Star Trek: Insurrection

Dir: Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: First Contact)
Regular Cast: Patrick Stuart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis
Additional Cast: Donna Murphy, F. Murray Abraham, Anthony Zerbe, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Gregg Henry, Michael Welch
USA, 1998

Originally Seen: Like Star Trek: First Contact, this one I first saw from rented it on VHS. 1998 was just before I started getting back into film again, so I wasn't at the theatre much.

Revisited: April 19, 2009

Reason to Revisit: For the Countdown to Star Trek Movie Marathon

I went into revisiting Star Trek: Insurrection thinking it's one of the better films and that I enjoyed it. Then from scene to scene I realized I knew almost every line, every joke, every ditty and every catch phrase. And there are a lot of them. It's strange, as I know I have it kicking around on tape somewhere but I don't remember watching it all that often. It's possible that since it came out when I was an adult that the memories are clearer that that of films like The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country which I first saw as a kid. It made for an odd, but definitely fond, re-watching experience.

The time line that Star Trek: Insurrection is set in is a darker period of the Star Trek universe, one that is inferred to but creatively offset in Star Trek: First Contact, and in Insurrection they have a brilliant way of incorporating the light along with the dark. Although the film certainly has a fair share of action, adventure and cool effects it also works in bringing ideas and ideals to light in a time of conflict which in turn presents a moral struggle. For me, this was a perfect blend of bringing together many different aspects of the Star Trek world together from the action, comedy and camaraderie but also a question to ponder - all in one film sized portion. The crew certainly gets a chance to be a bit more jovial then we usually see in the films, which sometimes works better than others but is an huge improvement over Generations and a nice return from the darker side of First Contact. Donna Murphy is a lovely addition to the film as a part of the supporting cast playing the wise and calm Anij. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I look forward to putting Insurrection back in the regular rotation of films to enjoy over and over again.

Worf, again, steals any scene he is in no matter how briefly. How does he do it? It's a Klingon mystery.

Post film freak out moment: Artim, the kid that befriends Data, is played by Michael Welch whose recent film credits include playing Mike Newton in Twilight. I try not to think about how Insurrection was released when I was in college (the first time).

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it, a lot
I'll watch it again
I recommend it to Star Trek fans from casual to die-hard

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© Shannon Ridler, 2009