My Review of Insurrection

[sonak]

Hmm, well since several movies are being mentioned here I'll chip in with MO.

In general, TNG movies were severely hurt by Paramount's complete lack of faith in TNG being a successful movie franchise, and therefore only providing shoestring budgets for the TNG films. (Fuck you Paramount! ) But they did have faith in the JJ reboot and forked over the cash for that one, and look how it turned out (singlehandedly resurrecting the Star Trek name, albeit as a different being to the original).

Money problems aside though, IMO the biggest problems with Insurrection are the following:

1. The whole story is booooooooring! The premise is that Picard and crew are rebelling against the Federation to save people that need their help. This severely falls flat on its face when we find out that these people not only *don't* need to be saved, but also don't *want* to be saved. They come across as arrogant assholes who are not worthy of the sacrifice the Enterprise crew is making for them.

So this causes the problem that you don't care about their plight, and you don't care if Picard and crew are successful in their quest, so the whole thing is dreadfully boring to watch, because you as the viewer are not engaged in the story at all.

It doesn't help that due to the shoe string budget, all they can do for 70% of the movie is run across California hills and cave sets.

2. The lameness of the jokes. I have no idea who's idea was it to write boob and zit jokes and actually think they are funny. Didn't they have test audiences to gauge the reactions? I have to say they probably didn't, and thought their shit didn't stink.

3. Gimmicks like the joystick. Shit that was a cringe inducing moment. What were they thinking?

A typical audience would think of this movie as simply mediocre, and nothing special at all.

How the movie's reputation managed to go from that to being "one of the worst movies in the entire franchise" is something of a mystery.

It wasn't 'epic', therefore it ends up on the crap list. Just 'good' is good enough no more it seems.

Lack of being 'epic' had nothing to do with why I dislike the movie. I've always said the tag line for the film should be "Yuppies battle eminent domain!"

Picard's "smug" factor is set on thirteen on a scale of one to ten. We have him using women and children as human shields. The pretty white people are the downtrodden and those who aren't so pretty are "evil" including Dougherty.

From my perspective, Insurrection is the most shallow entry of the movie series and makes "message" episodes like "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" look subtle in comparison. YMMV.

thumbs up to both of these

 

[T'Girl]

Generations is really the only Trek movie I find unwatchable.

It has its moments but falls apart when Picard enters the Nexus.

Quite.

I think more so when Picard exits the Nexus. When he appeared back in reality.

He could have "arrived" on the planet prior to Soren aboard the bird of prey, disabled/destroyed the missile at his leisure. This also would have (unbeknownst to Picard) saved Kirk's life.

Arrived aboard the Enterprise as Soren beamed over from the observatory, had a security team escort Soren to sickbay, then the brig.

Arrived back prior to the time of the fire that killed his brother and nephew, communicated to preventing their deaths and prevented the Romulan attack upon the observatory saving the life's there and prevented the destruction of that star (and the observatory) and captured Soren too.

 

[Chrisisall]

He could have left at such a time as to "arrive" on the planet prior to Soren, disabled/destroyed the missile at his leisure. This also would have (unbeknownst to Picard) saved Kirk's life.

Arrived aboard the Enterprise as the survivors from the observatory were coming aboard, had a security team escort Soren to the brig.

Arrived back prior to the time of the fire that killed his brother and nephew, communicated to preventing their deaths and captured Soren too.

SO many problems with that infernal movie.

 

[sonak]

It has its moments but falls apart when Picard enters the Nexus.

Quite.

I think more so when Picard exits the Nexus. When he appeared back in reality.

He could have "arrived" on the planet prior to Soren aboard the bird of prey, disabled/destroyed the missile at his leisure. This also would have (unbeknownst to Picard) saved Kirk's life.

Arrived aboard the Enterprise as Soren beamed over from the observatory, had a security team escort Soren to sickbay, then the brig.

Arrived back prior to the time of the fire that killed his brother and nephew, communicated to preventing their deaths and prevented the Romulan attack upon the observatory saving the life's there and prevented the destruction of that star (and the observatory) and captured Soren too.

having Picard walk into Ten-Forward and arrest Soran would have made a boring end to the movie. It's "rule of drama" people. Why didn't the Borg in FC travel back in time while in the Delta Quadrant and THEN try to assimilate Earth when there'd be no advanced opposition?


And yet somehow, fans forgive FC for that, yet they endlessly harp on GEN for doing the same thing.

 

[Marsden]

It has its moments but falls apart when Picard enters the Nexus.

Quite.

I think more so when Picard exits the Nexus. When he appeared back in reality.

He could have "arrived" on the planet prior to Soren aboard the bird of prey, disabled/destroyed the missile at his leisure. This also would have (unbeknownst to Picard) saved Kirk's life.

Arrived aboard the Enterprise as Soren beamed over from the observatory, had a security team escort Soren to sickbay, then the brig.

Arrived back prior to the time of the fire that killed his brother and nephew, communicated to preventing their deaths and prevented the Romulan attack upon the observatory saving the life's there and prevented the destruction of that star (and the observatory) and captured Soren too.

I like the theory the Picard never left the Nexus because he got what he wanted most, Kirk is dead.

 

[GalaxyX]

Quite.

I think more so when Picard exits the Nexus. When he appeared back in reality.

He could have "arrived" on the planet prior to Soren aboard the bird of prey, disabled/destroyed the missile at his leisure. This also would have (unbeknownst to Picard) saved Kirk's life.

Arrived aboard the Enterprise as Soren beamed over from the observatory, had a security team escort Soren to sickbay, then the brig.

Arrived back prior to the time of the fire that killed his brother and nephew, communicated to preventing their deaths and prevented the Romulan attack upon the observatory saving the life's there and prevented the destruction of that star (and the observatory) and captured Soren too.

having Picard walk into Ten-Forward and arrest Soran would have made a boring end to the movie. It's "rule of drama" people. Why didn't the Borg in FC travel back in time while in the Delta Quadrant and THEN try to assimilate Earth when there'd be no advanced opposition?


And yet somehow, fans forgive FC for that, yet they endlessly harp on GEN for doing the same thing.

I have no problem with letting it slide for both movies. My problem with GEN is that the whole nexus thing was horribly contrived to get Picard to meet Kirk and get his help to fight Soran. (all of this because they didn't want to do a time travel plot, which they ended doing in the very next movie )

It wasn't even epic. It was 3 old guys fighting. The whole scene reminded me of The Simpsons when Nelson is picking on Bart because Homer won't give Mr. Burns his teddy bear back, so Mr. Burns stops all the beer imports into the city:

Nelson: My old man can't get a beer because his old man won't give a bear to another old man! Let's get him!
Jimbo: Wait, why are we getting him?
Martin: Look, fellows. The first snapdragon of the season.
Nelson: Nevermind. Let's get him!

 

[sonak]

I think more so when Picard exits the Nexus. When he appeared back in reality.

He could have "arrived" on the planet prior to Soren aboard the bird of prey, disabled/destroyed the missile at his leisure. This also would have (unbeknownst to Picard) saved Kirk's life.

Arrived aboard the Enterprise as Soren beamed over from the observatory, had a security team escort Soren to sickbay, then the brig.

Arrived back prior to the time of the fire that killed his brother and nephew, communicated to preventing their deaths and prevented the Romulan attack upon the observatory saving the life's there and prevented the destruction of that star (and the observatory) and captured Soren too.

having Picard walk into Ten-Forward and arrest Soran would have made a boring end to the movie. It's "rule of drama" people. Why didn't the Borg in FC travel back in time while in the Delta Quadrant and THEN try to assimilate Earth when there'd be no advanced opposition?


And yet somehow, fans forgive FC for that, yet they endlessly harp on GEN for doing the same thing.

I have no problem with letting it slide for both movies. My problem with GEN is that the whole nexus thing was horribly contrived to get Picard to meet Kirk and get his help to fight Soran. (all of this because they didn't want to do a time travel plot, which they ended doing in the very next movie )

It wasn't even epic. It was 3 old guys fighting. The whole scene reminded me of The Simpsons when Nelson is picking on Bart because Homer won't give Mr. Burns his teddy bear back, so Mr. Burns stops all the beer imports into the city:

Nelson: My old man can't get a beer because his old man won't give a bear to another old man! Let's get him!
Jimbo: Wait, why are we getting him?
Martin: Look, fellows. The first snapdragon of the season.
Nelson: Nevermind. Let's get him!

it was contrived yes, but once you rule out time travel, it's either plot contrivance or a really old Kirk meets up with Picard in the TNG era as your options.

 

[Marsden]

it was contrived yes, but once you rule out time travel, it's either plot contrivance or a really old Kirk meets up with Picard in the TNG era as your options.

A much simpler contrivance would be for Kirk to be frozen somehow and revived. I think the Nexus was an idea to hard for them to make into a good idea. A random energy ribbon that causes disruption is a good idea. How about the Enterprise D discovers the ribbon about to threaten a colony in it's path, Veridan 3 if you like, and when Data's plan to dissapate the ribbon works they discover a body that was preserved and brought aboard, it's Captain America er no it's Captain Kirk! He's revived with Dr. Crusher's 24th century medical ability and the strange properties of the ribbon. After a short while, Data detects that the disruption of the ribbon is causing a different type of phenomena which is causing a possible disruption of the fabric of space which will cause a much worse, destructive decomposition of the space in the sector itself. Because Capt. Kirk is saturated in the energy of the ribbon, a way to prevent the formation of the new event is for him to enter it, but it will kill him. The crew of the D struggle valiantly to resolve this by any other means at their disposal, but Kirk resolves to solve this himself when efforts fail, he knocks out everyone but Data who assists him into a shuttle which he then flies into the forming disruption, thus ending the event and saving all the planets in that quadrant. The D holds a ceremony honoring his sacrifice and we go on our way.

 

[GalaxyX]

it was contrived yes, but once you rule out time travel, it's either plot contrivance or a really old Kirk meets up with Picard in the TNG era as your options.

A much simpler contrivance would be for Kirk to be frozen somehow and revived. I think the Nexus was an idea to hard for them to make into a good idea. A random energy ribbon that causes disruption is a good idea. How about the Enterprise D discovers the ribbon about to threaten a colony in it's path, Veridan 3 if you like, and when Data's plan to dissapate the ribbon works they discover a body that was preserved and brought aboard, it's Captain America er no it's Captain Kirk! He's revived with Dr. Crusher's 24th century medical ability and the strange properties of the ribbon. After a short while, Data detects that the disruption of the ribbon is causing a different type of phenomena which is causing a possible disruption of the fabric of space which will cause a much worse, destructive decomposition of the space in the sector itself. Because Capt. Kirk is saturated in the energy of the ribbon, a way to prevent the formation of the new event is for him to enter it, but it will kill him. The crew of the D struggle valiantly to resolve this by any other means at their disposal, but Kirk resolves to solve this himself when efforts fail, he knocks out everyone but Data who assists him into a shuttle which he then flies into the forming disruption, thus ending the event and saving all the planets in that quadrant. The D holds a ceremony honoring his sacrifice and we go on our way.

I could have lived with that.

I would have prefered to have the 2 Enterprises meet, complete with crews and everything. They could have worked together to solve some type of issue spanning their respective centuries. It wouldn't be so hard to come up with something if they sat down and thought about it for a bit.