Updated to reflect new 6/7/05 Special Edition
Please note: This review is for the Special Edition of "Star Trek: Insurrection" released 6/7/05 and was updated.
Most of these reviews of Insurrection damn the film with faint praise. It wasn't this, it wasn't that. The Federation wouldn't do this. There's petty squabbles about legal points, etc. Writer Michael Piller clearly uses Star Trek Insurrection, much as Roddenberry did, as a soapbox to decry the injustices visited upon others. Usually he'd use Star Trek as a analogy of what had occurred in the past or present.
The next to last installment in the "Trek" film franchise, "Star Trek: Insurrection" received a bad rap from the very beginning. Despite the fact that it was scripted by one of the series best writers (Michael Piller a producer and writer on "The Dead Zone") and directed by series vet/actor Jonathan Frakes the film was seen as disappointing as a follow up to the action driven "Star Trek: First Contact". While the film certainly lacks the intensity...
Sound over Substance.
OK, lets face it. We want to love Star Trek movies because we feel so apart of the series. And for the most part, the movies just don't hit their mark. As a movie, this one probably ranks fourth in the series behind, Kahn, IV, and First Contact. But it's certainly not a bad film, which can't be said for about half of the Star Trek movies. However, if you have a sub woofer, surround sound speakers and are buying this for your 5.1 DVD... Pull out your wallet and get it. Star Trek is perfect for DVD. The Laser Fights, the Space Battles, the hiding in caves during an alien bombing give ample opportunity to be pounded into your chairs. In DVD no one can hear you scream, simply because the movie is so darn loud. I LOVE IT. So if you're a Star Trek fan or just someone who enjoys your home theater. Pull out your wallet and have a great time. However, if you don't have 5.1 DVD with all the trimmings, buy the wrath of Kahn, or simply go buy a better movie.
Star Trek Meets Walt Disney
If you like the one about the whales, you'll probably enjoy "Star Trek: Insurrection," too. Unlike its successor, the bloated and ill-conceived "Star Trek: Nemesis," this third foray into theaters for the "TNG" crew is a competent, if not particularly riveting, adventure that often feels more like an old-fashioned Disney film than anything else. That's actually the best thing going for it, as Captain Picard and crew discover an intergalactic Shangri-La that is the focal point for a generational civil war. Comfortable as director, co-star Jonathan Frakes does what he can with a script that is frequently sweet (and sometimes needlessly violent) but like many of the modern Trek episodes, short on plot and long on technobabble. He had more success with the last film, which managed to evoke the spirit of Captain Kirk's era, but Frakes here still finds new ways to show us things we've seen a million times before, no mean feat. He's aided by the late, great Jerry Goldsmith's evocative...
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