Rating of
1/4
the most forgettable and bland entry in the series
Drive-In Massacre - wrote on 12/23/09
Insurrection is the movie in the series that directly follows First Contact. Both films are directed by Johnathan Frakes who also plays one of the main characters in the series Commander/Cpt. William Riker. I thought Frakes was very successful in the previous film as a director, so I was very hopeful for this film.
For the most part, I didn't actually start the movie with an indifferent attitude, but instead I was actually rooting for it! Everything I didn't like I would try to look at the positives. I kept telling myself it was a good movie. Until, I just gave up. It truly is the most forgettable and bland entry in the series.
First and for most, Insurrection is one of those movies that feels like an extended episode. Problem is, the episode would be barely mediocre if it were actually part of the t.v. series, made even worse with the fact that it's double the length. The characters are all badly placed. The plot about a "fountain of youth" type planet (Ba'ku) that is on the brink of being destroyed, is completely uninteresting after about 10 minutes and I could not have cared less about the outcome. The villains are boring, the Ba'ku are even more boring, there are no genuine signs of tension or suspense, it is a very passive movie. Out of all 11 films, Insurrection is the shortest clocking in at 103 minutes, but it sure feels like the longest film (well, ofcoarse the longest film just behind Star Trek: TMP, which is really the longest film and feels more like purgatory)
Again, Stewart and Spiner do very good in their roles (even if their characters are poorly written in it), Michael Dorn who plays the Klingon Lt. Worf is very funny in his role and in his case has one of his better performances in the Star Trek films. and as for Frakes, I don't think the films problems exist because of the director. I think Frakes tried his best with what he had to work with, (which, obviously, wasn't a lot) and all the actors seem comfortable. The story was its problem, not the director.
