The ninth Star Trek film - and the third starring the Next Generation crew - was widely seen as a misfire for the franchise following the dramatic First Contact. Viewed as a motion picture event, Insurrection is indeed underwhelming, the threat of the Borg wiping out Earth followed up with a plot that has some old guys hooked on facelifts trying to relocate 600 hippies. However, viewed as a feature length episode of the Next Generation show, Michael Pillar's script is a neat little adventure for this crew which is warm and affectionate and reminds you why watching the Next Generation for seven years was such a pleasure. The Enterprise crew are called into action when android officer Data goes haywire, endangering a mission to observe the Ba'ku. Having restored Data with some singing (!), Picard uncovers a plot by the Federation, with the help of the Sona - a race that is aged and constantly giving themselves facelifts - to relocate the Ba'ku as their planet has regenerating properties that make it a fountain of youth. However, rather than follow Admiral Dougherty's (Anthony Zerbe) orders, Picard and his crew beam down to the planet to defend the Ba'ku. With Riker leading the Enterprise to confer with Starfleet command, can Picard and his crew hold out long enough?


From the off, Insurrection lacks menace, the Baku village looking exactly like what it is, a fake development built near the river, peopled by extras in tastefully ethnic clothes. The Ba'ku might live forever and want for nothing but would anyone want to live there? Endless gardening and tapestry weaving? The horror. Paramount apparently asked for a lighter instalment, hoping to recreate the success of Star Trek 4. However, despite all the 'fish out of water' japery of that movie, there was a genuine menace to the Earth and a sense of scale. Here, Picard and his crew wander around some hills and occasionally shoot some little hovering transporter thingamajigs. There's never really a sense of urgency until the final third, with plenty of opportunities for Picard to chat up the local totty, played by Donna Murphy. Some odd concepts are thrown into the mix, such as the Ba'ku being able to slow down time and live in an endless moment. Better is Pillar's comment on society's obsession with youth (even more prescient now than it was back in 1998). The Sona are actually wayward children of the Ba'ku, keen to kick out their parents and reverse the ravages of time. The lengths they go to, including endless, obscene face-lifts is funny and disgusting at the same time. It's true that, among the pantheons of Star Trek baddies, the Sona are never likely to figure but leader F. Murray Abraham brings gravitas and anger even though he's covered in latex. The ending however, is yet another Picard versus villain face-off involving some climbing of scaffolding. These Next Gen movies really only seem to know one way to end, with First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis all ending in this way (even Generations did the same, except with Kirk along for the ride too).


Though, as a spectacle, Insurrection underwhelms, as a love letter to the characters of the show, there is much for fans to enjoy. The interplay between the leads is great, from Picard and Data singing Gilbert and Sullivan to the great 'smooth as an android's bottom' pay off. The rekindling of the Riker-Troi romance has been something long wanted by viewers and is handled with charm. Each member of the ensemble gets their moment, from Worf's giant spot to Troi and Crusher chatting about their firmer boobs! Data gets a large share of proceedings, Brent Spiner becoming as influential behind the scenes as Leonard Nimoy was in the earlier films. The sweetest moment is when Geordi temporarily gets his natural sight back and gets to see a sunrise unaided for the first time. Picard is also well defined, his defence of the Prime Directive and his great speech to Admiral Dougherty of how many displaced people it would take before it was wrong - 1000, a million? is punch the air spot on. This is a script that has been written with great affection for the crew of the Enterprise-E. We even get Riker in command, taking on the Sona forces and displaying his inner Kirk, something the character rarely got to do in the series. As a Star Trek film, Insurrection lacks the wider appeal and big concepts that a more casual audience demand; as a reminder of why the Next Generation cast were so beloved by so many, Insurrection works just fine.

GK Rating: ***