10 Things You Learn Revisiting Star Trek: First Contact For First Contact Day

10. Why Is It So Good?

After the somewhat disappointing Star Trek Generations, the producers knew that they had to come back with something truly special if this new film series was to succeed. They had now lost the built in fanbase that the Original Series crew brought with them. While Generations was enough of a box office success to guarantee a sequel, franchise victory was far from a done deal.

What had worked in the past was a film that was a sequel to an episode. The Wrath of Khan was a sequel to Space Seed, from the Original Series. The decision was made to create a sequel to the Best of Both Worlds, which was and remains one of the Next Generations best stories.

This would offer Patrick Stewart the chance to show some of his best work to date as he deals with PTSD from his time in the collective. The plot was written to race while still keeping the character moments that Trek was used to. The Borg were always the baddies that would benefit the most from a big screen adaptation, allowing the audience to truly feel the scale of their massive ship and destructive power.

On top of the established excellent effects and character work, the film succeeds in introducing new protagonists to root for. Lily Sloane is one of the best additions to the series, bringing her no nonsense attitude to slap Jean Luc in the face with reality. Alfre Woodard owns the screen with every second. This was a film unlike the others. This one came to play.