Insurrection felt like a weak NG episode. It is too bad that a NG movie budget was wasted on this script. I would have rather seen one more NG movie after Nemesis.
"Nemesis" never had high stakes? Earth was going to be wiped out. Data got killed. The stakes of "Insurrection" really did play like a mid-season drama that wouldn't even qualify for a season finale during TNG. Basically the equivalent of a species-of-the-week that would never get revisited again.
I've been reading my brother's Star Trek Communication magazines during that era and Michael Piller and Rick Berman had some insightful interviews about the follow up to FC. In the Piller interview he mentioned the movie was in the vein of the book "The Heart of Darkness" but the movie was nothing but. It would be interesting to see a rogue Starfleet person abandoning his principles for a whole new way of life which in return turns that person insane, but the movie doesn't go there... well maybe it does since it's clear Picard and crew are 100% wrong in aiding the Ba'ku, and should've been considered renegades after this debacle. What a strange movie?
I've been wanting to rewatch Insurrection for a while now, but couldn't. I realized I was going to watch a movie that is mediocere at best for fun some moments. Same with Nemesis. Both movies have concepts that are highly interesting, executed in the worst ways. Oddly enough, I do still feel that both movies have a high Star Trek feeling to it, if you know what I mean. But maybe that's just me.
Insurrection was even weaker than Nemesis IMO. With every rewatch it's getting even weaker. The Firm Boobs talk was odd. And this is my favorite scene in an otherwise forgettable movie. I even prefer Star Trek V.
Remember at that time when there were all rumours that Star Trek IX was going Heart of Darkness (with a Starfleet Admiral or Data 'going Kurtz') I had only recently discovered and was pretty obsessed with Apocalypse Now (buying the VHS, soundtrack cd, choppers at sunset poster)and was actually studying Heart of Darkness as part of my course/degree so the thought of Trek doing its version of that was very exciting. it also made sense that Patrick Stewart would be up for Trek adapting classic highbrow literature stuff (drawing comparisons to Moby Dick-TWOK/FC, Hamlet-TUC). but anyone whose read MPillars making of book can see how the original HOD pitch/plot got slowly eroded mainly as PStew of all people wanted to lighten it up after the dourness of Gen/FC
From what I recall Patrick Stewart hated the Piller's first draft of Insurrection. He wanted it to be lighter. Brent Spiner and Piller also clashed during the filming. Spiner wanted Piller to rewrite a scene so Data's dialogue would be switched with that of another character's but Piller flatly refused. The behind the scenes creative differences are more interesting than the film.
I'm not sure. Stewart's complaints are well documented and Spiner's anecdote comes from the Michael Piller documentary on the TNG season 3 bluray. The original idea for Insurrection could have been the basis for a cool movie. Before Patrick Stewart demanded changes, Rick Berman has issues with the original story. http://theomegasector.com/index.php...nd-the-first-draft-of-star-trek-insurrection/ Data isn't shoehorned in, there are no creepy Son'a nor cliched corrupt Admirals. The story sounds simpler and more thematic.
It certainly had its flaws, but of all the worlds and people of Trek, the Baku villiage is the place I’d most like to be.
Earth was going to be wiped out in TMP, TVH, and FC. Another "The Fate of Earth Hangs in the Balance!!!" is not high stakes when you know there's no chance TPTB will actually wipe out Earth. Data getting killed was foreshadowed with the discovery of B4 and then became a lame retread of Spock's death.
Supposedly, but with the bad guy being (younger!) Evil Twin (heck, TWO Evil Twins!) it was pretty hard to take seriously. Re: the Ba'ku being too idealized, I thought it was initially nice that Picard and Anij had a strong mutual respect while having very different worldviews but then later on it seemed too much like Picard was kind of abandoning his own, very much admiring hers more, and the romance also felt at least excessive, it would have been a lot better if there had just been more of the mutual respect.
I was responding to the specific I idea that "Nemesis" had no stakes. I can't stand NEM. They're both terrible movies, even though I have much fondness for TNG.
Insurrection is the annoying "easy listening" song of the TNG Movies. The one you hear in the store. You know, the one that was on the Top 40 in 1972. Nemesis is that annoying nu-metal song where the "singer" keeps screaming and you can't understand a single EXXXXX-TREEEEEEEM!!!!!! thing he's yelling over blaring guitars that sound more like chainsaws. "YEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "DISTOOOOOORTED!!!!!!!!! Dis-dis-DISTOOOORTED!!!!!!" "EXTREME!!!!!!!"
What do they have in common other than a green planet setting?? Insurrection is easily the worst Trek film. I'm not sure what they were thinking.