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Star Trek: First Contact

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 11, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 11.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Intense, gory Starfleet adventure earns series' first PG-13.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 11–14

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Starfleet is notably racially, gender, and species-integrated (with the addition of Mr. Data, even machine-integrated), and there is a strong sense of friendship, duty, loyalty and, if necessary, sacrifice. Picard's vengeful attitude towards the Borg is called into question by a civilian, and he relents. Mr. Data puts his own wishes to be human aside for the greater good.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Spaceship explosions, ray-gun fire, dead bodies seen. Grisly close-combat with the Borg, including snapped necks, injections-implants piercing skin, disembodied or hacked-off body parts, and dissolving flesh.
  • Sex:

    Dialog about sexuality in general terms, mostly with the android Data being tempted by an inhuman villainess. He talks about being anatomically correct and programmed in "techniques." A human character described as a drunken womanizer.
  • Language:

    More bathroom talk than usual Starfleet regulations, including "bulls--t," "hell."
  • Consumerism:

    Tie-ins with three Star Trek TV shows, innumerable action-figure/book/video game spin-offs. Zephraim Cochrane forces the crew to listen to classic rock.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Quite a lot of drinking and drunkenness among the people of Earth, played comically.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Star Trek: First Contact

Parents need to know that this was the first Star Trek movie to Go Where No Star Trek Flick Had Gone Before, to a PG-13 rating. It has some pretty gruesome violence and a macabre threat in the menacing Borg, a zombie-like, infectious, cybernetic race who could give younger viewers nightmares. Humans and Borg alike die in battles, with some limbs severed, and a Borg commander can detach her head at will. There is some generalized dialog about sexuality, as well as mild swearing. A historical Starfleet hero is revealed as a misfit drunkard; while his alcoholism is perhaps meant as pathos, it comes across as mainly comical.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about why the Borg are standouts among all the alien menaces on Star Trek. What about the side-story about Zephraim Cochrane, the legendary inventor who turns out to be an extremely reluctant hero? Can you think of any real-life equivalents in human history? The theme of Moby Dick and obsessive vengeance arises, a reference that also came up in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. You could use the Starfleet connection to engender more enthusiasm for the hefty Melville novel, a frequent school assignment.

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages
    • Good role models

    A Return to Good Form...

    I disliked STAR TREK: GENERATIONS greatly. However, I love STAR TREK as a franchise and decided not to give up on it. I watched this movie and was glad I didn't. This isn't the best STAR TREK film (it places after all of the originals), but it is great, quality entertainment with great role models for kids. The film is much more intense than previous installments, but isn't significantly more violent. Granted, when the violence does occur, it is more graphic. There are severed limbs, cracked necks, etc., but not a lot of blood. There is one brief conversation as to whether Mr. Data has been programmed to experience "pleasurable feelings", but it isn't graphic. There is infrequent profanity as well: "bull**it", and "godd**n".

  2. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 4.0

    Star trek: the action movie

    Definitly the most violent of the star trek film series, Star Trek: First Contact feels like too much of an action film at times. There is more swearing than any other star trek film too (though its mostly done by 21st century characters. However it's still a good movie for anyone who likes the science-fiction genre

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