Star Trek: Insurrection

I am a big Star Trek fan and I have loved it from the first moment I saw it. I remember seeing Star Trek the first time with Star Trek 4 - The Voyage Home and The Next Generation series and I remember being at awe at the wonder of it all. It has been many years since then, and having watched the all the series and movies many times, especially the movies since they take such a sorter time to watch, it is clear to me that this movie depicts the very heart of Star Trek. Do we have the right to tell other people where to live and how to live? It is about tollerance and thinking of others before ourselves. The movies has so many magical moments and it very clearly dismisses the myth that the odd-numbered movies are worse than the others. It is not so much an action science fiction as First Contact, but Star Trek is NOT about action. I guess this is why I like the episodes with virtually no action and much character development and tests on the characters and how they cope with different situations the best. The movies does have some cliché dialog, like when Data saying 'Sattle up. Lock and load', but Star Trek is no famous for it's one-liners.

I may be in the minority when it comes to this movie, but I think it is important to defend this great Star Trek movie, especially since the really bad Nemisis came out. We have to judge this movies on it's own merits and on the idea of what Star Trek is all about.

I would say that this movie rivals the skill of the first "Next Generation" movie, First Contact. If anything, the dialogue is more refined and the humour, of which there is a great deal, is well timed and raised smiles at suitable points in the movie. Many have criticised the writers for either making the humour too silly or, for not daring to take the jokes to the belly-laugh level. Personally, I think the film is richer for the homour, which seems natural, not forced, and generally hit its targets. After all though, it's not a comedy.

Insurrection is a movie which displays far more humanity than the cold, but nevertheless enthralling, First Contact. To compare the movies is difficult, as they are very different, and opinions will inevitably clash. Both movies have a different agenda, I think.

I would dare to say that Insurrection would do a better job at converting people to the Star Trek "cause" than would any of the other films. Before watching, I knew little about Star Trek, and it really stoked my interest in the series. In evaluating Insurrection I realised that the film has several outstanding set-pieces, some of which are very memorable, such as the high-speed chase between Picard and Data through the cloud layers, with The Captain trying to coax Data into performing a scene from Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. The scene is outrageous, and very surreal, and extremely well done. Another example would be the attack of the flying miniature transporter robots, where Worf really gets to prove how brave, and violent, he really is.

Finally, the acting is universally good, and Stewart puts in a performance of depth, although not as impressive as in First Contact. The plot of Insurrection is slight, and alone doesn't manage to hold the attention. But the other elements that go into producing a good movie, such as the script, acting, directing, and, dare I say it, special effects, add up to an entertaining whole.

I think that free of the limitations imposed by the "classic trek" rules, and the campy acting that dogged the earlier Trek flicks, the Star Trek franchise will flourish, and this movie shows how much a cast enjoying what they are doing adds to the fun and feel-good factor of watching the film with a cinema full of enthralled viewers. Well done Jonathan Frakes!

Insurrection features a wonderful score during the opening sequence and throughout. This added to my enjoyment of the film. I have to admit, the battle sequence between the Enterprise and the S'ona ships is too fast, poorly edited and unimpressive. Overall, however, I enjoyed the performances from Stewart and Donna Murphy and the light-hearted tone of the film. While not in the same league as First Contact, Insurrection is a satisfying Sci-Fi film which feels more like a good tv episode (with great cinematography). Don't expect FC and you'll do fine with this movie.

If you are a Star Trek fan( of which i am) you will not be disappointed by Insurrection. The story is good and the acting is up to it's high standards the only let downs are the lack of any real great special affects and the lame enemies. I would not say this is as good as first contact but never the less well worth watching. 7 out of 10

Data is on a remote planet as part of an covert exploration mission when he malfunctions, attacks his colleagues and exposes the mission to the small group of natives on the planet. The Enterprise is called in to help capture him and, when they do, they find that he was protecting the inhabitants for some reason. Picard investigates and uncovers a plot between members of the Federation and the aging Son'a's to move the Ba'Ku off the planet and harvest it's age defying effects for themselves.

While it is 100% fact that the odd numbered Star Trek films are not as good as the even numbers, this film will not help to dispel the theory. While not the worst Star Trek film, it does have plenty of problems that stops it being better than it should be. The main weakness is the plot which, at the start, is morally difficult. I mean – why wouldn't it make sense to move the Ba'ku and allow them to share the power of the planet with many millions of others and not just keep 500 alive forever? This is nicely forgotten when the film decides it needs a bad guy and gives things over to the Son'a – a good move in terms of creating a more action packed climax but a poor move in terms of plot logic. The action is so-so allowing for battles in space and on the planet, but it is not as dramatic as I hoped with the planet based stuff taking away from the film and not being as dramatic as it could have been.

The script does allow some witty moments but too often the dialogue is a bit ponderous, and there are no great lines or really memorable spells of dialogue or interaction. The romance between Picard and Anij is a bit of a distraction, as is the stuff between Riker and Troy – points of the film feel a bit more like a space soap/romance rather than sci-fi as I think of it.

The cast are average. Most have the odd good line or scene but really the majority of the group do not have much to do. Stewart has the lion's share of the film, despite the romance slowing things down. Frakes has some good scenes but is a far second, seeming happy to direct. Abraham does an OK baddie and the rest of the Enterprise cast basically do what they are accustom to doing weekly and they don't really rise to the film occasion.

Overall this is an average film and keeps the trend of `even good, odd not so good' Star Trek films going nicely. The holes in the plot are a bit of a pain no matter how hard I tried to ignore them – it would have been nice if the debate hadn't been side tracked by a more traditional plot.