In order to fully appreciate a new Star Trek book I just started, I decided to rewatch the Next Generation movies (all except for the crossover Generations). As usual when I go back to Star Trek material, I am surprised not only by what I do and do not remember, but also my enjoyment of each film.
Take, for instance, First Contact, the first all-TNG film, much better than I remembered. The Enterprise travels back in time to prevent the Borg from assimilating Earth in the past and stopping our first contact with another alien race (the Vulcans). This movie is a lot of fun. It features Zephram Cochrane, the man who developed warp drive, who is nothing like the legend he became, Borg drones on the Enterprise, and a scared 21st —century woman who finds herself in an unlikely situation. All crew members had good parts in this film and had to work together to get things back to normal. That’s what makes for good Trek.
The second movie is Insurrection. In this film, there is an excellent villain played by F. Murray Abraham, who wants to displace a village of people from their planet, so he can use it for his own purposes. The Enterprise is drawn in on the ruse that they were there to simply observe the settlement, but a malfunctioning Data leads them to the truth. A good film, with many elements of what makes Star Trek great. Still, I think First Contact edges it out.
The last film in the series is Nemesis. The basic story is that a clone of Jean-Luc Picard lures him and the Enterprise to his planet for nefarious purposes. I didn’t care much for this one. There was a lot of action, but I would argue too much action and not enough story.
While fans are continually discussing the merits and ranking of original series movies, I have never seen one for TNG. But this is mine — I rank them in the order they were produced: First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis. What’s interesting is that the ones I prefer were both directed by Jonathan Frakes, while the director of Nemesis was Stuart Baird, a Star Trek newbie. I guess there’s something to be said for knowing your material.