The Nimbed Generation Goes Where It's Gone Before

It's really too bad that they took Star Trek: The Next Generation off the air. The makers of the TV series tried to pacify their disappointed audience with the promise of big-screen movies to come, but the three Next Generation films so far have been only mediocre. While more exciting than an average episode of the TV show, these movies lack the energy and the appeal of films like Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the last movie with the original cast.

That said, Star Trek: Insurrection, the newest installment of the Next Generation story, is still a decent and entertaining film. Returning to a classically moralistic Star Trek storyline, the movie follows the crew of the Starship Enterprise as they stumble upon a sinister plot to uproot an peaceful agricultural race, the Ba'ku and steal their planet. Just as in the days of Captain Kirk, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) must disobey a direct order from a Starfleet admiral in order to do what he feels is right.

The story sets Picard and the crew of the Enterprise against the grotesque Son'a, a race so ravaged by the effects of age that they must undergo frequent face-lift procedures in order to prevent their skin from sagging off their faces. The Son'a have developed technology to harvest the metaphasic radiation which permeates the Ba'ku planet; this radiation acts as a fountain of youth, giving eternal life to the Ba'ku. Unfortunately, the Son'a's plan to harvest the radiation for their own use will instantaneously destroy the planet.

During their time on this unusual planet, the metaphasic radiation affects the Enterprise crew: Picard, full of youthful energy, begins to fall in love with the Ba'ku leader Anij. Worf (Michael Dorn) returns to puberty with enormous "gorches" (pimples), while Deanna (Marina Sirtis) and Riker (Jonathan Frakes) romp and giggle as their sex-drives increase. And Geordi (LeVar Burton), blind since birth, discovers that he can see without his electronic eyes.

Of course, there are also plenty of shoot-outs between the Enterprise and the Son'a fleet. In traditional Star Trek fashion, though, the movie is about more than a battle between "good" and "bad" guys. Picard repeatedly warns against the historically proven dangers of forcibly relocating a group of people to serve the needs of another race. Moralistically, the one thing missing from this movie is the influence of the non-human, "rational" viewpoint--usually provided by Spock in the old Star Trek series and by the android Data (Brent Spiner) in the Next Generation. In this film, far from being a voice of reason, Data's chief role is as a malfunctioning robot on the rampage.

The biggest weakness of Star Trek: Insurrection is that, like the two previous Next Generation movies, it is geared towards an audience already very familiar with the characters and the whole Star Trek atmosphere. If you haven't heard of "the Federation," "Starfleet," and "the Prime Directive," then you probably won't be too excited by this installment. Naturally, all the important details are explained, making it possible for anyone to understand, but just understanding the plot won't be enough for most viewers.

On the other hand, seasoned Star Trek fans will flock to the theaters simply to have another chance to see the Enterprise crew in action. And from that standpoint, the film succeeds. To an audience that knows the TV program well, these are not actors playing roles - they are the characters. We don't see accomplished Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart successfully portraying a science fiction character; we see our old friend, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise.

Of course, director Jonathan Frakes (who also plays Commander Will Riker) deserves credit for maintaining consistency with Captain Picard, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and all the rest. Frakes also commands strong performances from the non-Enterprise-crew cast members. F. Murray Abraham, winner of an Academy Award for his role as Salieri in Amadeus, is easily the most engaging character in the movie as Ru'afo, the diabolical leader of the Son'a. Two time Tony award winner Donna Murphy, who plays Picard's love-interest, the wise and strong Anij, also carries off her role gracefully.

In addition to the high quality acting, the production as a whole is quite slick. After seeing other science fiction films like Men in Black and Independence Day, we tend to take high powered special effects for granted. Despite these high expectations, the creators of Star Trek: Insurrection still manage to produce some impressive visuals: Data walks around as a head without a body after removing part of his invisibility suit; Worf clubs an attacking drone ship out of the sky; truly evil-looking Son'a spaceships surround the Enterprise with the colorful backdrop of a nebula; and, as usual, the make-up artists have created a variety of strange-looking aliens.

Of the three Next Generation movies so far, Star Trek: Insurrection stays closest to the spirit of the television program, incorporating themes and plot devices common throughout the Star Trek series. It relies on a storyline with a strong moral dimension--the quality which truly sets Star Trek apart from most other science fiction TV programs and movies. Like the TV series, this movie is also full of nineteenth and twentieth century references: when Data malfunctions, Captain Picard calls him back to reality by singing Gilbert and Sullivan. In the twenty-fourth century universe of Star Trek, such references might seem anachronistic, but they allow the audience to connect with the story, despite its distant-future setting.

In some ways, Star Trek: Insurrection is more like a two-hour TV show than a movie; it seems made for an audience familiar with the characters, and it lacks a certain pizazz which made some of the older Star Trek movies more engrossing and accessible to a broader audience. Even so, it's a better than the average science fiction film Hollywood churns out today--at least it's entertaining and despite its futuristic setting is nevertheless quite relevant.