Review of Star Trek: First Contact

Introduction

First Contact was the first Star Trek movie without the original cast members. While The Next Generation debuted in ‘Generations’, they were nannied into the film franchise by Kirk, Spock et al. First Contact had a lot to live up to, and does not disappoint.

I regard this as the best Star Trek movie of all. I must admit that I’ve always preferred The Next Generation to slightly kitsch Original Series, but I sincerely believe this to be a better movie than any of it’s predecessors. It has everything: tension, excitement, action, drama. Jonathan Frakes, who also plays Commander Riker, directs with flair – as he has done before in the TV series. The storyline of time travel – always fascinating – also provides the hardcore fans with more of Star Trek’s convoluted history. Throw in the villanous Borg, and you have an exciting movie for both fans and non-fans alike.

Video

This disc has a superb anamorphic transfer, showing off the excellent special effects. The colours are distinct and do not lose contrast in some of the darker scenes. A practically perfect, reference quality picture.

Audio

An excellent mix is provided, with both good spatial effects and some real ground-rumbling bass. This is the perfect kind of movie to show off 5.1 in.

Features

Well, unless you consider trailers to be extras, this is a bare-bones disc. Hopefully in the (near) future a special edition, complete with commentary and documentaries, will be made.

Conclusion

The movie is both excellent action and sci-fi, although purists might not like the gung-ho commando attitude present in this new crew of the Enterprise. However, I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone, as it stands alone on its own merit as a movie. The disc is sadly extraless, but as far as sound and vision goes, the DVD is top-notch.