Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact. Released Nov. 22, 1996.
For fans, this film delivered a lot: walloping action (check out the tense scene in which Picard, Worf, and a redshirt) confront the Borg on the underbelly of the Enterprise) as well as crucial reveals of Trek backstory. By 1996, the Next Gen crew had been acting together for a decade, but they weren't so old as to be implausible in their roles. That's the sweet spot that all Trek sequels strive for, and this one hit its marks perfectly. It's also a time-travel story — this one written by Moore and Brannon Braga, who now writes for 24 — that follows the Enterprise-E back to mid-21st-century Earth. In this movie, Patrick Stewart nails the single best scene of his entire run as Picard. Playing opposite Alfre Woodard (who stars as Lily, a 21st-century woman who ends up on the Enterprise), Stewart unveils the deep trauma that the Borg have inflicted on Picard, who cannot stop fighting. "The line must be drawn here," he shouts, becoming unhinged. "I will make them pay!" The Federation may have eliminated hunger and poverty, but vengeance, it turns out, endures.