Star Trek Insurrection
USA 1998
Reviewed by Kim Newman
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
The Ba'ku, an agrarian community who have turned away from the technology of the greater universe, retreat to a planet whose properties give them an extended lifespan. The Federation enters into an alliance with the Son'a race who intend to exploit the Ba'ku world, though it means the forcible removal of the Ba'ku. When android Data, a member of the Federation-Son'a expedition, rebels against the mission, his captain, Jean-Luc Picard, arrives to investigate.
Discovering a plot to evacuate the Ba'ku, Picard protests to Federation Admiral Dougherty and Son'a leader Ru'afo. The admiral orders Picard to keep out of the situation but Picard, now romantically involved with Ba'ku Anij, dispatches crewmen Riker and LaForge to complain to the Federation. Picard remains on the planet with crew members Worf, Dr Crusher, Counsellor Troi and Data to fight a rear-guard action against Ru'afo, who sets up an orbital device which will destroy the planet but preserve its life-extending elements.
Picard learns the Son'a are actually an offshoot of the Ba'ku and that the Federation has become mixed up in a blood feud. The Enterprise defeats Son'a ships, but Ru'afo murders Dougherty and continues his plan to despoil the planet. Picard defeats Ru'afo in single combat. The Ba'ku and the remaining Son'a reconcile, and the Enterprise departs.
Review
It's hard sometimes not to think of the Star Trek films as a two-yearly reminder of the way America feels about the world. Since the 60s, Trek has been almost an instrument of American foreign policy, with the Federation as Uncle Sam and the current race of alien villains standing in for whoever successive administrations have wanted to puff up as global baddies. Traditionally the Federation has stood in for the White House, but now, with America impatient at the inability of compromised international task forces to cope with Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, the Federation itself has become a bureaucratic mess capable of backing the wrong faction in a 'blood feud', and the locus of right-thinking values has shrunk to the U.S.S. Enterprise itself.
Though much has been made of the decision of a Trek captain to rebel against the Federation, this aspect is underdeveloped here - Picard sides with the good against the bad and sends off his sidekicks to complain to head office while the other series regulars follow his lead unquestioningly. The problem with the Federation is down to one admiral sticking by an alliance forged through deception rather than any larger flaw. The blithe assumption that once the facts are known, 'public opinion' will want to leave the Ba'ku alone rather than exploit the magical properties of their world to extend their own lifespans is tantamount to claiming that the American people would accept a decline in their standard of life if it meant fairer treatment of third-world peoples. Dougherty's justification for breaking the 'prime directive' (non-interference in alien cultures) is that the Ba'ku are not indigenous to their paradise, an equivocation which means the story isn't about questioning the assumptions of the Trek universe but splitting hairs over the application of the rules.
One of the pleasanter aspects of this Trek film is that it is the first in the series to concentrate on the sort of story they used to do on television. No major characters die (as Spock did in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ) and no significant upheaval is made in the Star Trek universe like the end of the Federation-Klingon Cold War in Star Trek 6. In effect, this is a big-budget television episode, in which the Enterprise visits a planet which has a problem and solves it. The self-contained story introduces the Ba'ku and the Son'a and takes their struggle to a conclusion very much in the simplistic spirit of series creator Gene Roddenberry. These aliens again represent a fantasy of a third-world conflict, but there's a strangely Californian feel to the schism between tree-hugging, new-age commune-dwellers and disease-ridden environmental destroyers who want to rape the planet to avoid getting old.
The Trek movie problem is finding something for all the regulars to do while building up new characters and giving the captain a substantial role. As usual, this means the supporting cast - now looking as waxily preserved as the original crew (and this in a film which uses Clive Barker tactics to condemn cosmetic surgery) - potter around in the background handling sub-plots and comic relief. Patrick Stewart is actor enough to handle romance with a humanoid alien and righteous indignation at injustice in a manner that gives the film an edge over series entries which have to rely on William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy. Stewart even resists the impulse to do a double-take when confronted by Anij with such amorous lines as, "It's 300 years since I've seen a bald man."
The quotient of scientific mumbo-jumbo is extremely high, but director Jonathan Frakes (who also plays Riker) scores with a likable combination of action and special effects, notably a high quality battle in a purple-cloud sector of outer space known as the "Briar Patch", and a nice bit of duplicity involving Trek stand-bys (the holodeck, transporter beams) as actual bits of technology rather than futuristic window-dressing. There are likable embarrassments - Picard does a mean mambo - and overworked bits of business that play only to the fans, but this is the first Trek film which might play as well, or even better, to audiences unfamiliar with the franchise.
Credits
- Producer
- Rick Berman
- Screenplay
- Michael Piller
- Story
- Rick Berman
- Michael Piller
- Based upon Star Trek created by
- Gene Roddenberry
- Director of Photography
- Matthew F. Leonetti
- Editor
- Peter E. Berger
- Production Designer
- Herman Zimmerman
- Music/Orchestra Conductor
- Jerry Goldsmith
- ©Paramount Pictures
- Production Company
- Paramount Pictures presents a Rick Berman production
- Executive Producer
- Martin Hornstein
- Co-producers
- Peter Lauritson
- Michael Piller
- Associate Producer
- Patrick Stewart
- Production Associates
- David Rossi
- Eric A. Stillwell
- Production Supervisor
- Cindy Ichikawa
- Production Office Co-ordinator
- Christine Haas
- Unit Production Manager
- Marty Hornstein
- Location Manager
- Michael Neale
- 2nd Unit Director
- Peter Lauritson
- Assistant Directors
- Jerry Fleck
- Rosemary Cremona
- Nancy P. Townsend
- David Goldfarb
- Wayne Witherspoon
- 2nd Unit:
- Albert Cho
- Mark Oppenheimer
- Script Supervisor
- Judi Brown
- Casting
- Junie Lowry-Johnson
- Ron Surma
- Voice:
- Barbara Harris
- 2nd Unit Directors of Photography
- John Leonetti
- Ivan 'Bing' Sokolsky
- Camera Operators
- David Luckenbach
- Stephen Ullman
- Visual Effects Supervisors
- Blue Sky/VIFX:
- Jim Rygiel
- Santa Barbara Studios:
- John Grower
- Visual Effects Co-ordinator
- Dexter DeLara
- Visual Effects Editor
- Tom Barrett
- Visual Effects
- Blue Sky/VIFX
- Visual Effects Producer:
- John Kilkenny
- Digital Supervisors:
- Anthony 'Max' Ivins
- Mark Rodahl
- Compositing Supervisors:
- Cheryl Budgett
- Edwin Rivera
- R&D Supervisors:
- Caleb J. Howard
- David J. Stephens
- Digital Producer:
- Lisa Goldberg
- Visual Effects Production Co-ordinator:
- Sara DeCesare
- Inferno Artists:
- John Heller
- Hyun Sean Lee
- Anthony Mabin
- Caesar Romero
- Kenneth Au
- Christopher D. Bergman
- Digital Compositors:
- Dennis Bennett
- Jennifer Ann Howard
- Randy Brown
- Christopher Ivins
- Rafael F. Colón
- Garrett E. Lam
- Betsy Cox
- James Do Young Lee
- Gregory Elwood
- Liz Lord
- David Gutman
- Lisa L. Pollard
- Uel Hormann
- Jonathan B. Robinson
- Gloria de los Santos-Geary
- 3D Animators:
- Kevin Adunio Bertazzon
- Jeff Lin
- Brian C. Davis
- Ha Ngan Thi Roda
- Mark E.A. de Sousa
- Erik Lee
- Tomàs Rosenfeldt
- Brian Samuels
- Andy Gauvreau
- Michael La Fave
- Geoff 'Hoaf' Harvey
- David Santiago
- Matthew Hausman
- Todd Wilbur
- Robert D. Thompson
- Digital Effects:
- Bela Brozsek
- Rick Sander
- Jonathan Wood
- Tsz 'Gee' Yeung
- 3D Modeller:
- Robert Rioux
- Art Department Supervisor:
- Alison Yerxa
- Digital Effects Painter:
- Meg Freeman
- Matte Painter:
- Travis Price
- Texture Painters:
- Jennifer Jung Kim
- David Palmer
- Roto:
- Robert Harders
- Marian Rudnyk
- Bill Schaeffer
- Avid Editor:
- Gus Duron
- Visual Effects Editor:
- Zeke Morales
- Head of Physical Production:
- Gary Nolin
- Physical Production Technologist:
- Paul Johnson
- Miniature Effects Supervisor:
- Carlyle Livingston
- Model Shop Foreperson:
- Patrick Denver
- Camera Department Co-ordinator:
- Dave Swett
- Digital Record Out Manager:
- Gary George
- Digital Record Operators:
- Nathan Eriksen
- David Petterson
- John Sanders
- Video Engineer:
- Greg Kozikowski
- Visual Effects
- Blue Sky/VIFX East
- Digital Animation Supervisor:
- Mark Baldo
- Digital Effects
- Supervisor:
- Mitch Kopelman
- Senior Animator:
- Doug Dooley
- Modellers/Creatures Designers:
- Shaun Cusick
- Mike DeFeo
- Senior Lighting Effects Specialist:
- Dave Walvoord
- Lighting Effects Specialist:
- Jesse Hollander
- Digital Effects Producer:
- Christopher Scollard
- Digital Effects Co-ordinator:
- Leslie Schor
- Senior Staff:
- Richard Hollander
- Mark A. Brown
- Lee Berger
- Deborah Giarratana
- Special Visual Effects
- Santa Barbara Studios
- Visual Effects Producer:
- Bruce Jones
- Art Director:
- Richard Kriegler
- Animation Supervisor:
- James Satoru Straus
- CGI Supervisors:
- Ron Moreland
- Mark Wendell
- Digital Effects Producer:
- Diane Holland
- Senior Technical Supervisor:
- Scott Liedtka
- 3D Digital Artists:
- Michael Parks
- Ryan Todd
- Kelly Wilcox
- Virginia Bowman
- Mark Fattibene
- Andrew Harris
- Darren Lurie
- David J. Witters
- Lila Vesely
- Scott Kilburn
- Julie Jaros
- Compositing Supervisor:
- Hudson Shock
- Compositor:
- Lance Wilhoite
- Software Development:
- Matt Rhodes
- Modelling:
- Eric Saindon
- Daniel Hornick
- 2D Digital Artists:
- Tom DeWalt
- Stephanie McCann
- Ryan Mills
- Dragisa Trifkovic
- Oliver Lloyd
- Storyboards:
- Peter Lloyd
- Visual Effects Editor:
- Alison Learned
- Pyrotechnic Effects
- O'Connor FX
- Pyrotechnic Effects Photography
- The Chandler Group
- Pyrotechnic Miniatures
- Hunter/Gratzner Industries, Inc
- Additional 2D/3D Graphics
- Fulcrum Studios LLC
- Software Support
- Pixar Animation Studios
- Alias/Wavefront Technologies
- Mark Sylvester
- Visual Effects
- POP Film
- POP Animation
- Visual Effects Supervisor:
- David Sosalla
- Digital Effects Producer:
- Melissa Brockman
- CG Producer:
- Carl Seibert
- Compositors:
- David Crawford
- Ken Littleton
- Jennifer German
- Brandon McNaughton
- Brian Hanable
- Bob Wiatr
- Lawrence Littleton
- Technical Supervisor:
- Barry Robertson
- Digital Optical Supervisor:
- Greg Kimble
- Visual Effects Editor:
- Tommy Dorsett
- Production Co-ordinator:
- Severine Kelley
- Special Effects
- Co-ordinator:
- Terry Frazee
- Foreperson:
- Eugene Crum
- Model Makers
- Harrison Craig
- Gregory Jein
- Richard Slifka
- Additional Editing
- Jeff W. Canavan
- Art Director
- Ron Wilkinson
- Set Designers
- Sharon Davis
- Alan Kaye
- Nancy Mickelberry
- Christopher S. Nushawg
- Set Decorator
- John Dwyer
- Production Illustrators
- John Eaves
- Edwin Natividad
- Scenic Art Supervisor
- Michael Okuda
- Scenic Artist/Video Supervisor
- Denise Lynn Okuda
- Scenic Artists
- Geoffrey T. Mandel
- Alan Kobayashi
- James Vanover
- Doug Drexler
- Anthony Fredickson
- Kurt Hanson
- Storyboard Artist
- Ray Harvie
- Costume Designer
- Sanja Milkovic Hays
- Starfleet Uniforms Design
- Robert Blackman
- Costume Supervisor
- Garet Reilly
- Make-up Designer/Supervisor
- Michael Westmore
- Supervising Hair Stylist
- Yolanda Toussieng
- Main Titles Designer
- Phill Norman
- Titles/Additional Opticals
- Pacific Title/Mirage
- Cinema Research Corporation
- Orchestrations
- Alexander Courage
- Music Editor
- Supervisor:
- Ken Hall
- Music Editors
- Darrell Hall
- Preview:
- Andrew Silver
- Music Recordist/Mixer
- Bruce Botnick
- Soundtrack
- theme from "Star Trek The Motion Picture" by Jerry Goldsmith; theme from "Star Trek" TV series by Alexander Courage; "Fourth Movement: Finale - Vivace" from "String Quartet in D Major", Opus 64, No. 5, "The Lark" by Franz J. Haydn, performed by Caspar da Salo Quartet; "Fourth Movement: Allegro vivo assai" from "String Quartet in B-Flat", Opus 10, No. 3, "The Hunt" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; "A British Tar" from "H.M.S. Pinafore" by W.S. Gilbert, A.S. Sullivan; "First Movement: Grave" from "Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Opus 13, "Pathetique" by Ludwig van Beethoven, piano performed by Jeno Jando; "Makeover Mambo" by Alan Silvestri
- Additional Sound Design
- Michael McDonough
- Shaun Varney
- Sound Mixer
- Thomas Causey
- Re-recording Mixers
- Robert J. Litt
- Elliot Tyson
- Michael Herbick
- Recordists
- Jack Keller
- Marsha Sorce
- Supervising Sound Editors
- James W. Wolvington
- Cameron Frankley
- Supervising Dialogue Editor
- Michael Szakmeister
- Dialogue Editors
- Richard Corwin
- Susan Kurtz
- Jeffrey R. Payne
- Sound Effects Editors
- Jeff Clark
- Ron Eng
- Terri Fiyalko
- ADR
- Recordist:
- Dave McDonald
- Mixer:
- Bob Baron
- Supervising Editor:
- Robert Ulrich
- Editors:
- Kerry Dean Williams
- Zack Davis
- Foley
- Artists:
- Sarah Monat
- Robin Harlan
- Catherine Harper
- Mixer:
- Randy K. Singer
- Supervising Editor:
- Thomas Small
- Editors:
- Tammy Fearing
- Christopher Flick
- Technical Consultants
- Michael Okuda
- Andre Bormanis
- Aerial Co-ordinators
- David Gibbs
- Glenn Smith
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Rick Avery
- Animals
- Gentle Jungle
- Animal Trainers
- Carol Sonheim
- Steve Hanna
- Cast
- Patrick Stewart
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- Jonathan Frakes
- Commander William Riker
- Brent Spiner
- Lt Commander Data
- LeVar Burton
- Lt Commander Geordi LaForge
- Michael Dorn
- Lt Commander Worf
- Gates McFadden
- Dr Beverly Crusher
- Marina Sirtis
- Counsellor Deanna Troi
- F. Murray Abraham
- Ru'afo
- Donna Murphy
- Anij
- Anthony Zerbe
- Admiral Dougherty
- Gregg Henry
- Gallatin
- Daniel Hugh-Kelly
- Sojef
- Michael Welch
- Artim
- Mark Deakins
- Tournel
- Stephanie Niznik
- Perim
- Michael Horton
- Lieutenant Daniels
- Bruce French
- Son'a officer 1
- Breon Gorman
- Lieutenant Curtis
- John Hostetter
- Bolian officer
- Rick Worthy
- Elloran officer 1
- Larry Anderson
- Tarlac officer
- D. Elliot Woods
- Starfleet officer
- Jennifer Tung
- female ensign
- Raye Birk
- Son'a doctor
- Peggy Miley
- Regent Cuzar
Lee Arnone-Briggs- librarian
- Claudette Nevins
- Son'a officer 2
- Max Grodenchik
- alien ensign
- Greg Poland
- Elloran officer 2
- Kenneth Lane Edwards
- ensign
- Joseph Ruskin
- Son'a officer 3
- Zachary Williams
- Ba'ku child
McKenzie Westmore- Ba'ku woman
- Phillip Glasser
- young Ru'afo
- Certificate
- PG
- Distributor
- United International Pictures (UK) Ltd
- 9,271 feet
- 103 minutes 1 second
- Dolby/Digital DTS sound/SDDS
- Colour by
- DeLuxe
- Anamorphic [Panavision]