Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19348 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-01
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Star Trek fans were decidedly mixed in their reactions to this, the ninth big-screen feature in Paramount's lucrative Trek franchise, but die-hard loyalists will appreciate the way this Next Generation adventure rekindles the spirit of the original Star Trek TV series while combining a tolerable dose of New-Agey philosophy with a lighthearted plot for the TNG cast. This time out, Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his executive crew must transport to a Shangri-la-like planet to see why their android crewmate Data (Brent Spiner) has run amuck in a village full of peaceful Ba'ku artisans who--thanks to their planet's "metaphasic radiation"--haven't aged in 309 years.

It turns out there's a conspiracy afoot, masterminded by the devious, gruesomely aged Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham, hamming it up under makeup resembling a cosmetic surgeon's worst nightmare), who's in cahoots with a renegade Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe, in one of his final screen roles). They covet the fountain-of-youth power of the Ba'ku planet, but because their takeover plan violates Starfleet's Prime Directive of noninterference, it's up to Picard and crew to stop the scheme. Along the way, they all benefit from the metaphasic effect, which manifests itself as Worf's puberty (visible as a conspicuous case of Klingon acne), Picard's youthful romance with a Ba'ku woman (the lovely Donna Murphy), the touching though temporary return of Geordi's natural eyesight, and a moment when Troi asks Dr. Crusher if she's noticed that her "boobs are firming up." Some fans scoffed at these humourous asides, but they're what make this Trek film as entertaining as it is slightly disappointing. Without the laughs (including Data's rousing excerpt from Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore), this is a pretty routine entry in the franchise, with no real surprises, a number of plot holes, and the overall appearance of a big-budget TV episode. As costar and director, Jonathan Frakes proves a capable carrier of the Star Trek flame--and it's nice to see women in their 40s portrayed as smart and sexy--but while this is surely an adequate Trek adventure, it doesn't quite rank with the best in the series. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
The first of the nine STAR TREK films to feature largely computer-generated special effects and is again directed by Number One, Jonathan Frakes. While on a survey mission, Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise stumble on a conspiracy originating high up the Starfleet chain of command that involves a distressing plan of ethnic cleansing. On a remote planet, a small, peaceful race of human-like beings called the Ba'ku seems to be immune to the ravages of ageing. Head bad-guy F. Murray Abraham leads another race for which exposure the planet's radiation is the only cure for an advanced state of degeneration, and, using clandestine Starfleet connections, arranges to wipe out the Ba'ku unless the Enterprise has anything to say about it.

Customer Reviews

Worthy, fun, even exciting - just not Top Trek.
Star Trek fans and other viewers have long derided this film for what it did not do. It did not follow on from the tension and excitement in First Contact, and it did not on the other hand live up to the pre-film hype that it would return to the humour of Star Trek IV.
However, what it did do, with benefit of hindsight, is in fact be one of the Next Generation movies that does live up to Roddenberry's ideal - there is a real theme and message here that Roddenberry would have been happy to put his name to.
The story starts when Data, involved in a duck-blind observation of the Ba'ku, a peaceful 'new-age-y' sort of race, goes apparently rogue. Picard and crew come to investigate, only to find that the planet may have the secret to eternal youth, and the observers have more than observing in mind - they plan the mass eviction of the Ba'ku. Picard is placed in a position of choosing between principle and his career, living out the moral centre ideal that Roddenberry loved so much.
There are elements of humour, some welcome fan appreciated vignettes, such as Geordi having a chance to see, Riker and Troi becoming close again, and the story moves along at a respectable pace. Set design is impressive, and the movie benefits from more on-location sets than any other Next Generation movie, giving it a unique identity. However, the darker edge IS missed, and while good, the movie never quite reaches the heights of some of its predecessors, or explores the themes quite as much as you would want it to.
So this particular disc will live or die on the extras - and they are a worthy set. Sadly, there is no director's commentary by Frakes, but there is a text commentary for the Trek Trivia inclined, by Michael and Denise Okuda. On the second disc there are small chunk sized featurettes on production, special effects and the Star Trek Universe, as well as deleted scenes and archive photos and storyboards. The deleted scenes are of interest, but were rightfully dispensed with to maintain pace. The featurettes are often PR fluff, but quality fluff that genually educates on special effects in particular. One standout is the interview with the writer Michael Piller who is surprisingly candid about the end script, and gives some fascinating insight into what the script evolved from - the earlier drafts which were more of a 'Heart of Darkness' story, must have been fascinating!
All in all, if you don't have it, then this is definitely the one to get. If you have it already then you probably have all you need to have to form your own opinion of the movie.
If you have not seen the movie - don't be put of by the negative talk - sure, this is no Wrath of Khan, but it is probably (arguably!) the second best of the Next Generation movies.

good effort
After the excitement and action of First Contact, things slowed down a bit for this next film in the star trek series, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. there's a little more time for some charachter development,humor and some wonderful plot developments (Riker and troi rekindelling their romance for instance). it does drag a bit at times, but the pace picks up nicely in the second half to an exciting climax.

the film centers aroung picard defying starfleet orders to prevent 600 people from being uprooted from their planet. i do feel more could have been made of this. Kirk did a similar thing in Star Trek III and ended up stealing the enterprise, going to a forbidden planet and ultimately blowing the ship up. THAT'S how you disobey orders. picard on the other hand, merely hangs around when told to return to earth,makes a nuisance of himself and ends up arguing with an admiral - not quite in the same league.

Despite this there is still plenty to keep audiances entertained.

i was disappointed that there was no director's commentry. Jonathan Frakes came across really well on the commentery to First Contact, as genuinely nice guy who enjoys his flimaking, so i felt a little let down by the absence of any commentry here. he does make up for it in the movie, however, by showing us the best way to have a shave (the lucky git!!!).

All in all, a solid addition to the series and well worth adding to your collection.

An uninspiring film
This is the third film made by the Next Generation Enterprise crew and unfortunately, in my view, it is the worst of all of their films. Insurrection begins with Data going haywire while serving with a federation team observing a primitive culture on an isolated planet and when the crew of the Enterprise investigate they uncover secrets that make them question the actions of the Federation.

There is nothing essentially wrong with this film, it is well made and acted with some good CGI and an interesting, if somewhat dull, script with some good twists. The problem is that it just doesn't excite as much as some of the other films and coming after the truly great film First Contact only exasperates the problem. There are some attempts to inject some excitement into the proceedings and some of the ship-to-ship combat in the film is good but this is unfortunately few and far between. In the end everything conspires to make Insurrection feel like an extended but average episode of The Next Generation series and lacks the cinematic feel of the many of the other Trek films.