In a way Star Trek First Contact (1996) is about war and defense, but it has enough purer moments to add something more…after all these years, First Contact is still an uplifting film.

The crew of the starship Enterprise—the one led by Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart)—comes from the future to 2065 (like time travel is taken for granted). They are there to prevent the Borg from assimilating the human race into their hive of perfection. Earth is the Borg’s destination and the Enterprise seeks to get there before they make ‘first contact’.

It’s a war and defense theme, as the Borg, in effect, is about conquering. This conquering is about humans becoming assimilated into cyborgs that all think the same. Unnatural, mechanical, automatons, without free will. Not how it should be.

But the crew of the Enterprise makes a move to defend the earth from becoming conquered.

Purer moments

There are some purer moments to add something more to a suspenseful war and defense story-line and other amusing moments.

My favorite is what happens when Captain Picard decides to face the Borg attack. This decision isn’t the flavor of the month on the Enterprise. Most think they should evacuate rather than face the Borg out.

Stubborn and defiant, Picard won’t back down. However, someone he picked up on earth and is travelling with him gets through to him. She gets him to reassess his decision.

She makes him see that in facing the Borg rather than evacuating, Picard is getting personal. He wants one back on the Borg because they got one over him once. They stripped him of his individuality.

He’s acting like the captain in the book Moby Dick. The captain sought revenge on a whale, but failed. Eventually vengeance destroyed the captain’s soul.

Vengeance is soul destroying. Revenge isn’t sweet or best served cold.

Picard begins to see he is making the wrong decision. He will lose his fight against the Borg like the captain lost the fight against the whale. He will also lose his soul if revenge consumes him.

Picard thinks again—and changes his mind. He refrains from taking revenge. He knows when to fold his cards.

It is a stirring even spiritual moment.