Extras : Scene index, Theatrical Trailer, Teaser Trailer, Featurette
Director:
Jonathan Frakes
Producer:
Rick Berman
Screenplay:
Rick Berman and Michael Piller
Music:
Jerry Goldsmith
Cast:
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection, Jeffrey, X-Men)
Commander Riker: Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Data: Brent Spiner (Independence Day, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Geordi: Levar Burton (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Worf: Michael Dorn (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Dr. Beverly Crusher: Gates McFadden (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Deanna Troi: Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Anij: Donna Murphy (The Day Lincoln was Shot, Star Trek: Insurrection)
Ad'har Ru'afo: F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus, Last Action Hero, Mighty Aphrodite, Mimic, Mobsters, The Name of the Rose, Star Trek: Insurrection, Surviving The Game)
Star Trek: Insurrection
is the ninth film in the successful series but far from the best.
Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew touch down in a place inhabited by the
Ba'ku, a race who have found the ultimate in happiness - an idyllic setting, an actual
fountain of youth and the ability to live forever without ageing. Yeah, but I bet they don't
have unmetered internet access...
However, there's trouble in paradise when the Son'a want to capture that Friday feeling
of endless leisure time and they're led by Ad'har Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham), with a
plan to take 600 of the residents and find out what makes them tick. Picard et al want to help
them, but when their prime directive is not to influence another race's evolution, what are
they to do? Leave the Ba'ku alone or go against their bosses and kick the enemies outta town?
Of course, it doesn't take a genius to answer that otherwise there'd be no film. Along the
way Picard falls in love with Anij (Donna Murphy), but like his romance with Alfre
Woodard in
Star Trek: First Contact, it's a love
that can never be. Ah, shucks!
Most of the rest of the cast engage in "fun" activities, such as the women in the film
enjoying the feeling of having perfect, pert breasts, while Riker (Jonathan Frakes)
and Deanna (Marina Sirtis) are seen to be enjoying each other.
However, all of this just slows the film down and doesn't feel fun at all. Add to this the
Son'a bad guys who look like crap bank robbers with ill-fitting stockings on their heads
and are about as menacing as the Elephant Man and it all makes up for one of the least-exciting
Star Trek films made to date.
On the positive side, the picture is in the correct 2.35:1 widescreen ratio, is anamorphic
and has a stunning quality to it which is particularly well served during the bright outdoor
scenes plus the space scenes. The average bitrate is a high 8.26Mb/s, often hovering just
under 9Mb/s.
The sound is excellent whether it's gunfire bouncing about, Jerry Goldsmith's score,
or the hum of the Enterprise in the background. Dolby Digital 5.1 is available in three
languages.
Extras :
Chapters :
24 chapters for the 99-minute running time which is fine.
Languages/Subtitles :
Dolby Digital 5.1 in English, German and surprisingly, Hungarian.
Subtitles are available in English (and hard of hearing), German (hard of hearing), Swedish,
Danish, Norwegian, Dutch and Icelandic. This is the first time I've seen a DVD contain a
hard-of-hearing version in a language other than English.
And there's more... :
A two-minute Theatrical Trailer, a 90-second Teaser Trailer and a generic
5-minute Featurette which contains basic chat from the cast and crew plus a brief
resume of the film's plot, such that it is. All of these extras will only be watched once and
I'll be surprised if you go back to them.
Menu :
A basic static and silent menu with a shot of the front cover and the usual
options. Exactly the same as the Region 1 DVD.
Overall, although I didn't particularly like this film, due to it trying to be funny all the
time when I wanted a decent plot and action, as was provided with
Star Trek: First Contact, it's good
to see that this series of films has seen the light of day in the UK and here's to the rest
of the series coming to DVD which will be followed by the aforementioned First Contact
plus Generations, which featured the death of Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner).
It's just a shame Paramount didn't prepare the sort of extras for the film that MGM have
done with their James Bond series.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
