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Many years later, we discover that that might not actually be the case, after all. As it happens, not all of that Borg tech was taken out of Picard. In fact, it seems that at some deep level, he is still connected to their collective mind. So Picard is not surprised when the Borg return, once again threatening Earth and the entire Federation. Thus begins the feature film Star Trek: First Contact. In this second outing in movieland for the Next Gen crew, we are treated to an encounter with the deadliest foes ever in the Trek universe, the Borg. Long time followers of the series know all too well what en exciting prospect that is. They are not your average enemy in that the Borg are soulless, amoral machines, driven only to improve themselves. Consider being swarmed by a billion fire ants. Now consider that those ants are packing Abrams tanks, and you have an idea of the menace the Borg represents. They don’t hate you. They don’t have a desire to kill you. They are simply doing what they do. They just want to achieve perfection, and they will assimilate you, your technology, your entire civilization, in the process. The right or wrong of it is not an issue to them; they are concepts that are, as they would say, irrelevant. When the Borg ship is destroyed, a smaller vessel departs from it, heading toward Earth. Enterprise pursues, and gets swept back in time along with the Borg. Yes, First Contact is another time travel Trek show. I will not say anymore… It seems the Borg want to defeat Humanity by stopping the pivotal event in Human history- our first warp speed flight, and first contact with the Vulcans. They figure if they do that, there will be no Starfleet, no Federation, and Earth (and all the other member worlds, presumably) will be ever so easy to assimilate. They attack the missile complex where the first warp capable ship made by humans is being constructed. They manage to damage the thing before being blown to bits by Enterprise. As the Enterprise crew goes down to Earth to assess the damage, they don’t realize that before the Borg ship was destroyed, a few of them managed to transport aboard Enterprise. As Picard and crew work to repair the damaged Phoenix, they are unaware that the Borg have begun work of their own. It has to be said that, while fans of the series will no doubt be right at home watching this movie, folks who have not seen the TV episodes it is based on might be left a bit confused. There is very little exposition given, and what is there serves only as a bridge for fans. We all know Picard was separated from the collective; for the purpose of this movie, that bit of history has to be rewritten, an explanation is of course due. On the other hand, fans of the series will know exactly what to expect, while those who have no idea who the Borg are will get what is perhaps the perfect introduction. We fans have long since gotten over being scared of the Borg. Newbies will have the chance to understand why we fans dig them so much, and in the format of a feature film with a big budget and great sets to boot. In a way, I am envious. As for the rest of the move, Picard’s connection to the Borg is not the only bit of history the writers chose to rewrite. New to this film is the Borg Queen. Previously, we were told that there was no leader- the Borg operated as a single, interconnected mind. Now, we have a supreme ruler, an individual among the many who is the heart (lifeless though it may be) of the entire race. As a fan, I was a bit irked to see this redefining of the Borg. It took away a bit of their fearsomeness, in my opinion. However, as much as I disliked the idea of changing the face of my favorite bad guys, I have to admit- the character works. As portrayed by Alice Krige, the Queen is ruthless, disturbing, manipulative, and yes, even alluring in morbid sort of way. The effect is a character that represents the “best” of the Borg, while adding a new and even more fear inspiring level. There is still more Trek history to be rewritten, however. This time, it comes in the form of Zefram Cochrane, the man who invented mankind’s first warp drive. We get to meet Cochrane in an episode of the original series, and the character presented in this film is *not* the man we met so many years ago. I could go on, but suffice to say that, while there was time when this bugged me to no end, I have recently softened my position. The reason for that is that the Zefram Cochrane of First Contact is a terrific character. Not in a likeable way, because he is not a very likeable guy, at first. He is a great character in sense that he was very well written, well defined, and perfectly brought to life by the actor that portrayed him, James Cromwell. For the movie as a whole, I have to say that First Contact is certainly an enjoyable watch for fans, and probably great fun for those who are not. It has action, humor, that touch of humanity that has defined Star Trek all these many years. As was the case with the first Next Gen movie outing, Generations, the film does suffer from the feeling that this is a long, uncut TV episode, rather than a feature film. There is not a lot to distinguish between the two, save the fancier special effects. There was an indefinable element in the original cast transition from TV to film that has thus far eluded the Next Gen crew. Do not take this to mean that the film is bad, because that is certainly not the case. Rather, fans of the series are going to feel very comfortable watching this movie. It would have been nice if there had been something to make us a bit uncomfortable, but then again, why tamper with a proven formula? Risk taking has not been a hallmark of the Star Trek universe in recent years. It worked well enough for this film, but judging from fan’s reactions to later works, perhaps a little risk taking is in order. I do want to say one thing about the film’s director, Jonathan Frakes. For the most part, I think he did an outstanding job. Having played the ship’s First Officer for seven years, and directing a number of Trek TV episodes, his contribution to the characters is obvious. He knows this stuff inside out, and is in large part, I believe, responsible for the comfortable feeling fans will have watching this film. From what I have seen of him off the set, he seems to truly love his part in the ongoing American cultural icon that is Star Trek and his on and off camera work shines because of it. Perhaps another director would have shaken things up a bit; given the fans something they have not seen before, it’s hard to say. But in the end, you need a Trek film to play to the people who have kept this thing alive for so many years, and Frakes did a superb job in that respect. I say this not as a professional critic or reviewer (I am not), but as a fan (I very much am). Besides the feature film, the second disk of this special edition is packed with special features. I am happy to say that, in this case, a good lot of these features were indeed “special”, that is, worth watching. Sure, there is some stuff thrown in there that you want to zip through, but I did find some nuggets in there. The tribute to Jerry Goldsmith was well placed in this volume. The man has done some of the most memorable music in film, and not just Star Trek. His passing is going to have a noticeable effect on movie music, and a box set of his movie scores should be a no brainer for whoever is in control that sort of thing. I also liked the scene deconstruction of the assembly of the Borg Queen. It was interesting to see how the effect was done, because it was so well done. I usually don’t get excited over scene deconstruction stuff, but in this case, it is definitely worth watching. But the best thing in my opinion was the missile silo segment. This was filmed in an actual Cold War Era Titan missile silo, and the Phoenix was an actual Titan missile. The story of it, how they found it and what they were/were not allowed to do, is very interesting, and was a bit of info that I was completely unaware of. For those who own the first edition of this movie on DVD and wonder if they should shell out the extra bucks for this edition, I would say, depends on how much you like the film. The audio and visual transfer of this version is superior to the first release. I know, I have them both. For the fan, that alone should be reason enough to upgrade, even if the special features don’t interest you. If you are on the fence, by all means give it a rent. It looks better, the DTS sound is much better than the first version, and I bet that once you see it, you will want to own it. If you can look behind the history revisions that have taken place, you will see that First Contact is among the better of the Next Gen movies. -Ed-
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