Watch Star Trek VIII: First Contact Online

Star Trek: First Contact is a 1996 science fiction film and the eighth feature film based in the Star Trek fictional universe. In the film, the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation encounter their adversaries the Borg, who attempt to conquer the Earth through the use of time travel. The crew of the USS Enterprise-E attempts to restore their history, intent on saving their present and future.

First Contact is the first feature film directed by Jonathan Frakes. The rest of the television show's cast return and are joined by James Cromwell, Alfre Woodard and Alice Krige. This is the first Star Trek film without any of the principal original Star Trek characters.

Long serving Star Trek writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore wrote the screenplay, coming up with the story together with producer Rick Berman. The trio combined their ideas of a film involving time travel and the Borg and spent much time discussing where to set the film, eventually deciding on a period after the fictitious Third World War. Paramount gave the film a larger budget than any previous Star Trek film, which enabled the use of more visual effects. Critical reaction was mostly positive, and Michael Westmore was nominated for the Academy Award for Makeup.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard, in command of the new Starship Enterprise-E, must defy orders and come to the rescue of Earth when a new Borg invasion threatens the Federation. But the incursion is a cover for the Borg's real objective: to change Earth's history so the first warp flight, made by Zefram Cochrane, never happens. The Enterprise-E and her crew are tasked with following the Borg to 2063, to ensure that Cochrane's achievement is not interfered with. (source: memory-alpha.org)

Opening in 2,812 theaters the film made $30,716,131 in its first weekend of release. It closed with a domestic gross of $92,027,888 and a total worldwide gross of $146,027,888. In the US it is the second highest grossing Star Trek behind The Voyage Home, and the 12th highest grossing film based on a live-action television series. It was the 17th highest grossing film in the US in 1996, and the 22nd highest grossing worldwide. Based on 44 reviews, the film garnered a 91% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and a 91% rating from the site's "Top Critics" poll. In 2007, Rotten Tomatoes placed the film 35th on their list of the "100 Best Reviewed Sci-Fi Movies", making it the highest placed Star Trek film on the list. By comparison, the film received a rating of 70 out of 100 at Metacritic, earning "generally favorable reviews".