First Contact, eighth part of the first Star Trek film series, was the first to feature exclusively characters of The Next Generation. Plot again uses time travel subplot to bring crew of USS Enterprise, but this time in order to defeat the most iconic villains of The Next Generation - Borg. Unlike previous time travels that brought protagonists to Earth in 20th Century, this one is set in 21st Century, and shows Earth slowly recovering from nuclear disaster while eccentric inventor Zefram Cochrane (played by James Cromwell) experiments with the first warp drive. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, First Contact, however, brings more focus to action, mainly in the scenes of battle for control of USS Enterprise, that are rather dark and more reminiscent of James Cameron's Aliens than Roddenberry's show. Despite few misplaced plot elements, like the seductive Borg Queen played by Alice Kriege, First Contact functions well and represents the most succesful of all TNG films.
RATING: 7/10