Ricky Church celebrates Star Trek: First Contact on its 25th anniversary…
As Star Trek: The Next Generation came to a close and had its first feature film adventure with Star Trek: Generations, showing a brief team-up between Captain Kirk and Captain Picard, one couldn’t help but wonder what else could be in store for TNG. After all, the series had one of the most perfect finales ever and Generations seemed like a good epilogue as several character journeys came to a close: Picard accepted his found family of the Enterprise, Data finally got an emotions chip and Guinan’s mysterious history was explored a little further. Where else could TNG boldly go?
The answer was to revisit one of, if not the, most defining moments of TNG: Picard’s assimilation into the Borg Collective. 25 years ago today, Star Trek: First Contact was released in theatres and it was the biggest adventure yet for Picard and the Enterprise as they engaged in a climactic battle against the Borg for both the survival of the human race and the future itself. First Contact is one of the best and most powerful films of the Star Trek franchise for pushing Picard, Data and the rest of the crew into very a dangerous and personal place.
First Contact saw the Borg attack Earth head on with just one Borg Cube, once again showing how dangerous an adversary they were against a whole fleet of Starfleet vessels. When the Enterprise reaches Earth just in time to turn the tide, the Cube launches one escape ship which travels back in time. As the Enterprise follows and quickly discovers the Borg are trying to stop First Contact, when humanity developed warp speed capabilities and met extraterrestrial life for the first time, they have to ensure First Contact still happens while Borg infiltrated the Enterprise and assimilate the crew one by one.
Star Trek: First Contact is a different kind of film than most others in the Star Trek franchise. While there are still conversations about humanity’s growth and philosophy, First Contact is one of the more action-oriented entries in the film series. It’s almost like Die Hard in space as the Borg have effectively taken control of the Enterprise and continue to advance deck by deck with the crew fighting a guerrilla campaign against them when they’re not being assimilated. Heck, at one point Picard, Worf and Dr. Crusher even sneak through the ship’s Jefferies tubes to escape the Borg much like John McLane does in the building’s vents. The action genre approach appealed to more than just Star Trek fans as many in the mainstream audience went to see it. Its popularity is on par with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a film many had named the best in the series up until First Contact where some have said it might be better than Khan. However, the action aspect isn’t the reason why First Contact is a great film.
For Picard, this is a very personal mission on two levels. The first is his dedication to the Federation and its ideals. Picard is a captain who deeply believes in what the Federation and Starfleet stands for, acting as almost an ambassador more than a captain many a time throughout TNG. For the Borg to strike at the very moment humanity changed course in a new age of technological and philosophical advancement was something Picard obviously could not stand by as it would destroy everything he believed in. On the second level, this battle against the Borg was deeply personal as he still hadn’t fully recovered from the trauma of his assimilation. He was stripped of all his individuality and led an attack against Starfleet before the Enterprise was able to save him. His unresolved feelings was in fact the reason why Starfleet did not want Picard involved in the defence of Earth as his anger could cloud his judgement.
Picard initially seemed fine, putting his person feelings aside, but over the course of the film his anger grew until it finally boiled over. His development in First Contact is why it is considered an essential piece of Picard’s history. Many have likened First Contact to The Wrath of Khan with its themes of revenge and sacrifice, but what is interesting is how the story places Picard in the shoes of Khan rather than Kirk. It is Picard who is obsessed with vengeance as his anger and resentment gradually grows from killing an assimilating officer to ordering his men fight a futile battle with their literal bare hands, even going so far as to call Worf a coward.
As much as Picard tells Lily, their human ally from the past, that concepts like revenge don’t exist in the 24th century, he still goes on a massive tirade where he delivers a memorable monologue ending with him screaming “The line must be drawn here! This far and no further! And I will make them pay for what they’ve done!” It is no coincidence both Khan and First Contact reference Moby Dick with Lily likening Picard to Captain Ahab and Khan and Picard both quoting passages from the book. Whereas Khan became blinded by his desire for vengeance, Picard was able to see how irrational he was being. Lily brought him back to a sense of sanity as he finally placed the well being of his crew above his selfish needs and made up with Worf.
While it was not the first Star Trek film to do so, First Contact split up the main members of the crew on their own individual journeys and missions. Riker, Troi and Geordi are on Earth, helping a reluctant Zefram Cochrane, the man who invented the warp drive and is less of an idealist than history made him out to be, complete the Phoenix shuttle to ensure First Contact while Data is captured by the Borg with the Borg Queen trying to convince him to join the Collective. Data’s story is just as interesting as Picard’s as the Borg Queen mocks him for being a great machine wanting to be human. He’s even given real skin that makes him feel true sensory inputs like a cool breath and pain all in an attempt to turn him. The friendship between Picard and Data is what ultimately helps them achieve their victory against the Queen and save the future.
The supporting characters are also great, being some of the most memorable in any Star Trek film. James Cromwell is magnificent as Cochrane, being a jaded, cynical and nearly drunken figure who believes more in the wealth and fame warp drive could bring him and becomes overwhelmed at his significance in the future. Alfre Woodward’s Lily is a powerful foil for Picard, a woman with a no-nonsense attitude who is ready to jump into action and tell Picard some hard truths. In many ways Lily is the heart of the film as her outsider perspective helps enlighten Picard as well as how much she comes to believe in the special future awaiting humanity. Though, as Picard tells her at the end in a very poignant moment, it is he who envies her as she will actually witness the events he’s only read and dreamt about.
Star Trek: First Contact is a great entry into the Star Trek franchise. It explores Picard, Data and the other characters and pushes them forward in interesting ways. Its themes on vengeance and coming to terms with the past (and future) are very well written and insightful. It is very much a worthy piece of Star Trek to celebrate on its 25th anniversary.
SEE ALSO: To Boldly Go: Ranking Every Star Trek Movie From Worst To Best
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
