I don’t know I think the motion picture is exactly what an episode of Voyager feels like. A strange anomaly shows up they can’t do anything about it and all over it and figure it out the end.
I think that saying insurrection is not ambitious enough sort of is exactly my point about appreciating it more now that I’ve gotten older. It wasn’t a phasers first story it wasn’t a horror story it was a story of personal reflection and juxtaposition of one’s own values. And you cannot discount the ‘how many people’ exchange. Peak Picard just like line drawn here. And I think the biggest thing for me is that until the Trek resurgence I always assumed that Picard would retire and go live with the Baku.
Insurrection is like Final Fantasy 8. It had two issues: it was a more nuanced personal adult story and it came directly after First Contact or FF7. In my childhood I was less impressed by insurrection, but as I grew up it became much more something that I appreciate it. Not sure what it is maybe achieving some kind of emotional maturity or epiphany and looking forward and looking backward, because that’s what insurrection seems to be about.
While I don’t agree with your general assessment I don’t think that there is any reason to really argue or go over the top on the particulars. I do think that first Contact is probably the best Star Trek we have and they always be so. There’s definitely a strong separation between the two subsets.
I’m currently watching '90s Trek with my SO, and weaving the movies in has been an absolute delight. Watching first Contact after starting season 3 of deep space nine, watching the undiscovered country part of the way into watching Voyager, watching insurrection towards the beginning of the Dominion war, it really just feels so natural.