History YMMV / StarTrekInsurrection

** A more subtle one, but without the potential advances in healing technology that the planet's radiation could provide, the casualties of the Dominion War that was ongoing at the time were probably worse.

* AngstWhatAngst: At the point where Worf is at in his ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' arc, he's just become a widow due to the death of Jadzia Dax and would still be in the grieving process in the subsequent season. This was the result of [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] ExecutiveMeddling, as the sixth season of [=DS9=] hadn't aired in the UK yet, meaning Jadzia's death would've been a spoiler for international audiences. Still, the fact that Worf does not seem even slightly despondent throughout the film is very odd.

* AngstWhatAngst: At the point where Worf is at in his ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' arc, he's just become a widow due to the death of Jadzia Dax and would still in the grieving process in the subsequent season. This was the result of [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] ExecutiveMeddling, as the sixth season of [=DS9=] hadn't aired in the UK yet, meaning Jadzia's death would've been a spoiler for international audiences. Still, the fact that Worf does not seem even slightly despondent throughout the film is very odd.

* AngstWhatAngst: At the point where Worf is at in his ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' arc, he's just become a widow due to the death of Jadzia Dax and would still in the grieving process in the subsequent season. This was the result of [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] ExecutiveMeddling, as the sixth season of DS9 hadn't aired in the UK yet, meaning Jadzia's death would've been a spoiler for international audiences. Still, the fact that Worf does not seem even slightly despondent throughout the film is very odd.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Bolian scientist Hars Adislo approaching Picard on the topic of thermionic transconductance; Picard excuses himself to attend to other matters. It is never brought up again.

* RonTheDeathEater: A lot of people found the Ba'ku repugnant because they didn't want to share the medical benefits their planet could provide. Supposedly they're preventing medical benefits that could save billions of lives from the Dominion, but considering the people who came up with the "destroy the planet" plan worked ''with'' the Dominion, maybe trusting them at their word isn't the best idea.

* MisaimedFandom: While Dougherty's motives are ultimately sympathetic, it's rather disconcerting for some that so many fans of the franchise see his plans - i.e., invading an occupied planet, kidnapping the entire population and stealing its resources in a way that will make the planet uninhabitable, and possibly completely destroying whatever made the resource so valuable in the first place - as completely reasonable simply because he has a couple of legal loopholes on his side. Most likely because, other than the ethical issues around the relocation, ''nobody'' in the actual movie even questions his assertion that the plan will work and save ''billions''.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: About the planet's rejuvenating powers: "Finders keepers, losers weepers".

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Bolian scientist Hars Adislo approaching Picard on the topic of thermionic transconductance; Picard excuses himself to attend to other matters. It is never brought up again. Even [[TheWikiRule Memory Alpha]] has no information whatsoever on what was the purpose of the character.

* DesignatedHero: The movie perches how perfect the Bak'u are and we're supposed to draw parallels between them and native Americans that endured genocide from the US government, but they're hogging the planet's radiation that could save billions of lives just because they don't want to be inconvenienced. As pointed out by WebSite/SFDebris, the only reason for the forced relocation is that if Starfleet and the Son'a went to them honestly and ask for their cooperation and they refused, [[ImmortalityImmorality choosing immortality over helping save countless lives]], then they would have become the villains of the story.

* MarySueTopia: The Bak'u, who live on a planet with fountain-of-youth powers and espouse a technology-free society. They still use all pre-industrial technology though, making them not as "[[YouKeepUsingThatWord primitive]]" as they'd like to claim. Website/SFDebris tore them apart in his review, pointing out how improbably clean and orderly everything and everyone is, especially since our modern standards of cleanliness are derived from technological advancements.

* OneSceneWonder: The blue-skinned Bolian theorist Hans Adislo, whose brief exchange with Captain Picard over thermionic transconductance [[IncrediblyLamePun comes out of the blue]] and is then completely forgotten. In their joint review of the film, the Nostalgia Critic and Linkara are completely baffled at the utter pointlessness of the character.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Of all the "bad" ''Franchise/StarTrek'' films, perhaps the one that has the fewest defenders ''or'' detractors, on account of being so ineffectual and forgettable. Website/SFDebris sums up popular opinion quite succinctly:
-->''It isn't loved like [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Two]], popular like [[Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome Four]], prescient like [[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry Six]], exciting like [[Film/StarTrekFirstContact Eight]]. It doesn't have people rushing to defend it, saying it's cerebral like [[Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture One]], significant like [[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Three]], ambitious like [[Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier Five]], landmark like [[Film/StarTrekGenerations Seven]], or theatrical like [[Film/StarTrekNemesis Ten]]. ''Insurrection'' stands alone: bad enough to be hated, but not bad enough to be loved.''

** The Federation were currently operating in a time of war against the Dominion and they are ''losing''. More than one reviewer has noted that it wouldn't have been too hard to have the crew become divided over whether removing 600 people to potentially save ''billions'' is the morally right option (Website/SFDebris in fact suggested this as a better alternative. He especially thought it was incredible Geordi would be so blase about giving up his natural sight).

* ContestedSequel: Like many other major franchise entries from the 1990s and 2000s, the film has benefited from the trend towards works that were once criticised for their StrictlyFormula nature being more positively re-evaluated for that very same reason, since their refusal to take creative risks means they can be re-watched without having to worry about any controversial moments that have franchise-wide implications. The film's lacking anything as hot-button as Kirk's death and the destruction of the ''Enterprise''-D in ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'', or Data's death in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', along with it being the last live-action TNG-related work to date to maintain a LighterAndSofter feel, have helped improve its standing among fandom, and while its {{anvilicious}} "rural simplicity" message and the poor handling of the moral dilemma that's central to the plot will almost certainly prevent it from ever being universally liked, it's at least helped move it to being a divisive sequel, instead of one where the universal reaction was indifference at best, derision at worst.

** Relatedly, the concept of the "flying holodeck" also reveals some of the behind-the-scenes thinking at work: the movie is ''meant'' to be something of a DarkReprise of the fairly well-regarded ''TNG'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E12Homeward Homeward]]", wherein a group of people were rescued from a dying world, in technical violation of the Prime Directive, but which Worf's human brother can't accept ethically (and a lot of viewers sided with him). The movie is meant to show exactly ''why'' the PD exists, especially in these circumstances, and show how, if Starfleet didn't have such a directive as a core part of their operational culture, all kinds of abuses of the less-advanced would be possible, even using the ''very same'' technique Nikolai employed in "Homeward". Unfortunately, as noted, the rest of the setup for the plot badly undermines the message.

** Relatedly, the concept of the "flying holodeck" also reveals some of the behind-the-scenes thinking at work: the movie is ''meant'' to be something of a DarkReprise of the fairly well-regarded ''TNG'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E12Homeward Homeward]]", wherein a group of people were rescued from a dying world, in technical violation of the Prime Directive, but which Worf's human brother can't accept ethically (and a lot of viewers sided with him). The movie is meant to show exactly ''why'' the PD exists, especially in these circumstances, and show how, if Starfleet didn't have such a directive as a core part of their operational culture, all kinds of abuses of the less-advanced would be possible. Unfortunately, as noted, the rest of the setup for the plot badly undermines the message.

** Riker's fleeting reference to the Son'a producing large quantities of ketracel white is the only thing in the movie that hints at the fact that they're Dominion allies. For those who don't understand the significance of the reference, it can end up making the Son'a seem more sympathetic than they're intended to be -- and even if you ''do'' understand the reference, it still takes a leap in logic to register that they're actual allies of the Dominion instead of, for instance, someone just carrying out business with one side of a war they have no stake in.

* EsotericHappyEnding: The movie ends with [[PerfectPacifistPeople the]] [[SpaceAmish Bak'u]] welcoming [[BigBad the Son'a]] [[spoiler:(who are banished Bak'u)]] into their society and allowing them to keep their planet and its fountain-of-youth powers. Except that it was pointed out that it will take ten years for the planet's rejuvenating effects to really affect the Son'a, and many will not make it that long. Plus, the Bak'u will maintain their monopoly on rejuvenating powers which would certainly benefit billions across the galaxy.
** Billions, mind you, that will almost ''certainly'' die without the medical technology, as the Federation is in the middle of a war with the Dominion and Cardassians, who outnumber and outgun the Federation, Romulans, and the Klingons ''combined.'' So, the thousands- if not millions- who die in the war who could have been saved after being shot by the Jem'Hadar by the medical techniques and technology developed by studying the healing energy? They can die easy, knowing that the thousand or so Ba'Ku/So'na are going to be all right.
*** It should be noted that the top So'na are revenge-driven jerks who are allied with the Dominion, so destroying the fountain of youth planet [[UnreliableNarrator based on their word]] might not be the best Plan A.

* [[RootingForTheEmpire Rooting for the Federation]]: The Federation are considered by many (including some members of ''the cast'') to have had very good reasons for trying to force the Bak'u off the planet to study the anomaly, and they were consistently willing to use non-lethal methods to do so. See StrawmanHasAPoint below.

** The colonists are so over the top "happy" and perfect, some viewers will feel uncomfortable or even literally cringe just watching them. Probably a big contributor to the UnintentionallyUnsympathetic below.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Shouldn't the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?]] While the Bak'u were supposed to come off as innocent victims of an under-the-table Federation plot to steal their planet's resources, viewers tend to interpret them as selfish pricks who won't share (or tolerate anyone of their own who wanted to share) their planet's amazing power of healing, leaving the rest of the galaxy to die of diseases they themselves easily overcame. Of course, the idea of a land grab from them greatly violates their rightful sovereignty, and is in itself wrong, even if it was meant for the greater good of the galaxy. But since the Bak'u are interpreted as such [[JerkAss Jerk Asses]] for not being willing to give up their homes to allow the radiation to be collected and distributed, it's hard for some to feel sympathy for them.
** Also, the Bak'u don't really have a legitimate claim to the planet. They were just refugees who just happened to crash land on the planet and decided to eliminate all their technology, fooling the Federation into thinking that they were a pre-Warp civilization. Not that the Federation's claim is any better.

* DesignatedHero: The Bak'u. The movie perches how perfect they and we're supposed to draw parallels between them and native Americans that endured genocide from the US government, but they're hogging the planet's radiation that could save billions of lives just because they don't want to be inconvenienced. As pointed out by WebSite/SFDebris, the only reason for the forced relocation is that if Starfleet and the Son'a went to them honestly and ask for their cooperation and they refused, choosing immortality over helping save countless lives, then they would have become the villains of the story.

* DesignatedHero: The Bak'u. The movie perches how perfect they and we're supposed to draw parallels between them and native Americans that endured genocide from the US government, but as pointed out below, they are hogging the planet's radiation that could save billions of lives just because they don't want to be inconvenienced. And, as pointed out by WebSite/SFDebris, the only reason for the forced relocation is that if Starfleet and the Son'a went to them honestly and ask for their cooperation and they refused, choosing immortality over helping save countless lives, then they would have become the villains of the story.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: The intended {{Aesop}} is "[[ImmortalitySeeker letting the desire for eternal youth consume you can turn you into a monster]]". But since the Son'a are so over the top and UnintentionallySympathetic with their failure to artificially extend their lives, the Aesop seems more like "growing old is icky, and turns you into an evil, repulsive, toxin-oozing monster with a garbage-bag face". This is especially emphasized by the fact that the Ba'ku do not provide a contrasting position. They do not face old age gracefully because they do not grow old thanks to the radiation. But this is an environmental factor which has ''nothing'' whatsoever to do with their lifestyle. Despite this, they are very self-righteous about having attained immortality through dumb luck.
** And the more conventional Aesop about the planet's rejuvenating powers: "Finders keepers, losers weepers".
** Hey, remember Spock's extremely sad, moving line about how "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?" Turns out that "the many" are called "The Ba'ku" and "The Few" is anyone else who wants to use their planet's healing powers, which is... several hundred billion people... who will probably die in the massive war that is overwhelming all the other powers in the Alpha Quadrent combined...

** It caused an additional problem for non-US viewers as well -- the UK, for instance, was only about halfway through the show's fifth season when the film came out, but the film made references to stuff that happened in the ''seventh'' season.

* OneSceneWonder: The blue-skinned Bolian theorist Hans Adislo, who's brief exchange with Captain Picard over thermionic transconductance [[IncrediblyLamePun comes out of the blue]] and is then completely forgotten. In their joint review of the film, the Nostalgia Critic and Linkara are completely baffled at the utter pointlessness of the character.

* DesignatedHero: The Bak'u, are a morally ambiguous variant. While it's true that choosing immortality over saving billions of lives is more than a tad selfish, it's reasonable to assume that few people in RealLife would find it so simple to make said sacrifice if ''they'' were faced with it. And while somewhat isolationist, the story doesn't ''quite'' rule out that they may let allies move to their planet, the resulting immortality of which may easily save billions in the long run itself.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: The intended {{Aesop}} is "[[ImmortalitySeeker letting the desire for eternal youth consume you can turn you into a monster]]". But since the Son'a are so over the top and UnintentionallySympathetic with their failure to artificially extend their lives, the Aesop seems more like "growing old is icky, and turns you into an evil, repulsive, toxin-oozing monster with a garbage-bag face".

* DesignatedHero: The Bak'u. The movie perches how perfect they and we're supposed to draw parallels between them and native Americans that endured genocide from the US government, but as pointed out below, they are hogging the planet's radiation that could save billions of lives just because they don't want to be inconvenienced. And, as pointed out by WebSite/SFDebris, the only reason for the forced relocation is that if Starfleet and the Son'a went to them honestly and ask for their cooperation and they refused, choosing immortality over helping save countless lives, then they would have become the villains of the story.

* DesignatedVillain: The Son'a, and to a lesser degree, Admiral Dougherty. As brought up below, what they are doing will save billions, and the viewer is supposed to draw parallels between them and people that wrought genocide on the Native Americans through relocation, but what they're doing removes the Bak'u non-violently and the Son'a only resort to violence as a last resort, and they're doing all this because they'll all DIE if they don't.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: The Son'a. Despite being "villains," viewers tend to sympathize with them because they're dying and trying to cure themselves.
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: The Ba'ku, to the point where some viewers argue they deserve to die. At the very least they come across as unbelievably self-righteous, especially since they boast about understanding advanced technology (like Data's positronic brain) and merely sniff disdainfully at others who actually ''use'' such things.

** As another strike against the Baku's supposed perfection, they're not even indigenous to the planet, so they really have no right to claim rightful ownership of its radiation. And consider that a common tactic of imperialist colonialism throughout Earth's history involved getting the indigenous population hooked on some form of narcotic, which was then used as leverage for trade. Sounds a lot like the Son'a's addiction to the radiation, doesn't it? Not to mention how many online eyebrows have been raised over the fact that the Baku are very, ''very'', um, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything blonde, white and perfectly healthy.]] Taking this into account, especially when you consider [[spoiler:the Son'a were once Baku themselves]], it comes across a lot less like "evil alien drug lords preying on the space Amish" and more like "small group of ethnic purist colonists who got lucky on the right planet hoards control of its riches for themselves to maintain a position of power, leverages control of healthcare and addictive narcotics over an [[spoiler:exiled]] ghettoized population (who [[HeWhoFightsMonster soon adopted those same tactics to build an empire]]), and then running to the Federation for help when the people [[spoiler:they exiled]] comes back to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard turn their own tactics against them.]]"

** As another strike against the Baku's supposed perfection, they're not even indigenous to the planet, so they really have no right to claim rightful ownership of its radiation. And consider that a common tactic of imperialist colonialism throughout Earth's history involved getting the indigenous population hooked on some form of narcotic, which was then used as leverage for trade. Sounds a lot like the Son'a's addiction to the radiation, doesn't it? Not to mention how many online eyebrows have been raised over the fact that the Baku are very, ''very'', um, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything blonde, white and perfectly healthy.]] Taking this into account, especially when you consider [[spoiler:the Son'a were once Baku themselves]], it comes across a lot less like "evil alien drug lords preying on the space Amish" and more like "group of ethnic purist colonists who got lucky on the right planet leverages control of healthcare and addictive narcotics over an [[spoiler:exiled]] minority population (who [[HeWhoFightsMonster soon adopted those same tactics to build an empire]]), and then running to the Federation for help when the people [[spoiler:they exiled]] comes back to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard turn their own tactics against them.]]"