as a strong emotional foil to Picard. Patrick Stewart’s performance also stands out. Picard was assimilated by the Borg in the show to be used as a weapon against Starfleet, and his trauma from the experience has stuck with him ever since. This comes to a head in the third act when things get worse on the Enterprise, and Picard grows increasingly irrational and dedicated to hurting the Borg, risking his crew’s safety in the process. When Lily confronts him in his office, comparing his vendetta to Captain Ahab’s, Picard smashes a starship display in fury and doubles down, only to realize that Lily is right and orders the ship’s evacuation. Stewart displays Picard’s anger and regretful realization perfectly. Many Trek fans consider “First Contact” to be the best of the TNG-era films, and I felt this review wouldn’t be complete without some compare-and-contrast. “Star Trek: Generations” was actually a crossover where Captain Picard met Captain James T. Kirk of the original series, where they teamed up to prevent the villain from destroying a star system as a means of accessing an interdimensional realm where the villain’s family is still alive. While it was awesome to see Kirk and Picard meet and pass the torch, this also means that “First Contact” is the first TNG film to have the new crew front and center. Furthermore, “Generations’” pacing also felt more like an extended episode of the television show rather than a proper movie. “Star Trek: Insurrection” sees the Enterprise uncover a conspiracy within Starfleet regarding a planet whose inhabitants have harnessed its rejuvenating properties, effectively allowing them to live forever. As a result, they go against direct orders to protect the planet from the conspiracy’s plans. I feel like “Insurrection” just didn’t live up to its premise as well as it could. The way the story was executed felt too underwhelming for the concept of the Enterprise crew committing an insurrection against a malevolent Starfleet conspiracy, and it also had the same pacing problems as “Generations.” Pacing-wise, “First Contact” is the first to feel like a proper film, and it explains the threat posed by the Borg in a way that both Trekkies and first-time viewers can grasp without having to worry about watching the show. Furthermore, its story is much stronger and better-constructed than “Insurrection’s.” The fourth and final TNG film, “Star Trek: Nemesis,” sees the Enterprise crew battle Shinzon, an abandoned Romulan-made clone of Captain Picard who has seized control of the Romulan Empire with malevolent plans for Earth. There were parts of this movie that I enjoyed, but it’s pretty obvious that they were trying to rehash what made the acclaimed “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” so successful. As a result, it can come off as a pale imitation at times and wastes the building blocks of its plot, as it was the first Trek movie to feature the Romulans in a significant capacity. “First Contact” is very much doing its own thing instead of trying to repeat a previous Trek film, and as a result, does a better job of standing out on its own by building upon story elements from its parent show, while “Nemesis” doesn’t follow up as well on the show’s Romulan stories. Ultimately, “First Contact” proves itself as a rock-solid installment in the larger franchise and proves its mettle as an enduring fan favorite.