We’re all stuck in the house, right? There’s never been a better time to dig into those retro movies that you’ve always wanted to watch, but never had the time for. Personally, I’m a bit of a retrophile and tend to watch more older flicks than newer ones. On Fangirlish, you can now look forward to a retro review from me each Wednesday in this column. I’ll be highlighting one throwback movie a week, offering a spoiler-free review of the film, any throwback thoughts from my childhood, and where you can watch the movie yourself. Sit back, relax, and enjoy #WayBackWednesday.
I’ve had Star Trek: Insurrection, and frankly, just Star Trek on the brain lately, largely because I’m auditing a Star Trek class this summer at Signum University. I’ve also been thinking much about some of the conversations I’ve seen on Twitter lately, regarding romance novels and shipping. Star Trek: Insurrection is my favorite of the Star Trek: The Next Generation films for a big reason–I ship Counselor Troi and Commander Riker.
For these reasons, I decided to revisit Insurrection this week for #WayBackWednesday. Have you seen any of the pre-Kelvin timeline Star Trek films? Check out the trailer for Star Trek: Insurrection and we’ll get started with #WayBackWednesday.
Star Trek: Insurrection tells the story of an agrarian people, the Ba’ku, who are being monitored discreetly by the Federation, in partnership with another race of people, the Son’a. When Captain Picard learns that the intentions of the Son’a are less than honorable, he enters an open rebellion against the Federation and the Son’a in order to protect the Ba’ku from destruction.
Fan Service or Simply Following the Story?
Star Trek: Insurrection stars all our TNG favorites–Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, and LeVar Burton, as well as F. Murray Abraham, Donna Murphy, and Anthony Zerbe. Insurrection is directed by Jonathan Frakes and written by Rick Berman and Michael Piller.
Insurrection feels not only like an opportunity to tell a large-scale TNG story on the big screen, but it also seems to be fulfilling some bits of the TNG story that were left open at the end of the series in 1994. Some would call it fan service. I call it simply taking the characters to their logical conclusion. Give me all the Troi/Riker fluff, please and thank you. There’s also much more humor in this film than most of the other TNG films and the series. There’s something to be said for simply making a fun movie. That’s what Star Trek: Insurrection is–fun!
A Lighthearted Adventure with a Message
Star Trek: Insurrection isn’t just a fun popcorn flick or a “shipper” film. Insurrection also highlights some pressing social issues of the day, and they are just as relevant now as they were in 1998. The film focuses on issues of displacing people to harvest their resources. Picard’s question to Admiral Dougherty, after Dougherty points out that it’s “only 600 people” is beyond poignant–“How many people does it take, Admiral, before it becomes wrong? Hmm? A thousand, fifty thousand, a million? How many people does it take, Admiral?”
This is a question for the ages, and Insurrection does what Star Trek has always done, and truthfully, what good science fiction always does–places real-world problems in abstract scenarios in order to think through the problem. If you want a fun movie that also makes you think, check out Insurrection.
Star Trek: Insurrection is streaming now on Amazon Prime and Hulu.
