Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Film Review

Star Trek: First Contact raised the bar yet again for the Star Trek movie franchise with its groundbreaking special effects and complex, multi-layered storyline.  It was a hard act to follow and it's perhaps not surprising that fan reaction to the next film, the ninth in the series, was mixed.  Star Trek: Insurrection has everything you could ever hope to find a first rate episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, but that is essentially all it is: a story that would have worked exceptionally well on the small screen, but struggles to have the impact it deserves as a feature-length big screen blockbuster. 

Jonathan Frakes's direction is just as pacy and dynamic as it was on First Contact, the special effects are almost as impressive, the regular cast are all on fine form, and it's nice to see that the screenwriter didn't overlook Worf, Deanna and Dr Crusher (as happened on the last two Star Trek films).  The only thing that lets the side down is a less than sophisticated storyline that looks as if it may have been cooked up half-heartedly for the original Star Trek series, together with some injudicious attempts at humour (including the cringe-worthy hardened boobs gag).  Whilst Brent Spiner's Data fields the humour splendidly (his rousing tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan is by far the best thing about the film), the other characters appear understandably uncomfortable with the broad comedy and schoolboy lampoonery that is starting to creep into the franchise. 

Even though Star Trek: Insurrection occasionally trips up on its own smugness and falls way short of the excellence of previous entries in the series, it still manages to be a fast-moving and thoroughly enjoyable romp.  Riker loses his beard (not before time) and becomes romantically re-attached to Deanna, Picard falls hopelessly in love, Ms Crusher gets to do her full-on Rambo act, Geordi get his eyesight back and (best of all) Worf gets a serious attack of acne and teenage angst.  And if by chance this should happen to kill off the franchise, at least we can look forward to Picard and Data appearing with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in their next production of HMS Pinafore.  Now that really would be worth seeing...

Film Synopsis

Lieutenant Commander Data is assigned to a Federation surveillance mission to observe the peaceful Ba'ku people on their Eden-like planet when he suddenly malfunctions and runs amok.  Admiral Matthew Dougherty, the Starfleet commander leading the mission, enlists the help of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in capturing Data.  Picard discovers that Data's malfunction was caused by a reaction to terrible discovery, namely that the Federation appears to be in league with the belligerent Son'a to deport the Ba'ku from their world so that they can exploit its regenerative properties.  Picard and his loyal crew members decide that they have no choice but to oppose the scheme but time is not on their side.  The Son'a are a dying race and have good reason to hate the Ba'ku...