Ranking The Star Trek Movies

"Space...the final frontier"

-Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

The Star Trek franchise has expanded once more, as the new series Star Trek: Picard premiered in January and new episodes are being released weekly. The franchise has an impressive track record with a total of 8 TV shows and 13 movies to its name, and more being planned all the time. Today I shall rank the movies of the franchise - after season 1 of Picard is finished, I will probably rank the TV shows as well with the new one included.

13. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Yes, Star Trek is possibly the only movie franchise in history where the very first one is the very worst one. This is partially explained by the fact that Star Trek was a television series before being a movie series; therefore the first film doesn't have the advantage of starting it all. In addition, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a lazily written movie that attempted to cash in on the success of the series without really understanding its essence, while randomly trying to be Star Wars or 2001: A Space Odyssey at critical points. It isn't all bad, though: at times, it is quite fun seeing the original cast return and reunite on the big screen. A majority of the film is quite a mess, though...thankfully the sequels were major improvements!

12. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

The fifth installment of the six original cast movies, this one is generally considered to be the very worst Star Trek film, and I can see why. Captain Kirk's actor William Shatner was chosen to direct the film, and while I don't intend to offend such a legendary actor, I do think he should've stuck to acting in this case. The film is ranked higher than The Motion Picture because there is a lot to like: the camaraderie of the main cast as they age is quite heartfelt, and the concept of religion and searching for a higher power within the Trek universe is intriguing (at first).

Why is it ranked so low then? Well, the directing by Shatner is quite disjointed, and the deep higher power -themes are squandered towards the end as the plot is resolved by a ridiculous set of twists. Also, the film's villain is Spock's evil half-brother Sybok - who thought this would be a good idea?

11. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

This final installment of The Next Generation sequel films is also one to cause mixed feelings, yet when compared to The Motion Picture or The Final Frontier, the good does outweigh the bad in Nemesis. These good sides include the Next Generation cast getting a good send-off with especially the character Data being written off in a powerful way, as well as a young Tom Hardy playing the film's villain Shinzon and the plot having an interesting nature vs. nurture -theme to it. That being said, the film is weighed down by director Stuart Baird and the writing team not really understanding the Star Trek world, breaking many of its rules (and not in the cool, groundbreaking way) and often feeling like one of the Star Wars prequels atmosphere-wise.

10. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

While nothing in this film is mind-blowing or amazing (except for Sir Patrick Stewart's acting), everything is thoroughly decent, making for a solid Next Generation follow-up. The cast is awesome as always, and the beginning half of the movie is delightfully chill as we follow them exploring a new world and interacting with its culture. Then the titular insurrection begins, as Captain Picard finds out the Federation is conspiring against these people, and the Enterprise crew starts to rebel. It's a fun film with an interesting story and excellent directing by Jonathan Frakes, but ultimately it feels more like an extra-long episode of The Next Generation than a proper piece of cinema.

9. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)

Directed by Spock actor Leonard Nimoy (who apparently had more talent in directing than a certain castmate), this installment of the original cast movies just nails the ultimate Star Trek atmosphere. While the film's main story is about a slightly far-fetched plan to bring a character back to life (which was ultimately worth it), a majority of it is spent on a new and exciting planet, giving the crew a chance to explore and go where no one has gone before. Add to that a Klingon villain played by Christopher Lloyd, an emotional send-off to the original version of the USS Enterprise, and a sweet feel-good ending, and you've got yourself a successful Star Trek film.

8. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

It's not every year that a Star Trek film nabs four Oscar nominations, including Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. This fun and thoroughly well-made film would be much higher on most people's rankings, and its placement here isn't due to it being overrated - I rather find many of the other Trek films to be very underrated. That being said, The Voyage Home is a delightful and entertaining movie with a lot to offer. The time-travel story, the comedic elements, the mysterious probe and the satisfying ending make for quite an awesome film.

7. Star Trek: Generations (1994)

Ah, 1994, my favorite movie year of all time (fun fact: Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction and The Lion King all came out during that one year). In between the six original cast films and the trilogy of Next Generation films there was this crossover, which brought the two most iconic Star Trek captains together. While the film does have minor flaws, none of them are strong enough to counter the sheer awesomeness of William Shatner's Kirk meeting and interacting with Patrick Stewart's Picard. The film also has a decent villain portrayed by Malcolm McDowell, good supporting performances by the Next Generation cast, a few Original Series cameos in addition to Kirk's big role, and a fascinating new sci-fi concept called the Nexus. But the true beauty of this film is definitely in the epic team-up of Kirk and Picard!

6. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

I am a big fan of the newest batch of Star Trek films, starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as the younger and alternate-timeline versions of Kirk and Spock. Even my least favorite of these films is so high on my list; while there are some elements in Into Darkness I didn't quite agree with, a majority of it absolutely great. Starting with a thrilling, adrenaline-pumping adventure sequence and going on to retell the story of Enterprise's fight with Khan with plenty of new twists, this exciting film was another success by reboot king J.J. Abrams.

The reasons for this being lower than the other new films are in the more intricate parts of the plot: the resolution is a bit uninspired and the consistency of the Khan storyline doesn't make that much sense when considering Star Trek canon. Still, Benedict Cumberbatch is amazing as the villainous Khan, and the main cast knocks it out of the park once again.

5. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

This was the final film to star the original Star Trek cast, and what a send-off they got. The film succeeds as a franchise finale on an intimate human level, as the main cast get to be heroes together for one last time and their chemistry is on a level that can only be reached by working together for decades. It also succeeds as a finale on a larger level, however: the symbolism of the film is its greatest asset. Released during the final months of the Cold War as the USSR was changing, Germany had been unified and diplomacy seemed to be winning, the effect of the time period can be thoroughly felt in this movie. After decades of warmongering, the Federation is on the verge of peace with the Klingon Empire in this film, and it's the Enterprise crew's job to make sure that the peace deal goes through. Heartwarming and powerful, this is truly the ending that the wonderful cast deserved.

4. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

This installment was released on the year that the Star Trek franchise turned 50 years old. As far as 50th anniversaries go, I didn't find it as perfect as Doctor Who's The Day Of The Doctor, but honestly better than James Bond's Skyfall. Rather than going for an epic spectacle, the franchise celebrated this milestone by making a movie that is simply very Star Trek. Elements of the J.J. Abrams reboots are combined with elements of the original TV series, making for a blockbuster film featuring a lot of cool exploration and philosophy. Idris Elba is impeccable as the villain Krall, the main cast is brilliant, and the visual effects are quite amazing. Much like with the original series, the magic of this film is in the interactions between the characters: my absolute favorite parts of Star Trek: Beyond are the ones where the crew is divided into smaller groups and their chemistry and dialogue are wonderfully entertaining.

3. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)

This is the film that most fans would put on first place without question - and I can see why. The Wrath Of Khan is an amazing film, and such an incredible step up from the less-than-impressive Star Trek: The Motion Picture which it followed. The pacing is superb, as everything in the story unfolds in such an exciting and engrossing way, and the directing by Nicholas Meyer fits the Trek universe with perfection. The main story is a creative follow-up to a classic episode from The Original Series, as one-time villain Khan returns and makes for an amazing antagonist, now motivated by revenge and played once again by the iconic Ricardo Montalban. The film's ending is incredibly emotional, as the plot is resolved by a moment that would put most Star Trek fans to tears.

2. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

This one is quite simply larger than life. As a blockbuster sequel to The Next Generation it's already very decent, with brilliant directing by Jonathan Frakes and an exciting plot about the Enterprise following the Borg back in time in order to thwart a plan of theirs. What makes this film amazing, however, are the ideals behind it. The Star Trek movies have often been criticized by fans for being less philosophical and less focused on the values of the Star Trek shows, but First Contact is the biggest exception. The story is very powerful, showing the background to the utopian future of the Trek universe, and thus showing humanity a potential path forward, to a prosperous future free of war and greed.

1. Star Trek (2009)

My favorite Star Trek film just has the be this masterful J.J. Abrams reboot. The idea of re-introducing the classic Enterprise crew to a new generation is interesting enough, but the way the film goes about it is truly genius. Through an out-of-the-box story setting, the film both takes and doesn't take place in the original Star Trek timeline; it's part of the same canon and a direct continuation to the original series, yet it features a new timeline being created within the fictional universe by an older version of Spock and the film's villain Nero. This allows the film to make changes to the classic characters and tell their backstories, while still being part of the same fictional world instead of starting from scratch. This in turn allows the film to be a sequel, a prequel and a reboot all at the same time - if all of that was gibberish to you, I'll just say that this movie's setting is science fiction at its most creative.

And then there's the casting. Star Trek is one of the best-cast movies I've ever seen, as all seven younger versions of the main Enterprise crew are loyally similar to their original counterparts while also managing to put a fresh spin on their characters. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are especially pitch perfect as Kirk and Spock, and besides the main crew there's also Eric Bana killing it as the villainous Nero and of course Leonard Nimoy reprising his legendary role as the original Spock due to the film's timeline-shifting nature. The movie's final scene is one of my favorite movie endings ever, setting in stone the fact that this film breathed new life into the Star Trek world in the most wonderful way. Star Trek managed to be both a nostalgic love letter to the original series and an exciting new direction for the franchise.


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