What you did or didn't like about FC....

[GalaxyX]

As for Cochrane, the version in FC looked like a bum to me, not as a great scientist capable of coming up with radical technology like a warp drive, all on his own. They could have portrayed a depressed Cochrane without making him look like a complete imbecil.

Initially they asked Tom Hanks to play Cochrane. I guess that would have made for a whole different portrayal of the character.

What happened? Tom Hanks would have been 10 times better as Zefram Cochrane!!! He would have played him as a respectable scientist instead of some hobo with a rocket.

 

[Captain Rob]

My cents on the Borg walking around on the exterior of the Enterprise-E.
When we first see the Borg in TNG we see that they have personal shields. When I first saw First Contact I assumed that the shields enabled them to operate safely in space. I just hope that the Borg that Worf flung out into space burned up reentering Earth's atmosphere and isn't floating around somewhere waiting to pop up in another movie.

 

[Too Much Fun]

What happened? Tom Hanks would have been 10 times better as Zefram Cochrane!!! He would have played him as a respectable scientist instead of some hobo with a rocket.

Bad timing is all. The guy has directed exactly one movie and it just happened to be made the same year as "Star Trek: First Contact". Hanks would have been interesting in the role, but I'm happy with what we got. I worry that putting such a big star in a Star Trek movie would draw attention away from everything else in it and people would just think of it as a vehicle for that star, as the story is shaped around him instead of what feels natural.

Maybe the writers would have pressure to make the movie fit more with the kinds of movies people are used to liking Hanks in, instead of an organic story that nicely showcases other actors/characters. It's like Richard Pryor being stuck in a Superman movie. Eddie Murphy in "Star Trek IV" could have been disastrous too, turning it more into the kind of comedy that doesn't really fit with the Star Trek universe (although I love other Murphy comedies of the 80s).

I know Hanks is a Star Trek fan, but it still sounds like a bit of stunt casting. I think in any more than a cameo his presence might be too distracting. Plus, I love what James Cromwell did with the role, he is an excellent actor in his own right, and it was nice how this was like a late career renaissance for him, happening around the same time as "Babe" and "L.A. Confidential".