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"Resistance is Futile" as "First Contact" Assimilates Onto The Next Generation of video...Blu-ray!
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Sep 30, 2009
- by Husher315
Rating:
If there is one thing that Star Trek fans love, it's the Borg (no, it's not Swedish). They have a little bit of everything; they're scary, badass and...almost indestructible, making thin final solution that the crew of the Enterprise comes up with even sweeter. So what do you do? You bring back one of the coolest sci-fi villains ever, in a movie! First Contact has gone down as the best Trek film after The Wrath of Khan and for good reason; the film had some superb acting from Patrick Stewart in what may have been his best performance to date, it had some spectacular effects and battle sequences and, oh ya, the Borg. First Contact was also the feature film debut of the beautiful Enterprise-E. Now, Fist Contact has finally made its way onto Blu-ray and it looks better than ever!
+5
When Captain Picard is informed of the imminent Borg invasion of Earth, the Enterprise-E is put to the sidelines due to Picard's assimilation before the battle of Wolf 359 six years prior. While listening to the battle over the comm. frequency, it sounds like the Federation fleet is being torn apart. Picard, knowing that the Enterprise is the most advanced ship in the fleet, disobeys orders and joins the battle. When Admiral Hayes' flagship is destroyed, Picard takes control of the fleet, leading to the destruction of the Borg cube. In the process, a Borg sphere escapes and heads towards Earth. With the Enterprise in pursuit, the sphere opens a temporal vortex, going back in Earths history and assimilating it in the process. Now Picard and his crew must erase what the Borg have done and help Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) launch the first warp flight in history, laying down the road to the future Federation. But with the Borg aboard the Enterprise, assimilating it deck by deck, their time is running out...and so is History's.
First Contact was just a really fun film to watch. There is no doubt that every Trek fan love the Borg, even if they gave some folks nightmares from time to time. If there was one good decision Rick Berman ever made, it was bringing them back into the Star Trek universe, in the process, paving the way for some awesome future Voyager episodes! Though time travel had been done A LOT, I thought the way they went about it in First Contact, using a form of Federation history, was very well thought out. It was almost a completely new direction to go and I think fans were pretty happy with it. My only complaint is that I hate the fact that in each and every Trek film, the Enterprise has to be messed with in one form or another. The Visual effects were amazing (which I will talk about more during the Blu-ray portion on the review) and fans got to see some awesome new ship designs as well as the eery Borg Queen played by Alice Krige. To me, it's no surprise that Ron Moore, the genius behind the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, was one of the writers on the film.
I can't say it enough, this was Patrick Stewart's best performance of all time. In First Contact, he is playing a version of Picard who still hasn't gotten over the way the Borg violated him six years before and another invasion of Earth was bound to bring out these feelings again. The scene where he is in his ready room modifying his phaser rifle talking with Lilly is just so powerful, especially when he goes berserk and yells, "The line must be drawn HERE! This far, no further! And I will make them pay for what they've done!" was such a powerful moment that it has gone down as Picard's best line in a film. Overall, all of the actors in First Contact did very well, but Stewarts performance was so amazing, that he cast a shadow over the rest of the cast, except for maybe Brent Spiner whos performance was also stellar.
The Blu-ray of First Contact is beautiful. Despite the fact that ILM was still using models a this point for a good portion of shooting, the remastered picture is stunning. The shots of the new Enterprise-E make the ship look pristine and at certain points, it truly shines. Obviously the space battles are visually terrific as well, but again, what I am appreciating most about Blu-ray is its superior sound. Whenever a ship flew by, my living room shook. I mean, you can here every little detail with Dolby Digital 7.1. The Blu-ray also includes the second part of the four part Brent Spiner Interview as well as a great piece with Industrial Light and Magic.
First Contact will go down as my third favorite Trek film of all time, but to many fans, it's number 1 and with good reason. I don't believe I am about to admit this, but I have seen this movie over fifty times (It's a long story), but even past fifty, I still don't get bored of the Borg or Captain Picard's quest for vengeance. With such a fan favorite foe, is it possible we will see the Borg in future J.J. Abrams Trek films? Only time will tell and fortunately, there is plenty of that. I'm glad to finally have this film in my Blu-ray collection and as Worf said, "Assimilate This!" 5/5!
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Loved this movie-wild mix of humor, action and thrills as Picard's crew once again struggles against the BORG! This is the best "Next Generation" movie ever produced!
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Captain Picard vs the hated Borg on the big screen. The best of the Next Gen movies with sci fi action and drama.
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Quick Tip by TheJohn.
October 06, 2009
Awesome showdown with Picard's crew against the evil Borg for the fate of the future. Fills in gaps to Star Treks history. Best TNG film.
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About the reviewer
Julian Brown (Husher315)
Hi, my name is Julian Brown. I currently write for The Brotherly Game, a local Philadelphia soccer website where I cover the US Women's National Team and the local WPS Philadelphia Independence. I … more
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About this movie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the film. For the Next Generation episode, see First Contact (Star Trek: The Next Generation).
| Star Trek: First Contact | |
 Theatrical poster and home video art | |
| Directed by | Jonathan Frakes |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Rick Berman Marty Hornstein Peter Lauritson |
| Written by | Story Rick Berman Brannon Braga Ronald D. Moore Screenplay Brannon Braga Ronald D. Moore |
| Starring | See Cast |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith Joel Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Matthew F. Leonetti |
| Editing by | Anastasia Emmons John W. Wheeler |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 22, 1996 |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $146,027,888 (worldwide) |
| Preceded by | Star Trek Generations |
| Followed by | Star Trek: Insurrection |
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It was released in late 1996 by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first picture in the series to exclusively feature the cast of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. After the mechanical Borg conquer Earth via changing the past, the crew of the USS Enterprise travel back in time to save their present and future.
After the release of Star Trek Generations, Paramount tasked writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore with developing a sequel. Moore and Braga wanted to feature the Borg in the story, while ...
Cast:
Michael Dorn,
Alice Krige,
James Cromwell,
Neal McDonough,
Patrick Stewart,
Robert Picardo,
Brent Spiner,
Alfre Woodard,
Dwight Schultz,
Jonathan Frakes,
LeVar Burton,
Gates McFadden,
Marina Sirtis,
Patti Yasutake
Director:
Jonathan Frakes
Genre:
Action,
Sci-Fi,
Adventure,
Fantasy
Release Date:
November 22, 1996
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Runtime:
1hr 50min
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