Star Trek's Best TNG Movie Misses The Entire Point Of Star Trek

Star Trek: First Contact is the best movie to feature the Next Generation crew, but it misses the point of the philosophy of Star Trek. After six blockbuster movies starring the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, it was time for a new phase of Trek on the big screen. 1994's Star Trek Generations bridged the gap by featuring a team-up between James T. Kirk and Captain Picard, but the first true standalone Next Generation film was released two years later with First Contact. The movie was a smashing success, and was a big change for the series.

Two more Star Trek: The Next Generation movies would be released after First Contact, but neither could reach the heights of its predecessor. They would be the final Star Trek movies in the original continuity, and it would take nearly a decade for the franchise to return to the big screen in J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot. While First Contact is a beloved piece of the Star Trek cinematic universe, it isn't without its flaws in both execution and philosophy. Perhaps most importantly, the movie stumbles when it comes to understanding what makes Star Trek such a unique science fiction franchise.

Star Trek: First Contact Is An Excellent Action Film

There's No Denying What First Contact Gets Right

After the lackluster installment that was Star Trek Generations, First Contact was certainly a breath of fresh air. Not only did it allow the crew from The Next Generation to really shine, but it represented a wealth of new possibilities. After all, the movies featuring the crew of The Original Series stretched on for a decade-and-a-half, and there was no reason to think that the new Enterprise crew couldn't match that feat. First Contact also smartly leaned into the Next Gen era's most powerful new villain, The Borg, and allowed them to flourish with a bigger budget.

What First Contact ends up being is an excellent sci-fi action film with familiar characters and locations from the Star Trek franchise. The 1990s CGI was impressive for the time, and the scope and scale of the story certainly feels bigger than any mere two-part episode of The Next Generation. The next film, Insurrection, was a noticeable downgrade in terms of scale, and it really helps to point out what made First Contact such a great action film. The plotting is crisp, and the stakes are quite high since the crew is tasked with saving the future.

From a design perspective, First Contact is also nearly flawless, and it enhanced the visuals from the show and adapted them for the big screen. The movies naturally had to be bigger, and the production upped the ante in every department, from lighting, to costumes and makeup, and even a sweeping score by Jerry Goldsmith. It helped to set the tone for what the Next Generation movies could look like, much in the same way that the esthetics of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan influenced the Kirk era.

First Contact Betrays The Ideals Of The Star Trek Franchise

The Philosophy Of Star Trek Is Thrown Out The Window

The Star Trek franchise is a utopian sci-fi story that imagines a future in which humanity has transcended all the evils of society. While the shows and movies have explored how that idea isn't entirely infallible, it is still the guiding principle behind the original era of Star Trek that concluded with the cancellation of Enterprise in 2005. Star Trek: First Contact largely ignores those ideals when it comes to its characters, and turns the enlightened Captain Jean Luc Picard into an action hero with very little consideration for who he was during the seven seasons of The Next Generation.

One of the movie's themes recalls the trauma Picard faced when he was captured by the Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds". The evil inflicted upon him weighs heavily on his psyche, and he holds a grudge. This would be natural for someone else, but First Contact makes Jean Luc Picard into an ultraviolent, Ahab-like figure who wants nothing more than revenge against the Borg. This is completely out of character, and he previously showed in the season 5 episode "I, Borg" that he wouldn't destroy the entire collective despite having the opportunity.

Picard's trauma could have been a fascinating theme, and it's not unlike The Wrath of Khan. The titular villain pushes Kirk into a no-win situation, and it tests him to his very core. However, Star Trek II showed that Kirk stuck to his morals no matter what, while First Contact transforms Picard into a raving madman who mows down Borg drones with a machine gun. Making Star Trek: First Contact an action film was a smart choice, but it shouldn't have come at the expense of the philosophy of the heroes and the moral foundation of the entire franchise.