Star Trek - Insurrection (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
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DVD details
Actor: Brent Spiner, Patrick StewartBrand: Paramount
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-07
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Star Trek - Insurrection (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
DVD Review: At last, the first TNG movie that doesn't pander to fans.
Summary: 4 Stars
To date:
"Generations" felt like a looooong TV episode, whose villains were second-rate Klingons and a man we'd rather pity. Add in another version of the Enterprise, numerous TV show tie-ins, a lame explanation of Guinan's origins that put a huge spanner into many elements of Trek's historical canon, altered motivations (Guinan first says it's impossible to go in but 3 sentences later says if Picard goes in he can't get out... okey dokey, then...), and you've got a mess. Now it's got its moments, and there is a tremendous intellectual appeal that just about saves it for some (myself included) but it's hardly major movie fare. "All Good Things" would have been a better choice...
"First Contact" is a worthless cameo-ridden farce, jumbling all sorts of fan favorites with very little coherence. Yes, yes, the feds don't trust Picard to fight the Borg. Yup, that's why they gave him their new flagship... Yes, there's time travel. To a period nobody can relate to. Threat of destroying the ship too, I mean that's okay as there are plenty of letters left in the alphabet, right? (how about sacking an inept captain for mindlessly destroying his own ship?!) And, of course, the Borg themselves...
But this review shouldn't be about a sloppily-written , over-reaching, made-for-movie TV-episode followed by that total wretch of a farce!
"Insurrection" dares to be new. It dares to be different. It dares to keep TV show references to a minimum; I for one didn't need to know all of the events of Deep Space 9 (aka "Deep Sleep 9") to know that the feds have been in a bunch of wars. Not being able to stand DS9, it was nice to see how this in-reference was handled. Indeed, this movie takes this fact and tries to BUILD on it, saying how the federation is a lame duck and it knows it's about to collapse if they get more involved with more enemies. Indeed, that's an (unintentional?) in-joke to the Bermantrek franchise as, by 1998, things were ALREADY getting beyond trite... where else could they go except to knock down the foundations of the dilapidated house?
Picard gets so angry at the Federation that he is inclined to resign in a big huff'n'puff scene that's actually very well acted. If it weren't for the rubbish flick that preceeded "Insurrection", this scene would be much more powerful. (it was to me, but many a reviewer said the same thing, albeit more undeservedly kindly...) Instead, it reminds people unfortunate enough to have seen "First Contact" that Picard had violated orders before. And in FC, he does so in a pantomime way that's too typical for that flick. But, again, I digress. "Insurrection" gets it right, without the camp comedy to muck things up.
Speaking of comedy, "Insurrection" is the first TNG film to keep the humor APPROPRIATE; it's almost in-tune with Trek III (or maybe Trek VI) in terms of keeping things serious with the occasional smooth-flowing joke. I've said before that "First Contact"'s excessive use of (often forced) humor makes it a farce. Many jokes are contrived and not even remotely funny. "Insurrection" gets the humor right, in tone, wit, and presentation. All but one, but I will get to that momentarily.
Characterizations: All in all, none of them is flawed. The actors put in great performances and there is a sense of fun present. But unlike "First Contact" it's apparent that the fun is meant for all of us. Not just the actors involved. There's a great villain in Ru'afo (F Murray Abraham) who also gets some great lines. I haven't felt this hyped about a strong villain since General Chang (Trek VI).
The plot: Some in the Federation, who are weary of collapse due to losing a lot of recent battles with numerous enemies, want to revitalize and heal their own. They team up with the So'na to extract a special radiation from a distant planet. The inhabitants of this planet, the Ba'ku, would be adversely affacted by this change. Of course, things get squirmy when it turns out that the Son'a and Ba'ku are the same race, but whoever said that sci-fi shouldn't involve two factions of the same race? Meanwhile, Picard ends up in an unexpected love affair (that's refreshingly G-rated and pure in spirit, how could anyone NOT be drawn into the charm of it all?!) while Data marvels that Riker's shaved face. Made shaven because kiss'n'tell Troi can't stand the beard. (more well placed humor.)
Here are my problems with the plot:
1. It is suggested that the entire upper eschelon of the Federation has turned bad. I liked this. But at the end? Berman (long-time prodcuer and intellectually bankrupt) decides to say that it was, as usual, just one or two of the Feds that had gone bad.
2. After analyzing the Son'a/Ba'ku subplot (what's up with the silly apostrophe marks anyway?), we should be feeling sorry for the Son'a, as they are the PARENTS of the Ba'ku, who had kicked them out. Yipes.
3. Picard summarily kills Ru'afo at the end. I am tired of this macho Picard killing his own officers or killing baddies whenever it suits him routine. Heck, even Kirk offered to save Khan at the end of Trek II. But at least Kirk is a human and we can understand why he's had enough of Kruge or gets the last word against Chang. Picard, for 7 TV seasons, is portrayed as being uber-moral this and life-that. So now he's a mass killer in the big-screen movies. Especially when his own crew saved his bacon in "The Best of Both Worlds", and 2 movies later he's gunning the lot of them down. I have a big problem with this! So did Ruby... whoops, I digressed again!
4. There's a mini-musical of the HMS Pinaforte. This is the one part of the movie that's utterly contrived. Yes, it's funny to see Worf shake his head in an attempt to not sing along, but... yuck.
5. Worf seems to get his gortch (puberty joke) BEFORE arriving on the planet containing the special age-reversing technobabble radiation. Now we all know Worf got jiggy in "The Emmisary" (Season 2 TNG) and 9 months later little Alexander came into trekdom so this gortch must be an effect from the radiation.
6. Technobabble. Bermantrek goes out of its way to create more and more technobabble (probably so Paramount can cash in on the patents should humankind create a device that fits Trek's description...) And in this movie there's no exception. We are an audience. Not science majors at University. While "Insurrection" usually keeps this in check, metaphasic this and hoobie-doobie that gets annoying after a while - but at least it's not the main focus of the story. Then add in Data's "morality circuits" and it's amazing nobody broke out in laughter in the theatre. That is so contrived. If anyone is a fan of "Red Dwarf" by the way, Kryten (a send-up of MANY android-type characters and hardly a ripoff of bermantrek...) often talks of his ____ circuits. Right down to a "good taste chip". Except Trek tries to take the same goofy dialogue and make it serious. No, Berman, please don't. Data is a complexly programmed android. Not a fancy Lego creation where removing one green brick can make a world of difference...
7. There are but 600 Ba'ku. SIX HUNDRED. I know there's a great moral tale here (slavery, relocation, wiping out indiginous population, raping of their land, calling oil barons thugs; there are some GREAT lines in this movie that can't be beat), but for 600 people on one huge honkin' planet?! Couldn't the Feds and Son'a merely open up a hotel/vac ation resort on one of the other continents and bother anybody?! The idea is lovely, but the execution has a plot hole too big and too many.
The effects? No contest. Trek's first mass-use of CGI is exceptional. I'm an old-school fan of model work, but the CGI in this movie was exceptionally well done.
Ditto for the sets and locale. While I hate using the "R-word", this movie truly is rich in its use of location and architecture. It accentuates the positive aspects of the story... but also reinforces the negative (the small population thing).
DVD quality? Well, with each Trek release the quality gets better. As the original release of Insurrection was horrid (making me hunt high and low for the LASERDISC version!), I'm hoping to see better here. I very likely will.
The extras? Well, I'll have to update this when the time comes.
All in all, this movie is grossly underrated. It's got its faults (how many movies DON'T have problems?! it's a matter of tolerating the mistakes), but those are made overblown by the movie's detractors (who'd rather see another Borg film with other bermantrek characters pop in and do a little dance) and other overhyped sequels are totally forgiven for far worse mistakes.
Description of Star Trek - Insurrection (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
When the crew of the Enterprise learns of the Federation plot against inhabitants of a unique planet, Capt. Picard begins an open rebellion in an effort to defend the planet?s people and the principles in which the Federation was founded.Star Trek fans were decidedly mixed in their reactions to this, the ninth big-screen feature in Paramount's lucrative Trek franchise, but die-hard loyalists will appreciate the way this Next Generation adventure rekindles the spirit of the original Trek TV series while combining a tolerable dose of New-Agey philosophy with a lighthearted plot for the TNG cast. This time out, Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his executive crew must transport to a Shangri-la-like planet to see why their android crewmate Data (Brent Spiner) has run amuck in a village full of peaceful Ba'ku artisans who--thanks to their planet's "metaphasic radiation"--haven't aged in 309 years.
It turns out there's a conspiracy afoot, masterminded by the devious, gruesomely aged Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham, hamming it up under makeup resembling a cosmetic surgeon's worst nightmare), who's in cahoots with a renegade Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe, in one of his final screen roles). They covet the fountain-of-youth power of the Ba'ku planet, but because their takeover plan violates Starfleet's Prime Directive of noninterference, it's up to Picard and crew to stop the scheme. Along the way, they all benefit from the metaphasic effect, which manifests itself as Worf's puberty (visible as a conspicuous case of Klingon acne), Picard's youthful romance with a Ba'ku woman (the lovely Donna Murphy), the touching though temporary return of Geordi's natural eyesight, and a moment when Troi asks Dr. Crusher if she's noticed that her "boobs are firming up."
Some fans scoffed at these humorous asides, but they're what make this Trek film as entertaining as it is slightly disappointing. Without the laughs (including Data's rousing excerpt from Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore), this is a pretty routine entry in the franchise, with no real surprises, a number of plot holes, and the overall appearance of a big-budget TV episode. As costar and director, Jonathan Frakes proves a capable carrier of the Star Trek flame--and it's nice to see women in their 40s portrayed as smart and sexy--but while this is surely an adequate Trek adventure, it doesn't quite rank with the best in the series. --Jeff Shannon
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