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!

The next generation crew of the Enterprise star in their best movie. Picard and his crew hitch a ride back in time to save the Galaxy from being infested with Borg, by saving the drunkard who invented Warp Drive from being killed by the Borg. This Star Trek movie is nuanced enough for the 'trekkies' to get into, while still being very accessible to the rest of the cinema going public. Johnathon Frakes, for all of his smarmy, cocky demeanor, still I have to admit that he hits a home-run in this initial outing (now his "Insurection" is a whole nother story, one for a different day) This film is action-packed, features good performances, and is just plain fun. All those aforementioned traits easily puts it among the top echelon of Trek films.

My Grade: B+

DVD Extras: Disc 1) Commentary with director/actor Jonathan Frakes; Second commentary with writers Brannon Braga and Ronald Moore; Text Commentary with Michael and Denise Okuda Disc 2) 12 featurettes (Making 'First Contact', The Art Of 'First Contact', "The Story, The Missile Silo, The Deflector Dish,From 'A' to 'E', Jerry Goldsmith: A Tribute, The Legacy Of Zefram Cochrane, 'First Contact': The Possibilities, Unimatrix One, The Queen, and Design Matrix); 3 Scene Deconstruction;Storyboards, Photo Gallery; Teaser & Theatrical Trailers; and Trailer for the Borg Invasion Hilton show in Vegas

3 Easter Eggs: In the Main Menu, click on the sun for a list of all the alternative titles considered; In the Star Trek Universe menu highlight a circle for an interview with Ethan Philips; In The Borg Collective menu highlight a circle for an interview with Alex Jaeger

Although there are some aspects of the film that directly contradict episodes of the original series (such as "Zefram Cochrane" as portrayed by straight-laced Glenn Corbett in the show and the alcohol-sucking oddball played by James Cromwell in this movie),this is one of the very best Star Trek films. For me, most of this is due to the Captain Ahab-like performance by Patrick Stewart. In countless episodes of the original series and in the last movie, Picard was just too stiff and dull. But, in this film, he's pretty crazed and you see so much more emoting--and I'm sure MANY fans were glad to finally see this. I loved watching the good Captain mowing down the Borg with a Tommy Gun!!! In addition, the film, apart from Picard, has a very light heart and was pretty funny. Plus, it was great to finally see how and why the humans first came into contact with life outside our miserable planet! Exciting, well-written and full of wonderful fun--that's why I really liked this movie.