Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Although the "rebooted" movie series is not over (yet) this still remains my best-loved Star Trek Movie to date, but I also have to include the 2 part episode "Best of Both Worlds", as a runner-up from Star Trek:TNG TV series. What is so fascinating about the Borg? Certainly their "Frankensteinish" appearance and Borg Queen which has also appeared with "7 of 9" in "Voyager" as well. (Actress Alice Krige won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar as the Borg Queen in the movie.) She apparently likes mating with humans and Data as well. Capt. Picard still has a link with the Borg Queen as she almost turns Data into a real human being (like Pinocchio) and that's the 2 illogical things about this film. Borgs try to rewrite history so that Dr. Cochran never launches the first warp-drive prototype and meets The Vulcan spaceship, hence the title "First Contact" with aliens for Mankind. Lots of hand-to-hand combat on 21th Century Earth and 24th Century Enterprise. As always, it is almost self-destructed as in other films. Capt.Picard is compared to "Capt. Ahab pursuing Moby Dick" with the Borg as the prey, in this case. The film manages to cover all the details including Geordi's enhanced new eyes (from Borg technology) to the Holodeck "Speakeasy". Very few, if any, "errors" in the plot. Most of the computer generated ships and effects look quite real considering that this is from 1996. So well scanned that I waited years before buying a disc copy. A great space-walk on the hull of the ship and the usual great interiors. The "curse of the red shirts" continues as all of the assimilated humans are new "recruits". As I have mentioned before, why is there never a reference for the creation of The Borg, which happened when "Commander Decker "joined" with an electronic entity in "Star Trek:The Motion Picture"?

As of the 8th Star Trek feature film, the even-odd rule still holds. That is: the even numbered treks are awesome while the odds suck. I'll be the first to say it's very subjective (I still think Trek 5 aka "Kirk vs God" was awesome, but I wouldn't recommend it to the average movie goer). Casual fans and hardcore geeks alike gotta agree that the most crowd-pleasing treks are #2 ("the wrath of khaaaaan"), #4 ("Spock hugs a whale"), #6 ("Kirk vs Shakespeare") and now I would add #8 ("Picard loses his sh**"). Why are these the best? I think it's because they had the most exciting plots combined with some great character development."First Contact" may not have the most original plot (Enterprise goes back in time to try to save humanity from a future threat), but the interesting character development is definitely there. I think this is because this film returns to a wonderful Trek tradition where one of the cast members directs the film (here it's Jonathan Frakes "Riker" calling the shots). Whereas the prior film "Generations" seemed to play it too superficially, not really exploring the personalities of the crew, here in "First Contact", we delve deeper into the mind and personality of Picard, giving the story more depth than your standard linear plot. Picard is shown to be a conflicted individual with his motivations bordering on Ahab-like obsession, even down to the obligatory quote from Moby Dick.OK I know what you're thinking. We already covered the Moby Dick theme in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan, and yes we did (imo more dramatically thanks to Ricardo Montalban's chilling, psychotic portrayal of the vengeance obsessed madman). But golly, its such a good theme that we'll let it slide, and to be fair, this is different because it's the good guy who is now vengeance obsessed.Even supporting characters are given their chance to prove themselves as more than background scenery. There is a subplot involving the android Data who is taken prisoner and tempted by the borg with the promise of sensual pleasure. Giordi, Deanna and Riker (who, in "Generations", seemed as wooden as the townsfolk at the end of Blazing Saddles) had a fun little subplot opposite James Cromwell who played Zephram Cochrane, a cynical, alcoholic, rock-n-roll-blasting antihero who is supposed to lead the human race to hippy flowerpower peace. That was a cool spin.The bottom line is that this even-numbered installment had all the elements that have appealed to Trek fans since the 60s. Tense stories overtop some great character moments. The only downside, as my title implies, is that I'm still not quite sold on the Enterprise's new crew. I'm getting there, but I still gotta say I prefer the originals, and I say this only to remind my fellow Trekkies that sooner or later we gotta give in.. So if you're an old school trekkie like me, I don't think this flick will convert you instantly. But it was much better than "Generations" which, in my opinion, did a lousy job of bridging the generations. I mean, when did Capt Kirk trade places with Walter Matthau from "Grumpy Old Men"? This Trek flick puts us on much firmer footing.

A good follow-up film to Generations. For first time viewers: you do not have to watch Generations to know what is going on in First Contact but it would help you to know Picard's history with the Borg (although Picard does briefly explain it in this film).The Borg is out to assimilate and go back to the 21st century in order to alter the course of history, to stop Earth's first contact with intelligent alien life. The enterprise gets caught up in the shockwave of the Borg's time travel and end up in the 21st century with some of the Borg on the Enterprise. The captain and crew must stop the Borg from assimilating the crew and make sure the first contact happens for the Earthlings with the aliens (Vulcans).Excellent film for sci-fi and Star Trek fans. Well worth watching.10/10

Star Trek: First Contact is often considered to be one of the best Star Trek films and the best films featuring The Next Generation cast. This statement is justified because as someone who has never watched any Star Trek involving the TNG cast it does stand alone side the best 'Trek' films.Star Trek: First Contact is set six years after Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) had been rescued from the Borg and he is stilled plagued with nightmares and flashbacks. Now the Borg have started to invade the Federation and the battle is only won by the Enterprise's late intervention. However the Borg have a trick up the sleeve and travel back in time to conquer Earth. The Enterprise crew is unaffected and it is up to them to travel back to stop the Borg conquest and help the legendary Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) who achieved the first wrap flight and made contact with an alien race.Like 'Wrath of Khan' 'First Contact' was a continuation of a critically acclaimed episode, but even if you haven't seen it 'First Contact' works on its own terms and finds that sweet spot to appeal to fans and non-fans alike and matching the two tones the franchise has straddled, dark and brooding and light-hearted and funny. The film has with a dark image of Picard being assimilated into the Borg and his eye about to drilled before waking up and all the half of the film that features the Borg is the most atmospheric. The Borg are great villains, a near unstoppable hive a races that have been conquered, a collective that all linked together who work as one unit.Picard's assimilation with the Borg is both an advantage and disadvantage. Picard knows how the Borg operates and their tactics, so knows how to fight them, but he desire for revenge make Picard irrational. It's like Khan who could have been free after capturing the Enterprise in 'Wrath of Khan' but his want for revenge against Kirk is his downfall. Stewart gave a passionate speech about not sacrificing the Enterprise to the Borg.The Borg's assimilation of the Enterprise makes for a dark and dank atmosphere compared to the more brightly lit environments of the Enterprise. It is this sector of the film where we saw the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), the voice and personification of the Borg collective. Her introduction was impressive, her human body being lowered into a cybernetic body, CGI effects that still hold up today. Most of the Borg Queen's interactions are with Data (Brent Spiner), trying to convince him to join the collective, making him more human to attractive this.The cliché perspective of Star Trek from non-fans is that it a slow, boring franchise that only appeals to a hardcore fanbase. "First Contact" blows that perspective out of the water - it starts with a huge space battle between the Federation and the Borg as the alien hive try to invade Earth and there are sprinklings of actions scenes throughout the film. One of the best is scene when three members of the Enterprise crew having to stop the Borg from creating a satellite dish - it was a tense scene that was similar to the assassination of the Klingon Chancellor in "The Undiscovered Country".The action on Earth where Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) help Cochran with the first warp flight is more lighter in tone. The more comedic approach combined with the time travel story, cultural clash and essentially revealing the future to Cochrane made this half of film similar to "The Voyage Home". Cochrane is hailed a hero by everyone in the Federation, a man whose action united Earth, made a scientific breakthrough and made his planet a player in galactic politics but the reality was he was a drunk, he wanted to make money and is overwhelmed by finding out what his future holds. It made the character more human as he has to accept his destiny and James Cromwell, being the professional that he is was brilliant at humanising the character as he drunkenly dances and having the deal with the weight on his shoulders."First Contact" is a film that works for both fans and non-fans alike, having action, being able to balance a dark plot with lighter moments and working as a continuation and a standalone film, being a strong sci-fi film in its own right.