A moment of silence for that one Steamrunner-class ship that made it through the whole battle, only to be destroyed when caught in the cube's explosion.
I always found that part to be so pathetically sad 🤣 I still hold out hope that it only APPEARED to blow up in the Cube’s explosion wake and managed to fly off to safety.
They should have made a series of five movies for the next generation crew. Then they should have done a one off movie for deep space nine and a one off of the Voyager crew to grow the Star trek brand more.
I admit that technology has improved since 1996, but they weren't exactly using hand-cranked cameras and paintbrushes back then! I think they even had computers and digital watches..............
The Defiant's helmsman only has a few lines but he has the best one. 'Another starship coming in. It's the Enterprise!' That line always gives me goosebumps.
@@cyclopstb DS9 and Voyager were not primarily built for war, where as the Enterprise E was built specifically to fight the Borg . The uniforms in First Contact reflect a time when Starfleet went all out in their fight against the Borg so it has a more military look.
@@doofkos DS9 production team thought it made no sense for their hero starship to simply cease to exist between episodes with little ceremony. At least when it was destroyed, it contributed to the storyline.
He's the Captain of the Federation Flagship, and protocol is that commanders of ships are seniority ranked based on their ship tactical capabilities (quoting Janeway from USS Voyager, talking to the Captain of USS Equinox). Technically, Picard as Captain of the Federation Flagship outranks all other captains in Starfleet and the Enterprise would normally be a designated command ship, to all other ships, in any sector they are in. Picard is only outranked by Admirals, technically.
This movie has one of the best scenes of any Star Trek movie: when the Enterprise flies in front of the Defiant and you see the scale of the two ships. I remember people gasping in the audience at the movie theater when this movie came out. Truly an awesome shot.
I agree, Chris Peters! Every time I watch this movie or see this scene on RUclips I always wait for the grand entrance of Enterprise! Damn it's a big ship!! And I always think that Worf says "He just cut me off!" SPACE RAGE!!!!! You just don't cut off a Klingon!!!!!
@@youtert the Enterprise E is 700+ Meters long. That scale difference is fairly accurate I'd say. The Defiant isn't exactly a little ship since it has multiple decks but it isnt one of the Cruisers you normally see either. It's great to see a War Horse like the Defiant actually being in need of assistance though. Iirc there was a part in DS9 where the Defiant was used as a threat to destroy an entire planet. If THAT needs help you know the Borg aren't to be trifled with.
absolutely... although I always wondered how they managed to beam the Defiant's crew to the Enterprise... I can't imagine they lowered their shields for that, but I don't know if they were able to beam through raised shields either
I can't say how they did it...but if they did drop the shields momentarily it would have definitely been worth the risk to get Commander Worf back on the Enterprise :)
@@BadApe351 or maybe they found a way to drop only segments of the shields... keeping the dorsals up while lowering (part of) the ventrals, beaming through there?
I love how the Defiant is barely hanging together but is still able to fight more effectively than some of the larger ships. Sisko definitely knew what he was doing when he helped design it.
It's finally doing what it was designed to do, and if anyone, besides Picard, had motivation to kick some Borg behind, it's Sisko (which is probably why Starfleet had Worf on the Defiant and not him).
Ships in its class along with the Akira class ships were purposely designed to fight the Borg. During that time the Ablative armour on the Defiant was ridiculously strong.
@@Bitterman5868 yep, the old stuff was just built better - before Starfleet outsourced everything to China and Taiwan and was made to be disposable. Donald Trump tried you stop that but he was banned from holographic social media.
Jonathan Frakes did a superb job with this film. Great storyline, pace, action, special effects acting and humour. Defo up there with Wrath Of Khan and The Undiscovered Country.
1996 could be considered as Star Treks golden age. TNG just ended. DS9 on full speed. Voy just been launched and finally this masterpiece made it to the theaters.
1000% agreed. I feel like we might be on the cusp of Star Trek's "silver age" with Strange New Worlds, which is FINALLY good Trek after decades of mediocre stuff.
@@MagnumoftheMountains; no, it's not. Nonxense timeline and screenwriters who disrespect the other series or even are capable of mantain a cohese plot at an episode and another...
Worf's willingness to go kamikaze on the Borg is a good bit of writing. Naturally it's in Worf's character to do this, but also, for anyone who hasn't seen any TNG, it helps to set up a contrast with the moment later in the film when Picard calls him a coward. The audience has evidence that this can't be the case and that it's Picard's PTSD talking.
Even if you only saw DS9 and his interactions with the jem Hadar XD suicidal suckers infected his warrior spirit no he's ready to send it all for the thrill.
@@christopherg2347 no torpedoes do not possess a warp core. The way it was used in warp was that it sort of steals a tiny part of the ships warp bubble. It can maintain a warp field but not generate it.
Don't you just love the scene on the Defiant when the helmsman tells Worf that the Enterprise has entered the battle? The look on Worf's face says it all: "Now we're really going to kick some Borg ass!"
I always read that looks as a simultaneous: "Argh, the big bad E is going to come steal my thunder." Coupled with: "Damn, I'm glad the big bad E is going to come steal my thunder." If you know what I mean.
@@ronn-ammon8975 Yeah, but the movie would have ended right then & there, so what's the fun in that? Having the Enterprise crew fight back against the Borg made for a much more interesting story line. Anyway, it's science fiction. No need to over-analyze it.
LouieTactical I was a little boy and remember watching it. Then my folks took me to Chuck E Cheese. Now every Friday they watch Picard with me at my place
Saw this opening night. Still remember how the entire audience howled at Worf's affronted reaction to Riker's comment about the Defiant. "Little?!" Just a great movie and so glad I got to share it with a packed theater.
Dan Dixon the crew making Enterprise apparently HATED the premise of the episode and they still made it work. Granted they made literal time travelling space Nazis work
I remember watching this on premier weekend. The theatre was packed, and the entire room was just enthralled by these scenes! The E coming in to defend the Defiant was just a breathtaking moment.
I saw it in the theater as well. I could've sworn the Enterprise lit the cube up with a couple phaser shots as it passed in front of the Defiant. My memory must've made the scene more epic 🤣
Same here. Just seeing the Defiant in action and the nod to Voyager gave me the same feeling I got years later with the first MCU post credit scene after Ironman. It was where all us fans in the know got something out of the scene that everybody else didn't.
My heart skips a beat, my throat tightens a little, and a tear comes to my eye when Commander Worf hears: “Sir, there’s another star ship coming in... IT’S THE ENTERPRISE!”
That was good, except realistically wouldn’t Sisko have been commanding the Defiant for a battle like that? He could then have beamed Worf ( who’d have been aboard) to the Enterprise, and taken the Defiant back to DS9.
@@alexanderjones9572 It could be seen as too big a risk for a commander of a static emplacement like DS9 to go, and it would fall to their first officer/tactical officer or someone who volunteered to lead what might been seen as a suicide diversion (which would be in character for Worf). Most of the ships there seemed prepared to die so I interpret Worf being in command as a gesture that this was a fight to the death. Obviously Picard and plenty of other important Starfleet officers were there in danger but it's probably more appropriate as a Captain. Plus the emphasis on many of the smaller class ships being destroyed so easily paints the desperation of the group who was able to assemble to try and save Earth.
Nice tidbit: Just before you hear the Borg hail, you can hear someone ordering the Bozeman to fall back. That's Kelsey Grammer as Captain Morgan Bateson, Captain of the USS Bozeman from the 23rd century who got rescued along with his ship and crew by the Enterprise D 5 years prior to these events (Cause & Effect).
But one thing was funny. In that episode- When Bozeman was in his ship and heard the name "Enterprise" and then Pickard, he should have asked that if that ship was the Enterprise then it should have been Kirk at command, as in his timeline, they were contemporaries, both having the Constitution class starships. He never did.. mystery to this day. Or a plain oversight by the canon writers.
I think the Bozeman became a bit of an Easter Egg! I know there is a Millennium Falcon in the background somewhere in the battle, but I always like to think its the Bozeman at 2:17 in the top right of the frame, kicking some ass.
The different sound effects for photon torpedoes from the different ships is so awesome! Each ship feels unique and special which is one of my favorite things about Star Trek
I love the relationship between Worff and Riker. The banter, the knowing looks etc. It’s clear that they have great respect for each other. Riker has seen what Worff can do and Worff knows that Riker held his own on a Klingon warship during an exchange visit. No mean feat for a human!!
@Hooly Dooly it can fire phasers 360 degrees from any point on the top and bottom phaser rings. It's also equipped with a foreword and aft torpedo launcher.
This film really captures the spirit of Star Trek while maintaining a more exciting plot line, with fleshed out character motives. Amazing film. Shame Paramount took the reins away from Johnathan Frakes for Nemesis
@@Ostermond I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately Jonathan Frakes may have [ignorantly?] joined the woke side a couple of months ago. When -star tp- was getting thrashed in reviews, Frakes tried to stand up for the show (or more specifically his friend Patrick Stewart), citing typical "toxic fans" excuses. Up until that very moment, I thought Jonathan Frakes was one of the strongest pro-Roddenberry voices behind the camera, but most regrettably that is now in question. Considering Stewart had gone full woke before the show even aired, it's possible he [understandably] informed Frakes about the situation, and Frakes was simply defending his friend and his friend's newest show. With both Amazon and Netflix having completely withdrawn from Secret Hideout's agenda, -star tp- may never get a second season _unless_ a third international distributor comes along and gets suckered. ruclips.net/video/z9HARBq2mFw/видео.html #DoomcockWasRight
@@adamabbas1487 Well, don't forget that, when Paramount Pictures was deliberately attempting to branch off and create their own variant of _Star Trek_ movie [because Les Moonves had (foolishly) separated them from CBS in the early-2000, which in turn kicked off the alternate license mess we are still dealing with today], Jonathan Frakes had already directed the mildly-received _Clockstoppers_ (2002) as his first movie away from _Star Trek. But,_ he had also chosen to not direct _Star Trek Nemesis_ (2004) in favor of adapting _Thunderbirds_ (2004) to the big screen... which rapidly became a box office flop, and was harshly rejected by classic _Thunderbirds_ fans as well as original series co-creator Sylvia Anderson. So, by the time it came to shop for a new director to helm _2009's_ reboot, Frakes was considered damaged goods as far as directing movies, and probably wasn't even approached. In fact, to this day _Thunderbirds_ remains the last movie Frakes ever directed; it was _that_ damaging to his career. Since 2004, Frakes has directed numerous documentaries and TV episodes and still does now (three from -std,- two from -star tp- including the one he guest starred in with Marina Sirtis, and two from _The Orville_ ), but never another big-screen movie; Hollywood won't touch him for that role anymore. (In his defense, Leonard Nimoy directed a number of movies outside of _Star Trek,_ but also had just one flop in the theater that basically ended that part of his career, and he kept to directing TV episodes and documentaries afterwards.)
Pinnacle of space battle choreography - even the fact that the bridge crew of the Enterprise enters an active war zone without the main screen online (much like a submarine), thus relying on sensor data alone and that every subsystem operates as per predefined input-output procedures amazes me every time. The little “trldtldddd” chime when Riker receives the standby confirmation from the fleet is just the cherry on top :-)
When you are married to a trekkie: You just took a bath, your pal leans over the tub rim: _Photonic sensors are detecting the formation of a temporary vortex ahead._
I just love how they write Worf back into his role here. And the banter he has with Riker. It's all in there faces. Still though it's a crying shame DS9 didn't get a movie it would of done okay I'd say.
And unlike Insurrection and Nemesis, his appearance makes perfect sense... the Defiant was built as an anti-Borg ship so it makes sense that it joins the battle (and makes for a great cameo). I'm surprised that Chief O'Brien wasn't on board though, but they might not have had much for him to do in the film other than be a member of the Defiant crew.
@@WaterCrane You know they could of always had Sisko command the Defiant here and have him be the one to reign in Picards ambitions of defeating the borg. Lily could of still had her role but without needing to be Picards moral compass. I'd of loved to of seen that. Because it made so much sense. Especially after what sisko had put aside when meeting Picard. But hey ho I like to dream. And their budget probably would of never covered it realisticly.
A DS9 movie regarding the final conflicts/battles of the Jem'hadar war would have been far better than the final episodes of the tv series I think (just my opinion tho)
honestly bubbles, I am glad it didn't. They had such huge battles on ds9, but there was a reason Voyager ran concurrently with ds9, it wasn't that good but it still is great specially compared with the bs of today
Man I remember in the theatre when the Defiant was bobbing and weaving the whole place was like “Holy shit the Defiant” and when Worf emerged everybody cheered.
TNG: worf gets his @$$ kicked every episode DS9: worf kicks @$$ every episode First Contact: Worf manages to somehow both get his @$$ kicked and kick @$$ at the same time
Emerged is right! He goes from barely hanging onto the arm of the chair to right into the seat in less than a second! Then he's hanging on to that chair arm for dear life as the same extra runs out the door twice behind him between shots.
Saw this opening night, came out and saw my sisters ex in the queue to go in for next showing. He and her went to see Generations and he had the Generations micro machines set I was so jealous. I felt extreme satisfaction at seeing this epic scene before him.
And to think now, 2024 you see a Star Trek battle in Discovery or Picard and it’s looks so fake and boring that they can’t emulate what happened back then. It’s worrying how much regression there has been because the craft of making things real has been overtaken by cheap laziness
@@NorthWlf I agree that battle was decent, but watch it again, it looks more like a computer game with computer game graphics. And the Enterprise D manoeuvring like the Millennium Falcon inside the Cube again was just too unrealistic to be taken seriously. The galaxy class was meant to be a capital ship heavy exploration cruiser, but the way it moved was like the defiant in first contact, moving side to side dodging the tractor beams like small and nimble fighter, not a ship that’s nearly 650m long. The only time Star Trek really got it right with ship CGI and making it look even better than the model work was with Voyager & DS9. Those CGI scenes are miles better than current CGI of Discovery or SNW. Maybe the bigger the effects budget the more opportunity there is to make it worse, and the lesser the budget the more you had to really refine what you did blending model work with CGI touch ups.
@@mr.constitution Definitely saw this in theaters twice. I think to this day First Contact and Mad Max: Fury Road are the only movies I've seen twice in the theater.
I saw it twice in theaters in one week. First saw it with my family, then a buddy of mine wanted to go see a movie with me while our parents were at some boring get together. So he and I saw it, even though it had been less than a week since I first saw it. I also remember getting it on VHS in widescreen and watching it on my new stereo VCR.
Listen just to the music. 1:55 Enterprise goes to warp .. a subtle bit of the Enterprise theme 1:58 The Borg Cube - lots of horns and strings .. all bold and slow and lumbering 2:25 just after the cut to the inside of Defiant .. suddenly Worf lifts him self up and and you get the Klingon Theme which has been used in various forms since the opening Klingon Vejur battle in The Motion Picture; lots of lighter horns and drums - all "huntsman" 2:49 cut to external and you see Defiant as the Enterprise theme starts and the 1701-E soars into the screen all strings and hope and wonder. Its not just the visual effects its all about the background.
@@Valen-xu2wy I find that SW tends to drown out the background music with sound effects. Yes you get the rousing horns and then perhaps some strings as the fighter squadrons move through the larger ships; but the actual jump moment is overpowered with the "whoosh" noise. Do you have a link to a "leaves hyperspace" ?
@@birdmj No. I really mean the lead up to the assault on the death star. I once saw a documentary covering that sequence. I'm a big fan of the power of violin in that scene. Id say you like Gladiator, very strong.
That practical borg cube they used looks better than a lot of cgi ships in modern movies. I think hollywood should take a step back when doing their special effects in future
CGI is a lot cheaper though, which is the main reason it has almost completely erased practical effects from most movies. Thankfully there are still some movies that successfully employ both, but they're few and far between.
Well, there's tons of great examples of CGI, too. The problem is that if you're using CGI to save money, it's probably not gonna be that great, because it has to be cheap. If you look at, for example, thanos though, especially the close-up shots, that's some damn fine animation.
Just a random viewer : Just imagine trying to convince a team of Klingons (the Klingon Cavaliers?) those "war clubs" aren't for hitting the other team.
I like how they incorporated Worf into this movie. It made sense. - Worf is on DS9 at this point. - He's become captain of the Defiant and often takes it on missions. - Borg come to Earth. What does starfleet do? Send one of its best ships to fight it. - Borg attack Earth, Defiant attacks Borg. - Enterprise comes in to help. Rescues Defiant crew. - Worf comes to the bridge because he knows he can be helpful there. - Worf is welcomed by his former crew. Jonathan Frakes did a great job with this movie. I love how the script fits together.
In 2365, Captain Wil Thoms was the commanding officer of this ship. In that year, the Lexington was assigned a planetary exploration mission in Sector 028
@Energised Voyages I've always liked that part too leading up to the battle. It gave you a sense of a prideful well-prepared fleet being... humbled by the borg and sets the mood for the following scene.
Romulans- Ha! The Enterprise is leaving! Pussies! The neutral zone is our! Long live the.....wait is that the Borg? Um...helm, very quietly put us in reverse.
0:17......"Flagship to Endeavour, standby to engage at grid A15...." - the Endeavour was the lone survivor from Wolf 359, the only ship to survive. Nifty that they had her mentioned here, along with the Defiant and the Bozeman, some nice little name drops aha
@@ryuga81 Agreed. Also, one can only imagine how much better "Nemesis" could have been if it had a director who actually gave a damn about TNG and its characters...
They should've destroyed it in the movie, then had a tie-in episode of DS9 where they couldn't do X because the Defiant was destroyed, then a second Defiant class ship is delivered the next week. If they can blow it up and replace it once, they can do it twice.
@@animateddepression If I remember correctly, the episode of DS9 that takes place after this mentioned how they couldn't do something because Defiant was under repair. I think they had to take a runabout or something?
These scenes are what the movies did well, and interestingly enough were largely captured by another series some years later (Mass Effect). Picard is at the top of his game here, and you can see everything that made him a good Captain on the show. His introspection, the respect he has for his crew and the trust they have in him, and his willingness to defy orders and lead when he feels it is necessary. This was Picard from TNG distilled, I only wish some of this had rubbed off on everything that came after.
If your referring to Picard, i can understand your pain. It's not remotely like TNG in plot or pacing, and it feels rushed in places too. And while by the end of the show I liked most of the the characters, they are also undeveloped. However it got the parts that truly matter to me perfectly right and that was everything involving Picard himself. He's an old man who put his faith in the federation, got his heart broken, and for 20 years let it make him hide from the world. He has neglected his relationships and has to face the consequences of that when he needs help. But when the time comes, he is the man that everyone needs him to be and age is no obstacle to that. He doesn't say "We should be better." but instead "We must be better." He demands virtue in everyone and he rejects self service and ego. He reminds everyone that it doesn't matter who you like or what you believe, you have intrinsic value and are worth saving. Im hoping the second season fleshes the characters/plot/universe better. but as long as Picard is Picard (the character, not the show), I am happy.
Everything about this move was epic. The music, the acting, the effects, the story, the Ships (I love the Sovereign and Steamrunner classes). Saw this film when it came out and I have loved it since. No other ST movie beats it.
star trek shows are normally about diplomacy, exploration and peace. this opening scene from star trek, first contact shows that when it's needed. the star fleet can indeed put up a fight that is stunning, impressive and rival that of star wars! the special effects were top-notch here and still holds up to date!
about Starfleet and warships: if they have replicators that can build and install nearly anything... why not build some ships like the Scimitar? The Defiant was purpose-built and got 2 pulse-phasers and q-torp launchers... but it was tiny and there were only 2 or so of them built; would it be so difficult to build an Enterprise-E scale ship with a great many more torp-launchers and perhaps 4 times as many phaser banks? The Enterprise-E could put the Scimitar under phaser fire and deplete their entire armament of torps without making a dent... one or two salvos of ALL the Scimitar's disruptors would cripple the Enterprise, without even needing a torp. I understand the need for space exploration, discovering new worlds etc, but especially after Q-Who I'd think the newer Starfleet ships would have vastly upgraded their weaponry... and if not using new tech, at least multiplying their existing tech (more banks/bays) ; they ended up having to send hundreds of 'exploration vessels' to fight in the Dominion war! It's like putting the Pacific Princess in a game of 'Battleship' ;)
@@joeridestrijcker445 most of the ships in the battle against the Borg are Warships first exploration ships second exactly because of the dominion threat. And the reason that they don't build Scimitar class ships is because it's placing too much eggs in one basket; and that it doesn't really go well with starfleet doctorine
@@HuubHeesakkers not really. It's the same ship as used by the rogue Borg following Lore in TNG episodes Descent Pt 1+2. Borg Type 03: 1,200m long, 1,600m wide, 600m height. Borg Cube: 3,000m long, 3,000m wide, 3,000m height A Borg fusion cube (non-canon) was much bigger as it was made of 8 cubes combined and the Hypercube (also non-canon) was even bigger still.
Imagine being the Captain or one of the crew on the USS Endeavour, the ONLY starship to survive the Battle of Wolf 359. Years later, even closer to Earth's doorstep, your ship is scrambled to face the butchers once more, memories of the 39 other starships and 11000 people flashing in your mind.
"It's the Enterprise" is one of my favorite lines ever. The Enterprise probably could beam through their own shields by matching frequencies or something, like how the clunker of a Bird of Prey was able to penetrate the D's shields in the previous movie.
When I joined a massive petition for the CVN-80 to be named USS Enterprise, I imagined some Navy sailor saying that exact line during another Pacific War.
@@thefenlanddefencesystem5080 dramatic expedience indeed, this fleet has supposedly been fighting the Borg since the Enterprise was in the Neutral Zone, I know Warp is fast but that is a few DAYS journey but no-one questions it (not even myself the first few times)
Of all the next Generation movies this was my favorite Jonathan Frakes directed this movie was very well done and it doesn't get enough credit for what it is now we realize how bad movies are today we truly appreciate this movie how sad is that and my favorite part of this scene is when data says sir I believe I speak for everyone here when I say to Hell our orders
Me too. At the moment the Borg were going to appear for the first time the tape broke and we were left into a dark theater without warning...chills indeed!
I used to go see it by myself in the theater, I loved it so much! Yes, I was a nerd prior to the advent of Spring 1997...but still some of my happiest memories.
This is such a beautiful scene and the movie is still one of the best sci-fi films I've ever watched. Its such a shame that the other TNG films were so hit or miss.
Fell in love with the Akira at this point. What a wonderful design. The entire modern 'Borg' fleet Federation ships have a great uniformity with a lot of function in their appearance. More so, the scenes of them harassing the cube and gliding about it's hull will never cease to impress me.
I know a LOT of people didn't like Enterprise. I thought is was solid compared to the ground up dog sh*t we have today. The Borg episode in Enterprise was an amazing example of good writing for sure.
This remains one of the best Star Trek movies ever made, and DEFINITELY the best one done with the Next Generation crew. It is up there with Star Trek 2 and in some ways is its better.
@@thecocktailian2091 Search of Spock was a great movie. To this day Id say it is the darkest of all of em. The way Christopher Lloyd played the lead Klingon was untouchable..... Even Worf can't beat his performance.
Do you know the movie folks were planning on having the Defiant getting totally destroyed? But the DS9 tv people objected and said if they did blow it up they would just ignore it on the show. So a compromise was made.
That little ship was designed to fight Borg. It just wasn't completed in time for Wolf 359. I often wondered why they didn't make more of them. I only know of three : Defiant, Valiant and Sao Paulo. Considering their small size, high maneuverability and massive firepower, you would think they would mass produce these for the Dominion War instead of stop gap ships like the Centaur.
@@joshuaplotkin8826 I'm guessing it took a lot of time,material and man power to build Defiant class. And that was something the Federation didn't have. Also sometimes quantity beats out quality in war. German tanks were FAR superior to the pathetic US Sherman tanks. But the US could produce and replace them far in excess then Germany could theirs. So building ships that were quicker to build and replace was better?
I was 8 when this came out, and I had seen every trek movie to that point and next Gen was my series as my dad put it. So we made me work my butt off for a month and we drove 60 miles one way to a brand new theater. We put on our Sunday best and we had never been to a giant screen before. Always cheap little ones. It was opening day so the place was packed, I paid for my own ticket, the theater cup, and lunch after. We were both so blown away, we went back and saw it again. Other fans in the theater recognized us and they were there for the same reason. He had a bad car wreck the following year so sadly we never got that chance again. But we saw each following that. But we would always just love this one. Scared the crap out of me as a kid, but I loved it.
Brilliant composing! The moment when Worf steps on the bridge, the music shifts. It's a variation on the opening scene music of Sta Trek I, when the Klingons encounter V-GER.
I love the concerned and mindful look riker gives Picard after the Captain orders Lt Hawk to pursue course. Its a mix of deep worry, admiration and almost suspicion. "Is the Captain losing his nerve?"
Awesome battle! Thanks for the upload! I love the fact that the Defiant at the start of the battle had one last strafing run left in her before being disabled. Id argue that the Defiant more than lived up to its Borg fighting reputation as it fought the battle from the start all the way to Earth. This survivability was no doubt helped by the fleets tactics which appeared to be much better, no doubt helped by lessons learned previously and with large scale DS9 fleet battles.
I remember seeing this in the cinema, 2 years after the awful Generations. Best first act to any star trek movie hands down. The Borg cube nightmare, the new Enterprise an iron shadow backlit by the Pillars of Eternity, Picard's carefully contained fury at being sidelined during battle, the ominous Borg transmission along with the sounds of hundreds of officers fighting and dying, Picard's fuckit, the crew's enthusiasm, the new cube laying waste to squadrons of new Starfleet warships, Worfs fierce attitude, the Enterprise now an avenging angel delivering waves of energy and destruction at the heart of her captain's sworn enemies and former captors.. what an entrance.
Fun fact. According to Galaxy maps and warp speed charts, and assuming the ships max speed was 9.95, it would have taken them 2 weeks to get from the neutral zone to earth were the Borg ship was. Set course for earth, PLOT SPEED ahead.
Not Sure about that, there are multiple Soruces for Max Warp, even some who state Warp 9.995 ( Ships of the Line ) , i dont know which is the most Canon Like, but those are Official Books. And even if thats to much, they could run the Warp Core in Emergency Mode and ehance the Warp Speed, even if they risk to burn out the Warp Core - which wouldnt be that bad in that Case since they would be stranded in Earth Orbit. Its actually kinda clever that they never officially stated the Max Warp and the Cruise Warp of the Sovereign, and since Warp gets exponentially faster, they could get away with it. Maybe they just "overclocked" the Warp Core, or its even faster than the Intrepid ( which makes Sense since the Sovereign came out after the Intrepid ). The Prometheus is also much faster than the Intrepid. I dont know. But that was always a complicated Topic :D
@dan p Another reason the Enterprise was able to get there in time might be I don't know but perhaps the cubes warp drive had been damaged while it was on course to earth so it wasn't working properly so it was using Impulse instead and as Data said It has sustained heavy damage to its outer hull I am reading fluctuations in their power grid. or maybe while it's being attacked it's unable to use the warp drive
In other licensed material, it is argued, that the battle against the cube took place throughout federation territory. And it makes sense, that they don't engage when it almost reached earth. It is said, that there were multiple lines of defense, each reinforced by the left-overs of the previous defensive positions. The federation strategy was, to act like bees, attacking a bigger animal. Do as much damage as you can and don't give the cube time to regenerate the damages. It could very well be, that the "first battle", they witnessed via long range communication, took place at the outer edges of federation space. So, the time for them to get to earth was similar to the time the Enterprise needed to get there starting at the romulan border.
Sci Fi movies are really inconsistent like that ... why would queen show in one vessel, looking at damage single cube did, dozen of them would have easily defeated star fleet. Plus if time travel is so easy then borg should have done that to begin with.
A moment of silence for that one Steamrunner-class ship that made it through the whole battle, only to be destroyed when caught in the cube's explosion.
I always found that part to be so pathetically sad 🤣 I still hold out hope that it only APPEARED to blow up in the Cube’s explosion wake and managed to fly off to safety.
"We've made it!"
*Sees a huge chunk of debris flying towards them*
"...aww, nuts..."
I’m sure it’s fine. Some duct tape. Buff out the scratches. It’ll be as good as new.
Lol
Dude, ships blow up like every 3 seconds, in every scene. If they wanted to give the impression the cube was tough, they succeeded. Haha
Can we take a moment to appreciate that this came out 24 years ago! It came out in 1996 and the special effects still hold up today
So true :0
Exactly, and anyone who thinks this movie is awesome is a legend.
The special effects don’t just hold up, they’re perfect. Seriously I can’t think of anything that could use improvement.
They should have made a series of five movies for the next generation crew. Then they should have done a one off movie for deep space nine and a one off of the Voyager crew to grow the Star trek brand more.
I admit that technology has improved since 1996, but they weren't exactly using hand-cranked cameras and paintbrushes back then! I think they even had computers and digital watches..............
The Defiant's helmsman only has a few lines but he has the best one. 'Another starship coming in. It's the Enterprise!' That line always gives me goosebumps.
Adam Scott. 😂 AKA Ben Wyatt
@@JohnnyJonestown Never seen that show. heh.
That's Griff from "Boy Meets World" - he was the cool new gang leader of Joey the Rat and Frankie Stekino!
Adam Scott! Of Party Down and Parks and Rec fame. I heard he’s a huge Trekkie, must’ve been a dream for him to have landed that bit part.
You look like you wanna punch me in the face.
Best ship, best uniforms, best crew, best story, best music. Hands down one of my favorite movies.
I don't like those uniforms. They look military like.
@@cyclopstb Um, they're literally in a navy. I guess you'd prefer the pajamas from TMP?
@@nathanrobinson2130 The early DS9 and Voyager uniforms.
@@cyclopstb DS9 and Voyager were not primarily built for war, where as the Enterprise E was built specifically to fight the Borg . The uniforms in First Contact reflect a time when Starfleet went all out in their fight against the Borg so it has a more military look.
The TOS movies and First Contact/late DS9 era had by far the best uniforms. TNG and VOY uniforms look like pajamas lol
If there is anything that Star Trek has taught me, it's don't be on the Admiral's ship when fighting the Borg.
Likely because they wouldn’t have the same technological distinctiveness being only the 21st century.
...And it never pays to be the new guy nobody recognizes in frame with the heavies...im talking to you Mr. Hawk ;-)
Star Trek taught me don't be promoted to Admiral you just end up dead. USS Europa Taught me that. lol
Unless you’re Klingon you may ask for the admiral ship to guarantee Stovacore sp?!
nothing makes for a more rigid story telling than hearing "Sir! The Admirals flagship has been destroyed"
"The Defiant?"
"Adrift but salvagable. The producers over on DS9 insisted that they still need that ship."
Rightfully so I’d say
LOLLLLLL dam right!!! RIP Defiant
Just to destroy it by themselves?
@@doofkos DS9 production team thought it made no sense for their hero starship to simply cease to exist between episodes with little ceremony. At least when it was destroyed, it contributed to the storyline.
Not really, season 7 of DS9 proved they can just shit a new one within a few episodes.
I love how Riker was constantly trolling Worf as soon as he came on the bridge.
Absolutely "tough LITTLE ship" and "you do remember how to fire phasers"
What a perfect time for joking about with the boys
That's Brotherly LUUUUUV.
Fleet admiral's dead, Worf Just saw most of his bridge crew die and was prepared to sacrifice himself and the rest...perfect time to crack jokes.
@@Agent37
Exactly. It's called gallows humour.
Just love how Capt. Picard is like I’m taking command of the fleet and no one questions it. Just shows how badass he is!!!
He's the Captain of the Federation Flagship, and protocol is that commanders of ships are seniority ranked based on their ship tactical capabilities (quoting Janeway from USS Voyager, talking to the Captain of USS Equinox). Technically, Picard as Captain of the Federation Flagship outranks all other captains in Starfleet and the Enterprise would normally be a designated command ship, to all other ships, in any sector they are in. Picard is only outranked by Admirals, technically.
@@markrtoffeeman Alright but still badass
It's somewhat fortunate the Admiral's ship was destroyed or he wouldn't have had the authority
There was a can of "Whoop ass" that needed to be opened, and that was the best time.
@@markrtoffeeman there is always that one person in the comments. Smh
This movie has one of the best scenes of any Star Trek movie: when the Enterprise flies in front of the Defiant and you see the scale of the two ships. I remember people gasping in the audience at the movie theater when this movie came out. Truly an awesome shot.
I agree, Chris Peters! Every time I watch this movie or see this scene on RUclips I always wait for the grand entrance of Enterprise! Damn it's a big ship!! And I always think that Worf says "He just cut me off!" SPACE RAGE!!!!! You just don't cut off a Klingon!!!!!
I always really like how the extra says, "another starship coming in....it's the ENTERPRISE!" The guy should announce winners at awards shows
I read somewhere that they exaggerated the size difference a bit.
@@youtert the Enterprise E is 700+ Meters long. That scale difference is fairly accurate I'd say. The Defiant isn't exactly a little ship since it has multiple decks but it isnt one of the Cruisers you normally see either. It's great to see a War Horse like the Defiant actually being in need of assistance though. Iirc there was a part in DS9 where the Defiant was used as a threat to destroy an entire planet. If THAT needs help you know the Borg aren't to be trifled with.
@@FreshPez That guy is Adam Scott, parks and rec and a long time trekkie / star wars fan.
I love the moment when the Enterprise runs blocker for the Defiant. It was breathtaking to watch at the cinema on first release.
absolutely... although I always wondered how they managed to beam the Defiant's crew to the Enterprise... I can't imagine they lowered their shields for that, but I don't know if they were able to beam through raised shields either
I can't say how they did it...but if they did drop the shields momentarily it would have definitely been worth the risk to get Commander Worf back on the Enterprise :)
Still boss today at home on a big screen in the dark.
@@BadApe351 or maybe they found a way to drop only segments of the shields... keeping the dorsals up while lowering (part of) the ventrals, beaming through there?
@@joeridestrijcker445 Quite possibly they could do that. After all...it is the 24th century...and it is the magnificent Enterprise E.
Only Riker is allowed to piss off Worf two times within one minute, without getting klingoned.
Hehe
Anyone else would have been a klingoner.
That second comment was uncalled for.
No, later in the movie Picard insults Worf to the extent that I think Worf would have killed Riker.
@@NotShowingOff Damn, you are right! 😄
The sound design for the Borg "collective voice" is magnificent. It's perfectly ominous and downright spine-chilling.
Still to this day, I'm 34, and it terrifies me; the whispering collective electronic reverbing voices chill my spine.
@Logan The Mad Philosopher BRO STAAAHP.
@Logan The Mad Philosopher Eat Boltgun, foul Xeno!
That's what you get when have over a thousand drones talk at the same time, in the same tone and at the same speed
Far better than some "Borg Queen" lol
That Akira class spraying Torpedoes is just BadAss.
at what time?
@@nongjude ruclips.net/video/D7KCb-O20Fg/видео.html left one
Thanks
Well the damn thing does have 15 torpedo bays on it so yea
Thought in the battle against the dominion (Battle of the tear of the prophets) 2 Akira class are destroyed easily
Picard: “Mr. Worf, we could use some help at tactical.”
Tactical Officer (who just destroyed a Borg Cube): “This is some bullshit...”
Stolen comment
Anybody else want to see an Enterprise E lower decks bit during this?
@@Rattus-Norvegicus stolen comment or not, some of us think that way.
The responsibilities of the Tactical station are a lot more than just targeting weapons.
Suffering with mega depression right now but this made me LOL, stolen comment or not. Thank you, sir. And I absolutely feel for that tactical officer.
I love how the Defiant is barely hanging together but is still able to fight more effectively than some of the larger ships. Sisko definitely knew what he was doing when he helped design it.
It's finally doing what it was designed to do, and if anyone, besides Picard, had motivation to kick some Borg behind, it's Sisko (which is probably why Starfleet had Worf on the Defiant and not him).
Ships in its class along with the Akira class ships were purposely designed to fight the Borg. During that time the Ablative armour on the Defiant was ridiculously strong.
@@Jamal7070 Ablative plot armor engage!
there is also the Bozeman, a time lost relic who is holding its own against the cube.
@@Bitterman5868 yep, the old stuff was just built better - before Starfleet outsourced everything to China and Taiwan and was made to be disposable. Donald Trump tried you stop that but he was banned from holographic social media.
Jonathan Frakes did a superb job with this film. Great storyline, pace, action, special effects acting and humour. Defo up there with Wrath Of Khan and The Undiscovered Country.
I always wonder why he didn’t direct more films ?
@@edercortes1960 He directed the following film, Insurrection, wich wasn't nearly as good. He has also directed many episodes in several Trek series.
What about star trek IV?
@@edercortes1960 he recently said that no studio wanted him for movies after the failure of ‘Thunderbirds’, even though it’s failure wasn’t his fault.
He probably made sure he had every chance to roast Worf throughout this movie.
Picard: "we could use some help at tactical"
Tactical officer who put all shots right on target and blew up the Borg ship: Am I a joke to you all?
Lol underrated comment!
That guy was like: 'So glad im off stage right. Im a redshirt!'
@Justin Bohner you made me laugh out loud man! HaHa :)
lol not to mention being the first Starfleet officer to land a kill shot on the Borg.
Yeah but he doesn't have a plated forehead and and metal sash
It does help if you're not a nameless redshirt.
Worf: Perhaps today IS a good day to die. Prepare for ramming speed!
Everyone: Um, I think we need to talk to HR about this guy.
🤣🤣🤣
Worf did use ramming speed on his wife last night
Worf 359
Hopefully HR was one of the first departments lost to enemy fire.
@@fanirama Perhaps tonight IS a good night to come, Prepare for ramming speed
1996 could be considered as Star Treks golden age. TNG just ended. DS9 on full speed. Voy just been launched and finally this masterpiece made it to the theaters.
Tng ends in 1994
@@pulptubenetwork8862 He knows that. He's saying that general time era in terms of events
1000% agreed. I feel like we might be on the cusp of Star Trek's "silver age" with Strange New Worlds, which is FINALLY good Trek after decades of mediocre stuff.
@@MagnumoftheMountains; no, it's not.
Nonxense timeline and screenwriters who disrespect the other series or even are capable of mantain a cohese plot at an episode and another...
@@solucaoatende I’ll admit the final was good (except the actor they used for Kirk just no.) everything else wasn’t good at all
Worf's willingness to go kamikaze on the Borg is a good bit of writing. Naturally it's in Worf's character to do this, but also, for anyone who hasn't seen any TNG, it helps to set up a contrast with the moment later in the film when Picard calls him a coward. The audience has evidence that this can't be the case and that it's Picard's PTSD talking.
Worf: “Prepare for RAMMING SPEED!”
Adam Scott: “Gonna have to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Anything to avoid raising his son.
Today is a good day to die!
Even if you only saw DS9 and his interactions with the jem Hadar XD
suicidal suckers infected his warrior spirit no he's ready to send it all for the thrill.
Picards PTSD is so strong he forgot it was the Dominion invading their space and assimilating entire worlds and not the Borg.
Is it just me or this is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made?
This movie is a Masterpiece and i love every second of it
@@IIISentorIII I cried at the end. Film gave me so much hope and positivity I literally cried happy tears.
@@swtoni4464 Same here! We know that is the beginning of the Federation!
It is DEFINITELY not just you! :)
It's easily my favorite of the movies of in the TNG era.
Photon torpedoes are cool and all but there’s just something so satisfying about quantum torpedoes. So much heftier and badass sounding when launched.
@yagbos I think they are just called torpedoes to express an idea of their function
Why did they revert back to Photon torpedoes in the two movies after?
@@nythepremier They did not. They simply cartied both - same as the defiant - as the supply of Quantum Torpedoes was limited.
@@christopherg2347 no torpedoes do not possess a warp core. The way it was used in warp was that it sort of steals a tiny part of the ships warp bubble. It can maintain a warp field but not generate it.
@@nythepremier They depleted their load of quantum torpedoes
Don't you just love the scene on the Defiant when the helmsman tells Worf that the Enterprise has entered the battle? The look on Worf's face says it all: "Now we're really going to kick some Borg ass!"
similar to Banner's reaction when Thor arrives during the battle in Wakanda (near the end of Avengers: IW)
Or Worf is thinking: "Today is a good day for the Borg to die!"
I always read that looks as a simultaneous:
"Argh, the big bad E is going to come steal my thunder."
Coupled with:
"Damn, I'm glad the big bad E is going to come steal my thunder."
If you know what I mean.
If they'd gotten there while the Defiant was still armed, between the two of them, that sphere might not' even made it through the time portal.
@@ronn-ammon8975 Yeah, but the movie would have ended right then & there, so what's the fun in that? Having the Enterprise crew fight back against the Borg made for a much more interesting story line.
Anyway, it's science fiction. No need to over-analyze it.
26 years old and still looks amazing, great work by ILM and everyone else who worked on this film!
Not enough people praise this movie. It's easily the best Star Trek movie this side of Wrath of Khan
I take it as the Wrath of Khan of the Picard Crew.
Star trek IV. Double dumb ass on you! Haha
I agree
@@cahivx It's good. Great even. Not as good as this one.
Undiscovered Country is better, but this is the best TNG movie by a wide margin.
I love the remixed Klingon battle theme when the scene switches to Worf on the defiant. Nice subtle touch!
and when Worf arrives on the bridge
Nice. I never would have caught that if you hadn't pointed it out.
I remember watching this on the big screen when it came out. So EPIC!!
LouieTactical I was a little boy and remember watching it. Then my folks took me to Chuck E Cheese. Now every Friday they watch Picard with me at my place
@@manwithoutfear05 think i was round 10 when i saw this movies in cinemas so long ago
2:49 which I had seen that on the big screen!
Me too!
Cinema went from deep breathless silence on... They ve engaged the Borg to cheering Yes! and clapping on... To hell with our orders
Saw this opening night. Still remember how the entire audience howled at Worf's affronted reaction to Riker's comment about the Defiant. "Little?!"
Just a great movie and so glad I got to share it with a packed theater.
When Riker's "transporter twin" sees the Defiant in DS9 he says the same thing "tough little ship", confirming that they are both in fact Riker
i remember going with my dad. was such a different time. life was so simple back then
It was the wreckage of that sphere that was later discovered by that artic team in the episode of Enterprise featuring the Borg.
Great episode
Which begs the question that if the ship crashed and the borg didnt survive , howd they assimilate the planet...?
Oh, that explains how they got there.
@@spg1794 Picard following them into the vortex means that the earlier future is averted.
Dan Dixon the crew making Enterprise apparently HATED the premise of the episode and they still made it work.
Granted they made literal time travelling space Nazis work
To this day, the Borg standard hail gives me the god damn creeps, its so terrifying.
It’s the verbal equivalent of a wrecking ball; they make a flat statement that doesn’t brook any discussion and then end the conversation.
It's almost as chilling as when Nancy Pelosi speaks
Gregory Hager yeah exactly. She owned trump like the Borg owned the Federation at wolf 359.
@@GregoryHager2011 , ya, Nancy Pelocy is intimidating whereas Trump talks and stabs you in the back like a Ferengi..
@@rohitr9400 I always equated him to a Romulan
This is the Wrath of Khan of the Picard Crew movies.
I'd even say it's the Undiscovered Country of Picard movies...
Funny that they then remake wrath of Khan with Nemesis.
@@dchegu that was after Insurrection. And Nemesis? Doesn't exist. 😉
@@Certifiable
ruclips.net/video/56iTxduUacs/видео.html
I enjoy this battle
@@Certifiable before they remade Wrath of Kahn for the Kelvin garbage, literally with Kahn?
The first contact theme for this movie is simply perfection.
Perfection.
agreed
I remember watching this on premier weekend. The theatre was packed, and the entire room was just enthralled by these scenes! The E coming in to defend the Defiant was just a breathtaking moment.
I saw it in the theater as well. I could've sworn the Enterprise lit the cube up with a couple phaser shots as it passed in front of the Defiant. My memory must've made the scene more epic 🤣
Trekkies....SMH..
Same here. Just seeing the Defiant in action and the nod to Voyager gave me the same feeling I got years later with the first MCU post credit
scene after Ironman. It was where all us fans in the know got something out of the scene that everybody else didn't.
I had goosebumps when I heard the Klingon march and Worf on screen. "Assimilate this!!" ✊
yes, when the Enterprise appears with a slight angle to pass over the poor Defiant getting smashed is one helluva "I got your back" scene
My heart skips a beat, my throat tightens a little, and a tear comes to my eye when Commander Worf hears: “Sir, there’s another star ship coming in... IT’S THE ENTERPRISE!”
And he stands up to show respect.
@@tdog652041 Worf knows where his loyalties lie. "If you were any other man . . . I would kill you where you stand."
That was good, except realistically wouldn’t Sisko have been commanding the Defiant for a battle like that? He could then have beamed Worf ( who’d have been aboard) to the Enterprise, and taken the Defiant back to DS9.
@@alexanderjones9572 It could be seen as too big a risk for a commander of a static emplacement like DS9 to go, and it would fall to their first officer/tactical officer or someone who volunteered to lead what might been seen as a suicide diversion (which would be in character for Worf). Most of the ships there seemed prepared to die so I interpret Worf being in command as a gesture that this was a fight to the death. Obviously Picard and plenty of other important Starfleet officers were there in danger but it's probably more appropriate as a Captain. Plus the emphasis on many of the smaller class ships being destroyed so easily paints the desperation of the group who was able to assemble to try and save Earth.
That's Adam Scott, btw
Nice tidbit: Just before you hear the Borg hail, you can hear someone ordering the Bozeman to fall back. That's Kelsey Grammer as Captain Morgan Bateson, Captain of the USS Bozeman from the 23rd century who got rescued along with his ship and crew by the Enterprise D 5 years prior to these events (Cause & Effect).
If only we could distract the Borg with Niles preparing Valentine's Day dinner.
Can't imagine what it'd be like for those guys. I wonder if they survived the battle? Could we see a USS Bozeman A?
But one thing was funny. In that episode- When Bozeman was in his ship and heard the name "Enterprise" and then Pickard, he should have asked that if that ship was the Enterprise then it should have been Kirk at command, as in his timeline, they were contemporaries, both having the Constitution class starships.
He never did.. mystery to this day. Or a plain oversight by the canon writers.
I think the Bozeman became a bit of an Easter Egg! I know there is a Millennium Falcon in the background somewhere in the battle, but I always like to think its the Bozeman at 2:17 in the top right of the frame, kicking some ass.
@@chriswalker4370 I believe the Millennium Falcon scoots across the screen, just below that unfortunate Akira class ship in the shot!
The different sound effects for photon torpedoes from the different ships is so awesome! Each ship feels unique and special which is one of my favorite things about Star Trek
I love the relationship between Worff and Riker. The banter, the knowing looks etc. It’s clear that they have great respect for each other. Riker has seen what Worff can do and Worff knows that Riker held his own on a Klingon warship during an exchange visit. No mean feat for a human!!
you can't spell.
@@tamphex Ohk boudy, yuu ween.
Worf and Troi had also called off their romance a year or so before, so I always found that dialogue to be kind of trollish on Riker's part.
One “f” in “Worf,” @Gary Halsey
@Hooly Dooly it can fire phasers 360 degrees from any point on the top and bottom phaser rings. It's also equipped with a foreword and aft torpedo launcher.
I love how Jerry Goldsmith keeps the "Klingon Battle" theme, composed in TMP. Continually expands and evolves. Man, I miss him.
Perhaps today is a good day to die!
This film really captures the spirit of Star Trek while maintaining a more exciting plot line, with fleshed out character motives. Amazing film. Shame Paramount took the reins away from Johnathan Frakes for Nemesis
At least he back directing for Picard.
I read an opinion piece saying that CBS should really hand the reins of Star Trek away from Kurtzman to Frakes. Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.
@@Ostermond
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately Jonathan Frakes may have [ignorantly?] joined the woke side a couple of months ago.
When -star tp- was getting thrashed in reviews, Frakes tried to stand up for the show (or more specifically his friend Patrick Stewart), citing typical "toxic fans" excuses. Up until that very moment, I thought Jonathan Frakes was one of the strongest pro-Roddenberry voices behind the camera, but most regrettably that is now in question. Considering Stewart had gone full woke before the show even aired, it's possible he [understandably] informed Frakes about the situation, and Frakes was simply defending his friend and his friend's newest show.
With both Amazon and Netflix having completely withdrawn from Secret Hideout's agenda, -star tp- may never get a second season _unless_ a third international distributor comes along and gets suckered. ruclips.net/video/z9HARBq2mFw/видео.html
#DoomcockWasRight
Most of the star trek episodes directed by Frakes are awesome. He really understood star trek. They should never let Abrams touch it.
@@adamabbas1487
Well, don't forget that, when Paramount Pictures was deliberately attempting to branch off and create their own variant of _Star Trek_ movie [because Les Moonves had (foolishly) separated them from CBS in the early-2000, which in turn kicked off the alternate license mess we are still dealing with today], Jonathan Frakes had already directed the mildly-received _Clockstoppers_ (2002) as his first movie away from _Star Trek. But,_ he had also chosen to not direct _Star Trek Nemesis_ (2004) in favor of adapting _Thunderbirds_ (2004) to the big screen... which rapidly became a box office flop, and was harshly rejected by classic _Thunderbirds_ fans as well as original series co-creator Sylvia Anderson. So, by the time it came to shop for a new director to helm _2009's_ reboot, Frakes was considered damaged goods as far as directing movies, and probably wasn't even approached.
In fact, to this day _Thunderbirds_ remains the last movie Frakes ever directed; it was _that_ damaging to his career. Since 2004, Frakes has directed numerous documentaries and TV episodes and still does now (three from -std,- two from -star tp- including the one he guest starred in with Marina Sirtis, and two from _The Orville_ ), but never another big-screen movie; Hollywood won't touch him for that role anymore.
(In his defense, Leonard Nimoy directed a number of movies outside of _Star Trek,_ but also had just one flop in the theater that basically ended that part of his career, and he kept to directing TV episodes and documentaries afterwards.)
Pinnacle of space battle choreography - even the fact that the bridge crew of the Enterprise enters an active war zone without the main screen online (much like a submarine), thus relying on sensor data alone and that every subsystem operates as per predefined input-output procedures amazes me every time. The little “trldtldddd” chime when Riker receives the standby confirmation from the fleet is just the cherry on top :-)
What are you talking about? "Per predefined input-output procedures"? None of that is found anywhere in the script or the scene in the video
Hearing the Borg message on the big screen was another level of chilling.
TNg Bord from bobw way more tinny sounding and terrifying
What did your girlfriend think of it.... oh wait ....
@@Daisy-ef6bq I'm sorry, are you asking if I'm single? Well, if it was anyone else but you asking, I'd say yes.
I hope one day that Star Trek can be this epic again.
at least lower decks is on a good path
Suggest watching The Orville, they did some nice space battles.
Unfortunately it could be a long time by the way Discovery has ruined the Trek name.
J j abrams has ruined Star Trek forever
Tbf the battle of binary stars and the s2 finale were pretty epic on scope to, even if people here don't want to admit it
This whole sequence has aged like fine wine. I feel like I could touch the Enterprise in these shots.
If there is one thing the Enterprise can do better than any other space vessel, is that she can make a dramatic entrance like a boss!
Picard: "They're creating a temporal vortex."
Riker: "Time Travel..."
Can always rely on Riker to translate scientific jargon into shitkicker english.
I have this mental image of Dax Shepherd as Frito Pendejo, with that slack jawed idiot look on his face, saying "Time musheen."
It's also his job to comment on people being rude over the view screen. "Not very chatty..." "Charming woman..."
Um how about blowing up the probe before it escapes in the vortex?
80's Boombox Collector
Yea like what were they waiting for?
When you are married to a trekkie:
You just took a bath, your pal leans over the tub rim: _Photonic sensors are detecting the formation of a temporary vortex ahead._
I just love how they write Worf back into his role here. And the banter he has with Riker.
It's all in there faces. Still though it's a crying shame DS9 didn't get a movie it would of done okay I'd say.
And unlike Insurrection and Nemesis, his appearance makes perfect sense... the Defiant was built as an anti-Borg ship so it makes sense that it joins the battle (and makes for a great cameo). I'm surprised that Chief O'Brien wasn't on board though, but they might not have had much for him to do in the film other than be a member of the Defiant crew.
@@WaterCrane You know they could of always had Sisko command the Defiant here and have him be the one to reign in Picards ambitions of defeating the borg. Lily could of still had her role but without needing to be Picards moral compass. I'd of loved to of seen that. Because it made so much sense. Especially after what sisko had put aside when meeting Picard. But hey ho I like to dream. And their budget probably would of never covered it realisticly.
A DS9 movie regarding the final conflicts/battles of the Jem'hadar war would have been far better than the final episodes of the tv series I think (just my opinion tho)
honestly bubbles, I am glad it didn't. They had such huge battles on ds9, but there was a reason Voyager ran concurrently with ds9, it wasn't that good but it still is great specially compared with the bs of today
Man I remember in the theatre when the Defiant was bobbing and weaving the whole place was like “Holy shit the Defiant” and when Worf emerged everybody cheered.
TNG: worf gets his @$$ kicked every episode
DS9: worf kicks @$$ every episode
First Contact: Worf manages to somehow both get his @$$ kicked and kick @$$ at the same time
Emerged is right! He goes from barely hanging onto the arm of the chair to right into the seat in less than a second! Then he's hanging on to that chair arm for dear life as the same extra runs out the door twice behind him between shots.
Perhaps today is a good day to die!
@@MrAsmontero That still gives me goose bumps he he orders that.
Saw this opening night, came out and saw my sisters ex in the queue to go in for next showing. He and her went to see Generations and he had the Generations micro machines set I was so jealous. I felt extreme satisfaction at seeing this epic scene before him.
26 years old and that fleet volley starting at 3:55 is still one of the most exquisite scenes in Trek history.
THe one time where Starfleet acts as a Hivemind... the irony :')
So you wouldn't have been born yet when this was made 😄
And to think now, 2024 you see a Star Trek battle in Discovery or Picard and it’s looks so fake and boring that they can’t emulate what happened back then. It’s worrying how much regression there has been because the craft of making things real has been overtaken by cheap laziness
@@jonathanward7320 You are correct on much of that though *spoiler* third season of Picards Enterprise vs Borg fight was excellent.
@@NorthWlf I agree that battle was decent, but watch it again, it looks more like a computer game with computer game graphics. And the Enterprise D manoeuvring like the Millennium Falcon inside the Cube again was just too unrealistic to be taken seriously. The galaxy class was meant to be a capital ship heavy exploration cruiser, but the way it moved was like the defiant in first contact, moving side to side dodging the tractor beams like small and nimble fighter, not a ship that’s nearly 650m long. The only time Star Trek really got it right with ship CGI and making it look even better than the model work was with Voyager & DS9. Those CGI scenes are miles better than current CGI of Discovery or SNW. Maybe the bigger the effects budget the more opportunity there is to make it worse, and the lesser the budget the more you had to really refine what you did blending model work with CGI touch ups.
I saw this in theaters when it first came out. Still holds up today. The special effects and sound are outstanding
It was fan-damn-tastic in theaters. I'll never forget seeing it on the big screen.
@@TheLocutus70 Same. I may have seen it in theaters twice. I can't remember i was around 12 years old! Back when Star Trek was good lol
@@mr.constitution Definitely saw this in theaters twice. I think to this day First Contact and Mad Max: Fury Road are the only movies I've seen twice in the theater.
I saw it twice in theaters in one week. First saw it with my family, then a buddy of mine wanted to go see a movie with me while our parents were at some boring get together. So he and I saw it, even though it had been less than a week since I first saw it. I also remember getting it on VHS in widescreen and watching it on my new stereo VCR.
Looks great in HD. Can't wait for the 4k with HDR/Dolby Vision!
Listen just to the music.
1:55 Enterprise goes to warp .. a subtle bit of the Enterprise theme
1:58 The Borg Cube - lots of horns and strings .. all bold and slow and lumbering
2:25 just after the cut to the inside of Defiant .. suddenly Worf lifts him self up and and you get the Klingon Theme which has been used in various forms since the opening Klingon Vejur battle in The Motion Picture; lots of lighter horns and drums - all "huntsman"
2:49 cut to external and you see Defiant as the Enterprise theme starts and the 1701-E soars into the screen all strings and hope and wonder.
Its not just the visual effects its all about the background.
A soundtrack spotter like myself. I bet you love the rebel fleet entering/exiting hyper space in Return of the Jedi.
@@Valen-xu2wy I find that SW tends to drown out the background music with sound effects.
Yes you get the rousing horns and then perhaps some strings as the fighter squadrons move through the larger ships; but the actual jump moment is overpowered with the "whoosh" noise.
Do you have a link to a "leaves hyperspace" ?
@@birdmj No. I really mean the lead up to the assault on the death star. I once saw a documentary covering that sequence. I'm a big fan of the power of violin in that scene. Id say you like Gladiator, very strong.
Excellent, observant comment. Enhanced my appreciation. Thank you.
That’s Jerry Goldsmith for ya.
I love how one quantum torpedo is enough to destroy a borg sphere... but Worf fires off another three just to be sure!
Because fuck that Borg....and that one.....and that one over there....
Well you know 3 is always better than just 1...😉
No kill like overkill.
- old Klingon proverb
It was four actually ;)
Only one Quantum Torpedo's necessary, but I'm going to fire 4. Why? Because fuck 'em! That's why!
I get chills everytime those quantum torpedos get fired. They look and sound so damn cool!
3:35 Picard's like "trust me data"
Data's like 'good enough for me'
That practical borg cube they used looks better than a lot of cgi ships in modern movies. I think hollywood should take a step back when doing their special effects in future
Star Treks use of real models has always been its strongest element in the tech dept.
CGI is a lot cheaper though, which is the main reason it has almost completely erased practical effects from most movies. Thankfully there are still some movies that successfully employ both, but they're few and far between.
remember the original borg episode, with the almost-claymation cube healing itself?
Yeah.. all this modern CGI looks bland and weightless.
Well, there's tons of great examples of CGI, too. The problem is that if you're using CGI to save money, it's probably not gonna be that great, because it has to be cheap. If you look at, for example, thanos though, especially the close-up shots, that's some damn fine animation.
When Worf said prepare for ramming speed, you can just hear the authority in his voice. Its everything.
"Death before assimilation!!!"
@@ronn-ammon8975 Death to the opposition, baseball match.
Just a random viewer : Just imagine trying to convince a team of Klingons (the Klingon Cavaliers?) those "war clubs" aren't for hitting the other team.
Hear.
And the award for the best (intentional or not) Abbot & Costello routine on this page goes to: terminat 1, & X Y 👏👏🏻👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿🏆
I like how they incorporated Worf into this movie. It made sense.
- Worf is on DS9 at this point.
- He's become captain of the Defiant and often takes it on missions.
- Borg come to Earth. What does starfleet do? Send one of its best ships to fight it.
- Borg attack Earth, Defiant attacks Borg.
- Enterprise comes in to help. Rescues Defiant crew.
- Worf comes to the bridge because he knows he can be helpful there.
- Worf is welcomed by his former crew.
Jonathan Frakes did a great job with this movie. I love how the script fits together.
That fleet audio is amazing.
The captain of the _USS Lexington_ sounded like Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks).
In 2365, Captain Wil Thoms was the commanding officer of this ship. In that year, the Lexington was assigned a planetary exploration mission in Sector 028
@Energised Voyages I've always liked that part too leading up to the battle. It gave you a sense of a prideful well-prepared fleet being... humbled by the borg and sets the mood for the following scene.
Try listening to it with spatial audio on AirPod Pros!
“Warp core breach! All hands abandon ship!”
“HULL BREACH!”
“96 dead, 22 wounded on the Lexington!”
"You remember how to fire phasers?"
"I don't know... You remember how to plow Deanna?"
plough
Course he does. He's her Zimbabwe.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
@@jherrenor That's _IMZADI_ !
@@robgyanisu312 I know. I was referencing that interview with Jonathan and Marina.
5 people are still convinced the Romulans are going to take advantage of the situation.
I'd give you a like, but as I write you're on exactly 5 likes, which suits.
Well, they probably are. But better leave a couple of systems to the Romulans than the whole federation to the Borg!
Romulans- Ha! The Enterprise is leaving! Pussies! The neutral zone is our! Long live the.....wait is that the Borg? Um...helm, very quietly put us in reverse.
0:17......"Flagship to Endeavour, standby to engage at grid A15...." - the Endeavour was the lone survivor from Wolf 359, the only ship to survive. Nifty that they had her mentioned here, along with the Defiant and the Bozeman, some nice little name drops aha
Frakes did a great job with this one.
Not so much with the next one...
@@jasonleetaiwan I think the main problem with "Insurrection" was rather the screenplay/story than Jonathan Frakes' direction.
@@bpe-music Insurrection wasn't bad. Maybe it wasn't a great "Star Trek movie", but it was quite a great "Star Trek extended episode".
@@ryuga81 Agreed. Also, one can only imagine how much better "Nemesis" could have been if it had a director who actually gave a damn about TNG and its characters...
@@bpe-music I will give Nemesis props, for at least the big battle at the end.
Having the defiant with worf in command is brilliant, so glad the defiant was included in first contact
They should've destroyed it in the movie, then had a tie-in episode of DS9 where they couldn't do X because the Defiant was destroyed, then a second Defiant class ship is delivered the next week. If they can blow it up and replace it once, they can do it twice.
They had to get worf there somehow.
@@animateddepression the second Defiant-class ship was the USS San Diego but Admiral Ross gave Sisko permission to rename it Defiant as a post-note.
@@animateddepression If I remember correctly, the episode of DS9 that takes place after this mentioned how they couldn't do something because Defiant was under repair. I think they had to take a runabout or something?
@@DantesonofSparda85 I believe it was actually the Sao Paulo, not San Diego.
These scenes are what the movies did well, and interestingly enough were largely captured by another series some years later (Mass Effect). Picard is at the top of his game here, and you can see everything that made him a good Captain on the show. His introspection, the respect he has for his crew and the trust they have in him, and his willingness to defy orders and lead when he feels it is necessary. This was Picard from TNG distilled, I only wish some of this had rubbed off on everything that came after.
If your referring to Picard, i can understand your pain. It's not remotely like TNG in plot or pacing, and it feels rushed in places too. And while by the end of the show I liked most of the the characters, they are also undeveloped. However it got the parts that truly matter to me perfectly right and that was everything involving Picard himself. He's an old man who put his faith in the federation, got his heart broken, and for 20 years let it make him hide from the world. He has neglected his relationships and has to face the consequences of that when he needs help. But when the time comes, he is the man that everyone needs him to be and age is no obstacle to that. He doesn't say "We should be better." but instead "We must be better." He demands virtue in everyone and he rejects self service and ego. He reminds everyone that it doesn't matter who you like or what you believe, you have intrinsic value and are worth saving. Im hoping the second season fleshes the characters/plot/universe better. but as long as Picard is Picard (the character, not the show), I am happy.
Everything about this move was epic. The music, the acting, the effects, the story, the Ships (I love the Sovereign and Steamrunner classes). Saw this film when it came out and I have loved it since. No other ST movie beats it.
star trek shows are normally about diplomacy, exploration and peace. this opening scene from star trek, first contact shows that when it's needed. the star fleet can indeed put up a fight that is stunning, impressive and rival that of star wars! the special effects were top-notch here and still holds up to date!
about Starfleet and warships: if they have replicators that can build and install nearly anything... why not build some ships like the Scimitar? The Defiant was purpose-built and got 2 pulse-phasers and q-torp launchers... but it was tiny and there were only 2 or so of them built; would it be so difficult to build an Enterprise-E scale ship with a great many more torp-launchers and perhaps 4 times as many phaser banks? The Enterprise-E could put the Scimitar under phaser fire and deplete their entire armament of torps without making a dent... one or two salvos of ALL the Scimitar's disruptors would cripple the Enterprise, without even needing a torp. I understand the need for space exploration, discovering new worlds etc, but especially after Q-Who I'd think the newer Starfleet ships would have vastly upgraded their weaponry... and if not using new tech, at least multiplying their existing tech (more banks/bays) ; they ended up having to send hundreds of 'exploration vessels' to fight in the Dominion war! It's like putting the Pacific Princess in a game of 'Battleship' ;)
@@joeridestrijcker445 most of the ships in the battle against the Borg are Warships first exploration ships second exactly because of the dominion threat. And the reason that they don't build Scimitar class ships is because it's placing too much eggs in one basket; and that it doesn't really go well with starfleet doctorine
The line "we have it on visual, a Borg Cube on course zero mark" still gives me a bit of a chill.
I just love how the cube enters the scene, a massive unstoppable battleship.
I believe the word you're looking for is "juggernaut."
@@jimtuck1958 There's a ship in Star Trek Online that's called "Borg Juggernaut" and it's HUGE!
Music ramping up into full "oh shit we're going to die" motif also helps
@@HuubHeesakkers not really. It's the same ship as used by the rogue Borg following Lore in TNG episodes Descent Pt 1+2.
Borg Type 03: 1,200m long, 1,600m wide, 600m height.
Borg Cube: 3,000m long, 3,000m wide, 3,000m height
A Borg fusion cube (non-canon) was much bigger as it was made of 8 cubes combined and the Hypercube (also non-canon) was even bigger still.
Imagine being the Captain or one of the crew on the USS Endeavour, the ONLY starship to survive the Battle of Wolf 359. Years later, even closer to Earth's doorstep, your ship is scrambled to face the butchers once more, memories of the 39 other starships and 11000 people flashing in your mind.
"It's the Enterprise" is one of my favorite lines ever. The Enterprise probably could beam through their own shields by matching frequencies or something, like how the clunker of a Bird of Prey was able to penetrate the D's shields in the previous movie.
"Mr. Data activate dramatic expedience."
When I joined a massive petition for the CVN-80 to be named USS Enterprise, I imagined some Navy sailor saying that exact line during another Pacific War.
@@thefenlanddefencesystem5080 dramatic expedience indeed, this fleet has supposedly been fighting the Borg since the Enterprise was in the Neutral Zone, I know Warp is fast but that is a few DAYS journey but no-one questions it (not even myself the first few times)
Of all the next Generation movies this was my favorite Jonathan Frakes directed this movie was very well done and it doesn't get enough credit for what it is now we realize how bad movies are today we truly appreciate this movie how sad is that and my favorite part of this scene is when data says sir I believe I speak for everyone here when I say to Hell our orders
That part was reminiscent of Spock in end of trek VI TUC
Then 8 years later Frakes directed the horrific Thunderbirds movie! 😂
@@develynseether4426 He don't make the script though so it can't be all on him
@@SeizureGman true at that its just funny he has directed some fantastic trek films/episodes....then thunderbirds 😖
Please use some puncuation marks...
One of the *best openers* to a film of all time.
_And more than a quarter of a century old!!_
I like how the Klingon anthem plays every time we see Worf :)
Still the best Star Trek movie. Even the music score was great.
Defiant helmsman: "It's not about the cube...it's about the cones."
Simply brilliant!
I saw this three times at the cinema when it was first released. An epic film, which still holds its own today. Wonderful stuff!
Me too. At the moment the Borg were going to appear for the first time the tape broke and we were left into a dark theater without warning...chills indeed!
Film not Tape.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/35_mm_movie_film?wprov=sfti1
I used to go see it by myself in the theater, I loved it so much! Yes, I was a nerd prior to the advent of Spring 1997...but still some of my happiest memories.
Better then nearly all films today.
I always love how the Klingons have no fear of dying. The bloodier the better.
This is such a beautiful scene and the movie is still one of the best sci-fi films I've ever watched. Its such a shame that the other TNG films were so hit or miss.
Prepare for ramming speed! Love how Worf delivers that line.
Fell in love with the Akira at this point. What a wonderful design.
The entire modern 'Borg' fleet Federation ships have a great uniformity with a lot of function in their appearance. More so, the scenes of them harassing the cube and gliding about it's hull will never cease to impress me.
All of the federation ships that were designed for war at this point look amazing
I know a LOT of people didn't like Enterprise. I thought is was solid compared to the ground up dog sh*t we have today. The Borg episode in Enterprise was an amazing example of good writing for sure.
The Akira, Steamrunner, Sabre, Defiant, and Sovereign classes are what I consider to be peak Star Trek designs.
The Akira, the defiant and the Sovereign classes were all desogned for war.
the Akira class, Nebula class, and Sovereign class starships were among the finest Starfleet ever commissioned.
The Klingon theme playing whenever Worf is onscreen gets me every time, I love it.
the sound TNG phasers and torpedoes make is just... so good.
This remains one of the best Star Trek movies ever made, and DEFINITELY the best one done with the Next Generation crew. It is up there with Star Trek 2 and in some ways is its better.
Best three Trek movies of all time, in no particular order: First Contact, Wrath of Khan, and GalaxyQuest.
These movies focus on the characters, their relationships and story arcs. That's something so many of today's SFX-laden films forget.
Better than star trek 2????? 🤔🤔🤔
No definitely not. Great movie but no where near original Khan!
Poppycock!!!!!!! ST2 is by far the best. Nothing holds a cable toi it. This is a reasonable move, but third at best.
@@thecocktailian2091 Search of Spock was a great movie. To this day Id say it is the darkest of all of em. The way Christopher Lloyd played the lead Klingon was untouchable..... Even Worf can't beat his performance.
26 years old, and still one of the best
Not just a Star Trek movie , but a damn great movie!
I love the Klingon theme when Worf appears. So martial!
"Tough little ship"
"Little?"
Well... considering that the Defiant was literally designed by strapping guns to an engine...
Do you know the movie folks were planning on having the Defiant getting totally destroyed? But the DS9 tv people objected and said if they did blow it up they would just ignore it on the show. So a compromise was made.
@@pinky6758 Sort of the A-10 of space craft...
That little ship was designed to fight Borg. It just wasn't completed in time for Wolf 359. I often wondered why they didn't make more of them. I only know of three : Defiant, Valiant and Sao Paulo. Considering their small size, high maneuverability and massive firepower, you would think they would mass produce these for the Dominion War instead of stop gap ships like the Centaur.
@@joshuaplotkin8826 I'm guessing it took a lot of time,material and man power to build Defiant class. And that was something the Federation didn't have. Also sometimes quantity beats out quality in war. German tanks were FAR superior to the pathetic US Sherman tanks. But the US could produce and replace them far in excess then Germany could theirs. So building ships that were quicker to build and replace was better?
It's all about that beautiful looking "Sovereign-Class Starship," along with it's very impressive, bad-ass "Quantum Torpedos."😎🖖
I was 8 when this came out, and I had seen every trek movie to that point and next Gen was my series as my dad put it. So we made me work my butt off for a month and we drove 60 miles one way to a brand new theater. We put on our Sunday best and we had never been to a giant screen before. Always cheap little ones.
It was opening day so the place was packed,
I paid for my own ticket, the theater cup, and lunch after.
We were both so blown away, we went back and saw it again.
Other fans in the theater recognized us and they were there for the same reason.
He had a bad car wreck the following year so sadly we never got that chance again. But we saw each following that.
But we would always just love this one. Scared the crap out of me as a kid, but I loved it.
Definitely one of the most woefully underrated of the TNG movies, and it still holds up 25 years(!) later. Now, I need to watch it again.
Brilliant composing! The moment when Worf steps on the bridge, the music shifts. It's a variation on the opening scene music of Sta Trek I, when the Klingons encounter V-GER.
The music score is so brilliant, it goes with all the scenes at the perfect moments.
The great Jerry Goldsmith
"Engage!". the beautiful Enterprise E doing a U turn, destination: Earth, music kicks in, goddamn if it doesn't send a shiver down my spine every time
I love the concerned and mindful look riker gives Picard after the Captain orders Lt Hawk to pursue course. Its a mix of deep worry, admiration and almost suspicion. "Is the Captain losing his nerve?"
Awesome battle! Thanks for the upload! I love the fact that the Defiant at the start of the battle had one last strafing run left in her before being disabled. Id argue that the Defiant more than lived up to its Borg fighting reputation as it fought the battle from the start all the way to Earth. This survivability was no doubt helped by the fleets tactics which appeared to be much better, no doubt helped by lessons learned previously and with large scale DS9 fleet battles.
“ Sir, there is another starship coming in…
It’s the Enterprise.”
and humanity survives.
I love the subtle cut to the score when they all open fire. Just pure sound effects for a few seconds.
"sir, there's another starship coming in.. it's the enterprise.." --->insert coolest scene ever
I remember seeing this in the cinema, 2 years after the awful Generations. Best first act to any star trek movie hands down. The Borg cube nightmare, the new Enterprise an iron shadow backlit by the Pillars of Eternity, Picard's carefully contained fury at being sidelined during battle, the ominous Borg transmission along with the sounds of hundreds of officers fighting and dying, Picard's fuckit, the crew's enthusiasm, the new cube laying waste to squadrons of new Starfleet warships, Worfs fierce attitude, the Enterprise now an avenging angel delivering waves of energy and destruction at the heart of her captain's sworn enemies and former captors.. what an entrance.
Fun fact. According to Galaxy maps and warp speed charts, and assuming the ships max speed was 9.95, it would have taken them 2 weeks to get from the neutral zone to earth were the Borg ship was.
Set course for earth, PLOT SPEED ahead.
Not Sure about that, there are multiple Soruces for Max Warp, even some who state Warp 9.995 ( Ships of the Line ) , i dont know which is the most Canon Like, but those are Official Books.
And even if thats to much, they could run the Warp Core in Emergency Mode and ehance the Warp Speed, even if they risk to burn out the Warp Core - which wouldnt be that bad in that Case since they would be stranded in Earth Orbit.
Its actually kinda clever that they never officially stated the Max Warp and the Cruise Warp of the Sovereign, and since Warp gets exponentially faster, they could get away with it.
Maybe they just "overclocked" the Warp Core, or its even faster than the Intrepid ( which makes Sense since the Sovereign came out after the Intrepid ).
The Prometheus is also much faster than the Intrepid.
I dont know.
But that was always a complicated Topic :D
@dan p Another reason the Enterprise was able to get there in time might be I don't know but perhaps the cubes warp drive had been damaged while it was on course to earth so it wasn't working properly so it was using Impulse instead and as Data said It has sustained heavy damage to its outer hull I am reading fluctuations in their power grid. or maybe while it's being attacked it's unable to use the warp drive
In other licensed material, it is argued, that the battle against the cube took place throughout federation territory. And it makes sense, that they don't engage when it almost reached earth. It is said, that there were multiple lines of defense, each reinforced by the left-overs of the previous defensive positions. The federation strategy was, to act like bees, attacking a bigger animal. Do as much damage as you can and don't give the cube time to regenerate the damages.
It could very well be, that the "first battle", they witnessed via long range communication, took place at the outer edges of federation space. So, the time for them to get to earth was similar to the time the Enterprise needed to get there starting at the romulan border.
It's almost like the writers didn't think about that.
Sci Fi movies are really inconsistent like that ... why would queen show in one vessel, looking at damage single cube did, dozen of them would have easily defeated star fleet. Plus if time travel is so easy then borg should have done that to begin with.
The one and only time we got to see the Defiant on the big screen
How do I still get goosebumps watching this after so many years?