Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the best TNG Star Trek movie and arguably one of the best movies in the franchise. The movie that introduced the sovereign class USS Enterprise-E, used one of the franchises best villains (the Borg) and showed us the biggest moment is Star Trek's future history. Starting with the Borg invading the Federation and the Enterprise saving the day at the battle of Sector 001, we see that the Borg have a lasting effect on Jean-Luc Picard ever since TNGs "The Best of Both Worlds". As the Enterprise helps the fleet destroy the Borg cube a new smaller ship, a sphere undocks from the cube and travels back in time. The Enterprise follows it into Earth's past to prevent the Borg from preventing humanity's first contact with the Vulcans and assimilating Earth. Arriving in 2063 the Enterprise destroys the Borg sphere, but not before it beams drones on to the Enterprise. Picard takes an away team down to Bozeman, Montana to inspect the damage to the missile silo where Zefram Cochrane (played by James Cromwell) is building the Phoenix, Earth's first warp ship. Meanwhile the Borg begin assimilating the Enterprise. Realizing this through his latent connection to the collective Picard returns to the ship, leaving Riker in charge of the away team. While the crew on the ship fight Borg drones and attempt to reach engineering to retake control of the ship Riker and Troi deal with Cochrane, a swaggering drunk with an affinity for 1960s rock music, and try to get him to understand (with out revealing too much about the future) that his warp flight is vital to humanity's future. On the ship Picard encounters Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard) a human from the 21st century beamed up to the Enterprise for medical treatment. Having been captured in engineering Data is restrained by the Borg and meets the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), the personification of the collective. She tried to get Data to cooperate and give her full control of the ship by grafting organic skin onto his android body. She also reactivates his emotion chip and causes him to experience sexual stimulation, leading to data referencing his being "fully functional". After getting her to realize the gravity of the situation and gaining her trust Picard get Lily to help him use the holodeck to incapacitate several Borg and access the collective. He learns that they are building a subspace beacon on the ships particle emitter. Picard, Worf and Lt. Hawk take a space walk out on the hull to jettison the particle emitter and destroy the beacon. They are attacked by Borg drones and Hawk is assimilated before being killed by Worf. As the beacon is jettisoned and drifts away from the ship Worf shoots it with his phaser rifle, while delivering one of the movies most iconic lines: "Assimilate this!" On the surface Riker, Troi and Geordi tell Cochrane the truth and why his flight is so important. Incredulous Cochrane agrees to make the flight as planned. Realizing that almost the entire ship is taken Worf and Crusher suggest setting autodestruct and abandoning ship, but Picard disagrees, wanting to stay and fight. Lily storms into the conference room and confronts him, making him realize that he is somewhat blinded by his desire for revenge against the Borg. After one of the best speeches in franchise history "They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further! And I, will MAKE THEM PAY for what they've done!" Picard agrees and orders evacuation. He, Crusher and Worf activate the autodestruct. On Earth Cochrane prepares to make his historic flight with Geordi and Riker on the Phoenix with him. Following a countdown and a frantic search for music the Phoenix launches into orbit and prepares to go to warp. As the Enterprise evacuates Picard stays and goes to engineering to rescue Data and confront the Borg Queen. He offers himself to the Queen in exchange for Data, but Data has already become the Queen's puppet. Data releases the computer lockouts and targets the Phoenix. On the Queen's order he fires quantum torpedoes, but the torpedoes miss! With the Borg Queen in shock Data smashes the plasma coolant tank, flooding engineering with coolant and killing all the Borg Drones and the Queen. Meanwhile the Phoenix makes it's successful warp speed flight and returns to Earth. the residents of the settlement around the missile silo watch in awe as an alien ship lands on Earth. Its occupants exit and the leader holds up a split fingered salute "Live long and prosper". First contact. After witnessing the event Picard and company make a discreet exit. Back on the Enterprise the crew duplicate the time travel used by the Borg sphere and return to their future.
This movie ticks all of the boxes. Great acting from every one of the main TNG cast as well as all three of the main guest actors. Alfre Woodard was great as Lily, Alice Krige was wonderful in both the creepy villainous and sensual way as the Borg Queen, and James Cromwell gave one of my favorite performances of all time as Dr. Zefram Cochrane the inventor of warp drive as a swaggering drunk. Credit to director Johnathan Frakes, the pacing is great, tight, keeping the action moving yet stopping enough to tell an engaging story. Writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore crafted a story that combines time travel, the Borg and one of the Star Trek universes greatest "future historical" events. The effects are also worth mentioning, with ILM outdoing themselves with both the physical ship model work and CGI models. All the ship models are new for this movie, from the Sovereign class USS Enterprise-E to the updated Borg cube and the new Borg sphere, to the Phoenix and the Vulcan ship, not to mention all the new ships seen in the battle scene and designed for this movie (Akira, Steamrunner, Saber, and Norway classes).
Quotes
Data: I believe I speak for everyone here sir when I say... to hell with our orders.
Worf: Little?
Troi: (Drunk) Timeline?! This is no time to argue about time! We don't have the time! What was I saying?
Borg Queen: I am the beginning, the end, the one who is many. I am the Borg.
Cochrane: And you people, you're all...astronauts...on some kind of star trek?
LaForge: Leak? I'm not detecting any leak.
Cochrane: Don't you people from the twenty-fourth century ever pee?
Worf: Assimilate this!
Picard: I will not sacrifice the Enterprise. We've made too many compromises already. Too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further! And I, will MAKE THEM PAY for what they've done!
Borg Queen: Watch...your futures end.
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