Star Trek - First Contact (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)

This Star Trek film was the best one I have seen altogether. I loved this one very much. The story continues in an on going conflict with the Borg and is exceptionally layed out in a great story concept. The effects, the directing, and the music scores all tie together to make this Star Trek epic a collectible to view over and over again. Jonathan Frakes definitely knows how to direct a Star Trek film and knows what the fans want to see through his eyes. He did great! I recommend this one for all Trek fans to buy.

This is by far the best of the Next Generation Star Trek films and probably second only to 'Star Trek IV The Voyage Home' in terms of all the Star Trek films. Its almost a direct continuation of the TNG episodes "The Best of Both Worlds" in which Jean Luc Picard is assimalated by the Borg.

The story has been told by many other reviewers, so I will not repeat that. However, I will say that here you get an excellent story, which is well directed by Jonathan Frakes, and above all a marvellous leading performance by Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean Luc Picard.

The 2nd disc contains hours and hours of extras which are well worth watching. You can see from the interviews on the extras disc the enthusiasm of all those involved in the making of the film.

All the things that make, or have made, Star Trek such a long-standing success are contained in this film: The marvellous interaction of the characters and cast with each other. Decisions that affect the future of humanity, a moral quality which may ultimately be the way forward for us all, and as with all the best Star Trek films and TV shows time travel.

Of course I realise that 'a moral quality' sounds horribly pretentious, and in reality this is just a film that will have no affect on mankinds future (or lack of it). So forget about that and watch a cracking film.

The Good Things
*Excellent action and special effects. The opening battle scene is probably the best of the series.
*Filming style is good.
*The storyline is good. Includes a great deal of excitement, comedy, and drama.
*Incorporates a good deal of stuff from the Star Trek universe. The Borg make for the best bad guys of the series. They are quite menacing (and it's about time they stopped bringing up the Klingons!). Also an original and refreshing look at the history of the saga, involving the guy who invented Warp Drive.
*Characters are good. Picard shows a great deal of pain and compassion.
*Writing is good.
*Music is good.

The Bad Things
*Ummm...

To start with, this film has some of the best action and battle scenes in the series. It also boasts some immersive drama, comedy, and suspense. And it ties in a lot of aspects from the TV shows to create a coherent plot. It's probably the best film done by the Next Generation crew, and is certainly worthwhile watching.

The one-disc version had good video and sound quality. The two-disc version still has good quality, and has a number of featurettes and trailers.

After all the previous Star Trek movies, this came out to fill in the story. As a prequel it's a little lackluster. It's not the swashbuckling space opera,with great visual effects and great story telling. What sells this is the first meeting between Vulcan and human and the struggle to escape earth into space. Since I'm a completist, I just had to have this -- and no true trekkie would be without it either, no matter how lame it may be.

That's the key question one should ask himself when viewing "Star Trek: First Contact." In this first solo outing for the TNG crew, Picard and the gang find themselves facing off against the highly popular villains called the Borg. Having been defeated every time they've battled the Enterprise, the Borg devise a plan to travel back in time to stop a key event in Earth's history and then (big shocker) assimilate everybody. In a heated and action-packed space battle, the Borg jump through time with the Enterprise E hot on their tale. The Borg cube is destroyed almost immediately, but this is only the beginning of a fast-paced and highly enjoyable action/dramatic yarn that goes so far as to question a particular crewmember's sanity.

While he isn't at the helm of the Enterprise in this film, Jonathan Frakes does call the shots behind the camera. He takes the screenplay crafted by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore and blends just enough action into the script to keep the story moving at a good clip. As much as I enjoy TNG, I do have to say that the series was often weighed down by long and drawn out moments of dialogue. Frakes puts the brakes on these sequences at just the right time.

Patrick Stewart delivers a solid performance as Picard. Matching him scene-for-scene is Alfre Woodard in an excellent performance as a fish-out-of-water aboard the Enterprise. James Cromwell proves once again that he deserves bigger roles than the ones he usually gets. Brent Spiner is sufficient as always as Data and the rest of the crew do an excellent job as well.

The music and special effects are also very good. As stated before, the space battle sequence is amazing. There's also some zero-gravity action as well.

This two-disc set is an excellent addition to any Trek fan's collection (or, in this case, collective). The special features are a nice treat, and I personally enjoyed the audio commentary from Frakes. I highly recommend this action-packed space yarn to Trek fans as well as fans of excellent science fiction.