Star Trek - First Contact (1996)
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The crew of the USS Enterprise-E must travel back in time to prevent a cybernetic alien group from altering human history.
The story
In the 24th century, Captain Jean-Luc Picard awakens from a nightmare regarding his past assimilation by the Borg. Upon learning of a new Borg threat against Earth, Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-E disobey orders to patrol the Neutral Zone and instead head toward Earth to confront a Borg Cube ship. After assisting a fleet and witnessing the Borg use time travel to alter the planet's history, the crew follows a temporal vortex. They arrive in the mid-21st century, just before humanity's first encounter with alien life, discovering the Borg's plan to prevent first contact and assimilate humanity.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the 24th century, Captain Jean-Luc Picard awakens from a nightmare about his Borg assimilation. When Starfleet warns of a Borg threat to Earth, Picard leads the USS Enterprise-E to intervene. They assist the Klingon Worf and a Starfleet fleet, eventually pursuing a Borg sphere into a temporal vortex. They arrive in 2063, the day before Zefram Cochrane's historic warp flight. The crew discovers the Borg intend to prevent first contact to assimilate humanity. An away team reaches Cochrane's ship, the Phoenix, in Montana. While some crew members remain on Earth, Picard and others stay on the Enterprise to fight off a Borg invasion. Data is captured and modified by the Borg Queen, who grafts human skin onto him to gain his encryption codes. Picard attempts to negotiate Data's freedom but is forced to activate the ship's self-destruct to save the crew. Data, however, deactivates the self-destruct and destroys the Borg Queen's plans by rupturing a coolant tank, destroying the biological components of the Borg and his own new skin. With the Borg neutralized, Cochrane completes his warp flight, and the crew returns to the 24th century, observing the successful first contact from a distance.
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 111
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jonathan Frakes
- Writers
- Brannon Braga · screenplay; Ronald D. Moore · screenplay; Rick Berman · story; Brannon Braga · story; Ronald D. Moore · story
- Cast and characters
- Patrick Stewart · Jean-Luc Picard; Jonathan Frakes · William T. Riker; Brent Spiner · Data; LeVar Burton · Geordi La Forge; Michael Dorn · Worf; Gates McFadden · Beverly Crusher; Marina Sirtis · Deanna Troi; Alfre Woodard · Lily Sloane; James Cromwell · Zefram Cochrane; Alice Krige · Borg Queen
- Genres
- science fiction
- Themes
- Time Travel; Assimilation; Identity; Heroism
- Tone and mood
- Action-oriented; Sci-fi; Dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- Time Travel; Alien Invasion; Space Opera
- Source material / true-story basis
- Star Trek television series
- Franchise connections
- Star Trek
- Reception
- The film received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the special effects and the Borg, while characterization was less evenly received. It was noted for being more ambitious than a typical TV show and for successfully reviving the movie series.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 93% · review count: 68
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Makeup · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was the highest-grossing film on its opening weekend.; The Borg were redesigned to appear as though they were converted into machine beings from the inside-out, taking four times as long as their appearances on the television series.; The film's script required the creation of new starship designs, including a new USS Enterprise.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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