To many fans, April 5 is known as First Contact Day. A day celebrated due to the history and significance established in Star Trek: First Contact.
Fans everywhere on April 5 watch Star Trek: First Contact as a way to celebrate what many consider to be one of, if not the best Star Trek film ever made. Why the 5th of April? Well because in First Contact, that’s the day the Vulcans first landed on Earth after a successful test flight of humanity’s first warp-capable ship.
Sure, there are worthy contenders to that throne, and it’s subjective of course. For me, however, I’m in the camp that thinks First Contact was the best. This is coming from a guy who never watched Star Trek: The Next Generation as a kid. When I first saw it, it was 1998 and it was premiering on HBO. I had just gotten into Voyager, the first series I ever watched and fell in love with everything about this film.
As an adult, nostalgia doesn’t hold up for me. I’ve ruined many a memory re-watching films or shows that I once thought were good, only to find out they didn’t hold up. Some shows, movies, and even music, however, got even better as I aged. Partly because I saw the nuances that a kid would miss, while also benefiting from a more broad understanding of the world around me.
With First Contact, the parallels between Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Ahab are so clear. As a kid, I didn’t notice or care, I just liked the “space-zombies”. As an adult, however, seeing Picard constantly suppress his morality due to his rage and anger towards the Borg is not just so layered but so relatable. How many people can honestly say that they were never swimming in anger at one point in their life? It’s a very real portrayal of hatred. Something everyone can relate to.
The dynamics between Picard and the crew were great, and the addition of Lilly and Zefram Cochrane was amazing. Especially Lilly. “You broke your little ships…”
One could argue that Geordi and William Riker were a little lost in the shuffle, but watching Cochran and Donna Troy drinking together was cinematic perfection.
It’s hard for me to judge this movie fairly, I don’t see any of its flaws. There are some, I’m sure, but God save me if there are don’t tell me. Let me live in this blissful ignorance.
Happy First Contact Day everyone.