Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Starring - Patrick Stewart; Jonathan Frakes; Brent Spiner; LeVar Burton & Michael Dorn Director - Jonathan Frakes MPAA - Rated PG-13 for some sci-fi adventure violence. Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth movie in the series based on Gene Roddenberry's TV show from the sixties. It is the second movie featuring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. First Contact is one of the best movies in the series, and it seems to hold up the tradition of the even numbered movies being far superior to their odd numbered counterparts. Unlike the other films in the series, this is the first one where no members of the original cast of Star Trek appear. The exception is Majel Barret, as the voice of the Enterprise's computer. In this latest installment, the crew as forced to travel back in time to prevent the Borg (more about them in a second) from changing the course of Earth's history. It seems the Borg want to prevent the first warp flight. For those of you out there that aren't familiar with the Borg, they are half biological, half mechanical beings that assimilate other races and transform them into Borg. This is usually not a pleasant experience, what with all the mechanical parts being implanted into the victim. As far as villains go, since being introduced on Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Borg have become on of the most popular villains in Star Trek. The special effects in this latest effort are among the best in a Star Trek film. Equally impressive are the sets for the new Enterprise. In the tradition of the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the main cast does their usual superb job. The "guest stars" of the film include Alice Krige as the Borg's queen, and James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane, the man who is to make the historic first warp flight. Cromwell, in my humble opinion, steals every scene he is in. As usual, there is the normal humor associated with Star Trek, although most of it is inside jokes that would go right over the head of non Star Trek fans. Star Trek: First Contact is a great film that both diehard Trek fans and your average movie patron will enjoy. 7/10 Reviewed January 27, 1998 by Joe Chamberlain