Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Just perfect...

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This, the ninth 'Star Trek' film, the third featuring the TNG crew, opens on a tranquil, apparently pre-industrial planet. The population, the Ba'ku, are being observed by a cloaked survey team which consists of Federation personnel as well as aliens known as the Son'a. This joint operation includes Data who apparently malfunctions and exposes the mission to the surprised Ba'ku. Admiral Dougherty, the senior Star Fleet officer on the mission, contacts Captain Picard to request Data's schematics so he can be shut down; Picard takes the Enterprise to the area to do it himself. Not long after arriving certain things become apparent; most notably the Ba'ku aren't as primitive as believed and the Son'a and Dougherty's mission goes against Star Fleet's Prime Directive. The crew of the Enterprise must follow their consciences and disobey Dougherty's orders… a choice that could lead to a direct confrontation.When I first watched this film I was somewhat disappointed; watching it again I found that I really enjoyed it. In many ways it does feel like the plot from a two-part TV episode but that isn't a bad thing. The Ba'ku look like so many societies we've seen before; a small society of human looking aliens living a peaceful technology-free lifestyle; all filmed in Californian locations that look like ones used in so many episodes. The Son'a meanwhile are far more alien in appearance… nobody will be surprised that the good looking young Ba'ku turn out to be the good guys while the ugly Son'a are the villains of the film. The story has plenty of exciting moments that increase as we approach the conclusion. There is also the gentle humour one would expect from the series. The regular cast are all on good form and the guest stars also impress; most notably Donna Murphy, as the Baku woman Picard grows close to; F. Murray Abraham as the unpleasant leader of the Son'a and Anthony Zerbe as Admiral Dougherty. As one would expect the special effects are impressive as the larger movie budget shows in the number of effects and amount of action. Overall I'd say this was a fine addition to the series of Star Trek films.

Though often reviewed as a typical "odd numbered" Star Trek movie (for some reason, the even numbered movies in the series have performed much better than the even numbers), Star Trek: Insurrection is actually a rather strong forte into the Trek universe.The conflict of this film works on two levels: First, there is the conflict between two races of people (a plot point as old as time but one that, if done right, can be quite effective). Second, there is the conflict between Captain Jean-Luc Picard (and thus his crew) against upper-ranking Federation officials, who want to violate the sacred Prime Directive of the universe. Both of those areas of conflict, acting simultaneously throughout the movie, are surprisingly effective and compelling.Besides the effectiveness of the main plot, however, this film also (much like the previous First Contact film) contains some interesting and humorous character development. While trying to rescue a persecuted race of people, the crew of the Enterprise investigates a planet on which the effects of aging are reversed. Thus, while the android Data is unaffected, other characters are taken on an interesting hormonal journey: Worf begins acting like a typical (violent!) Klingon youth, Crusher and Troi notice certain, um, body parts firming up, and Geordi LaForge regains the use of his natural eyes.To conclude, Star Trek: Insurrection, while generally regarded as a sub-par effort, actually breaks the "odd-bad, even-good" chain of Star Trek movies. If you are new to the Star Trek universe and are interested in this movie, I would recommend watching the previous film, First Contact, in order to get a better handle on the Next Generation characters before watching this film. If you thoroughly enjoyed First Contact, this movie (with its action/adventure combined with great human drama and humor) will not disappoint you.

This is not too bad of a Star Trek film, but it's not the greatest one of the bunch. I feel this film would have been better if left to an episode of The Next Generation than a full length film. They could have cut out some of the unnecessary parts of the movie and left us with the "meat" of the film in a TV episode. But it's still not too bad of watch.The film starts out with Data acting strange, killing people, Picard and Worf have to stop him. Once Data is corrected the film really begins with an alien race trying to take over a peaceful planet -- Picard and crew has to put an end to it all and restore peace again.This one is worth watching if you are a die hard Star Trek fan - in particular a fan of The Next Generation.6/10

A joint Federation–Son'a group is secretly observing the Ba'ku when Data goes rogue and reveals their position. Admiral Matthew Dougherty contacts the Enterprise for Data's schematics to shut him down. Captain Picard ignores Dougherty's command and cuts short his mission to stop Data himself. After repairing Data, they discover that this is sinister plot between some in the Federation and the Son'a. Picard decides to ignore command and do what's right.This is an old school Star Trek story. The ideas and the morality have the great basic Star Trek DNA. The problem is that it's executed poorly. It's not big enough. I have problems with the logic of the sinister plot. The humor is awkward. I can see this as a solid episode of the TV show. However, it doesn't work quite as well when it's upgraded to a theatrical release.