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Well, they've learned something. This is the first Star Trek movie in years that feels like a mature motion picture, and in that sense, I think the current crop of torch-holders have really come into their own. Director and star Jonathan Frakes said that he deliberately set out to make more than just a good Star Trek movie (since that satisfies only a small, if lucrative, audience). He was determined to make a film so good that it transcended its genre, an aim which he's achieved on his first attempt.
It has been a long time since I've seen such a tightly-constructed, fast moving film. Not even recent suspense/action films like Ransom and The Ghost and the Darkness can touch it. Weighing in at a lean hour and forty-five minutes, the script is an airtight engine calibrated with just the right mix of humor, suspense, and character growth.
Picking up from the highlight of the television series - the kidnapping of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) by a race of cybernetic conquerers known as the Borg - the film ties a million loose ends without creating a story so Trek-inbred as to leave the uninitiated viewer stranded. The Borg launch yet another invasion of Earth, and the Enterprise arrives just in time to thwart them. However, before the Borg are completely obliterated, they send a pod back through a rip in time. Pursuing them back, our heroes find themselves in the 21st century, on the eve of the first warp flight - a flight that will link Earth to nearby intelligent races and a more peaceful future. If the Borg can prevent the launch, then they can conquer the Earth before it has a chance to become a threat.
So, it becomes the job of the Trek crew to make sure that flight goes as scheduled. It's not going to be easy. The warp pilot Zefram Cochrane, played with raucous zeal by Oscar nominee James Cromwell, is more interested in drinking and turning a cheap buck than in making history. At the same time, Enterprise crew members begin disappearing one-by-one. The ship begins to heat up, mysteriously. It's almost as though there's something on board that's not supposed to be there...
The film is packed with surprises, and I don't want to spoil them. This is an action-packed, brainy, testosterone-charged romp that deserves every success. In the genre of "space heroes fighting scary aliens in the future"-type stories, the producers have found yet another way to trump Babylon 5, a show with enough hubris to deserve the occasional undercut.
Patrick Stewart, leading the cast, is magnificent. Having such a fine actor at the heart of this dark fantasy makes it all the more believable - another lesson Babylon 5 could stand to learn. The rest of the cast are likewise great, since they feel more mellow, confident, and droll than ever before. In addition, for the Trekkers out there, there are a couple of cameos which are absolute delights. Alternatively, if you're a fan of horror movies, there are enough monsters, chills, and shocks to keep you fully satisfied. If thrillers are your bag, this is a film you might find just as suspensefully satisfying as The Fugitive. Finally, to top it all, the film has a very human heart - aided by Jerry Goldsmith's especially contemplative and haunting score - that rounds it out, perfectly. It's rare that Hollywood really constructs a pure-entertainment movie with a heart and a brian. Talk about going where none have gone before - let's just hope that they return someday.
Patrick McCray.
VNDP20D@prodigy.com
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