Star Trek: Insurrection
Paramount Pictures, 1998
Directed by Jonathan Frakes

$$$

By Jason Rothman

There's no number in the title of Star Trek: Insurrection, but if there were, it would be Star Trek Film Number Nine, and that means it's what every Trekkie dreads: an odd numbered one. Most fans are familiar with the theory -- the even films are good (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) and the odd ones are usually a disaster (Star Trek -- The Motion Picture, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek Generations). Happily, I'd say Star Trek: Insurrection will help bury that theory once and for all. It's pretty good.

Of all the Trek films, this one most closely resembles an episode of the TV program in terms of its structure. For the first time in the film series, here's a movie where the crew actually explores a strange new world, seeks out new life forms and new civilizations. And for the first time in the film series, not a single scene takes place on boring old Earth. Imagine that.

The other reason this film feels like just another episode is because the movie is not a new beginning, nor is it an end. No new crew, no new ship, no new uniforms. It's just another adventure with the galactic gang that we've come to almost like as much as the original crew. And what's wrong with that?

The story begins with the Enterprise crew racing to investigate after Data, on temporary assignment to observe the seemingly primitive Ba'ku, goes berserk on fellow Star Fleet officers. When Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew arrive, they discover the Ba'ku planet has magical properties. The rings of the planet give off an energy that creates a kind of fountain of youth. No one on the planet ever ages. And when the crew arrives they find they are undergoing changes themselves -- their aging processes seem to go into reverse.

All this has some interesting effects on the away team, especially Riker and Troi as the planet reawakens their feelings for each other (it's about time!).

But there's trouble, of course. A Star Fleet Admiral and an evil youth fixated people called the Son'a are in cahoots to steal the planet's power. The Son'a leader, Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham), plans on literally sucking the energy right out the planet's rings so he and his folks can live long and prosper. Guess who's going to stop them?

All this is elaborated on with a lot of the technobabble that the TV series was famous for (the overused holodeck plot device also plays a key role, again). But the script explains things well enough that non-Trekkies won't get lost.

For the first time in the film series, we also get a decent love story. In addition to Riker and Troi, we also have a romance between Captain Picard and a beautiful Bak'u woman played by Donna Murphy. But the relationship never has a payoff and Patrick Stewart's well-publicized complaints about having a kissing scene cut seem very valid. You can tell where that kiss should happen -- you want it to happen -- but it never comes.

Jonathan Frakes, who also plays First Officer Will Riker, is in the director's chair once again. And, as far as I'm concerned, he can stay there as long as he likes (despite the above mentioned questionable cut). With two Trek films now under his belt, Frakes has proved he's the sensible choice to direct. The cast members have been playing their parts for over a decade, so they don't need someone to guide their performances. All that's needed in a director is someone who understands Star Trek and can effectively stage the action sequences. Frakes proves solid in both areas.

Some of the action scenes in Insurrection actually top those in Star Trek: First Contact. The combat is paced evenly throughout the movie and takes place in a variety of locations: from the land, to the skies to outer space. Whenever things start to get dull, Frakes and scripter Michael Piller throw in a few blasts of phaser fire. A mountain side sequence where the crew fights off a squadron of teeny flying robots is especially thrilling. Jerry Goldsmith, working on his fourth Star Trek film, also helps drive the action with a terrific score. It should be enough to please most fans.

Frakes also has a good handle on the humor which has just the right ironic touch this time around. The ensemble cast is also put to good use, with the exception of Dr. Crusher. Gates McFadden's character hasn't had a single decent scene in any of the three Next Generation films. Will somebody please give the woman something to do?

This team of actors has been together off-and-on for eleven years and Picard, Data and the rest are showing their age. But the film wisely puts the issue up front. Faced with a world that promises eternal youth, the middle-aged crew confronts that old realization that they suddenly have fewer years ahead of them than they do behind them. One of the key themes that emerges is the urge to freeze a moment in time as time becomes more precious. (A better title would have been Star Trek: Quest for Eternity)

The villains in this film also have issues with aging. The joke is the youth obsessed Son'a are constantly undergoing plastic surgery. Their faces are stretched so grotesquely tight that one character's skin actually splits at one point.

Sociological messages about ethnic separation and the evils of technology are also sprinkled throughout the script. In this way, Insurrection emulates the best installments of Star Trek: it may be about people in outer space in the future, but at its core, it teaches us a message about our own time and our present day lives.

Star Trek: Insurrection may lack the apocalyptic, fate-of-the-universe stakes of Star Trek: First Contact. And the film doesn't boldly go anywhere we haven't been before. But if you save the entire human race every time out, things could get a little dull. This movie's ambitions are a bit smaller. But the result is no less fulfilling.

(c) Copyright 1998

(A synopsis of an early shooting script has been posted on the web. There were apparently some minor but interesting changes made before the film hit the big screen. To read about Picard's kiss, Picard's hair, Quark's big scene and other things that were left out of the finished film, click here. But don't do it until you've seen the movie!)