Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact follows the Enterprise crew as they’re forced to once again battle the Borg, with the twist being that Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and company must confront their fearsome foe in the distant past. It’s clear immediately that filmmaker Jonathan Frakes isn’t looking to deliver just another episode of the TV series here, as Star Trek: First Contact boasts an incredibly stylish and cinematic sensibility that’s reflected in its somewhat epic storyline – with the perpetually engaging atmosphere heightened by legitimately terrifying villains and, of course, solid chemistry between the core cast. There’s little doubt, as well, that Frakes does a superb job of balancing the script’s wildly vacillating shifts in tone, and it’s obvious, as well, that the filmmaker has elicited superb work across the board from his various performers – with Stewart’s often riveting turn standing as an obvious highlight within the proceedings. (Picard’s Moby Dick speech undoubtedly ranks as a high-water-mark for the character through the entire series.) And although the picture’s momentum isn’t quite as consistent as one might’ve hoped, Star Trek: First Contact admittedly does contain its fair share of mesmerizing sequences and the whole thing ends on a decidedly riveting note – which secures its place as one of the Next Generation crew’s more memorable big-screen endeavors.

*** out of ****