`FIRST CONTACT' TOP-FLIGHT STORYTELLING AT WARP SPEED.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

Things have been looking pretty dire in the science-fiction movie universe of late. Big-bang events such as ``Independence Day'' and virtual/literal cartoons such as ``Space Jam'' appeared to have chased all hope of intelligent life out of this sector of the galaxy.

But fear not. The starship Enterprise once again has flown to the rescue. ``Star Trek: First Contact'' is a hugely pleasurable experience for ``Trek'' fanatics, sci-fi enthusiasts and those who appreciate fine filmmaking alike.

More of a movie than any of the previous seven entries in the big-screen series, ``First Contact'' also sports better storytelling than practically anything else a big Hollywood studio has unleashed this year. The acting is uniformly superb, and the special effects are consistently impressive (both firsts for ``Star Trek'' movies). And the ending is very, very satisfying, and so unlike the awful climax of the last movie, ``Star Trek Generations.''

Now, with Capt. Kirk and the original ``Star Trek'' cast mercifully retired and the ``Next Generation'' crew in full control, resistance really is futile. These guys are better.

From the moment ``First Contact's'' opening shot blasts you into the back of your seat, all doubts about Jonathan Frakes' ability to direct a big-budget effects spectacular will be vaporized. One dazzling visual spectacle after another follow, ranging in scope from a walk on the outside hull of yet another new Enterprise to the joyous relief of finally seeing engineer Geordi La Forge's (LeVar Burton) stupid visor replaced by nifty electronic ocular implants.

First-time feature director Frakes (who has helmed a number of TV episodes) gets hefty support from writers Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore and Rick Berman, who have improved greatly in the two years since they concocted the ``Generations'' script. They've smartly stitched a time-travel plot to a military/horror adventure along the lines of ``Aliens.'' The resulting hybrid appeals on both old-fashioned ``Trek'' yarn and nail-biting action-suspense terms.

Best of all, the villains are the Borg. A soulless bunch of semi-computerized drones who wander the galaxy assimilating all in their path - that is, turning every organic life form they can grab into one of their wired-up legion. Patrick Stewart's Capt. Jean-Luc Picard was once almost assimilated into their group mentality, so when a gigantic Borg space cube threatens Earth, he rightly figures he best knows its weak points.

But the Borg have another strategy in mind. Zipping from the 24th century back to the year 2063 with the Enterprise in hot pursuit, a Borg unit attacks the rocket experiment of one Zefram Cochrane. Known in ``Trek'' lore as the inventor of warp drive and, thus, the man responsible for humans' first contact with friendly aliens, Cochrane turns out to be a self-doubting drunkard (he's played by James Cromwell, the funny farmer from ``Babe'').

While a landing party led by La Forge, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Frakes' Cmdr. Riker tries to keep the reluctant Cochrane on his course with destiny, Picard leads a losing battle against another Borg hive that is colonizing the Enterprise deck by deck. As Picard grows increasingly, self-defeatingly obsessive about the enemy, Stewart's Shakespearean training really comes into play. He invests the brooding, bald space daddy with dynamic tragic grandeur.

Trumping even Stewart's performance is the seductive sleight-of-hand between Brent Spiner's android Data and the Borg Queen, played under an eerie encasement of latex and leather by a gleefully perverse Alice Krige. One just barely human, the other longing to be the least bit alive, these two repel, attract, manipulate and deceive each other with delectable dexterity. Both monsters in their ways, Data and the Borg Queen make the sexiest screen couple of the year.

True, some of the comic relief in ``First Contact'' isn't very funny. But it serves the other purpose of relieving the intense tension of this eerie battle to save the future's past. Overall, this movie goes a long way toward saving the ``Star Trek'' franchise, and the possibilities of intelligent science-fiction cinema, for a long time to come.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Star Trek: First Contact'' (PG-13; violence, language).

The stars: Patrick Stewart, Alfre Woodard, Jonathan Frakes, James Cromwell, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Jonathan Frakes. Written by Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore and Rick Berman. Produced by Berman. Released by Paramount Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 53 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Four Stars.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: In ``Star Trek: First Contact,'' director Jonathan Frakes also plays landing party member Riker.