Review: Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Well noIn time for Christmas we have the ninth 'Star Trek' feature, Insurrection, a picture that succeeds largely because of the risks it takes.

In the opening shots we see the idyllic lifestyle of the Bak'u, a people who are dead ringers for Homo Sapiens, and who choose to exclude their advanced technology from their everyday existence. (Have you noticed, by the way, that intermittent apostrophes in names give them a foreign smack?) Thus there are blacksmiths and bakers and other artisans who wear costumes and live in a village reminiscent of the late Middle Ages. The set decoration resembles a resort, in fact, a place one might reach by a small craft across a man-made bay from Epcot Center. It is the quaintest part of the movie. Another aspect of the set that accents the film's action is the beauty of the planet; similar to the forests in Return of the Jedi, these landscapes provide a natural backdrop in which the story unfolds. The few deep space shots look wonderfully luminous, like the multi-colored photographs of gaseous formations sent back by the Hubble telescope.

A sudden intrusion on the simple routines of the Bak'u tells us trouble is afoot. Data (Brent Spiner) has gone haywire, and anyone who knows 'Trek' lore knows Data is an android with the strength of a backhoe. Quickly he thwarts the Federation lackeys who pursue him, and then uncloaks the spy-post occupied by none other than Starfleet Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) and some loose-skinned species with whom Dougherty is in cahoots. Soon we witness the re-assembly of the crew of the enterprise, whose mission is at first to capture Data. When matters become more complicated, a restored Data, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and a comely Bak'u woman named Anij (Donna Murphy) discover a holographic double of the Bak'u village. It seems that this Admiral Dougherty has wheedled the leaders of the Federation into approving the evacuation of the Bak'u to another planet, in order to exploit a most unusual natural resource. If carried out, these orders would of course violate the Prime Directive. Will the principled Jean-Luc Picard permit these peaceable people to be displaced?

In the tradition of the best episodes of the series, Insurrection floats some worthwhile political ideas - a plotting strategy right out of Gene Roddenberry's notebooks. The agenda of this installment attacks the relocation of native populations; at no point does Picard mention Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany, though the comparison comes across. So the central conflict of the film springs from a trusty, if unoriginal, premise, and director Jonathan Frakes - Cmdr. William T. Riker, the loyal 'Number One,' - moves the story engagingly while staging variations on familiar themes. Michael Piller's screenplay is well edited, with punchy scene-closings and a few hearty chuckles, nods to comic relief generated by Worf's revisted puberty and Data's misinterpretation of references to boobs. Pretty standard stuff, this, but it works again.

The villain's seat is occupied by F. Murray Abraham as Ru'afo, an angry alien who looks like a mummy with a steel plate in his head. Abraham's makeup is actually a throwback to his Academy Award-winning role of Salieri in Amadeus, skin sagging in even greater folds and pouches. Ru'afo is moderately effective as a baddie; it's just that he's mostly bark, the script not giving him the menacing bite given Christopher Plummer as a Klingon general in an earlier flick. Not until we discover Ru'afo's history with the Bak'u does his character take on more mythical proportions of evil.

Once again Patrick Stewart plays a brave and noble captain. His acting is probably the most transparent among the cast. He makes us believe a 60-ish action hero whose ethics and actions are beyond question. Picard even gets a love interest in this episode - Anij, whose beauty belies her 300-plus age. Unfortunately, the Captain gets no farther than hand-holding, though he promises to spend an upcoming 318-day leave with her. Hints of a rekindled romance turn up repeatedly between Riker and the buxom Counselor Deanna Troi, though we do not see much consummation in this relationship, either. (The dearth of affection is probably one cause for the PG rating, for which I am thankful; my 10 year-old was able to attend with us when usually she misses 'Star Trek' installments.)

Music in Insurrection nicely compliments scenes that require it, giving the audience cues for climactic moments. As I believe the makers of the 'first' episode of 'Star Wars' are doing with John Williams' theme, the 'Star Trek' people reuse the famous 'Next Generation' main theme, big on horns, at the end.

All the baloney about numerology aside, this odd-numbered 'Star Trek' is a solid entry in the series. It is not as riveting as the last, First Contact, which featured the Borg, the worst cross you could imagine between zombies and vampires, and which was very heavy on technology and space exteriors. By leaving this trend at least momentarily behind, Insurrection takes a chance on a slower pace and more character development. Two decisions that, for my three and a half dollars, make for good entertainment.

Related Star Trek: Insurrection Links:

The Battle For Paradise Has Begun.