Star Trek: Ranking The Movies
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Star Trek is back and not only on the big screen. As a lover of trek, I am way more excited about the new 2017 show than I am the third movie in the reboot series. I am not the biggest JJ Abrams fan and I am not sure he was the right steward for the beloved franchise. That said, I will keep an open mind and give Star Trek Beyond a fair shot. So in preparation for the next installment in the series I have decided to revisit all twelve Star Trek films and rank them from worst to best.
12. Star Trek Into Darkness
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I know what you are thinking. How can this be the worst on your list? Well, I am a pretty big star trek fan and if you are too, you would not be asking that question. This is a perfectly suitable, cookie cutter, summer blockbuster. It just isn’t Star Trek. It should have been called “Trek Wars” or something. Not only are there a ton of plot holes in this film, JJ Abrams completely wasted any of the set up established in the first film. The significance of the destruction of Vulcan is completely wasted. Why reboot a franchise only to make a much worse version of the second film in the series you rebooted. This movie seriously lacked creativity.
What worked
The first ten minutes were interesting. Alot of things getting blown up…i guess.
What didn’t
Kahn. A conspiracy that made no sense. Reversing who “died” at the end. Needing Kahns blood when you have 72 other super humans on board your ship. How many times will Kirk be demoted and promoted in ten minutes? Once you get past the spectacle, this movie is truly a mess.
11. Star Trek Nemesis
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This film flip-flops with Into Darkness as my least favorite film in the franchise. The film really starts to suck after the first 15 minutes and I really hate what they did with Data. On the plus side; I liked the introduction of the Remans and despite the lack of creativity in the primary villain, I like Tom Hardy as an actor.
What worked
The Romulans have a neighboring race? Tom Hardy is pretty cool.
What didn’t
Data and B-4. The name “B-4”. A dull story and off-roading on some dessert planet. Picard having a clone seemed lazy.
10. Star Trek The Final Frontier
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Bleh! That’s pretty much all I can say about this movie. It’s pretty bad. It’s like a long mediocre TV episode. At least the story feels like a Star Trek story. I find that I can rewatch this one more than Nemesis or Into Darkness so it slots in right after those two.
What worked
“What does god need with a starship”
What didn’t
Sybok and his pointless story
9. Star Trek Insurrection
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Insurrection isn’t as bad as some of the movies above. Much like The Final Frontier, it feels like an extended TV episode. It isn’t very exciting and was a bit of a disappointing follow up to First Contact. There aren’t any significantly memorable parts but there wasn’t anything terribly bad either. It was just a bland movie.
What worked
Data going berserk and singing.
What didn’t
The skin stretching Son’a. Insurrection had your typical “moral of the story” moment which made it feel more like a TV episode than a movie.
8. Star Trek Generations
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Looking back, It’s a shame that the next generation films were not very good. Generations is watchable but panders a little too much to the original series(I should say, William Shatner). The whole plot was really just an excuse to have both Kirk and Picard in a movie. It didn’t really add much to the Star Trek universe, other than Kirk’s death I suppose.
What worked
For some reason I really like the scene in the observation room where Data and Picard figure out what’s going on with the ribbon.
What didn’t
The entire story was just an excuse to get William Shatner in the movie.
7. Star Trek The Motion Picture
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Here’s the thing. This movie has a lot of things that I associate with good Star Trek. It has an interesting plot. It is thought provoking and it has pretty awesome visuals. It is also very long, and sometimes boring. V’ger, is a worthy Star Trek villain. It shares some similarities to one of my favorite Star Trek villains, the Borg. It’s a shame that the film was paced so poorly. It needed much better editing. I like a lot about it but its just too much of a time commitment to sit trough sometimes.
What worked
V’Ger’s revelation. The special effects were pretty good for its time.
What didn’t
The pacing is just so slow.
6. Star Trek (2009)
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I did not like JJ Abrams reboot all that much the first time I saw it. I didn’t like the destruction of Vulcan. I thought Kirk’s rapid ascension to captain was comical, but after a few viewings I decided to relax a little and enjoy it for what was. I still don’t feel like it is true Star Trek, but it is a lot better that its sequel.
What worked
The prologue was pretty intriguing. I really liked Captain Pike.
What didn’t
Nero seemed more like a hurt misguided person than an evil villain. Vulcan’s destruction seemed like one of JJ Abrams’ “wouldn’t it be cool” moments.
5. Star Trek The Search For Spock
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This movie is indicative of how much better the movies based on the original series are. The Search For Spock is a middling film compared to the rest of the other original series films, but it is better than most of the other movies. It serves as the middle chapter of what could be considered a trilogy that encompassed The Wrath of Kahn, The Search For Spock, and The Voyage Home. Christopher Lloyd as this Klingon villain is unimpressive. He seemed more like an opportunistic thief rather than an imposing adversary. The Search For Spock serves as more of a necessary bridge between the other two movies than a good stand alone movie.
What worked
I liked how the movie flowed together with The Wrath of Kahn. The genesis device is an interesting concept.
What didn’t
The villains were pretty boring.
4. Star Trek The Voyage Home
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This is the fun Star Trek film. It starts at the conclusion of The Search For Spock, but it doesn’t really need that movie as a prerequisite. It’s your typical trek time travel(not the only one this list) story in which our hero’s must prevent something from happening in the past to save our future. This movie would not have ranked as high if I made this list ten years ago, but it has become very rewatchable.
What worked
The humor. I can’t really take this movie too seriously. It’s both silly and fun.
What didn’t
The save the whales moral is both valid and dated at the same time.
3. Star Trek Wrath Of Kahn
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Wait. What’s going on here? Wrath of Kahn is third?…third? Most trekkies would claim this movie as the best among the bunch. I tend to disagree. It is very good, but not the best. Kahn is a great villain. He is larger than life and pushes the crew to the brink like no one ever has. As entertaining as the movies is, it felt like a small film in terms of scale. Yes, there is the Genesis device, but its importance is explored more in The Search For Spock than it is in this movie. Wrath of Kahn feels like a very well done star trek episode. It works as a better paced antithesis to its prequel, but the stakes didn’t seem as high as some of the other films. I guess to be fair, Spock does die. If I saw this in theaters when it was released, his death probably would have a had a different effect on me. Knowing that Spock isn’t really dead diminishes the impact a little.
What worked
Kahn was a very good villain. His re-introduction was great and his never ending chase for kirk made the movie fun.
What didn’t
The movie felt like it took place in isolation. I didn’t really feel like anything was at stake when Kahn was looking for the genesis device.
2. Star Trek The Undiscovered Country
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This is the best Star Trek movie based on the original cast. This film is the opposite of Nemesis. It acknowledges the age and tenure of the original cast with a combination of humor and sentimentality. They story is a well paced political conspiracy and the outcome plays a pivotal role in Star Trek history. It is a great ending to the run of the original cast.
What worked
General Chang and his Shakespearean quotes were pretty cool. Seeing what leads to peace between the Federation and the Klingon empire is pretty interesting.
What didn’t
Spock and Valeris’ mind meld was a little disturbing.
1. Star Trek First Contact
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What can I say. I love First Contact. It’s a movie that both a trekkie and someone who knows little about star trek can enjoy. It has the right balance of action and story. The stakes are massive and the villains are as intimidating as they come. Picard and the crew are in their prime. Almost everything about this movie worked. It introduced a historical moment that most trek fans didn’t know they would care about. Sure, it’s another time travel story, but it was time travel done right. First Contact is truly the pinnacle of Star Trek on the big screen.
What worked
Just about everything.
What didn’t
I wasn’t a fan of the Borg queen. I thought Alice Krige did a great job but I thought it was contradictory to have a singular representation of a species that is defined by a collective mind.
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