May "Star Trek" live long and prosper
"Star Trek: Insurrection"
Overall Rating: ***½
In the early 1500s, Ponce de León searched Florida in vain for the fountain of youth, believing it existed because the natives grew to be around six feet tall and sometimes lived into their 70s. He didn't find it, but some 800 years later, in "Star Trek: Insurrection," the Federation and an alien race called the Son'a do--and are all too willing to forcibly transplant or kill the natives who are in the way.
When Data (Brent Spiner), an android, goes berserk during the course of an away mission to study the Ba'ku, Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) calls Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) to get technical information about him. Picard, however, doesn't want to see his friend Data destroyed, so he quickly abandons the boring diplomatic mission he's on, and flies off to round up Data personally. Over the course of investigating what happened, he learns that the Son'a seem to have more in common with the Romulans or the Borg than they do with the Federation, that the Ba'ku are a peaceful and advanced but technophobic and xenophobic race who chose their planet because the natural conditions give anyone living there immortality, and that the observation mission wasn't benign research.
"Star Trek: Insurrection" has more than its share of special effects. Phaser fights on the planet, a fight between two Son'a ships and the Enterprise in the middle of a nebula, and the invisible "duck blind" from where the Federation-Son'a "observation" mission takes place all make for impressive visual effects. It's a far cry from Kirk and Spock falling out of their chairs.
Yet, despite the strong special effects, the movie has more than just special effects. The latest "Star Trek" movie is far more humorous than other recent efforts. One of the jokes is in the preview--Data comments that the crew, except for him, may be more inclined to aggression because of the conditions on the planet; when one of the crew asks him what they should do, he replies in his android-style deadpan they should proceed. There are, however, jokes whose subjects range from age (Anij, Picard's Ba'ku love interest played by Donna Murphy, is more than 300 years old), to Riker's beard, to the Klingon version of acne. The movie also plays up the characters' romantic interests more than the other recent efforts, not only Picard and Anij, but also Riker and Troi. Additionally, the movie expands on Data's desire to become more human--when he interacts with a Ba'ku child and learns to have fun.
The biggest downside of the movie is the ending. I hate to give it away, but like many of the episodes of the TV shows--especially the recent ones--the ending is just too good to be true. This is especially disappointing since the recent "Star Trek" shows, have made the Federation less perfect: "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," has revealed sentiments against genetically engineered people (including that show's Dr. Bashir), and Section 31--Starfleet's secret police--while "Star Trek: Voyager" featured an alliance with the new arch fiends, the Borg. The idea that the Federation would associate with the likes of the Son'a would make the 24th-century Federation less saccharine, but the film doesn't follow through.
Another flaw for some is that "Star Trek: Insurrection" is for trekkies/trekkers only. If you haven't watched the shows, particularly "Star Trek: The Next Generation," about all you'll get out of this movie is confused over how a Klingon got on the bridge (or even what a Klingon is); I'm sure the half dozen or so Klingon warriors in the theater lobby bewildered some clueless soul bound for "Psycho" or "Ringmaster." If you've been keeping up on the "Star Trek" franchise, however, you'll enjoy "Star Trek: Insurrection" much more than "Star Trek: Generations" or "Star Trek: First Contact," and it's definitely worth a look.
Title: "Star Trek: Insurrection"
Release date: December 11, 1998
Overall Rating: ***½
In the early 1500s, Ponce de León searched Florida in vain for the fountain of youth, believing it existed because the natives grew to be around six feet tall and sometimes lived into their 70s. He didn't find it, but some 800 years later, in "Star Trek: Insurrection," the Federation and an alien race called the Son'a do--and are all too willing to forcibly transplant or kill the natives who are in the way.
When Data (Brent Spiner), an android, goes berserk during the course of an away mission to study the Ba'ku, Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) calls Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) to get technical information about him. Picard, however, doesn't want to see his friend Data destroyed, so he quickly abandons the boring diplomatic mission he's on, and flies off to round up Data personally. Over the course of investigating what happened, he learns that the Son'a seem to have more in common with the Romulans or the Borg than they do with the Federation, that the Ba'ku are a peaceful and advanced but technophobic and xenophobic race who chose their planet because the natural conditions give anyone living there immortality, and that the observation mission wasn't benign research.
"Star Trek: Insurrection" has more than its share of special effects. Phaser fights on the planet, a fight between two Son'a ships and the Enterprise in the middle of a nebula, and the invisible "duck blind" from where the Federation-Son'a "observation" mission takes place all make for impressive visual effects. It's a far cry from Kirk and Spock falling out of their chairs.
Yet, despite the strong special effects, the movie has more than just special effects. The latest "Star Trek" movie is far more humorous than other recent efforts. One of the jokes is in the preview--Data comments that the crew, except for him, may be more inclined to aggression because of the conditions on the planet; when one of the crew asks him what they should do, he replies in his android-style deadpan they should proceed. There are, however, jokes whose subjects range from age (Anij, Picard's Ba'ku love interest played by Donna Murphy, is more than 300 years old), to Riker's beard, to the Klingon version of acne. The movie also plays up the characters' romantic interests more than the other recent efforts, not only Picard and Anij, but also Riker and Troi. Additionally, the movie expands on Data's desire to become more human--when he interacts with a Ba'ku child and learns to have fun.
The biggest downside of the movie is the ending. I hate to give it away, but like many of the episodes of the TV shows--especially the recent ones--the ending is just too good to be true. This is especially disappointing since the recent "Star Trek" shows, have made the Federation less perfect: "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," has revealed sentiments against genetically engineered people (including that show's Dr. Bashir), and Section 31--Starfleet's secret police--while "Star Trek: Voyager" featured an alliance with the new arch fiends, the Borg. The idea that the Federation would associate with the likes of the Son'a would make the 24th-century Federation less saccharine, but the film doesn't follow through.
Another flaw for some is that "Star Trek: Insurrection" is for trekkies/trekkers only. If you haven't watched the shows, particularly "Star Trek: The Next Generation," about all you'll get out of this movie is confused over how a Klingon got on the bridge (or even what a Klingon is); I'm sure the half dozen or so Klingon warriors in the theater lobby bewildered some clueless soul bound for "Psycho" or "Ringmaster." If you've been keeping up on the "Star Trek" franchise, however, you'll enjoy "Star Trek: Insurrection" much more than "Star Trek: Generations" or "Star Trek: First Contact," and it's definitely worth a look.
Title: "Star Trek: Insurrection"
Release date: December 11, 1998
MPAA rating: PG
Overall rating: ***½
Overall rating: ***½
Aprox. run time: 100 min.
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Writers: Rick Berman (Story), Michael Piller
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes (as Cmdr. Riker), Brent Spiner, Donna Murphy
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/STrek9.htm
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Writers: Rick Berman (Story), Michael Piller
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes (as Cmdr. Riker), Brent Spiner, Donna Murphy
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/STrek9.htm
Added to blog site: 8/5/09 (Spoiler alert added and minor editing)
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 12/13/1998 11:25:00 PM
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