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Star Trek: First Contact

  • 1996
  • PG-13
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
135K
YOUR RATING
Alice Krige, Brent Spiner, and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Home Video Trailer from Paramount Home Entertainment
Play trailer0:31
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Time TravelActionAdventureDramaSci-FiThriller

The Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight ... Read allThe Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed.The Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed.

  • Director
    • Jonathan Frakes
  • Writers
    • Gene Roddenberry
    • Rick Berman
    • Brannon Braga
  • Stars
    • Patrick Stewart
    • Jonathan Frakes
    • Brent Spiner
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    135K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jonathan Frakes
    • Writers
      • Gene Roddenberry
      • Rick Berman
      • Brannon Braga
    • Stars
      • Patrick Stewart
      • Jonathan Frakes
      • Brent Spiner
    • 377User reviews
    • 127Critic reviews
    • 70Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 8 wins & 21 nominations total

    Videos2

    Star Trek: First Contact
    Trailer 0:31
    Star Trek: First Contact
    April 5, 2063 - Zefram Cochrane Invents Warp Drive
    Video 2:22
    April 5, 2063 - Zefram Cochrane Invents Warp Drive
    April 5, 2063 - Zefram Cochrane Invents Warp Drive
    Video 2:22
    April 5, 2063 - Zefram Cochrane Invents Warp Drive

    Photos196

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    Top cast90

    Edit
    Patrick Stewart
    Patrick Stewart
    • Picard
    Jonathan Frakes
    Jonathan Frakes
    • Riker
    Brent Spiner
    Brent Spiner
    • Data
    LeVar Burton
    LeVar Burton
    • Geordi
    • (as Levar Burton)
    Michael Dorn
    Michael Dorn
    • Worf
    Gates McFadden
    Gates McFadden
    • Beverly
    Marina Sirtis
    Marina Sirtis
    • Troi
    Alfre Woodard
    Alfre Woodard
    • Lily
    James Cromwell
    James Cromwell
    • Zefram Cochran
    Alice Krige
    Alice Krige
    • Borg Queen
    Michael Horton
    Michael Horton
    • Security Officer
    Neal McDonough
    Neal McDonough
    • Lt. Hawk
    Marnie McPhail
    Marnie McPhail
    • Eiger
    Robert Picardo
    Robert Picardo
    • Holographic Doctor
    Dwight Schultz
    Dwight Schultz
    • Lt. Barclay
    Adam Scott
    Adam Scott
    • Defiant Conn Officer
    Jack Shearer
    Jack Shearer
    • Admiral Hayes
    Eric Steinberg
    Eric Steinberg
    • Porter
    • Director
      • Jonathan Frakes
    • Writers
      • Gene Roddenberry
      • Rick Berman
      • Brannon Braga
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews377

    7.6135.1K
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    Featured reviews

    9russem31

    Finally!

    Star Trek VIII: First Contact - Stardate: 50893.5

    Finally, after the dismal Generations outing, they got it right with this one! First Contact indeed is on par with the very best of the Star Trek films - The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country. Unfortunately, they won't get it right again to the present day (with the above average but still not as good Insurrection and awful Nemesis). The script is very solid, the acting above par (with kudos going to Alice Krige as the seductive Borg Queen and Alfre Woodard as the trusting Lily Sloane), and the score by Jerry Goldsmith again another hit. All of that combined with visual effects that service the story and not is the story makes this outing a spectacular success - a solid 9 out of 10!
    9TheLittleSongbird

    'First Contact'- first rate

    'Star Trek: The Next Generation' may not be quite as influential or as ground-breaking as the original 'Star Trek' series (though it certainly has those elements), but quality-wise it is every bit as good with a few improvements.

    The first "Next Generation" 'Star Trek' film, 'Generations', was to me not that bad but was frustratingly uneven (namely the treatment of Kirk and the emotion chip subplot). The next film, 'First Contact', was a significant improvement and highly deserves its reputation as the best film based of 'The Next Generation' series and one of the best 'Star Trek' films overall. Giving some of the supporting characters, like Worf and Crusher, more to do rather than giving them little screen time and not having them do much, was pretty much the only thing that 'First Contact' could have improved on.

    'First Contact' is one of the best looking 'Star Trek' films, feeling more expansive and cinematic and benefiting from significant technology advances. The cinematography is intimate, colourful, brooding and immersive, while the sets rich in detail and the special effects are first rate with a real sense of awe. Bringing Jerry Goldsmith back was a good move, and he and his son Joel produce a score that's rousing, haunting, menacing, melancholic and sometimes even pastoral. Oh and the main theme tune is a classic.

    Writing-wise, 'First Contact' is one of the best written and balanced of the films. The humour is genuinely funny and sometimes affectionate with the in-jokes, the emotional moments have real poignancy and a grandiose sweep and there is a real tension at times too. The story is perhaps the best paced, with no wasted or extraneous scenes and the one that gets to the point the most. The action is simply thrilling, and while some characters are underused there is still some interesting character development and interaction, namely a more conflicted Picard (in a way that's reminiscent of Captain Ahab), the scene between him and Lily and Data and the Borg Queen.

    Patrick Stewart gives his most intense and moving performance of all the 'Next Generation' films, and still has the commanding presence and the dignified gravitas. Brent Spiner is strong too, and he is much more restrained here with Data significantly better written. Jonathan Frakes is compelling as Riker but does even better in the director's chair, he doesn't lose any of what makes the series so great in the first place or what makes it so influential while showing some freedom to show his own style and open things up.

    Alice Krige is on seductive and deliciously slimy villainous form, while the Borgs are genuinely fearsome even now. James Cromwell and Afre Woodard excel in atypical roles to the work they're best known for, Cromwell in particular.

    In conclusion, first rate and a high point of the 'Star Trek' franchise. 9/10 Bethany Cox
    bross-1

    The "Action" Entry

    Many of the Star Trek Films have relied heavily on character interaction, dialogue, and suggested events to tell the story. Star Trek: First Contact breaks from this tradition by producing a sharp, fast paced action film that never relents from beginning to end. There are moments of reflection for the characters, but the movie has an inertia that makes the other entries in the franchise seem as if they plod along at five miles an hour. The result is one of the most satisfying films in the series.

    Part of the appeal of Star Trek: First Contact, is that the central enemy is the Borg Collective, which has surpassed all other villainous races in the Star Trek universe in popularity. The central villain in this chapter is the Borg Queen, played by the chilly yet seductive Alice Krige. Krige is confident, convincing, and absolutely threatening in her performance, and seems to almost border on a character from a horror film. She lends an edge that is unique from other villains in the series, and is perfectly suited to the nature of the Borg. The design for both the Queen and the rest of the Borg is unsettling, and the story line and history of this race serves to illicit an emotional continuity between the events in the television show and the films.

    Star Trek: First Contact probably has the widest appeal of all of the episodes, in much the same way as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home did in 1986. It is action packed, filled with decent visual effects, clearly plotted, and supplies a threatening villain. This is definitely the best Next Generation film to date, and one of the strongest movies in the entire series.
    bob the moo

    Enjoyable mix of light TV touches and sci-fi drama

    When the Borg launch an attack on Earth, the Enterprise is sent to the neutral zone due to the Admiralty's mistrust of Picard's abilities as he had been assimilated in the past. The Enterprise however, disobeys and returns to help destroy the Borg ship. However a smaller ship escapes and travels back in time, causing the assimilation of Earth in the future. The Enterprise follow the ship back in time and have to undo the damage the ship did on the surface to an experimental warp drive unit that will led Earth to it's first contact with alien life. Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, survivors of the Borg ship begin to assimilate decks within the ship itself.

    The trend of the `even good, odd bad' continues in Star Trek with this good entry in the series. Linking to previous story lines, the film starts immediately and continues at a good pace. Where the previous time travel excursion for the crew was more funny than anything else, this film goes down a more dramatic route with the main plot not turning out to be on the ground (as I first thought it would be) but on the ship where the crew struggle to contain the Borg's advances. This aspect works well - it is not edge of the seat stuff, but it is dramatic and involving.

    In contrast the stuff on the surface is more a side issue that is used well to contrast with the pace on the Enterprise itself. There aren't many laughs but it does have a nice little bit of self mocking humour that raises it's head occasionally. The cast (crew?) all do good work, but it is Stewart's film and his Borg past help to enrich his character well. Frakes does an able enough job as director but as an actor he has little to do, as indeed do most of those on the Earth aside from a cameo from Cromwell who adds humour. Woodard is OK in her role but not as good as I've seen her be in other things.

    Overall this is a solid Star Trek film, which although not excelling in any one area, has a strong backbone of drama and action aboard the ship that works well with the lighter stuff on the earth.
    Big Movie Fan

    The Best Trek Film

    Star Trek:First Contact is the best Star Trek film in my opinion. Far better than the average Star Trek:Generations or any of the films featuring the original crew.

    I won't go into the plot too much because I hate spoiling it for fans and it is easy sometimes to give away too much. Let's just say that the cast of The Next Generation take on the inhuman Borg, one of the best race of Star Trek villains ever.

    There are no slow spots in this film. It is one big long action fest and every character is utilized. There are some terrific scenes and there is quite a bit of tension between the crew, particularly Worf and Picard. Picard has some harsh words for Worf at one point in the film and it really does look as though Worf will hit Picard. You could cut the tension in this film with a knife.

    I'd also like to mention the great job done by the beautiful Alice Krige as the Borg Queen. Again, there is not a wasted moment in this film and Krige does a brilliant job as the Borg Queen.

    I strongly recommend Star Trek:First Contact-it is the type of film which you finish watching and feel as though you have spent your money well.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      On account of budgetary restrictions, the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) was never quite satisfied with the Borg sets and costumes as used during the series. However, the significantly bigger budget for this film finally allowed them to design the Borg in a way that was much closer to what they had intended. As a result, the suits and sets were reused extensively on Star Trek: Voyager (1995).
    • Goofs
      When Geordi is asking Cochrane to look at the intermix chamber blueprints, he is wearing sunglasses, even though his artificial eyes don't require protection from the sun. The sunglasses are probably needed in case a local comes looking around. Only Cochrane and Lily knew about time travelers, and Geordi's futuristic implants could blow their cover. Geordi used dark glasses for the same purpose in Time's Arrow, Part II (1992) as well.
    • Quotes

      Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [Quoting "Moby Dick"] And he piled upon the whale's white hump, the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it.

      Lily Sloane: What?

      Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "Moby-Dick".

      Lily Sloane: Actually, I never read it.

      Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Ahab spent years hunting the white whale that crippled him, a quest for vengeance, but in the end, it destroyed him and his ship.

      Lily Sloane: I guess he didn't know when to quit.

    • Crazy credits
      After 'Stunt Players' are listed, the 'Stunt Borg' are listed.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Space Jam/The Mirror Has Two Faces/The English Patient/Breaking the Waves (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Theme from 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture
      by Jerry Goldsmith

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 22, 1996 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Viaje a las estrellas: Primer contacto
    • Filming locations
      • Titan Missile Museum - 1580 W. Duval Mine Road, Green Valley, Arizona, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $45,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $92,027,888
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $30,716,131
      • Nov 24, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $146,027,888
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 51 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby Surround 7.1
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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