There are a lot of really solid Star Trek movies with The Wrath of Khan, The Undiscovered Country, and the 2009 reboot all springing to mind. Oddly, in discussions of the best Star Trek movie, First Contact doesn't often come up, which is criminal, as it's one of the best entries in the franchise's cinematic history.
First Contact, the story of the crew from The Next Generation being forced to stop The Borg from disrupting the first contact between humans and Vulcans, is a compelling story. That said, its best qualities are rarely talked about when discussing the best of Star Trek films, but there are plenty of them.
Jonathan Frakes' Direction
Out of all the different actors who have taken up the director's chair in the Star Trek series, Jonathan Frakes is one of the more successful. Not only did he direct some of the best episodes of The Next Generation, but he directed two of the TNG movies, including First Contact.
Not only does Frakes reprise his role as William Riker in the movie, but he also proves his credentials as a director. Giving the movie a stellar pace whilst eliciting stellar performances from the cast, Frakes' direction is worthy of praise.
It Ties Into One Of The Best TNG Episodes
TNG was as prolific as it was acclaimed, so it's rather hard to narrow down the show's most excellent episode, but "The Best of Both Worlds Part One and Two" would be on the list of contenders. The episode that saw Picard assimilated into The Borg, and "Best of Both Worlds" is an amazing episode with a palpable sense of tension.
First Contact was the first time The Borg had been seen in full since "Best of Both Worlds," with their ambitions being elevated since then, but they still maintained their sense of mystery and intimidation. "Best of Both Worlds" also informs Captain Picard's motivations in the film, as well.
Robert Picardo's Cameo
Star Trek: Voyager tends to divide people, but everyone agrees that Robert Picardo's character, The Doctor, is one of the highlights of the series. The holographic projection who assists in medical situations, Picardo gave The Doctor a sense of humanity that defied his robotic origin.
The Enterprise-E also has a very similar Emergency Medical Hologram, naturally played by Picardo, who is activated by Beverly Crusher when The Borg invades The Enterprise. In one of the funnier moments in the movie, the Doctor can't really do anything to The Borg, but he does recommend an analgesic cream because their implants could perhaps irritate their skin.
It's A Time Travel Story
Time travel tends to be a fun aspect of Star Trek, with The Voyage Home bringing Trek's brand of time travel to the silver screen. However, First Contact also has a fun time travel story that is somewhat overshadowed by Kirk's slightly more jovial adventure.
The Borg travel to 2063 to disrupt the first contact that is the foundation of Starfleet. This leads to the crew of The Enterprise assisting pilot Zefram Cochrane and his assistant Lily Sloane to make sure events play out as intended.
Zefram Cochrane
Zefram Cochrane had appeared prior to the movie, played by actor Glenn Corbett in The Original Series episode "Metamorphosis," but First Contact's portrayal of the character was far more engaging. Cochrane, played by James Cromwell, is a drunk cynic who just so happens to be responsible for Earth's first warp flight.
He has a unique back and forth with the crew of The Enterprise, with the crew being baffled by his frankly un-Starfleet demeanor and Cromwell does an excellent job in making those interactions fun. Cochrane also has the honor of being among the group of humans that make first contact with The Vulcans.
The Borg
One of the things that Star Trek movies struggle with is the villains, but there are some good ones, with The Borg being among them. Similar to how The Wrath of Khan brought back Kirk's greatest foe, First Contact does the same thing with the villains that stuck with Picard for years—well, the villains that aren't Q.
The Borg were actually redefined in First Contact, being given a more organic design and fully assimilating people, which was actually something that wasn't a factor before First Contact. The movie took TNG's scariest villain and made them ten times more intimidating.
The Borg Queen
Among the changes made to The Borg in First Contact, The Borg Queen is one of the most interesting. Giving The Borg a leader with a unique tie to both Picard and Data was a good move on the writers' part, with the character being compelling in her own right.
Played by South African actress Alice Krige, The Borg Queen manages to be dangerous and sexy at the same time, with Krige giving the character a screen presence that makes her truly compelling. There is a reason why they brought The Borg Queen back for Star Trek: Voyager, she's justan all-around fascinating character.
Picard's Motivation Makes Sense
Picard may go a bit psycho in First Contact, but that isn't to say that there isn't a method to his madness. In "Best of Both Worlds," Picard was assimilated into The Borg and was used to attack his comrades, something that has traumatized him for years.
With that in mind, when Picard shows his passion for making The Borg pay for what they've done, the audience completely buys where he is coming from. More than anything, a certain X-factor makes this motivation not only understandable, but compelling, as well.
Patrick Stewart's Performance
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Patrick Stewart delivers a strong performance in First Contact, but his performance makes it clear how much pain the character has been through. Playing the Captain Ahab role to The Borg's Moby Dick, Patrick Stewart delivers an Academy Award-worthy performance in First Contact.
While Stewart goes full action hero in the movie, he is at his best when he's interacting with Alfre Woodard's Lily Sloane, with the two actors having amazing chemistry. A particular highlight is when Picard lays out his motivation to Sloane, stating that the line must be drawn now and that he has to make The Borg pay.
It's The Only Great TNG Movie
The best Star Trek movies with the crew from The Original Series not only live up to the show, but in some cases surpass it. The Next Generation is a harder act to follow than the first, far more dated Star Trek series, but First Contact manages to be on the same level as the show, something the other TNG movies couldn't achieve.
Generations, Insurrection, and Nemesis all have their moments, but none of them live up to just how great The Next Generation is. First Contact is the only one that can truly stand toe to toe with the show that spawned it.