Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
90%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
8 wins & 21 nominations total
While fans of the series will surely appreciate it, First Contact is exciting, engaging, and visually appealing enough to entertain Star Trek novices.
Star Trek: First Contact is the perfect movie for anyone who wants to boldly go where no one has gone before, but also wants to be thoroughly entertained. With a sleek and confident style, this movie stands proud and apart from its predecessors, making it accessible even to those who are not familiar with the Trek universe. The story is elegant and exciting, enhanced by the sure direction of Jonathan Frakes, who also plays Commander William Riker. And let’s not forget the Borg, one of the franchise’s greatest antagonists, who make for a thrilling and unforgettable adventure. So, whether you’re a die-hard Trekkie or just looking for a fun sci-fi flick, First Contact is highly recommended.
Production Company(ies)
Kurosawa Production Co., Sammy Toho Company,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Titan Missile Museum – 1580 W. Duval Mine Road, Green Valley, Arizona, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some sci-fi adventure violence
Year of Release
1996
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 50m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 1996 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 6, 1998
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
Keyword(s)
starring Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Alice Krige, James Cromwell, Alfre Woodard, Neal McDonough, reviewed by Leonard Pitts Jr., Jay Carr, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Richard Corliss, Lisa Alspector, Joe Leydon, Danielle Solzman, Stephen Silver, Mike Massie, Leigh Paatsch
Worldwide gross: $146,027,888
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $278,730,075
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 539
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 30,395,864
US/Canada gross: $92,027,888
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $175,657,818
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 429
US/Canada opening weekend: $30,716,131
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $58,629,277
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 184
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $45,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $85,893,548
Production budget ranking: 486
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $46,253,675
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $146,582,852
ROI to date (est.): 111%
ROI ranking: 897
– Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Thomas Riker
– Brent Spiner as Lieutenant Commander Data
– LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
– Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Commander Worf
– Gates McFadden as Commander Beverly Howard Crusher, M.D.
– James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane
– Alice Krige as Borg Queen
– Rick Berman as Producer
– Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore as Writers
– Jonathan Frakes as Director
Director(s)
Jonathan Frakes
Writer(s)
Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore
Producer(s)
Rick Berman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
8 wins & 21 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (5)
This is why we go to Star Trek: for a tomorrow of promise and possibility and stories that lift us from the muck of what we are to the summit of what we might learn to be.
August 17, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Leonard Pitts Jr.
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
It’s easily one of the best in the series — the best, in fact, since Leonard Nimoy and the old Enterprise crew saved the whales in “Star Trek IV.”
April 26, 2018
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
In zooming out from Picard’s glinty eyeball, this eighth feature film from the Trek factory displays a zippy new energy and a sleek, confident style fully independent of its predecessors.
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B+
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
First Contact is no grab bag of camp gewgaws; it stands proud and apart, accessible even to the Trek-deficient. This old Star, it seems, has a lot of life in it.
May 3, 2009
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The elegance of the story is enhanced by the sure direction of Jonathan Frakes, who also plays Commander William Riker.
June 5, 2007
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A smashingly exciting sci-fi adventure that ranks among the very best in the long-running Paramount franchise.
June 5, 2007
Joe Leydon
Variety
TOP CRITIC
If you’ve never watched anything Star Trek before, First Contact is a very accessible film and highly recommended.
April 6, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
The best cinematic outing featuring the Next Generation cast, one that found a great story to tell featuring the Borg, one of the franchise’s greatest antagonists. (25th anniversary)
December 1, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Stephen Silver
Tilt Magazine
The dialogue has improved and the story elements are more in tune with the show, but there’s a wealth of unrealized potential and an equal amount of underdeveloped concepts.
September 24, 2020 | Rating: 5/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
If you carry the Star Trek gene, you’ll be camped on this already.
September 11, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
At once hopeful and dark, First Contact is a rousing space opera with terrific characterisation, performances, and surprisingly well-aged visual effects.
May 31, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Shaun Munro
Flickering Myth
It’s clear immediately that filmmaker Jonathan Frakes isn’t looking to deliver just another episode of the TV series here…
January 22, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews…
Plot
In the twenty-fourth century, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E has been ordered to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone by the Federation to avoid interference with their battle against the insidious Borg. Witnessing the loss of the battle, Captain Jean-Luc Picard ignores orders and takes command of the fleet engaging the Borg. But the Borg plan to travel back into the twenty-first century through a vortex with the intention to stop Earth’s first contact with an alien race (the Vulcans). Following the Borg sphere, Picard and his crew realize that they have taken over the Enterprise in order to carry out their mission. Their only chance to do away with the Borg and their seductive Queen is to make sure that Zefram Cochrane makes his famous faster-than-light travel to the stars.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a cameo appearance by James Cromwell, who would later go on to play Zephram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact.
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