LeVar Burton makes a capable engineer engaging company. His Geordi La Forge brings warmth to Star Trek's busy ensemble, though his name in a supporting cast is not enough to recommend a film.
Fi1m perspective
Playing Geordi La Forge behind a VISOR, LeVar Burton has to establish a capable engineer without the usual help of his eyes. The voice and the way he addresses his colleagues have to do more of the work. He makes technical competence feel sociable. We rate that sort of ensemble acting: it gives us a reason to care about the person responsible for keeping the machinery working.
The route there was not straightforward. Roots (1977) made him known as Kunta Kinte at 19, and it initially proved difficult to be recognised as anyone else. Reading Rainbow (1983–2006), which he hosted and executive-produced, gave his warmth and authority another use: encouraging an audience to read. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) then gave him seven seasons to establish Geordi, followed by four feature films.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996), directed by his co-star Jonathan Frakes, is the clearest recommendation. We were unsettled by its streak of horror because we had come to enjoy watching this warmly played crew together. Patrick Stewart gives the drama its weight, while Burton supplies the capable engineer within a crowded supporting cast. Geordi exchanges the VISOR for ocular implants here, removing the obstruction across Burton's eyes but keeping technology central to the character. Frakes makes a tense adventure out of this company, though some of the explanations are hurried enough to test a newcomer.
One Night Only (2026), in which Burton plays Rick, is a much weaker reason to seek him out. Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner make an appealing pair, but the annual sex-exemption premise remains grim and the romantic comedy too timid to make it funny. Those failings offer little reason to revise our view of Burton, and no reason to recommend the film on the strength of his involvement. We would not choose it simply to spend more time with a familiar actor. Start with First Contact, and forgive the hurried explanations.
Biography
LeVar Burton is an American actor, director and television host. He played Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge in the series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) and the film Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and portrayed Kunta Kinte in the miniseries Roots (1977).
Born in Landstuhl, Germany, in 1957 and raised in Sacramento, California, Burton studied at the University of Southern California. He hosted the educational series Reading Rainbow from 1983 to 2006 and has directed episodes of several television series. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990.
